Friday, July 3, 2015

Happy Independence Day!


by Sherri Stokey

Vintage fireworks ad.
Looking around for some Independence Day inspiration, I ran across this vintage add for Hand Made "torpedoes".  I'm a big fan of hand made.  Quilts made by hand are family heirlooms and hand made furniture can be around for generations. Handmade ice cream beats the store-bought stuff every time.  But hand made fireworks just sounds like a bad plan.  Luckily, I also found some handmade inspiration that won't give me nightmares, like this patriotic wire wrapped pendant:

Wire wrapped flag pendant from Rachael's Wire Garden.
Rachael's Wire Garden
Isn't that fun?  I love how she incorporated the Tree of Life symbolism within the flag and gives the impression of stripes with just a few "branches".  These lamp work glass pieces also caught my eye with great use of color and movement:

Lampwork glass bead from Cat's Meow Art.
Cat's Meow Art
Blue swirl glass bead by Karla Eames Classy Sassy Glass
Karla Eames Classy Sassy Glass
I found eagles done in several different mediums, including hand painted  porcelain, glass and deer antler:

Hand crafted eagle cabochon and beads from Loco Lobo, Joy Munshower and Spirit Wind Studios.
Top: Loco Lobo Designs, Bottom left:  Joy Munshower, Bottom right:  Spirit Wind Studios
These metal end caps, charms and large hole beads all feature a rustic star motif:

Hand crafted cord end from Cathy Dailey.
Cathy Dailey
Rustic star charms from Inviciti.
Inviciti
Stars and Bars big hole bead from The Happy Jewel.
The Happy Jewel
I am so impressed with what some folks can do with a coin:

Cut coin pendants from Saw Artist and Hamilton Custom Cast.
Left:  Saw Artist, Right: Hamilton Custom Cast
There were some great pieces of patriotic handcrafted jewelry, too.  The stars and stripes design really stands out in the Western Cedar laser cut cuff, and the use of color blocking in the beaded wrap bracelet really struck a cord with me. 

Laser cut cuff from John Leslie Studios.
John Leslie Studios
Handmade leather and bead wrap bracelet from Boulder Beads.
Boulder Beads
American flag leather cuff from DGierat leather.
DGierat Leather
I love the worn look of the wide leather cuff and the vintage picture in the pendant below.

Soldered glass pendant from My Sweet September.
My Sweet September

This etched bullet pendant has a secret:  there's a casing fitted up inside it that you can remove and add your own little treasure:

Etched bullet casing pendant with eagle motif from Dazzlez.
Etched bullet casing pendant with secret cubby from Dazzlez.
Dazzlez

The riveted on star is what caught my eye in this next pendant.  It's a nice little touch that really makes this one stand out:

Stamped metal pendant from Little Bits o' Faith.
Little Bits o' Faith

And last, but not least, this charming wax seal charm:

Wax seal charm from Gilded Lilly.
Gilded Lily Charms
All in all, I think I'll stick with jewelry components for my handmade fix.  Nobody wants to look like this on July 5th:

July 5th cartoon (public domain)

Many thanks to all of the lovely artists who agreed to let me use their photos here.  I hope you'll spend a minute or two and visit some of their shops.  Have a Happy 4th!

 

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