Tag: jewelry

Currently Creating

On By SaraIn Art and Crafting, Uncategorized4 Comments

You know how sometimes the creative juices just aren’t there, and then other times you can’t catch up with all the ideas racing around in your head? Do you experience that too? Last month was a bit…stalled creatively. This month on the other hand! This month has been awesome! And a lot of the awesomeness has all occurred within the last week! ❤

Some of this is due to taking a short post-birthday vacation. I had 5 glorious days to spend on blog improvements, a few DIY projects, an art piece and some new jewelry, both finishing pieces and pieces to be fused!

Sadly, even on vacation I have more ideas then time, but that just means that I won’t run out of projects any time soon!

I feel like I really made some progress on my jewelry this month. I have been putting some extra time into improving my wire wrapping skills and I think it’s starting to show! After some great advice from Michele over at @tigerlilywraps on Instagram, I headed over to YouTube and checked out a few channels for tutorials: Go Art Yourself and OxanaCrafts. A few of the pieces on here were actually done using the tutorials, specifically this one.

While I still feel like I have a lot of room for improvement, I’m excited to see what I have gotten done this month!

Along with my jewelry, my vacation gave me a bunch of time to work on other projects! I stained the backboard for my next mosaic and cut the sheet of glass I need to start it. This project has actually been in some stage of progress for over around 2 years, so I’m looking forward to getting some glass laid down on it soon! I also have some more pendants to be fused (and I’m waiting for some that aren’t pictured that I’m getting back today!)

Since staining that backboard seems to have gotten me in a mood, I actually stained a bunch more boards for 2 DIY projects. The “Love & Coffee” is part of one of those, so be looking for posts on those projects soon! I can’t wait to share them with you 🙂

And for what is possibly my most exciting DIY project of the month. I have sanded, primed, and started painting some furniture for our bedroom and closet remodel! Now, these are all pieces I’ve had for years…The dresser for around 10 and the side tables since I was a kid. These things have gotten pretty beaten up over the years, but I think they are going to turn out great!

So that’s what I’ve been working on this month! I hope you enjoyed this little peak into my studio and home. I can’t wait to share the new DIY projects with you soon!

Have you been working on anything new lately? Any projects you’ve had on hold that you finally got to get started? I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave me a comment below!

Sara (1)

glass fusion jewelry with wire wrapping

100+ Followers…and a Giveaway to Celebrate!

On By SaraIn Art and Crafting, Uncategorized25 Comments

When I started this blog I honestly wasn’t sure how well I would do. (Sometimes I’m still not) I’m not great with putting myself out there, plus I was worried that I would give up or only post sporadically. Instead, I found out that I love blogging! This blog has already improved my life, introduced me to some amazing people online and pushed me in some unexpected ways. I can’t wait to see where it continues to take me!

Now, I know that 100 followers is not a huge milestone to a lot of bloggers, but it definitely feels like a big one to me! And I appreciate all of you! So, to celebrate this milestone, my first giveaway! I hope you like what I have for you all 🙂

1
2
3
4

Giveaway Requirements:

  1. Be a follower of Nymph In The Woods (if you aren’t already, you can follow now to enter)
  2. Leave a comment below stating which one you would like to win. That’s it!

The giveaway will run from Feb 9th-16th, 2016. The winner will be contacted privately and also be announced on here. I can’t wait to see who wins and which one they choose! (Also, the 16th is my birthday and I can’t wait to celebrate it by giving one of you a gift!)

Edit: The giveaway is now closed! Congrats to Teresa over at Mama Muse Me on winning!Sara (1)

Currently Creating: What I Made This Month

On By SaraIn Art and Crafting, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Hey all! Welcome to a new monthly series “Currently Creating.” I’ve been focusing more on creating my art lately, especially my jewelry! At the end of each month I will show you what I made, including in-progress shots. This month is all jewelry, but next month I plan on having some progress on my next mosaic to show you too! 🙂 I hope you will enjoy the look into my studio!

I would also like to highlight other artists, so if you have anything you made that you would like me to link to, send me a picture, description and your website and I will include it in a future post!

Have you been making anything new lately? I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave me a comment below!

Follow me on Bloglovin’

Sara (1)

DIY Macro Photography Studio: An Easy Tool to Improve your Photos!

On By SaraIn Art and Crafting3 Comments

Are you working on your photography skills? I know that I am constantly trying to learn and improve on my skills in this area. I still have a long long way to go, but I do think I’ve been doing a bit better. One thing I realized I needed was a portable neutral background for photographing smaller objects. So I found this DIY Macro Studio and decided to make one of my own!

Supplies needed:

  • large plastic white tablecloth
  • pop-up laundry bag
  • staples and stapler
  • 1 sheet of white poster board
  • scissors
  • marker

This project was really inexpensive and I already had the pop-up laundry bag at home.

DSCN1258_picmonkeyed

I started out by roughly tracing the sides of the pop-up laundry bag on the tablecloth. Keep the tablecloth folded over once to increase strength. You need to trace the top and both sides, totaling in 3 separate pieces.

DSCN1262_picmonkeyed

I then cut out all three sides, leaving the ends intact.

DSCN1263_picmonkeyed

Cut out all three sides on the pop-up that you are replacing with the plastic tablecloth. The laundry bag in this picture is upside down.

DSCN1268_picmonkeyed

Then insert the poster board and staple it into place, trimming down what you don’t need on the sides. Then staple the tablecloth to the sides and top of the laundry bag. I forgot to photograph this part, sorry. I will admit that I had a bit of difficulty getting this part down. I ended up stapling in the middle first and then working out towards the sides.

DSCN1371_picmonkeyed

And it’s done! I still need to work on some better exterior lighting, but I’m really happy with how this turned out. Especially for such an inexpensive project!


I think that this will allow me to really improve my macro photography! I’ve mostly used it for photographing my jewelry so far, but I can’t wait to use it on some other projects as well!

What do you use for your photography? Have you built any backgrounds or props that you love? I would love to hear about your experiences, so please leave a comment below! I’m always looking for new projects!

Sara (1)

Exploring Grandma’s Attic: Adventures in Jewelry Making

On By SaraIn SpotlightLeave a comment

Confession time: I love jewelry! Like, seriously love jewelry. It might be a problem….but it’s one I’m okay with. Even more so if it is unique jewelry, and at Grandma’s Attic there is plenty of that!

DSCN1121_picmonkeyed

Grandma’s Attic is a store in Ames, Iowa and has so many awesome offerings including handmade jewelry, belly dancing scarves, incense, jewelry repair and custom pieces! This shop is not a new one for me, but instead an old favorite.  I’ve only made jewelry here a couple times, though I’ve shopped here many times. Some of my favorite jewelry is from here! This time was especially fun because I got to introduce one of my friends to the joys of jewelry making!

DSCN1122_picmonkeyed
Christy going over the basics of jewelry making with Salina before we got started.

Salina and I decided to spend a Saturday afternoon in the store exploring the beads and making some new jewelry. It was so much fun!

DSCN1125_picmonkeyed
Just a few of the THOUSANDS of beads available! Aren’t they pretty?!

Narrowing down the choices and deciding what style I wanted to make was so hard! I knew I wanted a necklace, but I went in with no idea of what style/colors to put into that necklace. On the other hand, Salina seemed to know right off she wanted to make a bright, colorful bracelet.

DSCN1126_picmonkeyed

DSCN1128_picmonkeyed
Bracelet in progress!

DSCN1130_picmonkeyed

DSCN1138_picmonkeyed
Not only was I apparently very intent on what I was doing, but Salina is very sneaky with the camera!

DSCN1135_picmonkeyed

Once we had our beads selected and laid out in the pattern we wanted, it was time to start stringing them!

DSCN1147_picmonkeyed
Starting the beading process
DSCN1149_picmonkeyed
Almost done stringing the beads!
DSCN1153_picmonkeyed
Stringing the beads for my necklace.

DSCN1157_picmonkeyed

Once we were done stringing the beads and making sure the fit was what we wanted, Christy would finish off the pieces, adding the clasp and other necessary things to turn it into actual jewelry. And voila! A beautiful piece of jewelry, ready to take home!

Here is how our pieces turned out!

IMG_20151026_1425253661

DSCN1255_picmonkeyed

Review of Experience:

This is probably one of my favorite ways to spend some time with a friend! Not only is it fun and relaxing, but you get something unique to take home and wear! Plus I love that unlike going to a movie or something similar, the conversation just flowed all throughout our time at Grandma’s Attic. We had a great time!

Christy is great with both beginners and repeat visitors. Whether someone needs a rundown of how to start, feedback on a design or help when stuck, she’s always there to help!

Approximate Cost:

This is the other great thing about Grandma’s Attic. You pretty much choose the cost. Beads are priced individually and are wide-ranging. You can make something to suit any budget! You saw a few of the beads available above, but here are a few more!

DSCN1124_picmonkeyed

DSCN1127_picmonkeyed

Other Services Offered:

As I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of different offerings at this store! In addition to offering the make-your-own-jewelry, Christy does jewelry repairs, custom designs and her own jewelry is there for sale too. In fact, her jewelry is usually the case I head straight for! All of the pieces I have bought over the years are ones she has made herself, but she also carries a large inventory of other jewelry as well. Some of it is antique, others just unique, but all of them are pretty awesome!

DSCN1143_picmonkeyed

Other items for sale include, but in no way are limited to, belly dance scarves, a few wall tapestries, incense, perfume bottles, Egyptian-themed artwork and statuary, along with wooden boxes. There is more, but it would be impossible to list them all!

DSCN1145_picmonkeyed

DSCN1144_picmonkeyed

Have you ever made your own jewelry? Did you go to a store like this one, or make it at home? Do you have any stores like this near you? Let me know what you think!