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I just found this great site, Cut out and Keep that I knew I had to share with everyone. The site is all about handmade designers sharing their creations and getting chosen to share the how-to to site visitors. This necklace I chose for the final $5 handmade holiday gift idea this week is great for a mother, grandmother, older daughter and more. It’s classic so you know they will love this piece forever.
This is what you need:
This delicate necklace is made up of loops of chain, joined easily with jump rings. To complete the look, pearls and glass bicones (I would say that you could use TOP QUALITY FACETED ICE CRYSTAL RONDELLE BEADS for this too) are added on headpins, to give this piece a vintage feel. *this makes it more…but the Onyx beads are a must.
Go to the site for great step-by-step instructions with visuals.
Name: Regina Pruss
Occupation: Jewelry Designer/Graphic Designer
Location: Detroit, Michigan
Brand Name: Chain Chain Chained
What is your favorite blog? A Chain of Events (mine), His and Herse
Who is your favorite designer? Anna Sui, Betsey Johnson, Wendy Mullen (clothes) Alison Woodward of Reverie (jewelry)
Why did you start designing jewelry? I started making jewelry at the end of 2005. At around that time I was spending a lot of time behind a desk, designing corporate brochures, letterheads, business cards, you get the picture. Uninspired and bored, I wanted distraction, something to keep my hands busy. At the time I never imagined chain chain chained would grow into a business.
What inspires your designs? Objects around me. People’s personal style. My mood.
Where are your items sold? Few boutiques around the U.S. Canada, the U.K. and Australia
How would you describe your designs? Humorous, Vintage, Old World, Bohemian, Feminine, For Everyone!
If you could have one person wear your designs, who would that be? Amy Leang
What would you say could be the theme song for your designs? Well, isn’t it obvious? Chain Chain Chain…Chain of Fools, Detroit’s own Ms. Aretha Franklin.
Do you plan what to wear each day around your jewelry? Sometimes.
 
Style style is all about inspiration. Here are a few styles I found on some of my favorite street style sites. *This is the type of look I would like to see for the November contest!:) Share your personal street style:)
From The Sartorialist
  Jak and Jil blog
I love how turquoise can be worn with everything!
 Beaded jewelry for your shoes!
Face Hunter
Even beads in hair:)
Look Book
 
This is a month of being thankful. And since we are so thankful for our fabulous customers, we want to showcase all of your beautiful designs this month. For this month, we would like you to take a picture of yourself wearing your beaded design and post it on our Facebook fan page. Like previous months, the person that will win this month will be the person with the most likes. As a tie-breaker if someone has the same amount of likes, the most comments and likes will win. *Remember, friends and family need to become a fan of of Foxy Findings to vote. All entries need to be posted by November 30, 2009. The winner will be announced on December 1, 2009. (This is such a great gift for Christmas:) The winner will receive a $100 shopping spree on Foxy Findings, plus being featured in the Foxy Findings newsletter (sign up for the newsletter for your chance to win a $50 gift certificate every Friday!) and blog.
It always seems so difficult to come up with beading projects/designs for men unless they are into jewelry (which many men seem to not be) I thought that this project sounds fun and personalizes something that many men have to wear everyday anyway—ties. I think that personalizing a printed tie with seed beads (which are usually around 99 cents!) makes the project fun, simple, and unique. The print can be anything your heart desires and whatever your level of experience with sewing seed beads. I would do a circle print or a diamond design like I am using….just something you know how to add the seed beads. And it doesn’t need to be the entire tie seed bead-ed. It can also be a sporadic application wherever you think it looks good. Or, it could be a basic tie with one color and seed bead a design of the first letter of the person’s name. Find the tie at the thrift store (usually costs around a dollar or less), or use one that your father, brother, husband may not have worn in a while (which is free:).
Plus, here are some more ideas for beaded gift designs for men from About.com.
It’s the beginning of November and the holidays are fast approaching. Time to plan now to make them special! This series of article will look into the new trends of making the Holidays a fun creative and meaningful time for all.
With the focus still on the struggling economy people are still being careful with their money. Retailers know this and many are already slashing prices now, instead of waiting for the traditional date of Black Friday to do so. Instead of focusing on the quantity of gifts many are putting more emphasis on the quality of them. But how can we make the holidays fun while scaling back in the amount we spend?
One way to do this is by planning a family baking day. Get together with several friends or relatives, and make a list of cookies and things you want to bake that day. By combining the baking with others, you can make different types of cookies. This also helps to cut down the cost of the baking by splitting the cost with others too.
But you don’t just have to do baking, some of the time could be spent putting together some cookie and brownies in a jar for gifts too. These make wonderful gifts by themselves or by being put into a basket with other home made goodies.
What other ways can we creatively make the Holidays wonderful? Find out next week with my next article.
Three old tin Christmas cookie cutters courtesy of PatternMania. Available at time of publication.
Yummy Cookie Recipes courtesy of waialuaplantation. Available at time of publication.
This is a series article so make sure to check back for updates with more great ideas from Handmade News!
Yes, we all would LOVE to be the ones to create handmade gifts for everyone, but if you just don’t have the time, then, support handmade entrepreneurs from places like Artfire.
Do you have teens that aren’t into Santa anymore and really just want gift cards? Why not still make it fun with this hip stocking.
Couture Christmas Stocking-Denim/Gold-Store Stocking Stuffers in Style
Who could say no to this little Christmas Moose???
Amigurumi Christmas Moose
 Everyone needs Christmas cards…you can even request personalization on some of these handmade cards, so don’t feel bad about asking.
Vintage Handmade Art Deco Collage Christmas Card
 Dress up the house with handmade items for Christmas.
Autumn Afternoon 8oz Hand-Poured All Natural Soy Wax Candle
 Great Christmas decorations for around the house.
Blizzard Bunch Snowmen Wreath
When fall approaches I think warm thoughts like hot apple cider and cinnamon, pumpkin pie with cinnamon and cinnamon rolls:) So, I decided that Cinnabar just feels appropriate for this week gem of the week. Cinnabar usually comes in vermilion red, or brownish hue if the the gem is not pure. The name comes from the Greek – “kinnabari.” In Latin it was sometimes known as minium, meaning also “red lead”, though both of these terms now refer uniquely to lead tetroxide. Cinnabar is similar to the gem, Quartz which we have reviewed before.
Interesting fact: The most popularly known use of cinnabar is in Chinese carved lacquerware, a technique that apparently originated in the Song Dynasty.
Who this stone is made for: I keep sharing who stones are best for since it is the holiday season and people are wanting to be creative with their gifts. This stone is best for creative people as well as business owners (who have to be creative to keep their business going:).
This stone works best with: Zincite, Red Garnet, Cuprite, Carnelian, and Black Tourmaline.
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