Rosie, Princess and Photographer

Always a smile!

"Shaylynn, WHY ARE YOU BLOWING A FAN IN MY FACE?!"

This is my sister, Rosie. If you've read my blog before, you've probably seen her quite a bit. She is a fearsome little girl who will gladly go defeat any dragon with her super-awesome taekwando skillz gained both from classes and from having four brothers, but she is such a sweetheart and girly-girl, too. Sometimes more of a girly-girl than me (when I was her age I hated it when fantasy books had romance instead of pure adventure. Just today, Rosie spent quite a while debating whether Miri from Princess Academy should be with Peder or the prince.)

Basically she is a real life princess.

Not too long ago I was photographing on of the Aurora Circlets I made (this time, finally with silk in pink champagne to more closely match the ribbon in OuaT), and she was in my studio making some jewelry. Of course I roped her in to being my little model minion. I am such an evil overlord sister. MUAHAhahaha!

She just got her hair cut (it used to reach past her hips) and positively squealed when she saw how "flippy and swingy" her hair is now, especially in these pictures.

I'm going to lose proper English for just a minute and enter the dialect of Tumblrspeak: d'AWWW ALL THE CUTENESS I. CAN'T. EVEN. WHAT.

She also modeled the circlet that Gwen wears as Queen in the BBC show Merlin. I was very excited to be able to create such a close replica, and Rosie was just ecstatic that I FINALLY made some jewelry based on her favorite show.

Then, I gave her a few tips and she photographed some pieces on me!

(Above is a double necklace set inspired by the one that was featured in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, and below is a necklace I handstamped that says "all that is gold does not glitter").

She also got some ones with my face in it which is funny because I can't pull off the whole starry-eyed princess look.

Rosie has been becoming very good at photography and has been getting some beautiful shots of our baby sister "Josie." I should download the photos this weekend and teach her some basic Photoshop editing!

I'm so grateful that she'll come in my studio and pose for me at random times of the day! :) I sure miss her when I'm away at school!

Something Blue {Custom Wedding Jewelry Set}

Something old, something new

Something borrowed, something blue

And a silver sixpence in her shoe.

This summer I was able to create jewelry for a local wedding, including a custom rhinestone necklace for the bride!

She reacts to most metals, so the necklace is made from silver-plated rhinestones montees which I wirewrapped into flower shapes, a modified silver-plated brooch, and sterling silver filigree chain. The entire piece is decorated with freshwater and Swarovski pearls, glass teardrop crystals, and deep blue Swarovski crystals.

I'm so incredibly excited to have gotten the opportunity to design a necklace like this, and I hope the bride loves it!!!

The above photos are three variation ideas we considered but discarded for a more simple, silver style.

This elegant cuff bracelet is the same design that I used for Aurora's circlet, and I actually have another one available on my Shoppe right now! It, too, is silver plated and completely handmade.

I'm really proud of this necklace design, but credit is due where credit is due: I was heavily inspired by the designs of Thyme 2 Dream, a lovely shop selling fairytale jewelry. 

I created two of these jewelry sets, and I believe that they are for the mother of the bride and the mother of the groom. In any case, they are opulent and make me long for the crisp, sunny afternoons of Autumn.

 

The earrings are a little longer than I usually make (mostly because my personal style features only small earrings, so I rarely think to make larger ones). They remind me of golden forests and fairy dust. :)

The flower girl received an adjustable flower ring in rich bluess.

I forgot to take many pictures of these, but I made a Mermaid Blue Evenstar jewelry set for each of the bridesmaids. These Evenstar necklaces and earrings are reversible; one side is dark blue and the other is shiny, iridescent blue. I added small bead dangles on the back, since I put extenders on the clasp. After all, the bridesmaids should be able to make their necklaces sit at the most flattering length on their neck! As a little surprise, I made adjustable silver swirl rings for each of these sets. :)

Here's the picture of the Evenstar that was on my website, which the bride picked when she messaged me:

I also decorated a box for the bride's necklace. It's a box that my brother's watch came in, and I glued scrapbook pieces over all the labels. :) Everything else I put into baggies and drawstring bags, like normal.

This was an incredibly exciting project to work on and I wish the soon-to-be-married couple the best of luck!