Laura James Jewelry

 
It's always fun to see a Jewelry Trend emerge like this Coin Jewelry trend for Fall 2016 from the John Galliano runway...especially when it's a trend I have previously embraced!

I introduced vintage silver and gold Coins into my jewelry collections over the past year more for initially for sentimental reasons...I had acquired a large lot of my grandmother's coins from her travels abroad, too many to hang onto. With my Father's encouraging, I started to sprinkle them into my current one of a kind necklaces and bracelets (photo below). And then...cue the madness!

People were coming to my website and storefront in droves to either buy them or bring their own family coins in to have me work them into a new design or add them to a design. 

             Coin Bracelet from  Laura James Jewelry, 2015

Just like that, I saw how attached people were to Coins. They seemed to signify a place in time for them, and they intrigued others just as they did me.

You see, I never knew my Grandmother on my Father's side. She had passed away before I was born and these coins (along with a few cherished black and white photos) are really all I have of her. The coins show me a little bit about her. She was a Collector, for one...(like me!) and she loved to travel, especially overseas. She was a Seeker...like me.

Do you have a special coin in your keepsake box? Please tell its story in the comments below, if so! 
xox-Laura

These Marbled Clay Bowls are just plain stunning, don't you think?! I cannot believe these are the result of a DIY project! They are the perfect answer to me- not only are they eye candy, but I am always looking for places to put my rings when I take them off.

Apparently such was the case with the gals at @ABeautifulMess since they came up with this gorgeous solution... AND have offered to show us exactly how they made these beauties! Check it out...

Author: Laura Gummerman 

@ABeautifulMess

Supplies:
-White, Black and Colored oven bake clay (a few ounces of colored clay and the 1.75 pound white clay will make you several dishes!)
-X-Acto knife or plastic clay knife
-small bowl or baking ramekin that is oven safe
-gold liquid gilding and small paintbrush
-rolling pin or large round jar
-large can or jar to trace around
-glaze to seal dish (optional)

1. Roll each color of clay that you want to use into a snake about 5" long. I usually make two larger rolls of white, a medium roll of grey, a small roll of any color I am using, and then an extra small roll of black. I don't have exact clay measurements for you (and most people don't have a scale to weigh exact ounces of clay anyways) so just use the photo as a guide. You basically want enough total clay to roll out a 6" circle, but don't worry about getting exact amount of one color or another, even if you use the same recipe every time, each dish will look different.

2. Combine the smaller rolls into one big roll and twist together.

3.  Roll the large twist into a snake about twice the original length to combine the colors. Twist the ends opposite ways after every few motions to give the colors more of a candy cane look. Once it's twice the length, fold the snake in half and twist the two ends together, as pictured above. Repeat the rolling, folding, twisting, and rolling again process 2-3 times. 

4. Smoosh all the clay into a ball. You want to see most of your colors on the surface of the ball, so pull the ball in half and re-smoosh together if you don't. 

5. Use a rolling pin or glass jar to roll out your marbled ball. I like to use a glass jar so I can see what is happening as I roll harder or softer over certain colors. The colors should blend together and create a marbled pattern as you roll over it. Try rolling different directions, from the edge, from the center, etc. to push the clay from different angles. Roll to 1/4" thick.

6. Use a round item about 6" wide as a template and cut out your dish circle with an X-Acto or clay knife.

7. Place your circle gently into a oven-safe bowl or ramekin that is a little smaller than your circle so it will sag a little in the center and give you more of a dish shape. Bake the bowl according to the temperature on the clay package (mine was 15 minutes at 275°F). Remove the bowl from the oven and allow the clay to cool before turning the larger bowl upside down and tapping lightly until the clay dish falls out.

8. Once the clay is completely cool, use a small brush to paint the rim of the dish and allow the paint to dry. Seal the dish with a glaze if you desire. The glaze won't make the item food safe or totally waterproof, but it will give you a glossy finish if that's what you're into :)

Since you are working with oven bake clay the dish will still be a tiny bit flexible when when cooled and feel more like hard rubber than porcelain, but that's ok! It should still keep it's shape perfectly fine and hold your rings like a champ.

While the color combinations are endless, my favorites were made with white, grey, black, and two bright colors that make a pretty third color when mixed. I would definitely suggest using a oven-bake clay like Sculpey that is already soft to start with. It will save you a lot of time and finger strength than if you use the clay that requires a lot of kneading to get it to that softness.

These bowls turned out even better than I hoped they would, and you can see I was able to make quite a few of them, so I'll definitely be giving a few away as gifts. How cute would one of these be as a present with a piece of jewelry already in it? xo. Laura

Credits // Author: Laura Gummerman. Photography: Laura Gummerman and Sarah Rhodes. 

Yes, it's true...there is definitely a lack of cool Jewelry Organizers out there in the world! It's actually of the top requests I got from customers when I had my storefront in Charlotte.

I pretty much had given up on finding one...until I came across this post for this very cool DIY jewelry organizer that you can create yourself if you love a craft project.

Finally...something functional that doesn't scream "i'm a jewelry organizer"! I especially am in love with the remove-able palm frond wallpaper from Chasing Paper that she used here...to me, it's the best part about this piece.

For those of you who want to DIY one of these for your room, here is the link to the tutorial from the post on the A Beautiful Mess blog.
(Please post a pic if you make one! Would love to see how it turns out.)

Have fun!
xox-Laura