I made a new circle pendant today using some lovely earthy colours. You know how I love making and wearing wrap bracelets. This blue wrap bracelet starts with cream beads and moves through the tones to end with navy blue pearls, in an ombre effect. This little smasher is a customer order, but I am going to make some more, I love the ombre look.
Wrap bracelets are one of my favourites pieces to make and to wear. They are super comfortable, can be layered up for a more dramatic look. I can make them with sparkle beads or earthy wood and clay beads and I love them both and both like to be worn together or alone. I think the best part is choosing the beads I am going to use. In fact I am about to make a blue ombré effect wrap and I can’t wait to get the beads out to get started. I will share when I have made it, I see it starting with cream and ending with navy. This bracelet sitting on a pumpkin is a chunky casual wrap made with wood, lucite, grey mother of pearl and some gorgeous blue snake beads. One of the constants in these bracelet is that they all fasten with a careful chosen vintage button, many of which are mother of pearl, all of which are lovely. I like to wear jewelry, and bracelets are my pieces of …
Do you have an earthy heart? I think I do, I like being outdoors, running, walking anywhere – to the library, to school, to the gym, wandering through the little wooded area at the end of our street or hiking a hilly trail. I don’t even care if it is raining or snowing although I am not a fan of frying under the hot sun. While I am outside I am gathering colours and textures. Taking photos, gathering acorns and empty acorn cups or vibrant leaves to press flat and crisp when I get home. I am always finding pressed leaves in the diary or in one of my fat notebooks which I have kept from the year or years past. Crispy but still vibrant leaves tucked into the pages for future discovery. In this heart, I have used some earth colours without making it a season specific piece. I don’t want to be told when I can wear a piece of jewelry by making it too Autumny or holiday specific, so I am not …
I decided to use the name CatsEatDogs in 2001 after rejecting Mango Grace (which I quite like). Alas, I don’t know where the name came from apart from the initials C.E.D. were my initials at the time. Here is what I wrote in my notebook on September 7th 2001 “Jewelry range called Cats Eat Dogs. Labels – a cartoon cat eating a dog. The cat being big with a huge mouth and the dog running in” Blimey, I am not sure of the lovely image that conjours up…. but wait, there are sketches…I quite like where the last one is going actually. Maybe I should have another go at that one. Look what else I found in my old sketchbook/scrapbook. Looks like a pom pom blanket. Be still my pom pom loving heart! Do you keep a notebook for ideas/sketches/cuttings? I still do and although I like magazines on the iPad, I really like a magazine made from paper I can cut up and stick in my book. I love that I have lots of …
I sat myself down last week to find a font I could use for all of my CatsEatDogs banners and profiles. I like to look at typography, but I am no expert and rarely does one jump out yelling ‘pick me’! My trawl did not go unrewarded as I found a lovely new font and I have changed my Etsy banner and my Facebook page and my lovely blog too. Now, I need you to be impressed because I managed it all on the dreaded Photoshop which I am worse than horrible at. I was so proud of myself I even made a new personal Facebook cover, look – Not bad! In keeping with my new font love, I made some new lovely jewelry and here are some photos with my new fancy type. I am happy with my new ‘look’ and I feel much better now that my typography is going to be consistent. Photoshop is a little less scary too. Don’t you just love to learn new stuff then feel all …
I was out last week and wanted to wear my wood long necklace, but as a short three strand. Usually when I wear a long necklace wrapped around my neck more than once, it ends up strangling me when one strand goes tight. So, I grabbed a piece of silk ribbon and once the necklace was on, I tied the ribbon in a bow at the back to hold all of the strands evenly together. I have included some examples of the ribbon tie in action on different necklaces and the long wood necklace as a two and a three strand. Playing with jewelry is one of my favourite things, necklace to bracelet, necklace to ankle bracelet, bracelets linked together to necklace. So, of course I love the little ribbon tie which could also be a big floppy ribbon, or a lovely brooch worn at the front as a focal. I would do a picture of a necklace with a brooch, but I don’t actually own a brooch. I know, I am shocked too, I …
I have been making lots of new wrap bracelets (I can’t stop myself, I love them!), and here they are. I am making necklaces and earrings too and I have just ordered some supplies to make more yum stuff! They can be worn as natty little wrappy bracelets, but don’t forget how catseatdogs jewelry likes to play! Look at all the ways the wraps can be worn. I love to layer them up around my wrist, lots of colours and buttons and beads. Keep checking on my Etsy store for new arrivals! I can’t wait to get my hands on my new supplies and get making some new pieces.
I made a quick long necklace today on a complete whim. I pulled out the top/dress I like when the weather is like the inside of an oven with no cakes, and decided I needed a long necklace to wear with it. I have had this sliced up tagua nut set for a while and have never really decided how to use them. Funny how all of a sudden a design pops into your head and you know exactly how to execute it. So, I grabbed my leather and tied them on, chose a button and made a fastener with it. Ta dah! I love these simple necklaces I made last week, they are light to wear and look great together or alone. I have some similar necklaces which I wear with everything. They are in my Etsy store if you want to see more photos. I washed up some buttons today which I have had a while, stored in an old cake tin which I think is the storage of choice for vintage buttons. …
As usual (it seems!), it is raining on the morning of ten on the 10th. At least it is cooler that way, so no complaints here. Following some thunderous storms in the early hours, it was still raining when we planned to set off to see Despicable Me 2 at the cinema. So, we grabbed the umberellas, stopped on the way for illegal snacks (how much are cinema sweets? Too much, I tell you!) and off we went. I got a funny poster picture of a minion from the movie theatre which also fitted today’s photo a day challenge theme which was ‘Smooth’. He he. Space man toy. My button tin, just some of my vintage buttons which I love to use in jewelry but I am often unwilling to part with them! Button bracelets, made with the aforementioned buttons. I wear these two, but I am planning to make some to sell, if I can stop myself from claiming them as mine! During the summer, we usually end up at the YMCA pool every …
I must thank auto spell for wanting to make ‘wraptastic’ into ‘wrap toast’! I quite like the idea of wrap toast, but not to wear around your wrist. These freshly made bracelets are all in my Etsy shop and love to be worn together and on their own. This purple wrap has a glorious lucite owl as a focal, it is the first time I have used a bold focal on these bracelets and I like the owly friend. All of the bracelets can be worn as necklaces too either short (wrap twice) or as a single strand long necklace. This beachy wrap has pink shells, mother of pearl shells and some pretty czech glass drop beads to add some texture. I fell in love with the colour of the pink shell (the spiney beads) and I am so happy they work in this bracelet. . This last wrap just wants to be worn day and night, striking turquoise trade beads with wood and shell contrast beads. The perfect mix of casual and stylish. All …
Clare Davis Etheridge 