Handmade 365

At the beginning of October, I read about a project started by The Tales of Ted and Agnes blog.

To put it simply, the idea is to wear a handmade item everyday for a year and take a photo of it. It can be a scarf knit by your grandmother, a dress made by your extra crafty friend or a little piece of shine you created for yourself.

I figured that since I spend all day every day making handmade stuff....this project has got to be a piece of cake, right?! Right?

Well...taking a photo of myself wearing a pair of my handmade jewels has been a little bit less consistant than I hoped for, but they say that it takes 3 months to build a habit so hopefully I will be able to get this down soon. I have really enjoyed wearing a new item everyday though that I made. It has made me wear a variety of items, not just my old standbys (even though I create mounds of jewelry, I still wear the same five things over and over and over again).

I've been at it for about a week now and have seven days of photos to share with you. I thought each week I would do a recap on the blog, but be sure to check out my instagram or facebook page if you want to see the photos each day.

/Day 1\

Rose gold Swarovski crystals with 14K rose gold filled earwires. Super sparkly and don't you just love the rose gold trend right now? Not available yet in my etsy store, but by the end of the week they will be all photographed and in stock.

/Day 2\

Vintage czech glass jewels with vintage gold plated hammered drops. These are deceptively light and I have them available in a few colors and wear them so often. These are one of my new favorites in my current rotation. Available in my etsy store here.

/Day 3\

One of the first pair of earrings I ever made for myself and my absolute favorite. These have light blue Peruvian opals which have been wire-wrapped in 14K gold and hang from thin, light earwires. These are the only ones available and they are all mine!

/Day 4\

I made these just last week while playing around with some splashes of color. These are vintage brass dangles which have been hand painted with coral on top and fuchsia on the bottom. The ear wires are antiqued brass, so it has the mixed metal and color block trend going on. Available in my etsy store here.

/Day 5\

Sometimes it is best to keep these simple. This is one of those necklaces. Simple, sweet and perfect for everyday wear. A bright sparrow and 14K gold. Available in my etsy store here.

/Day 6\

  

I liked this necklace so much that I wore it two days in a row, messing up my goal of wearing a different item for each day of this project. That is how much I like it. The lotus flower is stamped into the sterling silver and the contrast with the oxidized metal and bright sterling really highlights the design. The chain and pendant are both sterling silver. Available in my etsy store here. 

/Day 7\

 I am really loving gold lately. I never really liked gold jewelry growing up and never thought that I would wear gold. Now....it is what I wear 90% of the time. I love the warmth of the color, I love how it looks on my skin and it really goes well with colors. These earrings have vintage lucite beads in a coral hue with the same gold plated hammered pendants that I wore a few days earlier. I am a creature of habit, what can I say? Available in my etsy store here.

So that about wraps up my first week into the project. I am really loving this idea and am going to try my hardest to stick to it. I think that it will help me grow as a jeweler as well as I get to create fun new pieces more often.

Have a great night everyone!

PS....I am having a 20% off everything sale in my etsy store, so all the pieces above aren't priced any higher than $20.80. Woohoo!

~ With Love, Ashlee ~