DIY Jewelry Display Makeover

Just a little while ago, my folks surprised me with a display piece for when I'm taking photos of my needle felted necklaces. They had seen one of those black velvet displays and scooped it up for me because it was on sale. You've all seen them before. They look pretty much like this....

While the style was fantastic , it didn't quite work as I hoped because I have to take such close up photos of the felted landscape. I swear every fluffy, fuzzy and stray piece of floating cat hair STUCK right to that black velvet. No matter what brush or cloth I took to the velvet, it wouldn't go away. I was not amused.

So while the snow was falling yet again (could have swore the calendar said it was Spring!), I took my display downstairs by the heat vent in the floor and started to apply layers of gesso. The first coat just seemed to get sucked into the velvet and I was beginning to think maybe I had ruined it. As each coat dried by the heat of the vent (I'm not the most patient crafter), it was beginning to look like it was going to work.

This is what it looked like with 4 coats of gesso applied with just a sponge brush. I didn't do the bottom section of the display. Just the neck and chest section. It was quite rough in sections but the good thing about gesso is that you can take sandpaper to it.
So out came my handy piece of sandpaper and I smoothed all the rough sections down.
Placing a necklaces on it, I found the color of the plain gesso was too bright.

I flipped thru my paint collection and found a bottle of Martha Stewart craft paint called "Lake Fog" and covered the gesso in that. I loved it! I was playing around a bit more and painted the word "postcard" in a light caramel ink.

I liked how it turned out but the more I thought about it during the evening, the more I wanted something different written there. So I took some paint and covered over the wording. Let it fully dry and placed a thin coat of ModPodge on it as well. I didn't want the ink at some point to maybe bleed up thru the paint. I painted yet another coat of paint in that spot and let it fully dry again.

This time, I just took a Sharpie fine tip black marker and wrote the message I whisper to myself all the time when I get nervous or anxious ... Just Breathe.

I am quite pleased with how my little DIY jewelry display makeover came together. It really was quite simple to do. No more fuzzies in my photos! heehee
I'm thinking I'll be keeping my eyes open for a few more display pieces and doing this again.

Melody Ross makes you BRAVE

When first entering this "world" of fellow artists, you tend to stay back along the wall and spend time just quietly looking around. You are drawn to so many expressions of art, love and soul. Some whisper softly to your heart. Some share their own heart and soul so loudly that it stops you in your tracks. You listen and instantly begin to think that you too want to sing loudly.

Melody Ross of Brave Girls Club, is one such artist, and has an incredible tale of Life that she bravely shares with all who read her blog.I was introduced to the work of Melody Ross when she was a guest artist in a creative eCourse. Her energy seems endless and she showcases LOVE in all she touches. I quickly signed right up for "Daily Truth" emails to arrive in my inbox. Little snippets of light and love to encourage daily. Some days while fighting my own demons, that email is a great light in fighting my darkness. I've fallen madly into her intoxicating world of art and creative bliss.

While making folk art raggedies will always be a strong calling to my own creative side; playing around with strands of multi colored wool fibers and needle felting has been something occupying my mind for a while now. Miniature felted landscapes came out of that creative play.

One morning, I got brave enough to share a peek of this art form on Facebook. Imagine my surprise and sheer delight when Melody left a comment under the photo. She wanted to buy it and be my first customer for one. An artist that I have sat and admired for so long was liking something I had created. I pinched myself all day long and broke into silly giggles of happiness.

Since that moment, something shifted in me. Whispers were speaking and pushing me to do something.
Be like her light. Be brave.

Melody Ross recently went to Manila with Full Circle Exchange to start working with survivors of human trafficking. Human trafficking is one of those topics of conversation that you don’t actually want to talk about. You don’t casually bring it up around the supper table. You may read books on the subject or watch a documentary on it but what happens after that? It's something you can't close your eyes to once you know about it. Most don’t pack their bags and go experience first hand the horrors for themselves…but that’s just what Melody Ross did.
(You can follow more of this incredible journey here.)



In honor of these incredible young girls being given such an incredible second chance.
In honor of Melody Ross and the size of her love and heart.
Because she saw a necklace I'd created and shared such encouragement and joy about it.

With each of my felted landscape necklaces that I sell, I pledge $5 to benefit Melody Ross and her campaign with Full Circle Exchange to help change and better the lives of these women in the Philippines, as well as other women around the world.
I will honor this pledge for the whole year of 2013.

May these incredible young woman continue to draw deep strength and light from Melody Ross and the incredible folks with Full Circle Exchange.