May 11, 2011 | Score!
Well, it’s high time for another giveaway! This time I am partnering with lovely reader Stina, who has recently launched her Etsy store StinaJimerson. She is offering a beautiful Double-Sided Pendant with Recycled Green and Brown Glass for giveaway.
Stina is an incredibly talented metalworker, and has posted a number of her creations on her eponymous blog (including a ring reminiscent of the Edwardian Cuffs I DIY’d last summer!) Her recently-launched Etsy includes beautiful fold-formed leaf hoop earrings, pendants and hairpins with glass accents. She actually launched her store in order to help pay for her upcoming wedding in June. In addition to her love of crafting metal, she also works with an organization locally to recycle glass bottles. In her words:
My friends at church were sitting around talking about the major issue created when our city cancelled our recycling program 2 or 3 years ago, when they decided to do something about it. They began putting the word out that they would like to collect glass bottles (mainly wine bottles) from fellow church members, rigged up some home-made tools, and got to work. Now, there are quite a few regular weekly volunteers…and we’re even in the process of applying for non-profit status. We make sets of drinking glasses, wind chimes, tea-lights, lamps, and lots of other things out of these bottles! We sell them at the farmers’ market here in town, and all the proceeds go to our local Habitat for Humanity. We’re trying to raise enough money to say we built a whole house! When we break bottles, which happens a LOT, the glass gets tumbled to break it into small, smooth chunks. This we sell as mulch [people say that the smaller pieces are good for mixing into the soil because they help water flow or something]. I use the tumbled glass in my jewelry, and I make a 30% donation to Habitat for every item that sells. I started an Etsy for [the organization as well], but we’re not selling until we get this non-profit status or whatever it is we need because we can’t get a paypal account without that. This Etsy is Kuttbottle.etsy.com.
Its a really fun organization to be a part of. We now get bottles coming in from all over the community. We calculated that we’ve saved about 20,000 bottles from the landfill so far, and we have a whole storage room full of bottles, as well as the entire back side of the Habitat Restore!
This pendant is about 1 inch by 1.5 inches and is made of plated nickle. One side is green glass and the other is brown glass.
The glass comes from an organization here in Nacogdoches [TX], C&R KuttBottle, that takes in all kinds of glass bottles and makes various things out of them (such as drinking glasses and windchimes). Whenever a bottle breaks – which is frequently because cutting them is sometimes hard – it gets put in a tumbler and makes glass like I have used in this piece. The most wonderful thing about this organization is that their proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity. Since I get the glass from them, I donate a portion to Habitat as well!
The pendant will be strung on a ribbon for the winner.
How to Enter
REQUIRED:
1. Check out StinaJimerson’s Etsy shop and leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite item in the shop is! (make sure you leave your email address or that your address is in your profile so I can contact you). (1 entry)
ADDITIONAL ENTRIES:
2. Follow Stina’s blog and leave a SEPARATE comment here letting me know. (1 entry)
3. Tweet this giveaway. Leave a SEPARATE comment on this post with the link to your tweet! (1 entry)
Total: 3 entries per person allowed.
However, if you do not keep your additional entry comments separate from your required entry comment, they WILL NOT BE COUNTED.
Giveaway open to anyone in the world!!
Giveaway period is open from now until Thursday, May 19, 11:59 PM PST. (Extended 1 day from original deadline)
Edit 5/20: Giveaway period is now closed and winner will be announced shortly. Thanks to everyone who entered!
Winner chosen by Random.org and notified by email.
Good luck!
xoxox
Carly
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May 10, 2011 | DIY
(Pamela Love ring img source)
I fell in love with this tough but earthy Arrowhead Ring from Pamela Love (link is to the matte pink version) awhile ago. Sporting a hand-carved arrowhead set in a thick silver bezel, this ring also has a line of silver flattened discs at the base creating a Southwestern-feel setting – which looks great with all the sheer pieces, bleached denim, and leather we’re seeing for Spring. It’s taken me awhile, but I’ve finally figured out a way to recreate something similar to this lovely piece (less the $528 pricetag!). Definitely not for the faint of heart, this 3-stage tutorial will take you some time, but the results are amazing. It uses Apoxie Sculpt**, a new non-toxic, moldable crafting substance I’ve discovered recently, to emulate the black resin setting. So, for around $40 total, here we go….. (more…)
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May 8, 2011 | From You
Question Mark Ring from CHAO & EERO – you can place an order from them here
Since beginning this week chock-full of ring-themed posts, I realize I haven’t delved into the basics just yet. So for all of you who have questions about rings: how to clean em’, how to size em’, how to keep ’em…this post’s for YOU! (more…)
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May 7, 2011 | Fashion
Boy, I wish this site had been around when I got engaged! Hub, kind and loving that he is, honestly isn’t the most clued-in when it comes to my personal taste or jewelry that I am drawn to. As a result, I’m not really a fan of my own engagement…or wedding rings, sad to say.:-( Though they are representative of our bond and our commitment to each other, they’re really not representative of either of us!
But shopping for an engagement ring is one of the most difficult things to do for a guy – ever! You (as the lady on the receiving end) probably don’t want to whip out a list and say “This is what I want…something like this….but not THIS…” and hand it over to your guy before he even gets around to popping the question (talk about putting the cart before the horse!) You can drop hints all you like prior to being asked but sometimes they go right over your guy’s head – or worse, he hears all of your hints and decides instead to choose something that he likes because it symbolizes his love for you. (Yet you’re the one who has to wear it. Ladies – please chime in here: is this ever okay?) Oftentimes guys have no clue where to start and just ask their other guy friends, or other women in their lives for their advice…often even defaulting to their mothers to make this difficult choice!(*ahem*) And sometimes there’s no hinting at all – and you are caught completely by surprise by the proposal – and didn’t even have a chance to mention what you’d really like to wear to show off as a symbol of your bond.
Enter ThisRING.com, designed to take the guesswork out of buying an engagement ring for someone else. From their description:
It’s straightforward, no matter if you are in a relationship or not you just create an account, including diamond color and shape, ring size and metal type, and ring styles that you might have seen and wish to replicate. It’s a very simple process, and can take as little as five minutes to complete. Once done, for a very small fee the man can secretly access your details so the proposal is still a surprise, but present you with the ring of your dreams!
The style guides are specific enough so that the bride-to-be can lay out the details of what she likes…and vague enough so that the groom-to-be can still make his own decisions for the final piece.
What do all of you think? Is this a service you can see yourself using? Are you happy with your engagement/wedding ring yourself? How did you get the hint across to your beau?
(Take it from somebody who’s been on the receiving end of something…less than perfect…it ends up as a permanent “wish it couldabeen….” years down the road. Perhaps at our 10th wedding anniversary we’ll renew our wedding/engagement rings so they’re more…our style…but gosh, it would have been soooo nice to get them right the first time around!!)
I had some different content planned for all of you this evening…but I have the flu, and have spent most of this week cocooned in blankets and tissues. Hopefully I’ll be able to string together a couple sentences in coherent thought when the Dayquil kicks in tomorrow, and post something more meaty then. Til tomorrow, lovelies!
xoxox
Carly
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May 5, 2011 | Media
Well, according to Emitations.com – check out the amazing infographic above that they put together about the iconic Kate Middleton Ring! (Probably the most well-known and discussed ring of late…)
If you are looking to purchase the affordable version of the Kate Middleton ring in Sterling Silver or in silvertone (or any other jewelry inspired by Kate and the Royal Family), Emitations has an entire page of possibilities! Also: Until May 9th, take $4 off a $40 order with code HN440, and take $12 off a $80 order with code HN1280 (So the Kate Middleton ring in Sterling Silver would end up at $70 using code HN440, for example.)
What do all of you think? Is the appeal in owning what feels to be a part of history? A pretty jewel? An icon of royalty? Do tell!
xoxox
Carly
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May 4, 2011 | DIY
Since it’s Rings Week here at Chic Steals, I wanted to share with you a quick n easy way to add a bit of pizazz to a store-bought 2-finger ring (with a flat top) and some scrapbooking embellishments. It’s DIY in 5 – minutes, that is. The easiest, quickest ways to take a piece from blah to fab and update it to current trends.
Lucky Magazine posted a photo of this gorgeous Zoe Chicco knuckle ring waaaaay back in 2008? or so, and I kept the clipping on my inspiration board. As usual, they were way ahead of the trend, since it’s only been since 2009/2010 that we’ve been seeing 2- and 3-fingered rings adorning the fingers of fashionable girls the world over. At $495, I found this beautiful ring beyond my budget back in 2008, and it’s sadly unavailable now besides. [BTW if you’re wanting this style but don’t want to DIY, Soixante Neuf sells a veeeery similar bejeweled ring so if you feel like spending $216 then the same style can be yours!] You can also probably find this double-finger ring covered in jewels from some lower-priced trendy retailer like Forever 21 or elsewhere if you look hard enough. But of course, I wanted to make my own – similar to the original!
It wasn’t until recently (around the holidays last year) that Jolee’s Jewels dimensional scrapbooking stickers came out with a new line of colored stick-on jewels in their settings…something that’s pretty hard to source for jewelry or embellishment projects, sticky-back or no. (Ever found set acrylic jewels (i.e., jewels in a silver or gold pronged or rim setting) in Jo-Ann’s or Michael’s? No? I found a small selection in M&J Trimming last time I was there, but it was very limited, and though yes, the BeDazzler
will “set” gemstones onto fabric, the settings are really cheap-looking and the gemstones have to be super-small to fit into the Bedazzler nozzles. So anyway, large set gemstones as embellishments have been near-impossible to find – until NOW!)
You Need:
*Jolee’s Jewels “All that Bling” Vintage Gems dimensional stickers (I used gems from the Royal and Light Blue and the Baby Blue and Silver packs); or other set jewels
*flat-top 2-finger connector ring (the one in the photo above is the Hearts Two Finger Ring from Payless)
*jewelry glue/glue for metals (my fave is GS Hypo Cement)
How-To:
1. If using the scrapbooking stickers, you may want to pull the sticky back off first and figure out how you want to place your jewels. I found it was easy to position my jewels on the ring top while they were sticky – but super-difficult to pull them off one by one and add the glue. Your choice!
2. Once you’ve decided on the placement, just spread some glue onto your ring base, and position the jewels on top. Allow to dry for 24+ hours before wearing.
And that’s…amazingly…it!
Here are some picks for base rings if you’re looking to buy online…though you could probably find good bases at Claire’s (which is where the ring I actually used is from), Forever 21, or other retail brick-and-mortar stores that cater to the young and trendy crowd. Here are some more picks from online:
Or alternatively, you could glue the jewels onto a piece of metal (like an old piece of jewelry; a sheet of embossing metal; or a metal jewelry blank from Michael’s newly-added hammering and embossing section)…and then glue TWO separate flat-pad ring shanks onto the back of the embellished metal, right next to each other, to create the two-fingered ring.
Happy DIY’ing!
xoxox
Carly
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May 3, 2011 | Fashion
Popularized by the lovely Rumi of FashionToast…among many, many others, this Robert Lee Morris for Elizabeth + James liquid-metal-look knuckle ring was a huge hit from last year, and continues to be a strong seller from the line. There’s just something about its sleek, minimalist beauty that seems both timeless and fashion-forward, and I’ve been drooling over it for awhile now.
Robert Lee Morris for Elizabeth + James Long Knuckle Ring, $195, Saks.com 
Knuckle Ring in Gold, $30, Shockboutique.com
So I was glad to recently find both a version at ShockBoutique.com, AND one from Forever21 as well. (Took you long enough, Forever 21! Hint: Just rip off the filigree from the front of the ring if you’re looking for an exact dupe – it’s affixed with what feels like cheap hot glue and comes off easily.;-)
Forever 21 Regal Knuckle Ring, $5.80
(The Stretchy Knuckle Ring from Forever 21 is also a lookalike for the smaller Elizabeth + James knuckle ring, at about 1.5″ long, and with a stretchy band.)
Additionally, I also found another Elizabeth + Jamese knuckle ring lookalike from Etsy seller snefter.
snefter Flat Armor Finger Knuckle Ring, $15.99, Etsy.com
(It’s not quite as long as the E + J version above, but not quite as short as the small version.)
Also find their YSL Arty Oval Ring lookalike KILLER Chunky Gold Finger Ring, and their Forever 21 sideways cross lookalike Sideways Cross Connector Double Finger Knuckle Ring in their store as well. Oh, snefter – you crafty caster, you! Now, the rings they offer for sale are not exact copies down to the millimeter, but they’re pretty goshdarn close. It’s obvious that the original pieces were not used in the creation of the molds this person uses in their jewelry, but still…they’re amazing doppelgangers!!
And speaking of that Forever 21 sideways cross ring that just EXPLODED in popularity last year (some people were paying $95+ for it on Ebay!)…
Find ASOS.com’s Double Finger ‘Cross’ Ring (above left) here and ShockBoutique’s Two-Finger Cross Ring (above right) here. And I just re-stocked my silver sideways cross rings in my Etsy shop, too.
My version of the ubiquitous sideways cross ring.
Any designer rings you’re looking for me to sniff out an affordable version of? Or a DIY? Let me know in the comments!
xoxox
Carly
All ring photos copyright of their respective owners; FashionToast photo from this post here.
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May 2, 2011 | DIY, Media
Arbitrarily I have decided to make this week all about rings here on my site. One-fingered, two-fingered, sterling, precious metal, gemstones, faux, real, what-have-you – it’s all about finger-adornment!
If you have any questions about rings: how to organize them, how to clean them, and (best of all, IMHO) how to make them…either leave your questions in the comments or shoot them to me via the Formspring.me Ask me anything box in my right sidebar. —–> I’ll be getting to them all week long, so send them my way!
So first things first, here are some books to learn from and be inspired by:
1000 Rings: Inspiring Adornments for the Hand
I love this book! This is the perfect coffee table/inspiration book for anyone who loves rings.
30-Minute Rings: 60 Quick & Creative Projects for Jewelers
This is another one of my faves: beautiful photography and inspiring projects featuring a variety of techniques.
Make Your Own Rings: Easy ring projects to do at home
Another technique and tutorial book; this one also includes tutorials for rings made of Precious Metal Clay (PMC; similar to Art Clay Silver), which is a material people familiar with PolyClay can learn to use quite easily.
The Rings Book (Jewellery Handbooks)
Jinks McGrath, a well-known name in metalsmithing, has written this book which details ring-making for bench jewelers. Though this is certainly not for the hobbyist or beginner, the principles and techniques covered in this book are for fine jewelry and will familiarize anyone with how to properly create a durable piece of jewelry and work of art.
The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition)
Sorry, but we’re talking long-haired elves in tights. I figured a list about rings would not be complete without the One Ring, hmmmm? (Plus, the extended editions add almost an hour of cut footage to the movies -hence, more elves in tights. All the more reason!;-P)
And to get further in the mood, here are a two DIY Ring Tutorials I’ve shared here on the blog:
Spiked Crystal Ring
DIY Rhinestone Panja
Only…TWO??!!
Well, I’ll just have to remedy that!
xoxox
Carly
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May 1, 2011 | DIY
I noticed these beautiful embellished ballet flats in my favorite Japanese magazine, Vivi, back in Winter of 2010. They’re Miu Miu, available in lovely pastel colors, and boast a pretty hefty pricetag ($745!).
I figured I could make my own lookalikes from a pair of shoes I already had. And it cost less than $15! Here’s how…
You Need: (more…)
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Apr 29, 2011 | Fashion
Retro Pleated Light Pink Dress / Retro Falbala Chiffon Shirt / Retro Baby Blue Tapered Pants / Black Leopard Tights
I’ve just discovered Romwe.com, and I’m in love! Affordable and on-trend, this e-tailer operates out of China, and ships worldwide FREE. Breezy feminine tops, fitted skirts, draped cardigans, lovely satchels, tulle dresses, and vintage-inspired jewelry complete the offerings from this store. I’m hankering after the Fluorescent Green Roman Sandals to add a pop of color to my summer wardrobe, the Apricot Anomalous Sweep Cardigan for versatile layering, the Apricot Design Sheer Shirt – I’m in heaven over those rows of ruffles!! – and the Uniform Short Vest (as an amazing Alexander Wang lookalike piece).
Check it out and drool…
Apricot Anomalous Sweep Cardigan / Black Front Ruched Skirt / Pearl and Flower Layer Ring / Grapheme Hooded Long Pattern Coat
Uniform Yellow Short Vest / Crocodile-Embossed Pu College Retro Bag / Bowknot Orange Short Pants
Retro Palace Horse Long Necklace / Apricot Design Sheer Shirt / Electric Band Fluorescence Green Roman Sandals
Lace Montage Layer Sheer Dress / Middle Length Pleated Camel Skirt / Cross Strap Wedge Black Sandals
Visit the site to click around a little and fall into the beautiful fantasy…
xoxox
Carly
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