Oct 20, 2010

Living the Dream - Preparations of a Show



Thank you everyone for the warm welcome you gave me with my guest post.

As I think about ways to inspire you all,
I am quickly brought to the
idea of sharing some
projects.

I am constantly amazed
and inspired by fellow bloggers,
and thought I'd share a few
of my project ideas
with you today.

You may have figured out that I am a
jewelry designer from my last post.

While preparing for some large shows
I would be selling my jewelry at,
I was in need of a business sign.

 I wanted a one-of-a-kind
sign for my business name,
as I strive to display
with a European Romantic feel
in my vendor spaces.

Inspiration #1 -
Creating a Unique Business Sign
from this...
...to this 
to in action...
Photo taken at Junk Bonanza September 2010
Mimi-Toria's Designs Jewelry Vendor Booth

To see how I created this sign for my business
please click here to see the full tutorial on my personal blog.

Inspiration #2 -
Woven Wire Mannequin
I found this wire mannequin last year,
purchased it and thought,
 she'd be great for a jewelry prop.

Wrong!

She hung from the ceiling
 in my studio
for one year...
being unused.
A year later...
I had an idea.
Why not weave muslin
through the holes
creating an object
that would be useful for my designs...

I cut 1" strips of muslin,
about 1" inch along the side,
than tore the strips
to give a frayed edge.

Than start weaving,
weave some more,
more, more and more.
Hours later, you will be done.

Before ,
my jewelry would get tangled
 in the metal slots.
Now,
it doesn't.
So this is what I did.
It literally took hours to achieve,
but I'm so glad I took action
and made it useful.
Just after finishing it,
I used it for photographing
some shots for the
Junk Bonanza jewelry.
and here she is in a display,
at the Junk Bonanza event
inside my vendor booth.

By adding the cool vintage
piano stool as a riser,
she was quite useful
showcasing a special
jewelry piece.

I hope to have inspired you today...
take a look around you,
see what you can
re purpose
in your home
and turn it into
a treasure,
once again valued.

8 comments:

k said...

wow, this is so cool! what a great idea...and so fun to read about it :)

Prairie Girl Studio said...

i agree ~ way fun!
love your project ideas :)
it think it is so important to be creative and innovative and to be kind to our planet in the process!
i love finding new life for old things ...
thanks for sharing, gretchen!
xo
prairiegirl

Laura @ 52 FLEA said...

Love your dress form! Great idea with a beautiful result!
:)

Jamie said...

Gretchen - the dress for is amazing! What a wonderful idea.

ELK said...

oh goodness the ideas are just so wonderful..muslin and wire never looked so chic!!

Gretchen said...

Thanks ladies for your sweet comments and encouragement. Both dress form projects were definitely labors of love and the both work great with my vintage European theme that I create with my displays and vendor spaces while selling my jewelry. A bonus is that the dress form stripped of her ugly fabric is used in my home between shows and works great for jeweLry photography. Helps the customerds see and visualizer the look and lengths of the necklaces I create.
Gretchen

Gretchen said...

Thanks ladies for your sweet comments and encouragement. Both dress form projects were definitely labors of love and the both work great with my vintage European theme that I create with my displays and vendor spaces while selling my jewelry. A bonus is that the dress form stripped of her ugly fabric is used in my home between shows and works great for jeweLry photography. Helps the customerds see and visualizer the look and lengths of the necklaces I create.
Gretchen

kelly@thebluemuse said...

fabulous ideas! love the look of your sign.