Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Czech Glass Buttons

I have a new obsession...czech glass buttons, whether vintage or new. These gorgeous little beauties can be all sorts of iridescent hues, with nature or art deco designs. I have been creating some wonderful pieces with them.


Czech Glass Buttons have been made for over 100 years and today many are still made by hand or by hand and machine. It is a many- step process to create these little works of art, but the results are well worth it!


For my creations, I have removed the shank from the back very carefully. As many of these are foiled to produce an iridescent colour, you could remove some of the foil, leaving an uncoloured spot which shows through on the front of your button. I have then set the button onto many layers of aged brass filigree. Many of the buttons I have used are large, approx 2" in diameter, so I've chosen dramatic filigree and frames to use as settings.





These particular buttons came from an etsy seller, AllBohemianGlass . She has a wonderful selection and very reasonable prices. I was also surprised by how quickly I received my purchase!

Hope you enjoy these as much as I have!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Willow is back in the house!!!


After an extended absence from my rambling posts....I am back! To catch you up a bit...over the past few months, we have moved our home and my studio, had an unexpected visit from my eldest son and found out that we are expecting a wee one! The latter came somewhat as a surprise for although we had been trying for around 2 years, we had both given it up thinking that we were too old.



I have been busy in the studio, getting ready for our exciting summer show schedule. After this summer, we will be cutting back the number of shows due to my already expanding waistline. I hope to spend a good deal of time updating our website and posting regularly Under the Willow Tree!

I have a tip for anyone out there who has a website or business that they are trying to promote. Sign up with Google Alerts. I did and a couple of days ago, I received an alert for all of the Simply Willow mentions out there that were new. Look at what I found! http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/vintage-steampunk-jewelry-simply-willow I had no idea that this very positive and flattering article on my steampunk jewelry had been written! Google Alerts - check into it!