Stuff for my brother’s wedding

2011 in review: My brother Mike married the lovely Erica on October 8th of last year in San Francisco. It is one of the favorite weddings I’ve been to. Hard to beat gorgeous locations, beautiful weather, fleet week, vintage trolley ride between ceremony and reception, live band, passion fruit cake, and beer favors. I’m pleased to have helped with some of it.

Mike really wanted a live band and couldn’t think how else he could get one. He was pretty well ecstatic when I offered our jazz and blues band MoonPie to play at his wedding, though he is a rock enthusiast. I’m pleased to say the band had a great time and got all the guests on their feet to dance.

Morgan and I also offered to brew beer for the wedding and were sad to find out we couldn’t serve our beer. BUT we could bottle and give away as favors. We started brewing in August and produced a wit, rye IPA, sweet stout, and barleywine, which should have aged pretty well by now, so if you have a bottle stick it in the fridge so you can enjoy it tonight! While everything finished fermenting on time, we were down to the wire bottling and designing our label. The logo evolved from something reminiscent of a mud flap girl to a more refined art deco and art nouveau style, sort of optical illusion. (All photos except for bottom left were taken by Rhee Bevere and her crack team of shutterbugs.)

Meanwhile, while rushing around getting beer bottled and labeled, band organized, working and being in-and-out of town left me with little time to make my dress, and I just had to make my dress. I couldn’t wear just any old thing to my brother’s wedding! I had long ago chose Butterick 4919 pattern of a dress from 1952 and a fabric from my closet that I bought 10 years ago, a beautiful dark red nearly purple taffeta with black velvet flocking in a swirling flowery design. I only had two days to sew it together, which was just enough time. I didn’t think it matched the picture on the pattern all that well, and sometimes that happens with patterns. It didn’t show off enough décolletage. I used some elastic strips to pull open the neck more. After the wedding I altered it to make the ties come from the back zipper instead of the sides, and added a buckle to the ties in the back that I found at a thrift store. I styled my hair 1950s as best I could and used one of my favorite necklaces (pictured bottom right).

I resolve to do BLANK in 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Before the world ends according to the Mayan calendar, this year I will:

1. Make all my clothes. I will not buy any clothing! Well, maybe shoes… No, Maggie. No shoes! No more shoes.

2. Blog more, at least once a month or 12 posts a year, which means make jewelry.

3. Finish and post a new jewelry project every month.

4. Brew beer once a month (a carryover from last year, and I almost did it, too, just slacked off at the end of the year).

5. Learn to speak Italian. Free CDs from the library, yay!

6. Renew my passport.

7. Reduce the crap in my closet by a third.

The Allure of Green and Purple

Again my inventory has allowed me to make a beautiful, complex piece that will be entered in a contest. I realize that I might be trying to fool myself into purchasing a great many beads in the future… No, I can’t do that again. Space in the office is at a premium. Remember, the pack ratting ends with me!

I used four different shapes and hues of green adventurine; round, faceted round, diagonal square, and faceted teardrop. Though most of the green is a subdued color, those faceted beads catch the eye with their sparkle. I’m actually pretty pleased that the diagonal square beads fit so nicely with the diamond-shaped woven focal piece. I used gold and purple accents. The light colored beads on the focal piece are actually a really light amethyst, but it’s extremely hard to tell because the green is so dominant behind it. The other accent beads are purple mountain jade and Swarovski crystal.

I hope to be making similar necklaces soon using garnet and amethyst beads and sterling silver findings. However, right now, I need to catch up on some orders. It was a busy weekend at MaggieMakesIt…

Stay tuned for Medival hair jewelry…

Sparkly, Pearly Barrettes

Perhaps, my accumulation of items was a blessing in disguise. Now I have enough stuff to make all the items I’ve been waiting so long to make. Like the barrettes below. They are made with natural and dyed freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystal, silver-plated barrettes, gold-colored copper wire, and long-lasting nylon cord. The fringes are attached with sterling silver wire.

Dark rose dyed freshwater pearls with pink and fuchsia Swarovski crystals. This simple bar design is versatile for wearing horizontal or vertical.

Here is a bronze, orange and smoke topaz version with a fringe.

Last but not least, something to tempt the brides.

Stay tuned for geometric green adventurine…

 

Bohemian Stylin’

I got an East Indian motif bead mix a while back which sat in one of the shoe boxes for ages. See what I finally made out of it.

Heaven forbid I should begin with my favorite. I like it so much I entered it in a contest. The nine rows of memory wireare wired together in several places to keep it together. Each row gets a little longer to accommodate the neck curve. The danglies terminate in Chinese brass replica coin. I’m definitely mixing mediums here, but I think it works; I’m staying east…

I’ve wanted to do the ring attached to the bracelet for ages. Yay! I finally got to do it. Commonly this style is called “slave bracelet”, which is a term I don’t care for so much. The only other term I could find was “handflower”, which I like way better. I also entered this in a contest. I hope I win.

Well, I don’t want to post pictures of everything I made during this jewelry arc. How about you go to my website and click on “Search”. Type in acrylic and have it gather all the items for you to browse through at your leisure.

Stay tuned for sparkly, pearly barrettes…

Old Calendars repurposed into Postcards

You’ve already read my complaints about too much inventory. In addition to pack-ratting beading items, I also save fabric and old calendars. In order to get things moving out of storage I have set myself up a little rotation. It goes: jewelry, sewing, postcards. I really should work my novels into the rotation…

During the jewelry arc, I try to make at least seven items. Getting out the lights and other photography aids would seem like a production otherwise (I’d leave them up all the time, but they take up a lot of space and I do share the office). Then I typically have a sewing project. You saw my last one, the awesome robe that makes you want to stand on a stone veranda with a pipe in hand looking debonair. And now the postcards. I get a beautiful 52-week calendar from Mom every year. I can’t bear to throw it away. I have a cubby full of them. It’s National Geographic and the pictures are too beautiful. I buy a pack of 4×6 index cards, a bottle of rubber cement ,and cut the photos to fit. Viola! Instant postcards. I use them as Gift Certificates cards as well as the usual note to a friend.

Stay tuned for Bohemian-style jewelry…

Duvet Transformed into Sumptuous Victorian-Style Robe

Behold, our old duvet cover. Beautiful red brocade and the adorable five-month-old Krau (short for Baron Krausen von Dopplebock). In January, I made the old duvet into a sumptuous Victorian-style robe, very Sherlock Holmes. I washed as much cat hair off as I could. I think Krau has a nostalgic feeling about these covers. I made him a bed out of the pillow slips so he would leave the rest of the robe alone…

I hoped it would fit me, but sometimes the pattern says one thing about final measurements and doesn’t stick to it. I used a regular bathrobe pattern, but made the skirt a little fuller and longer. I used some corduroy Mom gave me ages ago for the collar and cuffs contrast, and I added a gold piping to the wide collar. The result is a very kingly, heavy, warm robe. My tall friend Chris modeled for me as the waist is too low for me. I’m currently trying to find this beautiful robe a new home. If I can’t find a friend to take it, maybe you’ll see it on eBay.

Neda’s Earrings

I know! Shame on me for being lazy and not blogging. I blame the recent cold; it paralyzes me and makes me want to curl up in bed. I also blame my cat, the Baron Krausen von Dopplebock, for being such a bad example. Oh, and I went back to work full time last week…

So check out these babies! My cousin Neda made these for me this Christmas. A sort of DNA double helix style. (I must also mention her sister Tara here, who made me a ladder style bracelet the year before.) I’ve got many complements on them. Thank you, girls.

2011 Beer Schedule

I know this is a jewelry blog, but Maggie makes beer, too. Yesterday, I made an Extra Special Bitter (ESB), a British Style Pale Ale, which is now starting to happily bloop in the fermenter. I’ve had great success using this recipe in the past (thanks, Jamil) and this is the first time ALL the ingredients are organic! Yay! I did it almost all by myself, with Morgan just being my brewery monkey. And no mistakes!

My beer goals for this year are to brew once a month. I have several things on my list, mostly British styles: Barley Wine, Southern Brown, maybe an Old Ale; but also Robust Porter, Baltic Porter, and Alt. That’s not 11 beers, but I’ll probably pick a few to make several times for practice.

Morgan and I will both be making beer for my brother’s wedding in October. We are also considering giving fermented gifts (beer and cider) for the holidays next year and are discussing what recipes to use. Suggestions are appreciated.

I’ll get back to jewelry soon. I really wanted to do a sewing project, but beer stuff keeps taking up the dining room/fabric cutting table. Soon…

Classy Old Favorites

Can you ever go wrong with sparklies and pearls? I don’t think so. Simple, timeless, elegant. I needed to restock this freshwater pearl and Swarovski crystal necklace.

While I did that, I thought, I’m just going to make several with different colors.

Classic black and white necklace. I ran out of this bead, so no matching bracelet… yet.

Red and white…

… and matching bracelet.

Olive green and white…

… and matching bracelet.

Enjoy.