Introducing DURANGO!

Well, I settled on a name for the necklace I finished last night. Since the origin of the stone used for the focal is the State of Durango in Mexico and in honor of the the southwestern color palette - I'm calling it "Durango". It comes with matching earrings, too! The square stone donut was one I received in a blog partners goodie pack from Rings and Things. You can find "Durango" for sale on Etsy.

Vintage jewelry week at Caraway Cache!

I'm going to be posting lots of vintage jewelry this week at CarawayCache! New pieces will be listed daily so check back often. Some available now include:

Vintage Copper NW Indian ORCA Pendant

Vintage Carved Bone Elephant Necklace

Look for these goodies later in the week:

Vintage 80's GIVENCHY Choker

Vintage 60's Flower Starburst Brooch

Mod 60's Silver Cuff Bracelet with Abolone

Vintage Woven Pearl Choker Necklace

New Necklace, No Name...

Here is a new necklace I made tonight - I have no name for it yet but, hopefully, soon. Once I think of what to call this beauty it will be available on Etsy. I hope you like it!

Keeping me warm today...

Here are two things I can't do without these days...

The candle holder is a vintage piece of Frankoma pottery with a gingerbread scented tea light from Ikea. The coffee mug is a gift from my friend Cheryl. It fits my hand perfectly and, whether on not it's true, coffee just tastes better in this mug than in any other!

Happy Holidays!

Morning Coffee Quotes

Dreaming of Summer - Northern Wisconsin (Summer 2010)

"It's surprising how many persons go through life without ever recognizing that their feelings toward other people are largely determined by their feelings toward themselves."
- Sydney J. Harris

"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."
- Bob Dylan

"In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted."
- Bertrand Russell

"The worst evil of all is to leave the ranks of the living before one dies."
- Seneca

"A deadline is negative inspiration. Still, it's better than no inspiration at all."
- Rita Mae Brown

"We know we're getting old when the only thing we want for our birthday is not to be reminded of it."
- Unknown

"Caution is the eldest child of wisdom."
- Victor Hugo

"There are two kinds of men who never amount to much: those who cannot do what they are told, and those who can do nothing else."
- Curtis Cyrus

"An unemployed court jester is nobody's fool."
- Sylvia Fine Kaye

"The trouble with talking too fast is that you may say something you haven't thought of yet."
- Ann Landers (Esther Pauline Friedman)

"Old age isn't so bad when you consider the alternative."
- Maurice Chevalier

"You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips."
- Oliver Goldsmith

"To accuse others for one's misfortunes is a sign of want of education; to accuse oneself shows that one's education has begun; to accuse neither oneself nor others shows that one's education is complete."
- Epictetus

"Courage is fear that has said its prayers."
- Dorothy Bernard

"Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power."
- P. J. O'Rourke

"Better to trust the man who is frequently in error than the one who is never in doubt."
- Eric Sevareid

Miranda

Finally finished! Find out more about Miranda by visiting my shop on Etsy.

Vintage treasures to find this week!

I took LOTS of photos yesterday of vintage goodies to post on CarawayCache. Here are some items to look for...

Posted Yesterday

Antique German WICKER Sewing Basket full of Supplies

Vintage SOUVENIR Scarf from Venice Italy

DESTASH Junk Jewelry Bead Lot for Crafting Wearing or Harvest

This lot also includes these beads!!

Great Items coming later in the week!!

This pretty red floral tin from England

A beautiful vintage lap/baby quilt

Super mod resin daisy wall decorations

Be sure to visit CarawayCache through the week for these and more!

All I can say is...

...holy crap!

I happened on this video on Binkaminka's Bead Therapy and it made my eyes pop! Literally! Chinese designer Guo Pei created these stunning looks. As with most truly couture looks, you won't see these just wandering down the street in your neighborhood but they are inspiring and worthy of a daydream or two. Enjoy :) 

Inspiration in Blue and Turquoise

A little gathering of treasures...

 ...in calming blues and turquoise...

 ...from a mix of cultures...

 ...to bring thoughts of Caribbean waters and mountain streams...

 ...cool nights in the desert southwest...

...peace.

Southwestern Gypsy Cowgirl Steampunk...

... how's that for an intro?! That's how I'm describing a new collection of jewelry pieces added to my shop just this afternoon.

First up is Cowgirl Steampunk SOUTHWESTERN Treasure Necklace...

...the making of which led to some bracelets and a pair of earrings.

TUCSON Southwestern Beaded Treasure Bracelet

CRYSTAL BEAR Southwestern Beaded Bracelet

Copper STEAMPUNK Earrings

A pretty treasury in Blue and Turquoise

I love blue and turquoise together! Actually, I haven't found a color yet that I don't think turquoise goes with :)
Please feel free to visit the original treasury page on Etsy - click and comment, if you like. From there you can visit some of these great shops!

(Don't forget about the "Blue and Turquoise" sale going on this week at CindyCaraway!)

Morning Coffee Quotes

A Winter's Night in Chicago just before snow (Dec 3, 2010)

"The three hardest tasks in the world are neither physical feats nor intellectual achievements, but moral acts: to return love for hate, to include the excluded, and to say, I was wrong."
- Sydney J. Harris

"Those who understand only what can be explained understand very little."
- Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

"The shallow consider liberty a release from all law, from every constraint. The wise man sees in it, on the contrary, the potent Law of Laws."
- Walt Whitman

"Be sincere, be brief; be seated."
- Franklin D. Roosevelt

"To know a person's religion we need not listen to his profession of faith but must find his brand of intolerance."
- Eric Hoffer

"There are two kinds of failures:  those who thought and never did, and those who did and never thought."
- Dr. Laurence J. Peter

"Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something and has lost something."
- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

"I am more afraid of an army of 100 sheep led by a lion than an army of 100 lions led by a sheep."
- Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (Talleyrand)

"The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy."
- H. L. Mencken

"I think it is an immutable law in business that words are words, explanations are explanations, promises are promises - but only performance is reality."
- Harold Geneen

"It's better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared."
- Whitney Young

"It is not what a man knows, but what he thinks of in time."
- Mark Twain

"True remorse is never just a regret over consequences; it is a regret over motive."
- Mignon McLaughlin

"Genius is the ability to act rightly without precedent -- the power to do the right thing the first time."
- Elbert Hubbard

"The mind cannot long act the role of the heart."
- Francois de la Rochefoucauld

Serendipity

"Serendipity" - the fortunate convergence of events or a lucky discovery. That's how I felt about this piece as it came together from a collection of vintage jewelry bits and bobs.

 This necklace features a beaded bead made by me many years ago that has finally found it's purpose! Shiny silver and rhinestones were the perfect companions for the gray and violet tones. This stunning piece measures 23" long.

You can find "Serendipity" in my shop on Etsy.

New Upcycled Jewelry

There was a flurry of jewelry-making in my studio last night as all bits and bobs in shades of gold were dug out of boxes and bins. At the end of the evening, three new creations emerged, upcycled from those odd bits! Here are "Collage", "Wings" and "Mint Flower" - all are available at CindyCaraway on Etsy.

Collage

Wings

Mint Flower

Morning Coffee - Bergdorf Goodman's Holiday Windows

Well, if this video is any indication, it is safe to say that steampunk is alive and well - at least it is at Bergdorf-Goodman's!! I found this great video at "Plays With Needles". What a great job this would be, right??
 Enjoy :)

Introducing "Lady Grey"!!

Here she is, all finished and looking pretty! Yay! :)
You can find out more about "Lady Grey of Winterset" by visiting my shop on Etsy.

Christmas Jewelry listings

Well, as some of you know, I have never made holiday/event specific jewelry before but thought maybe I'd give it a try for Christmas this year. While watching holiday movies last night (to get myself in the mood!) I made a simple necklace and a cuff bracelet. I still have a bag full of red, green and gold goodies but here are some shots of my meager first attempts (both of which you can find for sale in my shop on Etsy):

Christmas Rose cuff bracelet

Red and Green Holiday Ruffle Necklace

Honey Dipped Pink and Brown

Here's the new goodie gathering for my next fiber project. This piece is inspired by yet another page from that same old catalog! (I'm getting alot of good out of that one!) This little "mood bag" features a combination of honey gold, rosey pinks and warm browns and maybe some antique gold or aged brass. I still have a few touches to add to "Lady Gray" but I'm looking forward to getting started on this next piece.

Here is a shot of a bit of the original catalog page