A Few New Ones for May.

Rhinestones always seem to hit the spot, and here is one made not just from buttons but with a little square vintage buckle - topped with a deconstructed vintage earring - as the centerpiece.  Buttons and a couple more deconstructed earrings fill in more of the strand:

Necklace #148.  Rhinestones on Japanese chirimen bias tape.

A friend attended a conference at Brown University, and around the corner there in Providence R.I. she found a little junk store with some buttons as well as a big baggie of curious cabechons that may or may not be rootbeer bakelite.  Providence was long the costume jewelry capital of the U.S. - who knows just for what these beauties were intended.  They were a thoughtful gift.  Not long after, Albuquerque's venerable and beloved Morningside Antiques store closed, and in the tray of remaining buttons was a delicate old celluloid buckle, which plays well with the mysterious cabechons.  The buckle may be too delicate for any but the most respectful wearer, even though I have coated all the edges with lacquer (also known as clear nail polish).   We'll see how it plays out.

Necklace #149.  Vintage celluloid buckle and vintage plastic cabechons, with buttons covered in antique kimono silk and small vintage brass buttons - on Japanese chirimen polyester bias tape.

I found a really appealing remnant of old Japanese kimono silk at a yard sale and here mixed it with a heartier old celluloid buckle and some bakelite buttons.  The cream deco ones came from the yard sale of a prominent local jeweler.  

Necklace #150.  Celluoid buckle, bakelite buttons, and buttons covered with vintage Japanese kimono silk, on Japanese cotton bias tape.

A Google + album of the most recent necklaces can be found at https://goo.gl/photos/uJFB3VUDePMFPEbk9.  Click on a picture to find the caption (and if it doesn't appear up at the right, click the little circled "i" for information and it should get that started).  

It Has Been a Spell without New Work or Postings....

But time to start again.

These interestingly-faceted old plastic buttons in rich peacock were still on their card at a local collectibles shop:

Necklace  #146.  Vintage plastic and brass buttons on Japanese cotton bias tape.

And the center red button on this one and the matt-blue buttons with the six little holes came from Paris.

Necklace #147.  Contemporary plastic buttons on Japanese chirimen polyester bias tape.

Maybe more next week!

Time for the Annual Salon des Artistes once again!

Yikes!  The annual Salon des Artistes is Sunday, December 6th (212 Washington St. NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the Nob Hill neighborhood, from 9-4).

This is our official invitation, by creator of exquisite paperie, Bea Lombard.  We are so lucky to have her in our coterie!

So it is the season for blingy things:

like necklace #139, vintage rhinestones and vintage glass on the Japanese chirimen polyester bias tape.  (This one is at Mariposa Gallery in Albuquerque);

and necklace #140, an old rhinestone buckle fragment and vintage rhinestone buttons;

and necklace #137 - vintage rhinestones on the chirimen bias tape (this one is about to leave me);

and necklace #138, a Deco vintage buckle fragment with pewter-tone vintage rhinestone buttons and vintage pallettes.

Fun with  metal and plastics, too:

necklace 142 has a contemporary metal and enamel button in the center and vintage metal buttons - including those stylized Art Nouveau roses, around it (on chirimen polyester bias tape);

and necklace #143 is vintage green Bakelite (on chirimen polyester bias tape).

My photo album of recent work is a Google+ album at https://goo.gl/photos/uJFB3VUDePMFPEbk9. 

For the picture captions, click a photo and then click the little "i" icon.

See you at the Salon!

Some Glitter and Shine, with Thanks to Generous Friends for Their Gifts.

A few new:

Necklace #133. Vintage rhinestone and metal buttons on Japanese chirimen polyester bias tape.

The generosity of friends makes the necklaces possible!  A dance/exercise friend from the Y brought me a bag of buttons that included this metal and rhinestone set, which I combined with an atomic-burst rhinestone button from my long-time stash.

Necklace #134.  Vintage Bakelite buckle and Bakelite buttons on Japanese chirimen polyester bias tape.

This butterscotch Bakelite buckle, a wonderful gift from another friend, sits between apple juice Bakelite buttons and quirky little green ones.

Necklace #135.  Vintage Lucite buttons on Japanese woven cotton bias tape.

Those chunky little amber buttons, a gift from yet another friend, made friends with some favorite pieces in my existing collection.

Necklace #136.  Vintage glass buttons on Japanese chirimen polyester bias tape.

My aunt sent an elegant little bag of buttons for my birthday, including this Deco pink one in the center.  Various old glass buttons complete the necklace.  I was amused to find my reflection in the beetle-wing colored buttons next to the central one.  

I kind of liked the moody effect of this one just dropped onto a table top.  

If you'll be near Albuquerque on December 6th, save the date for the annual Salon des Artistes sale, which will be in a lovely home not far from me (more posting, with address, before that time) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  And again, the link to the album of my current work is https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipNCcBZ7r_-XGHj1LK8QAEr4t_mLtuikEPy_rWix.  Click on a picture and then click on the little "i" in a white circle, to the upper right of the image, to get the caption.

It's Been a Long Time Since a Post. Here is a Bit That's New.

A family emergency has kept me from posting and slowed my production, but here are a few necklaces for catch-up:

Necklace #129.  A broken buckle from a yard sale mixes with vintage brass buttons on purple chirimen bias tape.

And then a couple celebrating the colors and patinas of plastic buttons from decades past:

Necklace #130.  The three big buttons all have rough and smooth areas, all in luscious color.  The little shiny black buttons close things off.  All on purple chirimen bias tape.

Necklace #131.  Shiny patinas and great colors on Japanese woven cotton bias tape.

Again, Google+ has changed the album formats a little.  The link to my current work is https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipNCcBZ7r_-XGHj1LK8QAEr4t_mLtuikEPy_rWix.
In order to get the caption with the necklace number and the description, click on the individual picture and then click on the little encircled "i", and the information will come up to the top right.

No New Pictures Today (Soon), but An Update About my Photo Album

Google in its infinite wisdom has made changes to the way Google photo albums are made, look, and are shared.  My album of current work now has a link of https://goo.gl/photos/uJFB3VUDePMFPEbk9.  In order to get the captions, including the necklace number, of each photo, click on one of the photos and then look up to the right side of the screen for a letter "i" (for "info") inside a circle.  It's the middle icon.  Click the little "i" and a caption will appear on the right.  If you continue to scroll through the photos, the information displays will stay with you; if you go back to the whole album, repeat the above steps to get another caption next time you click on an individual picture.  Sigh - just when you get used to something.  Thanks for your patience!  A friend discovered I had holes in the blog where pictures used to be.  This happens when I move photos out of the "current" album and into the album of earlier work.  I just went through and fixed them all - I hope!  The link to the album of earlier works is https://goo.gl/photos/GpN6kRMTVzpzjiQAA.

Buttons from Paris!

Back from a lovely trip.  Went to phenomenal button shop in Montmartre, Dam Boutons.

They don't allow photography in the store, but they have lovely pictures on their website, www.damboutons.com.  I wish I had taken a picture of their handsome black and white Spitz, though, sitting in that doorway and vetting the customers.

 

The mouths are from Salvador Dali (they had a number of buttons celebrating the artists that hung out in Montmartre).  The big red ones are actually from a trim shop that we passed walking through the Arts and Metiers district.

And then there was Le Petit Pan, a store that features charming things for tiny children in fabrics from Japan, but one of their storefronts in the Marais was fabric lengths, buttons and trim.

Now, time to get back to work!