Now that our classes are online, it is difficult to convince those people that Stamped Jewelry isn’t as hard as it looks. I can’t personally talk them through it and tell them they are going to do great! The internet is a little limiting that way.

But I will say, that I’m just an email or skype conversation away if you need help!

I thought I would share this sweet design created as a Mother’s Day gift for a grandmother with lots of little blessings.  Instead of taking the time to stamp out each of their names, there is just a single initial for each grandchild along with their birthstone.

This is a great way to get your feet wet with Stamped Jewelry.  You don’t have to create a charm bracelet full of charms. You could just start with a single initial necklace for someone special is your life.  Believe it or not, this makes an amazing gift for the end of the year teacher gift! Just stamp her initial and put it on a chain. Done!

If you want to give this a try, here is what you will need:

Stamped Jewelry Tool Kit
1/2″ or 5/8″ Disc
Jump Rings
Chain
Jewelers Glue (to attach the crystal birthstone) – optional
Birthstone Swarovski Crystals – (not yet listed on our site, but if you send us an email with which birthstone you need we will include it free of charge!).

Stamped Jewelry Class – Intro  (Watch the video, it is free and see how easy it is!!!)
Adding a Jump Ring Class

This project is so easy and inexpensive (our favorite kind!).  First we create bows from our various classes like the 2 Loop Bow class and the Fab Flower class, or any of our other hair accessory classes. Then we picked up a metal pail from the $1 section at target.  Take a piece of foam or a foam ball and stick it in the bottom of the pail.

Next, we bought the thinnest possible dowels from the hardware store and cut them down to various lengths for the stems. Then we wrapped them with foral tape, you could also just paint them green.

Then you just stick them into the foam and clip your bows and flowers to the end. We added a little tissue paper to cover the foam ball.

Perfection! Our bouquet was made to match a school uniform, but you could pick any theme that fits the party or shower.  You could also wrap this in cellophane and add a big blinged out bow to the top so it looks like a flower delivery!

My youngest has a tendency to blow through shoes in just a month or two. Not sure what she does exactly, but all her shoes end up with holes in the toe.  I was about to throw these sweet little flats in the garbage because her toe was sticking out of the end, until the bling caught my eye (bling ALWAYS catches my eye).

So I decided to cut off the chain link crystals, clean them up and set them aside until inspiration struck.  It didn’t take long. I realized that the little loops at the end of the chain were just the right size for the Wax Cotton Cord we use in our Adjustable String Friendship Bracelet class.  Bingo!

All I did was thread the Wax Cotton Cord through the hole and double it over. So I essentially had 2 pieces of cord coming from one loop.  I then just knotted the cord just like we teach in the class when attaching the cord to a ring or circle connector.

Then, I used our method for creating an adjustable clasp with another piece of Wax Cotton Cord and added our cube beads to each of the tales (8 in total). Done!

I love that instead of throwing this little piece in the garbage I created something new and beautiful.  And someone even asked to buy it off my wrist today!

So, take a look around your house today and see what kind of trash you can turn into fashion! Leave us a comment and tell us if you are into Trashy Fashion. We would love to hear your ideas and what you have created. Or better yet, send us a photo and we will feature you on our blog or facebook page!

Now, I’m one of those girls that just can’t wrap my head around spending that much money on any one object. Especially when I feel like there might be a better, more affordable option. With inspiration from CentsationalGirl (she has no idea who I am or that I’m blogging about her talents, but as Wendy Williams would say I feel like she is a friend in my head), I went in search of a used dining room table.

Over the next week, I will take you step by step through the process of transforming this old dining room table into an outdoor piece of furniture.  Most of my paint tips came directly from CentsationalGirl, with a few additional tips that I discovered along the way.

In the mean time, I will be sitting at my new outdoor table, having a date night with my hubby this evening. I can’t wait to litter the table with candles, flowers and wine glasses!

Check back next week as we take you through the prep work that goes into upcycling a 1950′s dining room table!

Often when you are creating accessories, you keep it simple so that you don’t get that craft store look.  But, sometimes adding just a small accessory, like a charm to your new design kicks it up another level.

Look at this gorgeous wrap bracelet by our Ambassador, Naesa.  Instead of just creating a triple wrap bracelet using our Gray Wrap Bracelet Kit, which is beautiful on its own, she added a sterling silver Bali bead charm. I think it changes the look of the bracelet and truly reflects her personality.

Here is another great design by our Ambassador, Dana.  Just a simple sterling flower is a perfect compliment to the Shades of Purple Wrap Bracelet Kit she used.  It just screams Spring to me!

You can also customize your bracelet even further by stamping out a one-of-a-kind charm. By taking our Stamped Jewelry class, you can add personalized charms to almost anything.  And it doesn’t have to just be about your kid’s names. You could use words of inspiration, like our Ambassador Vivian did here……………

Or you could customize it for an activity or organization you are a part of.  This sorority bracelet is just fabulous.

Can you imagine making these for all your bridesmaids in your wedding colors with a charm that said “bridesmaid”? Or, stamp “be my bridesmaid” as a way to ask your wedding party to be a part of your big day.  What about Baseball Mom with a red and white bracelet, or Soccer Mom in Black and White.  The design ideas are endless!

I spent the weekend recreating all the Katniss hairstyles at the insistence of my daughter, so I thought I would surprise her with this little design when she got home from school. For the record, she wore the bun version of the braids today and looked absolutely adorable. I will have to add a video tutorial one of these days on how to create the different looks.

Although I designed this as a necklace, I think I will actually put it on a clip so she can hang it off her backpack.

Using our economical base metal discs (I love my daughter, but I’m not going to hang sterling silver off her backpack) I stamped out the famous quote “May the odds be ever in your favor” on our 1 1/4″ and 7/8″ discs and then stacked them. I also added a swarovski crystal charm that changes color from yellow to orange and red in the sunlight. I thought it was the perfect touch for the “girl on fire.”

Stamped Jewelry doesn’t have to be just for moms. Create something unique for a tween, teen or a friend. Your favorite quotes from a book or movie or an inside joke. Use your creativity and design something special that is just for them.

To learn how to make your own stamped jewelry, start with our Stamped Jewelry Making class.  Add in our Stamped Jewelry Tool Kit and you are ready to design!!

I’ve decided to throw out my Mommy Uniform! You know the one that someone was handing out at the hospital on the post-partum floor? Except, I don’t remember actually receiving a bag with a mommy uniform, it just kind of appeared in my closet.

Maybe they handed it to my husband while I was checking out. Yes, that must be it. And since nothing else in the closet fit when I got home, I just accepted it for what it was. A rather depressing glimpse into the beginning of my new image.

Before my children, I prided myself on wearing fabulous clothes, shoes, accessories. Other women would ask where I shopped and if I would teach them to accessorize. But some how in the midst of having 3 kids in 4 years (yes, you heard me right) I transformed into a sweatsuit wearing, ponytail sporting, non-accessorized person. I’m not even going to say “woman” because there is nothing womanly about how I was feeling. How the heck did I get here, and how am I am going to get out?

So I decided to lay down a few rules for myself. Should be easy, right? I did mention already that I have 3 kids under the age of 8? On second thought, maybe I will just buy a velour sweatsuit from Costco in every color they make.

No, no, no! I’m going to do this. Back to the rules. We will be assigning one rule in each segment of my blog posts. I want to give you a little time to adjust to each rule. Remember I’m on your side. I am one of you. My muffin top doesn’t look any better in low-rise jeans then any other mom. Who am I kidding, they don’t even make low-rise jeans in my size.  But I promise you, at the end of this series we will reclaim the right to feel and look fabulous together. It will be a transformation that is long overdue and greatly deserved.

Rules for Designing Our New Mommy Uniform

1. Ponytails are not allowed unless someone in the household is vomiting, the water has been shut off because I forgot to pay the bill (I’m not super woman after all!) or my 3 year old has decided to cut my hair while I am sleeping. If you have met my youngest, you know this is a very possible and probable scenario.
Take a minute and do something with your hair. I promise you will feel so much better!Last year I got a sassy new haircut and donated my hair to locks of love. I will tell you that I feel as cute as possible from 6:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. This is a first for me. If you are too afraid to cut your hair then buy or make a few trendy hair accessories. My favorite hair accessories are flowers worn off to the side and headbands with vintage buttons, brooches and feathers. If you MUST wear a ponytail, can you do me a favor and at least stick in a cute hair accessory so it looks like you “meant” to wear a ponytail?
The best way to wear hair accessories is to keep everything else you are wearing simple and chic. Let your accessory be your focal point.

If the accessories are scaring you, then just start with wearing your hair in any style besides a ponytail. Just one day! You can do it.

Next week, “Forget the Trends, Find Something that Fits!”

I would love to give credit to the original notepad designer, but the pin linked back to an inactive tumblr account.  So whoever you are, thanks for this adorable idea!

I’ve decided to diagnose myself Motherhood induced ADD. I have so many good intentions every morning to get a list done that would make Martha Stewart jealous. But the reality just isn’t the same.  I find that I do better when I just set one small goal for myself each day. After I achieve that goal, I set another one for the day.

This printable keeps me on track. I just added it to a frame and write on the glass with a dry erase marker. Wipe it clean and then set another goal. I use it for work and home (which often overlap).  I was thinking it would even make an adorable gift for Teacher Appreciation week!

All you have to do is pop over to our site, download the printable for free (you do need to go through the checkout process even though it is free) and you will have an instant download.  Trim it down to 8×10 and add it to a frame! So easy and it will look a lot cuter on your counter then that raggedy “to do” list that was scratched on the back of an envelope.

In case you haven’t turned on the news, or have been hiding under a rock, you are missing out on the eruption of another round of the Mommy Wars.  Special thanks to Hillary Rosen for stirring this one up again. You know, because us ladies don’t have enough stress in our life.

So, Hillary Rosen made the comment that Ann Romney has never worked a day in her life (referring to Mrs. Romney being a stay at home mom – SAHM).  Hmmm, where do I start.

I’m not going to just take the side of the SAHM, because I have been on all sides of this fight.  I have been the young 20 something working 80+ hours a week on the executive fast track.  That stint landed me in the hospital with an ulcer – that was hard.

Then I became a new mom who had to drop her baby off at daycare when she was only 6-weeks old so I could go back to my career.  Have you ever sat through a meeting with Fortune 500 executives while your breast turned into geysers because you haven’t fed your child or pupmped in the last 3 hours? You haven’t experienced humiliation until you see a room full of men either gag collectively into their coffee cups or reach for their own cartoon of milk thanks to the large wet circles that appear on your suit jacked – that was hard.

How about seeing your toddler laying on the couch with a 104 fever while a taxi is honking outside waiting to take you to the airport for a business trip – that was hard.

Then there were the days of taking care of 3 kids under the age of 4, one with autism. Days where you are pretty sure this is exactly what heaven and hell must be like all wrap into one experience. Days where you smell faintly of vomit, poop and 7 cups of coffee – that too was hard.

These days I’m trying to juggle running a business from home, and coordinating everything that goes into running a family. Up and running at 5:30 a.m., out of the house by 7:15, back home for 30 minutes (enough time to maybe get a load of dishes done and scrape last night’s dinner from the stove), then back out for another drop off. Then the work day starts. By 2:30 p.m. I’m back out the door for a few hours of pick ups, dropping off for school activities and then home for 2-3 hours of homework and dinner. Once the kids are in bed, it is time for another round of my work day. I typically fall into bed around 11 p.m. – some days are pretty dang hard.

It doesn’t matter where you work, at home, in an office, with your children, taking care of your spouse. We are ALL working! And it is HARD! Life is hard. But what makes it worse is this need for women to attack other women for the effort they are making.

Do me a favor today, tell another woman that she is doing a great job! It doesn’t matter what she is doing, just give her a pat on the back. Chances are, no matter who she is, she hasn’t had one in a while.

I personally want to tell each and every one of you (or maybe just one of you if no one else is reading) that I am proud of you as a woman. You are doing a GREAT job, whatever that job may be because we ALL have one.

Now back to our regularly scheduled creative work

What better way to show your sorority spirit then to use your colors in a wrap bracelet while customizing a stamped disc with your sorority name.

There are so many options for customizing this look! What about a bracelet designed in team colors and a disc that says “Baseball Mom”, or wedding colors with personalized discs for each of your bridesmaids.

What ideas do you have for this look?

Check out our classes and kits to create this look:

Wrap Bracelet Class
Wrap Bracelet Kits
Stamped Jewelry Class
Stamped Jewelry Supplies