Upcycling with the Brownies

Sashes, smiles, and bags of junk. That's how my first creative project of 2012 began. After school last week, I got to run an upcycled jewelry workshop for a fourth grade Brownie troop. It was a real treat to work with this spirited group of 24 gals. Each girl brought with them reusasble materials from home and also got to work with some of my supplies. 

Scrabble tiles and game pieces

bag o' possibilities

The workshop was a flurry of drilling, gluing, and wiring. Thanks to the creativity of the girls, and hands-on help from the leaders, a lot was accomplished in just one hour. 

wooden nickels, dominoes, and game piece

soda can tabs, a wooden nickel, and wine bottle foil

 spiky rubbery ball ring and Koosh ball necklace

more game piece rings

Scrabble tile and holiday wrapping necklace

a colorful collection

Now THAT'S a ring!

The junior trashionistas left with many playful pieces and they are now one step closer to earning their jewelry making badge. Their enthusiasm and whimsical designs gave me inspiration for the year ahead. What better way to start the New Year?

Love, Love, Love : Cafeteria Trays

Back in the days of Western Elementary School, I can vividly remember waiting in line for lunch. For an impatient, hungry kid, the line leading to the cafeteria seemed to stretch on for days. You would be welcomed into the cafeteria by the "clack clack" of  trays being pulled off a tall pile by the lunch ladies. Our school had an endless supply of plastic, colorful lunch trays with confetti-like specks and swirls melded into them. Though I'm sure my mind was mostly set on scarfing down my food and chatting with my friends during our short lunch period, the patterned trays left a strong impression on my early memories.



linole-yum

 I recall most of them being a muted pea-green or pale pink-orange color. The flecks of yellows, blues, pinks, tans, and greens danced around the trays in a carnival-like display when not obscured by the Friday pizza or sloppy Joe spillage. Perhaps the colors were there to add a little life to our tan palette of food.

eat your greens

I hadn't thought about cafeteria trays in years until I started making jewelry. I had one pale green tray that I would pull out on occasion to sort out small mixed supplies or plan out materials for a necklace. As the tray got used more and more, I started looking for more at tag sales and thrift stores. As my collection grew, I branched out onto Ebay for more of a selection. When I did a search for cafeteria trays online, familiar images from my childhood flashed on the screen. Vintage speckled trays came up under searches for Fire King, Prolon, Melmac, Spatterware, and confetti. I found the identical trays I once used in elementary school plus a whole other world of color combinations. 

bling buffet

wild game for dinner

work lunch

Many auctions later, I have a happy collection of 7 confetti trays (and counting) that have been elevated to my "special occasion ware." I pull them out every once in a while for inspiration and when I need a little burst of color in my life. Lately, I have found myself drawn to confetti beads and using food charms in my thimblism necklaces. I can't help but think of lunch lady hairnets, half pints of milk, and my early "culinary experiences" when creating these pieces.  

a feast for the eyes

made from 100% recycled clown (or so I've heard)

Spring Carnival - with vintage Japanese confetti beads

thimbilism necklace from my very own craft-ateria

Though my prized confetti tray collection will not be used to sort materials like my other trays, their fanciful flecks will have a lasting impact on my design. You just never know what will serve up inspiration!

You can find me at these upcoming shows:

Sunday, May 29th - The Brooklyn Flea - Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY

Sunday, June 26th - Smith Street Sunday Fun Day - Brooklyn, NY

Saturday, July 9, August 6, August 13 - Greenway Open Markets - Boston, MA

REpackaging and REtagging

I aim to reuse as much material as I can when creating my jewelry. I do this because items with a past are more interesting to me than things that are new and it's more ecologically responsible to reuse materials. This idea carries over into my packaging as well. Here is a sampling of my favorite ways to package and tag my jewelry.

"Isn't It Romantic" necklace with a BINGO card tag.

Donna, the kind cafeteria manager at my elementary school, gave me a massive amount of popcorn chicken bags. They were sent with the frozen food but never used since the popcorn chicken gets scooped directly into the cafeteria trays. Instead of discarding them, she passed them to me and now I use them for bagging my jewelry at shows.

bawk bawk

Here are some other food-grade bags I use for packaging. 

happiness is....a happy bag

Donna also used to own a video rental store. As part of a promotion, she ordered a case full of cardboard popcorn boxes. While cleaning out her home she found the leftover boxes and asked if I would like them. I happily took them, punched holes on the top, added string (given to me by another friend who was cleaning out a space), and TADA...shopping bags!

just add popcorn

poppin' fresh

When I get an order on Etsy or donate an item for an event, I package my jewelry up in creative ways. My favorite things to use when mounting my thimbilism necklaces are BINGO cards and vintage game cards (flashcards, playing cards, etc.). I've been saving up vintage ephemera for many years and it's all finally being to put it to good use.

vintage Old Maid and BINGO cards

it's a wrap

My price tags are also made from BINGO cards and game pieces.

Fun 'n' Game rings with BINGO card tags



REcap bracelets with cardboard game piece tags


What is your favorite way to package things?



Come and visit me at these upcoming shows:

Saturday, May 21st – Shop the Archway – DUMBO – Brooklyn, NY

Sunday, May 29th - The Brooklyn Flea - Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY

Sunday, June 26th - Smith Street Sunday Fun Day - Brooklyn, NY


Saturday, July 9, August 6, August 13 - Greenway Open Markets - Boston, MA

Love, Love, Love : Vintage Game Pieces

Everyone has a junk drawer, box, or (ehem) entire home filled with all the odds & ends that they just can’t get rid of. Ever since I was little, I would save anything and everything small and colorful in special place. For years, I have been gathering loose game pieces. My collecting started years ago with Bakelite and vintage plastic dice. Each happy die and dot was a mini piece of art to me. I finally capped off my collection when I found the perfect gumball machine to display them in and filled it to the top.

It took a lot of quarters to fill this machine!

I also love pawns – plastic, metal, and wood in every shape size and color. They remind me of being sprawled across the floor with my friend Kim after school and engaged in a friendly game of Parcheesi, Monopoly, or Boggle. At the end of every school year, I have the students in my 2nd grade class pull out the loose pieces from games that have seen better days and save them before retiring the boards. I also keep an eye out for vintage games at tag sales and people are always passing bags of “treasures” to me. When there's a plastic pawn or wooden die, it's a welcome surprise.

Pawnacopia

There’s nothing more exciting and inspiring to me than spreading out, sorting, and playing with colorful pieces of anything. Whenever I hit a creative roadblock or feel the urge to organize, I will break out my cafeteria trays, spill out my materials, and sort the day away. This usually leads to new inspiration and ideas. It also makes me hungry because the colors look very “candy shop” to me!

Tray o' Play

Most recently, one of these spill & sort sessions inspired my “Fun 'n' Games” rings made from wooden nickels and a collage of game pieces.  I sold them for the first time at the Prospect Heights Fair. The school fund raising event was attended by lots of kids which meant lots of little fingers kept picking up and playing with the rings. I find that my materials, being upcycled and vintage, bring out a lot of nostalgia and people have a tendency to pick up and play with the jewelry or share stories about the items. As a designer, that's a big perk - I always love hearing these personal connections. 

wooden pawns & wooden nickels

wooden letter dice and wooden nickels

Clusters of pawns remind me of mushrooms or little people.

Once I attach the adjustable ring backings, I will have a whole new batch of rings to share at my upcoming shows:

Saturday, April 23^rd – New Beginnings Trunk Show with Folk Couture by Grace Napolean – Bethel, CT

Friday and Saturday, May 6th and 7th – Twist – Northampton, MA

Saturday, May 21 – Shop the Archway – DUMBO – Brooklyn, NY

Swing by and play!