NEW BLOG GIVEAWAY!!!!

Be the 50th follower of my blog & receive a custom-designed vintage beaded pendant on sterling silver chain! The above are personal designs just as an example... The lucky winner will be able to choose the bead colors of their choice :) And I thank you in advance to all of you participating. I will hold giveaways in the future to my present audience so that others will have a chance to win. You rock!
--lisa

I Got The Blues!!!!!!!!!

And boy do I have the winter blues bad! Going on week 3 here of no ambition, LOL! I want to be motivated...really I do! BUT, something is holding me back.

With that said, I do want to say welcome to all my new followers. Thank you for finding me interesting & crazy enough to listen to what I want to say :)

On a positive note, I did have the opportunity to go with my good friend Lynne and 2o year boutique owner http://www.longgroveonline.com/merch-pages/Olivias/Olivias.html to the Deerfield Clothing Show http://www.thedeerfieldshow.com/DeerfieldMainPage.html. For you designers out there - the spring color trends are brights! Orange, yellow, green & turquoise. I finally feel that I'm at a point in my career & inventory that I can start designing now for Spring & feel a bit ahead of the game. Instead of all this "realtime rush" where I am designing in the specific season. NUTS!

I am looking forward to going to going to the Midwest Vintage Clothing, Jewelry & Textile Show held annually @ The Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin, IL http://www.catspajamasproductions.net/. It's held 2/26 & 27 & I love going Friday night when you can dress vintage & get a reduction on your entrance fee...fantastic caterer provides wonderful food & there is a vintage band...and of course you can have a cocktail. It's always fun to browse around with some wine, LOL.

There are several vendors who I only get the opportunity to see once a year & I look forward to catching up with them & seeing what goodies they may have in store for me to acquire & repurpose. I get some of my most extraordinary finds from some of these dealers.

Okay...I'll close now, because I know its not so peppy this time :) I have to find my feature list for doing the People Who Have Touched My Life...Touched My Art Series...maybe that's why I am frustrated!

Two more things: I am thrilled to be a new member of the VESTies! Vintage Etsy Society Team. This is spearheaded by my good friend & ardent supporter Martha of OpenDoorStudio http://www.etsy.com/shop/opendoorstudio. Martha is so savvy at finding some way cool vintage finds. It is her idea to bring together people across the country, with a concentration of people in Illinois to discuss & share on different levels about their vintage shops and artisans who re-create with vintage finds. More about us on our blog @ http://vintageetsysociety.blogspot.com/.

Secondly, I am running a contest on twitter that my 650th follower will receive custom designed earrings http://twitter.com/blastpast64.

Promise to be back soon, in much better spirits & with some fabulous photos & stories to share!

Bridal Bliss

Okay...okay, I will be the first one to say that I generally avoid bridal orders. These lovely women are experiencing so many emotions, I simply don't want to add to the drama, LOL! That's not to say that I don't do them, but I have to have a really good feeling about the person & the design concept :)

With that said, I have to say that my old friend Kellie was the most superb....flexible & easy-going bride to work with in my career! Kellie & I met years ago through a local email chat group called Chicagoland Moms. When all our children were younger, we would get together at a local McDonald's, Chuck E. Cheese... whatever agonizing, er wonderful play environment our kids would enjoy. We also organized dessert nights, Mom's Night Out & some other activities. Although we don't get together now as we used to, we have all managed to stay connected through Facebook.

When I was starting up my Etsy shop, http://www.etsy.com/shop/ablastfromthepast I really was overwhelmed by the idea of photography. I had always heard that the pictures needed to be superb because afterall, this is your significant selling point on the web. As an exercise, I decided to photograph all my personal designs in groupings & post on Facebook for my friends & mentors to critique. Kellie took a peek & got in touch & asked me to design her wedding jewelry. I was so jazzed. My husband was giving me the business about being behind on something I was like "hey, I got an order JUST from posting sample pictures, leave me alone, LOL."

Much later a mutual friend would ask how did we accomplish this without ever seeing each other or my seeing the dress in person. I haughtily replied that I am just that damn good. Okay, so that was bratty...but seriously, having my designs in & working for Olivia's Past in Long Grove has really given me the opportunity to hone my skills in designing for fashion. Kellie emailed me some pictures & I was able to discern by the dress style & knowing her personality, what would go best.

Kellie is just as funky as I am. Spirited but soft-spoken & gentile...but she has a wild, interesting "I don't conform" attitude. As I'm reading her describing the wedding & the fact that her & her daughters would all be wearing "chucks" to the reception. For those of you who don't know what those are (come on!!), Converse All-Stars! My girls wear 'em too! And of course in true style, this event took place on New Years Eve.

Kellie is the perfect person for a cha cha. She saw one of mine & wanted one to go with her dress. By the time I was done, I called it the monster - I liked it even better than mine...but that's how its supposed to be, right? Made pretty much entirely of 1950's components, the most rockin' confetti lucite, silver polished swaroski & old rhinestone balls - it truly was glammy.

We won't talk about the little bumps in the household that had me sending the bracelet UPS overnight just 2 days before the wedding. I will tell you this though, any other bride would have strung me up. Kellie is so laid back and for that I am truly grateful!

I always feel the best design comes from your soul. I'll let you in on a little known secret. I am best inspired when I listen to music. I mean my whole house rocks when I'm in the studio designing & am "in the zone." My family has learned to tolerate it & often sneak peaks to laugh at me...because at any given point you could catch me popping up from my chair "getting my groove on." The reason I am sharing this is because all good things happen for a reason. I had a good free flow of karma & peacefulness going on when I was designing this - listening to Peter, Paul & Mary. About half way through the design, The Wedding Song - There Is Love started to play. And yes...I was bawling like a baby. Kind of hard to see when your wrapping headpins - but I just let the tears flow, everything happens for a reason.

I wish much love and happiness to my friend Kellie, her husband & family. And thank her from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to be a part of her special moment.

Heavenly Heirlooms - Part II

Well HELLO!!!! I thought I'd be back here sooner, but we all know the holidays bring much craziness & we're all so busy. The trunk shows were a success! Opening the studio this year & leaving it open was the best thing I did, which also created alot more work & hence put me a bit behind on other things. Still have fudge & pies to bake & gifts to wrap, but I would rather blog :-) Procrastination at its best.

I really wanted to share about my Christmas gift. I call it a gift because it was another rare opportunity to share my art with someone & create something beautiful. I have a lovely client - Mary Ellen. Her & one of her colleagues are my favorite earring buyers. They teasingly try to outdo each other on whom has the best ones made by me. Awe... shucks :-)

Both of these lovely women came out & supported me during the studio show & I had some subsequent work to do for them. I went to J.B. Winterberry where they work, which by the way is a fabulous antique/gift shop in Wheaton, IL to deliver fabulous yellow earrings to Mary Ellen. She said she was so glad I came that day because she had something to show me & wanted to see if I could do anything with it.

She opened this small jewelry box & in it was the most stunning rhinestone-encrusted brooch with filigree in grey, cherry & ruby red swarovski stones that I had ever seen! I thought it was the most incredible piece I had seen in quite some time. The story goes that this brooch was worn by her mother to her wedding 46 years ago & it has sat ever since. Having seen alot of my work so far, she gave me the great honor of entrusting me to create a necklace for her so that she would start wearing this gem.

I assured her it was in good hands & that I had just the right crystals to enhance this beauty & I promised I would have it done in time for her to wear for Christmas. But of course when I got home I didn't have a large enough base for mounting - craziness! So I ordered from my favorite supplier, Cherry St. on Ebay & hoped I would receive it in time. And of course I did.

So, on Saturday I sat down & tightened all those stones, picked out the beautiful ruby & cherry red 1950's swarovski I would pair with this treasure & I was ready to get to work on removing the pinback so that I could mount it on the stamped metal base. I gasped when I saw that it was a signed Made In Austria piece. I really do not like to alter signed beauties, but I knew that Mary Ellen really wanted a necklace & I know this will become a piece that will be passed down for generations in her family, so I did what I had to do.

When I was finished with all the hand-wrapping and assembling, I realized I had utilized more crystal than chain... well, the end result was nothing less than something that looked like it could of been worn by one of Henry VIII's wives. It looked like gems and jewels, not rhinestones & crystals. I put it on, because of course I have to try everything on that I make, I was so thrilled & envious.

That's the best part of what I do... designing something that I know I would wear in a red hot second & knowing all the time that I'm bringing joy to someone else.

So, I had the opportunity to visit with Mary Ellen yesterday, and I warned her in a phone call that it was quite a formidable piece. But Mary Ellen is a tall statured lady that could pull this off - I know she is! During that call she told me that maybe someday she would be able to wear it as well to her son's wedding (gave me goosebumps) just as her mother had worn it to hers. I had such fun visiting with her as she reminisced about her family, Christmas traditions & we talked about some of the antiques & collectibles that surrounded her lovely home. I could have stayed all day, but the reality check was that my phone kept ringing & my husband was calling about a dental emergency with our youngest child, so I had to cut our visit short.

Almost at the end of the visit I slipped my hand into my purse & brought out the little bag holding her treasure. As I was removing it from the bag, I could already see the delight in Mary Ellen's eyes. As she put it around her neck, I knew it was the perfect design for her & that she will wear it now. She was thrilled & told me she would be wearing it to all her Christmas festivities. I was so happy & honored to spend a little time with her & to do something for her with a piece so important that would give her joy for years to come. We made our own little memory together!

Oh, and she had the sweetest gift for me! I collect vintage and unique Christmas & my friends will say it is no easy feat to find something for me that I do not already have. But she did it! She gave me a strand of reindeer bells on a strap that I can hang on the door! I love it! And even better, I know that it will annoy my family every time they come in/out of the door, so woo hoo!

Wow, this was a story, eh? I guess I'm making up for these few weeks that I haven't been online much. I will return after the first of the year with more on the family and more of who has a part of & how I got to where I am today.

Wishing everyone much joy during the holiday season...

It's been a while...

Tis the season to be busy & not have time to blog! I am having my last event this weekend... an in-studio holiday open house. This will be the first time I'm opening the studio to a broad public audience. I just finished setting up - it looks so fabulous (except for my actual work area - which looks like a bomb went off on it) & I promise to take pictures & post after the event is done.

Then we'll get back to our regularly scheduled program...I haven't written about Funkymom & the Family in a while. And I want to do the first installation of the People Who Have Touched My Life...Touched My Art Series.

More soon....PROMISE

How I First Fell In Love With Vintage Beads & Buttons - Final Act

I left off talking about that wonderful shop Vintage & Vogue. Once I decided it was time to move on, I started brainstorming about what I could do to grow this hobby into a business.

One of my first wild ideas was to do a holiday open house. But it wasn't just any run of the mill venture... I decided that I would gather other creative women & support their efforts as well as my own.

I look back on those years & think I was nuts! It was alot of work...very family-instrusive, but I had alot of fun! My little 1928 Queen Anne is an ecclectic mixture of new & old. My motto, "get rid of the new to make room for the old." I would devoid the 1st floor of all its treasures leaving only the furniture & create a "boutique look" throughout. It was warm, inviting & cozy. We had alot of fun spending time together, drinking wine & shopping!

My next step was to join the Wheaton French Market http://www.bensidoun-usa.com/ run by two savvy brothers from France. These markets offer a variety of wares from yummy pretzel bread, fresh cut flowers, lovely hand-made clothing to unique jewelry. So, I decided to take my "boutique" concept from the 1st floor of my little house to this open air market. It is alot of work, but also alot of fun. I love making a connection with people, talking about my work, sharing about our lives... this was a perfect venue for me! I still do the French Market, but not nearly as often. As I grow older, I find it more difficult to get up at 5:00 a.m. and do all that setup, so I have slowed down a bit.

I also made some great connections, friendships & memories by participating in a 10 years and still counting holiday open house at beautiful old McNeal Mansion in Elgin, IL http://www.craftyshops.com/cgi-bin/craft_show_direct.cgi?action=view_detail&cs_code=406&session_id=&order_code=&cat_value=&cat_name. While the owner & myself have fallen out of touch. I highly recommend it as a wonderful venue to find antiques and hand-made items. Not to mention the stunning old home it is featured in - well worth the visit & still going on this weekend!

And that's the end of the beginning, there isn't any more :-) BUT stay tuned for features in the People Who Have Touched My Life...Touched My Art Series. In these articles I will share about the wonderful people who have supported my art... the talented shop owners & savvy antique dealers of whom I have had the great fortune to build relationships with.

Until then....

Heavenly Heirlooms

I love what I do, but I have to say that when I'm given the opportunity to take someone else's treasured memories & create beautiful works of art that they will wear forever, I am truly honored.

A good client at Olivia's Past in Long Grove, IL came to me a few months ago saying she had her grandmother's jewelry & wanted to know if I would be interested in re-creating them into something functional & wearable. There were several pieces to the collection, 4 brooches & 2 sets of earrings. I readily agreed & took this project on.

I felt lucky that I had a bevy of beautiful cut glass & crystal to choose from. My challenge, was finding filigree or stamped metal designs that would accomodate the largess & greatness of these brooches, without overpowering them...a sort of back drop to the real star of the show. I did the same for the earrings as well... a little more dainty & graceful.

As I sat designing these pieces, I really thought of how I would want to wear them. Bold & embracing, sparing no detail in the crystal & cut glass... only the absolute best of what I have hidden away in my studio would do! By the time I finished, these three pictured here, brought me such pride & great envy. I wanted them for myself!

I had the good fortune to have a trunk show at Olivia's Past this weekend & to present my finished work to my client. I told her before the "great unveiling" that I loved them so much, I wished I was able to keep some of them for myself! She chuckled & said, "now I know they're good if you wanted to keep them." The look on her face & the gasps of the other customers standing around was all the joy I needed. My crazy tempermental artist mind received total affirmation that if for one moment I still think that what I do isn't important, then I have only myself to blame.

The client was over-joyed, the surrounding inquiring minds were all a chatter & I was beaming with pride & joy. Truly, in my opinion what this is all about. Bringing joy to others through my art. To be given such an opportunity to bring a cherished memory to life in something that she will treasure forever....to of had a hand in that.... well, it makes me emotional even as I sit here posting this now.

I am humble & grateful that I helped to reclaim these old beauties.... give them a new life... and to be given the chance to design as I like... bold & funky, without hesitation. Blessings & many thanks to my lovely client who gave me this opportunity.