What I'm Digging Lately: Iacoli & McAllister

I've never been a big jewelry person. Maybe that is abnormal for girls but I've just never been that into it. My poor husband- while most girls would love a piece of jewelry for their birthday or Valentines I'm kind of like- Meh. Not that I don't think jewelry is a great gift or would be ungrateful if I were given some- it's just not what excites me. (Vintage furniture is more my thing :) 

Well that perspective has changes somewhat when I discovered Iacoli & McMcallister. They are a team of designers who use their knowledge and skills to create some of the coolest jewelry and furniture I've seen. 

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I love the simplicity, the use of natural material, and the use of color. I like the clean lines and modern look. Just love over all. And I not so subtly hinted to The Hubs that I wanted this necklace for my last birthday:

(He got the hint..:)

They don't only make jewelry either. They make amazing furniture that has won awards and is giving me some ideas of my own.

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But what originally turned me on to them was their lighting. I don't remember where I first saw it but I was in love right away. If only I could afford it...

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They also have a lot of other items as well. Like this bottle opener for example:

I don't usually use bottle openers but maybe the Hubs needs one? That still might be a gift more for me than for him. I just want an excuse to buy it.

I think this pink paper weight would look nice on my desk! Now that I'm working I need my desk to look cute right?

Maybe some cute mini pedestals? For all the plants I don't have but might get soon?

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I just want some more Iacoli & McCallister in my life if you can't tell.

Their website is pretty fun to poke around too. Their "about" story is interesting and they have some pictures of their studio. It's for great inspiration and makes me want to toy around with new ideas and try to be creative and original as well.

DIY Marble Jewelry Hanger

Ooooohh!! A marble jewelry holder? Must be super fancy and expensive right? Well... not necessarily. If you have the right left over parts it can actually be pretty cheap. 

I had this old soccer trophy my mom made me take home with me when they were cleaning stuff out of their house. One of those- "take this old high school junk out of your room or I'm throwing it away!" moments. (Yes I was in high school in 1998- please don't do to much math here ok?)

Super Easy DIY Jewelry Holder

So a few weeks ago I scored this lamp from what is now my favorite thrift store (since its the same one I got my safe deposit boxes from) for only $10!

It needed some rewiring (if you want to read more about rewiring lamps you can check out this post here or Kara Paslay has a good tutorial on wiring.) but for $10 that was not an issue. 

I like the vintage bohemian feel but that gold metal screen inside was a bit much.

So I took it out.

Make a Statement...

Bracelet!

One thing that having a newborn has done is made me focus on smaller projects that I have been putting off for a long time. I have all these ideas in my head but don't always get to them. 

This is one project I can cross off that list.

A friend of mine gave me a few small decorative tiles a long time ago- knowing that I like things like that. I hadn't done much with them until now. My favorite one is a Fleur De Lis one (I love Fleur De Lis- they remind me of home in Louisiana!). I thought it would be cool to make a piece of jewelry out of it.

I've dabbled in jewelry making before but this is my favorite piece so far!

To make the tile a little more decorative I decided to add some glass beads around the edges to finish it off. I used Gorilla Super Glue and some glass beads I bought at the craft store.

Then just glued them all around the edge of the tile.

To make the leather wrap I simply cut out a piece of leather to the size and shape I needed. Once the beading around the tile was done and dry I needed to adhere the tile to my leather bracelet. I used snaps and Gorilla Glue Epoxy for this task. 

I used the Epoxy to glue one part of the snap onto the tile.

Then connected the snap into the leather band.

After snapping my tile onto the band I treaded a piece of suede ribbon through the leather to use to tie the wrap down.

Then it was done!

I used the suede ribbon to tie the bracelet off.

What things have you been crossing off your list lately?

DIY Jewelry Holder

I wish I could tell you this is a project I thought of and made because it's pretty awesome. 

But alas it was not made by me it was one of my fabulous followers! Mally was nice enough to take some pics and tell us how she made this Jewelry Holder:






I had an old flag pole that I was going to throw away but started wondering what I could make out of it instead.  It is wood so I really didn't want to trash it.  

I started thinking of all the bracelets I have that kept falling every where on my dresser, so I thought that I could make some type of holder for them. 

 I thought the old flagpole might be just the thing I was looking for! I started by to cutting the wooden pole down to size with a hack saw and put the little ball back on the end.   

I had some ribbon left over from another project and some wooden beads.   The wooden bead's hole was a little small for the ribbon to fit through so I drilled the hole a little bigger.   I pulled the ribbon through both beads and tied on one end.  

 Now the bead holds the wooden pole in place so that the bracelets don't slide off.   I just raise the ball up when I want to take a bracelet off.  I put a little nail on the top of the dresser so that the ribbon would stay in place.   

It's perfect for me and the bracelets that I wear the most are always on the ends.  

Ingenius! What a great way to reuse something you otherwise had thrown away. Thank you so much for sharing it with us Mally!!

Glass Tile Necklace

Do you ever go to the Home Improvement Store or Tile Shop and drool over the specialty glass tiles? Well I do. I would love to re-do my bathroom with mosaic tiles, but for now the cost is a little out of reach. I wondered if there was another way to bring these little beauties into my life without breaking the bank.

I received these tile samples from a rep at Interstyle Tile. They specialize in unique and specialty tile. The tile they sell is pretty expensive so I was excited to get some free samples. I wasn't sure what to do with them though. There weren't enough to make a mosaic or use for a table top (or redo my bathroom). I was trying to think out the box and thought they might make a cool necklace! My Dremel tool would be perfect for this project! I could use the diamond drill bit to drill a hole through the tile.

Just a side note- my personal opinion; if you are thinking about purchasing a new tool and already have the basics; a drill, mitre saw and sander you might want to consider a Dremel. They are so versatile! I've used mine for so many things I never thought I would. I was lucky enough to get one for my birthday. My husband knows me to well. Anyway just a thought...

To begin I taped the edge I was going to drill through. This will help the glass from shattering. 

I just want to stop a moment and mention safety again. Dremel doesn't recommend drilling through glass but it works so I do it.

Sadness- this is why Dremel doesn't recommend using the drill on glass. It can break. Tear..

Anyway I drilled straight down with minimal pressure. As in my previous glass cutting experience with the wine glasses I stopped every few minutes to dip the Dremel and the tile in water to keep them cool.

Some progress. It took about 10-15 minutes for me to drill the whole way through. Patience is the key.

Ugh- this picture didn't turn out well but it supposed to show the hole drilled all the way through. But success it worked!!

The finished necklace! I think its sassy and original. Where else could you get a necklace like this?

So I am giving it away! Just become a follower and leave a comment. If you are already a follower just comment to let me know; and maybe let me know what you think about the blog or what you would like to see more of. 

This Drawing is now over. Check back to see who the winner was!