A Special Gift

I put together a little something special for my friend Diane's birthday.

 

 

I found this sweet little planter at the flea market.  It's very old, I'm guessing from the 1950's or 1960's.

 

I placed a white flocked bottle brush tree into the back side, tucked some glittery tulle at the base of the tree, and then loaded the tree with all sorts of bejeweled goodies.

 

See the porcelain birthday cake in her right hand?  Her thumb was broken off of her left hand so I remedied that by adding a gift charm to it.

 

 

On the very top of the tree, I glued a pearl-seeded earring; it's concave on the backside and molded to the tip of the tree perfectly.

Sprinkled all over the tree are little birthday-themed bits.

 

 And because Diane is a police officer, I added this...

...And Saint Michael.

 

She has the most darling face!

 

 

I got a real kick putting this together!  Don't you just love it when you can repurpose something old and broken into something new and special?!

Vintage Costume Jewelry Christmas Trees

I've been hording collecting vintage costume jewelry for a few years now in anticipation of making these bejeweled Christmas trees.

Apparently, this was a very popular trend back in the early 1970s.  I can't imagine why these fell out of vogue because I think they're absolutely stunning!  And what better way to upcycle broken, damaged, tarnished, or out-of-style jewelry?

I had so much fun making these!  And it was super simple...

Gather your jewels ~ any costume brooches, earrings, necklaces and bracelets will do!  Grab a pair of wire cutters, a picture frame, a piece of fabric for your background (I used velvet), spray adhesive and your choice of craft glue.

Cut a piece of fabric about an inch larger than the opening of your frame and using the spray adhesive, glue it to the cardboard that comes with your frame.  After it's dry, pop it back into your frame, ditching the glass (unless you're using a shadow box frame, the frame will be too shallow to fit the jewelry and the glass).

Lay out your jewels in the shape of a Christmas tree, or any shape for that matter, and when you're satisfied with your design, begin gluing each jewel to the fabric.

I began by first choosing my tree topper and then worked my way down and out.  I did my best to form perfect symmetry though this is really impossible when you don't have two of every piece of jewelry.  I must've rearranged my jewels about 20 times before I was satisfied I had the best design.

Several of the jewelry pieces I collected were missing gems, so I pried out gems from pieces I didn't want to use, dabbed a bit of glue onto them and then used my tweezers to place them into the pieces for my trees.  Good as new!

This is the one I made for my daughter.  I chose jewels with all sorts of color ~ red, blue, pink and purple.  Natalie especially loves the bow "tree trunk" and the ornate black frame ($4 I think from TJ Maxx).

See the mini cameo on the left?

This is the one I made for my BFF, Melanie.  Diamonds and pearls and stones in all sorts of blue shades.  Love how all the bling pops off the black velvet and white frame.  Oh, and though you can't really see it in these pictures, after I painted this frame white, I brushed on some silver glitter paint.

This is the one I kept for myself.  I used mostly diamond and pearl pieces and added a few pink-ish gems.

I went ahead and gave Natalie and Melanie their trees so that they'll be able to enjoy them all Christmas season this year.  And so that I could share this post with you ~ you may want to give these a try yourself!

I love them so much that I'm trying to decide on a non-Christmas themed design so that I can leave it out and admire it all year long.

I probably have a good 10 lbs of jewelry left over so I'll likely make more trees ~ maybe list them in my Etsy shop and website.  Tis the season to get crafty!

Retro Revival's First Craft Fair

          I showed my Retro Revival wares at my first-ever craft fair this past weekend. The fair was part of the Dr. Phillips High School theater department’s winter festival where about 50 vendors were invited to set up shop for festival goers. I decided this would be a good first fair for me to participate in because I anticipated a relatively small crowd – something I could manage with no experience and a somewhat depleted inventory of product because of the run on Christmas/holiday sales on www.retrorevival.biz, www.etsy.com and www.ebay.com. In the two weeks leading up to the fair I sewed like a mad woman and showed up with about 100 shower caps, 60 aprons and 30 tote bags.

          When I arrived at the fair I was nervous…would people like my creations? Would I have enough product? Would I actually sell anything? Would people be friendly? To stave off severe disappointment, I conditioned myself to low expectations; if I sold a mere $50.00 (enough to cover my vendor entrance fee), I’d be happy and anything above that would be frosting. The entire experience was really fantastic! People seemed to love my things and they bought like crazy! I sold almost all of my aprons, many of my shower caps and a few tote bags – way beyond my expectations!


          I also met some incredibly friendly and helpful people – other vendors! When I mentioned I was new to the craft fair scene, almost everyone was eager to share advice and tips and offered words of encouragement.


          Having had a couple of days now to reflect on my experience, this is my top 10 list of lessons learned; other new crafters may find this helpful:


10. Limit nonessential stuff. I brought a few Christmas decorations to add to my table and decided that although I thought they looked really pretty, they distracted from what I was trying to sell.
9. If you’re selling clothing, wear it! Many people approached to compliment me on the apron I was wearing and this was the perfect opportunity to show them all of my aprons for sale.
8. If you can, take a lamp and turn it on. Having a pretty, vintage lamp not only added a little ambiance but added to the retro feel of my entire set up and as the sun began to set, it really helped illuminate my product.
7. Have a pair of comfortable shoes handy. I must admit that I couldn’t bear to ruin my look with tennis shoes – had to wear my fabulous heels – but while lugging my product to and from the car and while taking breaks I did slip on my comfy shoes. Oooh, did that feel good!
6. Prep your bags ahead of time. On the first day I brought with me shopping bags (paper with twine-like handles), Retro Revival stickers and tissue paper so that I could wrap each purchase for my customers. I soon realized that pulling out the bags, placing a sticker and fighting with tissue paper, all while the customer was standing there waiting patiently, was just too nerve racking and a time waster. That same night, I placed tissue in the bags, stuck on the stickers and refolded them. The next day I was able to quickly whip them out – no fumbling and much quicker.
5. Stay busy. Fortunately, this was not a challenge for me because during much of the show customers were browsing or buying at my booth, but I did notice that some other vendors who did not have customers sat behind their tables appearing to do nothing or reading a book. I am convinced that activity draws customers. Even when no one was at my booth I took those opportunities to straighten my items, restock low inventory, anything to draw attention to my product.
4. Share a cookie! On the last day of the show I was set up next to a delightful woman who extended a plate of homemade cookies at everyone who walked by her table. She greeted them with, “Would you like a Christmas cookie?” Most people accepted her treats and almost all of them stopped to admire and/or buy her jewelry. Fantastic idea and I’m definitely going to do this at my next show.
3. When a potential buyer approaches your table and says something like, “Your aprons are pretty,” don’t respond with just a thank you. Instead, respond with “Thank you. I make all of my aprons from vintage 1950’s tablecloths; let me give you a closer look.” Or insert some phrase that explains why your product is unique, or a good deal, or whatever will entice them further; a simple thank you will likely end the conversation and your opportunity to sell your product.
2. Test out all of your systems. Before the show I was very excited to find a reasonably priced credit/debit card service designed for micro businesses like mine. Although a vast majority of my customers paid with cash, a couple used credit. On my first day, I picked up my cell phone to process a customer’s card and realized (by the recording on the other end) that I hadn’t set up a pin code online. Darn! Lesson learned – always test out your systems, whether phone, lamp, credit processing BEFORE your show.

1. Get to know your neighbors. I noticed almost immediately that about half of the vendors sat quietly behind their tables throughout the show and never mingled with other vendors. I decided to meet the other vendors to see what they were selling, look at pricing, get ideas for setting an attractive display, make contacts, ask questions and learn new tips. I am so glad I did this! I met some very nice, intelligent and helpful women who were enthusiastic about answering my questions and giving me advice.


          Since the fair I am back at the sewing machine in preparation for my next show – I’ll keep you posted.