Tuesday trinkets 14...

A really odd bunch of pieces to share today. From the glamorous to the kitsch! (Told you I have eclectic tastes lol)

This gorgeous pearl and aurora borealis coated crystal bead necklace is from the 1950s/1960s era. The clasp finishes with a pearl and AB crystal dangle which would sit beautifully at the back of the neck.

Kitschy and cute little 'Bambi' brooches. I really have no idea of the vintage of these two little darlings but the silvertone with clear rhinestones has an older style C clasp on it suggesting it is pre 1940s.
They photographed poorly but the goldtone one is beautifully enamelled.

This pretty blue diamante brooch is well made and I suspect an unmarked designer beauty. The smaller diamantes are a paler blue than the large ones and all are beautifully claw set. I believe this may possibly be an unmarked Weiss design.

More kitsch with this enamelled bunny brooch. Vintage unknown.

Another blue beauty. Probably 1950s/1960s vintage.

I'm not sure of the vintage of this little Westie Terrier brooch. He's been well loved with some loss of his gold colour. He has the sweetest diamante collar which unfortunately did not photograph well.

The promised glamour! ;) This is a beautiful marked Coro brooch and earrings set. 1950s/1960s era.

I so wish this bracelet had photographed better! It is unusual with hinged pieces on either side of the celtic braided filigree centre. There is a row of large clear diamantes set in the centre of the celtic braid. I have no idea what vintage this bracelet is. It is much prettier than it appears here.

An older necklace, I'm not sure of the exact age but the chain and clasp style is definately vintage. The beads are plain faceted glass/crystals.I believe this may be pre-1940s.

This key brooch is large measuring approximately 4 inches long. It is marked but unfortunately I cannot read the mark even with the help of a magnifier.(I can make out a W or M but that is all) Stamped goldtone metal with a pearl and clear rhinestones set into the round end it is a pretty piece. I have no idea what vintage it is.

This green brooch is quite small about an inch across. It is made of plain green glass in a brass like metal setting. Vintage estimated to be 1930s or earlier.

This little red swallow pin is interesting. It is tiny and I apologise it did not photograph well at all. Nor did the colour show up properly. It is a lovely bright red enamel edged with gold. The mark on the back appears to read 'Rules Made in Canada'. If any of my readers know anything about this little red bird please share. :) I wonder if it was a fund raising pin of some kind or a club pin.

This gorgeous red glass pendant is set in what appears to be brass. Some of the stones are moulded glass. It appears to be quite old but is unmarked and I really don't know what vintage it is. The pendant drop is about 2 and a half inches long or three inches from the single glass stone set above the main piece.

Goldtone teddy probably quite modern but added to my collection because he was cute LOL! He is marked ROMAN but I am not familiar with this designer name.

Pretty lucite? bracelet. My best guess would be 1950s/1960s era.

Well made little turtle brooch. Unmarked. I can't make out if the middle has glass or stones of some kind set into it. Vintage unknown.

Blue bar brooch. Clear blue glass set in goldtone metal. The centre stone is darker than the other two and I am not sure if it was made this way or if one or more of the stones has been replaced at some time. 2 inches long and less than half an inch wide I think this is an older brooch. The stones are open backed allowing light to shine through.

Swirly marcasite brooch. I own a few marcasite pieces but am unsure of the age of them. Marcasite pieces have become extraordinarily expensive to buy and there have often been pieces I have longed to make mine but they were way beyond my meager means.

One of my many leaf brooches this one is an enamelled lovely. Quite likely to have been a souvenir piece from Canada. Vintage unknown.

This beautifully moulded brooch is brass set, double layered with lovely clear red glass stones. The back is as pretty as the front and it is beautifully made. It is difficult to see in the photo but each of the stones is carefully claw set. Estimated vintage early 1900s.

Once again my photograph does not do justice to my subject! This sword brooch is beautiful. The blade and ornate handle are set with marcasite and it measures almost 3 and half inches long. It is marked on the back KIGU A.T. APP. I am unfamiliar with this mark.

One last bit of kitsch for today's post. An adorable Snoopy brooch. beautifully enamelled and in his clear rhinestone vest I have no idea of his vintage but he was too cute not to add to my collection!

Well done and THANK YOU if you stayed to the end of this week's trinkets. My camera and I were not on the best of terms. This last lovely brooch and earrings are unmarked but are definately a designer piece. They are what is known as a 'trembler' with the stamens in the flowers 'trembling' when touched or when the person wearing the piece moves. The enamelling on the leaves is beautiful. I'm not sure of the vintage but would estimate the 1960s.

wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen

ATC love...

I mentioned in a recent post that I had discovered artist trading cards (ATC's) and that I was taking part in a swap on swapbot with a couple of my online friends. Now that both my recipients have received their cards I can share on my blog the cards I made to send to them. Our theme for the swap was nature. The cards are 2 and a half inches by 3 and a half inches in size. I was pleased with my results although working on such a small scale is a challenge.

This card I tore and glued a couple of paper scraps on either end of the card. I coloured the middle in with pastels and blended them slightly. Then I fussy cut a butterfly from another scrapbooking paper and stuck it down with a foam square so it was more dimensional. I decorated the butterfly wings with sticky jewels and outlined the wings with gold glitter. The antennae of the butterfly I made from the ends of a couple of piksters. (piksters are a dental product for cleaning the gaps between your teeth and look somewhat like tiny bottlebrushes) These also received a coating of glitter. I added a few more sparkly gems and a quote. "Lose yourself in nature and find peace". I hate my handwriting but don't have access to a printer just yet nor a small alphabet stamp set. I finished by dabbing the edges of the card with a green inkpad. I was really pleased with this card and it was a good learning experience.

This card I made in a similar fashion fussy cutting roses from different papers and glueing them to the card base. I used a pink ink pad to smudge the edges of the cut papers and colour the centre. This time I used a dimensional vellum butterfly sticker. I used watercolour pencils to colour the wings and added gold glitter. I embellished with some sparkly gems and a dragonfly button from my scrapbooking supplies. To finish I edged the whole card with gold pen. It's not perfect but pretty and I was pretty chuffed with myself when I had done.

I've been reading about various art techniques and looking for hours at ATC's online and will doubtless have more to show in the future. Making these tiny works of art is fun, relaxing and as I was warned, very addictive! Hope my show and tell (bragfest) brought a little sunshine to your day.

wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen

It couldn't happen to me....

                                                                                              **photo from here.

How often do we all say this to ourselves about various things? In this particular instance I'm speaking of homelessness. I remember reading once that most of us are only a week's wage away from being homeless. ONE week! Scary isn't it?

The reality of how easily one can become homeless has struck a chord with me in recent weeks. I have a very good friend who faces that very real possibility in the next few weeks. My friend has been a sole parent for some time. She has three children at home, a 16 year old daughter and twins, a boy and a girl aged 14. Her youngest daughter has a severe disability. The elder kids attend the local High School and the younger daughter attends special school. My friend has worked casual jobs from time to time but has found regular employment evasive as she is only available between school hours and if any of the kids are sick has to take time off to care for them. (I'm sure many working parents can relate)

Unfortunately my friend does not have family support available nearby. She has been a good tenant, renting her current home for the last 9 years. Out of the blue 6 weeks ago she received a notice to vacate the premises. She had 30 days to find somewhere else to live.(her landlord wants to do extensive renovations) Rental properties are in short supply in our local area and her limited income means many places are out of her price range. On applying my friend received a 2 week extension to the time she had to find a new place. So far she has applied for several properties but been knocked back each time. It is very frustrating for her. She is FAST running out of time.(We believe she may be being discriminated against because she is a welfare recipient )

On inquiring at many local agencies about assistance she was told until she IS homeless they cannot help her. (even then there are waiting times/queues for assistance) She has applied for ministry housing but was told there is at least a three year wait. This week she received a notice to say she is expected to be out by next week. There is a hearing before a tribunal next week and IF she is lucky she may get a little extra time. If not....she and her children will be homeless!

In the meantime she is running around doing all the regular mum stuff, caring for her kids, taking the kids to their after school and weekend activities etc as well as trying to find a new home.(she has even looked at suburbs further away from her current home and the children's school etc) I am stressed for her, I can't imagine how she must be feeling! On asking at one agency what she is supposed to do if she can't find anywhere they told her she would have to find a caravan park, stay in a hotel or live in her car!!!! Can you believe that? I know that some people do (even temporarily) but what the heck is she supposed to do with all their furniture and belongings? Who really wants to live in any of those places with 3 teenage kids?The mind really does boggle.

I am praying my girlfriend finds a new place for her and her children. It really makes you think twice about that assumption ....It couldn't happen to me!

wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen

Tuesday trinkets 13...

I have some real lovelies for you all today but I apologise in advance for some of the photos not being the greatest. Diamantes are VERY tricky to photograph and I only have a little point and click camera.
Despite taking all these photographs outside in natural light there was still an issue with reflections in some of them.

This gorgeous pink brooch and clip on earrings set is unmarked. Sadly the brooch is missing one of the pale pink marquise shaped diamantes. I have no idea of the age of this set or of it's origins.

This 'flower' is made up of clear marquise shaped diamantes and a couple of small round diamantes set among the 'leaves'. There is a layer of small aurora borealis coated diamantes making the circle of the floret in the middle. A large borealis coated diamante takes centre stage. The photograph doesn't do justice to this lovely brooch. Although unmarked I believe this is a designer piece. It is high quality and the back of the brooch which I believe is rhodium plated looks as new today as it probably did the day it was made. The use of aurora borealis dates it to at least the mid 1950s.

A similar brooch but I believe from an earlier time. No aurora borealis this time but this brooch is beautifully layered. It is hard to see from the photograph but the stones are set in 3 distinct layers making the flower centre and the 'branches & leaves'. The branches are also set with a row of tiny diamantes down their centres. Unmarked and smooth plating on the back this brooch is definately a high quality piece. The diamantes are beginning to show some signs of dulling with age.

I bought this pretty 1950s brooch because I was taken with it's unusual shape. I have lots of ring or garland brooches but had not seen many square ones. Although many of the diamantes appear lilac in the photograph the larger ones are clear aurora borealis diamantes. The little ones between are lilac and of course the four feature stones are pink. Not an expensive brooch but oh so pretty I think you will agree?

Another 1950s aurora borealis beauty this snowflake brooch is among my favourites. The photo unfortunately does not do it justice. The entire centre of the brooch is made up of clear AB coated crystal beads and the points of the snowflake are AB coated diamantes. I will be sad when it begins to lose it's sparkle as it is just so amazingly beautiful.

Another crystal bead 1950s treasure. Hard to photograph but the pink beads are AB coated and ever so sparkly.

Multi blue diamante brooch by Weiss. I own several Weiss pieces and the quality is unmistakeable once you learn to recognize their designs. Once again a 1950s piece, probably originally part of a set. If you would like to read a brief history of Weiss you can do so here.

Gorgeous clear diamante brooch by Weiss. I believe this to be an earlier than the 1950s piece given the clear diamantes and the design of the brooch. I bought this for the less usual baguette shaped diamantes used to edge the brooch. The back is smooth and perfect and the diamantes still have amazing sparkle.

Another set by Weiss. I fell in love with the lovely lemon colour of the diamantes and had to add this to my collection. The larger stones are all open backed which allows light to reflect through them. I'm unsure of the age of this set but given it's pastel colour I suspect it may well be from the 1950s.

Another earlier brooch by Weiss. Notable for the variety of shapes of the rhinestones used in the design. All the rhinestones in this brooch are clear suggesting an earlier time than the 1950s (when the use of aurora borealis rhinestones was huge) Sadly they are beginning to show signs of dulling with age.

Pretty pastel green brooch and earrings by Weiss. 1950s. Another set I treasure very much!

Finally today an older set of Weiss earrings. Poor photo but note the baguette shaped diamante's used. I am unsure of the age of these but the diamantes are beginning to dull.
Hope you enjoyed todays trinkets and have a wonderful week everyone. :)

wishing you sunshine in your shadows
Helen