Conspiracy Theory Jewelry

I'm not going to lie... I bought a six pack of beer a few months ago because I thought the caps were pretty. Perhaps I was a victim of a marketing ploy, perhaps it was artistic destiny. Either way, one Google search lead to another and I got a brief history lesson, and enjoyed some good beer!

Cool bottles, can you blame me for buying it?

The fancy purple caps, as well as the decorative bottles, featured the Eye of Providence, which is the symbol found on the back of the US one-dollar bill and the reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States. The Latin phrase underneath the symbol reads "Novus Ordo Seclorum," meaning "New Order of the Ages." However, the phrase has been mistranslated by conspiracy theorists as meaning "New World Order," and some misinterpret the eye and pyramid as a Masonic symbol of the Illuminati.


Originally, the Illuminati referred to the Enlightenment-era secret society group founded in 1776, known as the Bavarian Illuminati. The movement was founded by Professor Adam Weishaupt and was made up of freethinkers. Today, it refers to a conspiratorial organization controlling today's affairs through government and corporations, often used in reference to the New World Order, or an autonomous world government. Some proposed methods of a shift towards New World Order include the use of Social Security Numbers, barcoded UPC codes, and microchip implants.

So why did I incorporate Benjamin Franklin into this piece?

Freemason Conspiracy

Some conspiracy theorists believe that Freemasons conspired to create this New World Order, and that some of our nation's founding fathers, including Benjamin Franklin, had included Masonic symbols into American society, such as in the Great Seal.

The Eye of Providence symbolizes the all-seeing eye of God, the eye resting on an unfinished pyramid of 13 steps, representing the original 13 states. The Roman numerals representing the year 1776 are on the bottom step. The Masonic Eye of Providence is typically enclosed in a triangle and has a semi-circular glory below the eye. It does not involve a pyramid, however, the triangle is often interpreted as one. It was designed 14 years after the Eye of Providence on the seal, despite claims that the Masons incorporated the design into the Great Seal of the United States. Furthermore, only one of the three designers of the seal was a Mason - Benjamin Franklin.


I made another pendant with this interesting bottle cap. Going along with the pyramid theme, I used Sphinx scrapbook paper:

Sphinx

Shamrockin'

On this St. Patrick's Day will you be celebrating your Irish heritage? Or are you going to enjoy being "Irish" for just one day? Either way, I have a few new pieces this year for you to check out.

These green and gold Shamrock Earrings on gold filled ear wire and head pins are light weight. The green shamrock beads sit between textured gold colored glass beads.

Shamrock Earrings

Caps from Guinness beer bottles were recycled into a Glittering Green Shamrock Pendant and a Shamrock Love Pendant. Both pendants come with a complimentary ball chain.

Glittering Green Shamrock Pendant


Shamrock Love

Newest Listings

I'm still playing catch up with my shop. I had that Colors of Fall craft show at the end of September, so I was waiting until that was over to take all the pictures and list all the items that I banged out for that. No sense in taking pictures and listing them in case some of it sold. At the craft fair I sold several new pieces, but was left with many to list, oh what a process!

Here's some of my most recent listings... mostly glass tile pendants, but I have some of that wire crochet that people love and a sterling silver wire wrapped howlite necklace, and another bottle cap pendant. I listed a beaded zodiac necklace, called What's Your Sign, that sold within a couple hours of listing too! You can click on each picture for details, and remember, all glass tile pendants come with a complimentary ball chain necklace.

Forest Refuge Glass Tile Pendant

Atomic

Mount St. Helen: Sterling Silver Wrapped Holite

Purple and Gray White Crochet Wire Necklace

Brown and Cream Crochet Glass Pearl Necklace

Lady Bug Love Glass Tile Pendant

Sunrise Sunset Glass Tile Pendant

Clearance Sale Flowers and Honey Bottle Cap Pendant

Up Up and Away Hot Air Balloon Glass Tile Pendant

Indian Summer Glass Tile Pendant

What's Your Sign? Sold!!!

Halloween is Almost Here!

As always, I'm a little behind on promoting my holiday items, but FINALLY, I have all my Halloween stuff listed in my shop. New items this year include glass tile pendants and bottle cap pendants. I'll present you with a few of my oldies-but-goodies too.

The EtsyBlogger Team Leader, JoeyAndAleethea bought one of my Halloween glass tile pendants, but I still have a couple left including a Mummy and a Monster. They would make a cute gift for youself, a mother of young ones, a teacher, or anybody into celebrating Halloween! A complimentary silver ball chain necklace comes with the purchase of either of these pendants.

Thanks Joey!


Click on Either Pendant for Details

I also have a not-so-scary scarecrow pendant made using scrapbook paper and a square wooden tile. Similar to a scrabble tile pendant, but a little larger at 1.25 inches on each side. With the purchase of this pendant comes a free silver ball chain necklace.

Scarecrow Pendant

I have a few bottle cap pendants can be for Halloween, or autumn in general. Both were made using foliage tree scrapbook paper and beer bottle caps. Click on the pictures below to see what beer *had* to be consumed to create the pendants.

Foliage Beer Bottle Cap Pendants
Click on either picture for details

And some returning favorites from last year include pumpkin earrings, a decoupage spiderweb necklace, and a really cool choker. One of my year round favorites is the Black Widow's Web necklace made with agate. A close look at the pendant resembles a spider web.

Click on any image for details

Learn to Fly

Press Play to hear "Blackbird" by The Beatles

Some people have asked me where the inspiration for my work comes from. Many times the source of inspiration is as simple as a bead or pendant. Sometimes it's from nature, such as a plant, bird, butterfly or flower. My titles are often Google inspired... I'll type in the colors or shape and browse through pages until I see a word or phrase that seems appropriate. I also get name inspirations from songs - and sometimes it's just something that I think up. When all else fails I'll just give it a really lame name like Blue Egg Earrings.

My newest listing, a pair of earrings titled Learn to Fly, was my first photograph-inspired work from a picture that I took of a sunset in Key West in February.


While the it wasn't the best quality photograph, as I certainly am not a professional, I thought the picture was really cool because a bird happened to fly into the scene as I pressed the button.

I had a couple peach colored shell disks from a pair of ugly earrings that I dissected for spare parts, and I found some lead and nickel-free metal charms with birds painted on them. They are wrapped together with sterling silver wire and dangle from sterling silver ear wires. Too bad the birds are perched and not in flight!

Learn to Fly

Sunsets, birds, photographs... that was just in the design. The title was inspired by lyrics in part of the song "Blackbird" by The Beatles that I had recently been listening to. Where do you get your inspiration from?

Butterflies

I've added three new pieces recently to my shop as part of a butterfly theme. As a nature girl I like to incorporate nature into my jewelry, or at least into their titles.

Metamorphosis is a memory wire choker I made with beads symbolizing all the stages in the metamorphosis of a butterfly. Look carefully to see if you can figure them out!

Metamorphosis

This necklace I had difficulty naming and turned to the Etsy community for help. ACelticgirl2 suggested Sunsets Flight because the colors remind her of those in a sunset, saying, "Reminds me of when the sun is setting and there are yellows and deep pinks to purples." Click on her name to visit her shop.

Sunsets Flight

Rainbows and Butterflies is a double stranded choker necklace with glass beads and fresh water pearls. The pendant is wire wrapped and hangs at an angle from the tip of one wing. Life isn't always rainbows and butterflies, but there's no reason that your jewelry can't be!

Rainbows and Butterflies

Is It Spring Yet?

Although the spring equinox lands in March, you can't put a date on the season in Upstate New York; I can remember a snow shower as late as May a few years ago. Last year I wore a sweater and boots to church on Easter Sunday, and at the end of my freshman year in college there was a sizable snow storm in late April. I was going to wait until the end of March to list some spring and summer items but I'm coming down with spring fever. I've had enough of the white stuff!

The two newest items in my inventory are earrings made with wire bird nests. Unlike my bird nest pendant that got got a lot of attention last year, these are smaller and made with only one "egg."

The brown Bird Nest Earrings were made with brown colored copper wire and a teal fresh water pearl. Antiqued copper earring hooks hold the nest at a side angle so that the nest is facing forward instead of upward.

Bird Nest Earrings

My Nesting earrings are really cute. I used silver plated copper wire for the nest and a teal fresh water pearl in the center. They hang from a chain which is tagged with a silver colored metal mother bird charm. The ear wires used are sterling silver. I hope to finish a matching necklace soon!

Nesting (relisted)

Looking ahead to summer, I made a flower ceiling fan pull, but a friend of mine asked for it before I could list it in my store. Just thought I'd share it with you anyway.

Ceiling Fan Pull

Making a Blanket Without a Sewing Machine

One of my husband's Christmas wishes was a for a new blanket for his man cave in the basement, as the ones that we have down there are starting to look their age. He's a huge Green Bay Packers fan so I thought I'd make him a Packers blanket. Living in New York, it is often difficult to find Packers items, especially since Green Bay's star quarter back retired and later went to play for the New York Jets. I went to the fabric store and could only find fleece for New York and New England teams, so I bought fleece in the Packers' team colors: yellow and green.


To make the blanket, you need two pieces of fleece that are the same length and width. I chose two that were 58" wide. The two pieces do not have to be different colors, but choosing two different colors make the blanket more fun and reversible.

Other materials you will need are pins, a ruler or yardstick, and fabric cutting scissors. A big open space on the floor is helpful.


Take the two pieces of fabric and line them up corner to corner. Pin each corner and then put a few pins in around the sides as well. When pinning, place the pins a couple inches away from the edge, as you will be cutting the edge of the fleece. If the pins are too close to the edge, they will be in the way of your cutting.



If you have any pets, you may find that anything unusual on the floor becomes the perfect place for them to lay. As you can see, Pepper was involved in assisting and supervising the production of making his dad's blanket!

The cuts into the pinned fabrics should be an inch wide and two inches deep. You can cut a 2" x 2" square out of the four corners of the blanket to start. After removing the corners, make a 2 inch deep cut at every inch along the blanket (with no spaces between the cuts). Do this along all four sides. A ruler is helpful, especially for the first few cuts, but once you have visually established the length and width of the cuts it might be easier and quicker to use your eye to judge.

When you have made the cuts all the way around the pinned fleece, you are ready for the next step. Keep the two pieces pinned together, and tie a full knot with a cut from one fleece and the matching cut from the other. Continue to do this all the way around the blanket. When you are done, be sure to remove all the pins. You now have a warm, reversible fleece blanket!



I have washed blankets made like this in an industrial sized washer and dryer before with no problems. The blanket puckered in some spots but gentle tugging on the edges was an easy fix.

The Clay Machine

I bought a polymer clay rolling machine a few months ago with plans of using it for Christmas beads and pendants, but never got around to using it. I was hoping to go crazy with it for Valentine's Day but still haven't been able to find much time. Finally with a weekend off and an evening snow storm, I found myself with no where to go and a few hours on my hands.

I used the roller to make flat and evenly rolled sheets of clay for heart cut outs. I used a glittering red clay and a mix of white and glittering red to make a swirling pattern of pink, red, and white. I sandwiched pins from my polymer clay baking rack between red hearts and swirl hearts to make an opening to thread jelly cord through. They baked for half an hour and I had a nice stash of Valentine's Day beads.




I used the beads to make a reversible bracelet. It can be worn showing only red, only swirls, or any alternating pattern of your choice. The jelly cord stretches over your hands and the bracelet fits snug to your wrist. This one is best for smaller wrists, up to about 6 - 6.25 inches.

Reversible Polymer Clay Heart Bracelet

Wire Hugs

I'm not really a hugger, and when I do give them out they are quite awkward. People make fun of me all the time for the problem. However, I think I've finally mastered the art - not with two arms but with a little piece of wire and some beads.



Check out my newest creation. Like many of my ideas, my wire hug earrings came from an accidental detour from the original plan. These actually look better than the picture I had in my head as I was designing them, and they are a little more dainty and use less wire. My first thought was to make a large zig-zag with the wire, wrapping it around the center bead and a couple times tightly between the center beads and the ends. My wire piece was too short and the earring came out lopsided. I got the idea to do these instead, with the wire gently hugging the beads - but not too tight and with only one arm just the way I like it! The goldstone and onyx pair with copper wire have already sold, but I still have a red jasper and onyx pair in my shop, with many more varieties to come!

Speaking of the red jasper and onyx pair... they were featured in an Etsy Treasury! The screen shot of the treasury is below, my earrings are in the second row. Sorry for the blurriness, Thumbalizr was only catching the entire page, not just the screen shot so I had to crop and resize it.

Fun Winter Jewelry

I know what you're thinking... Halloween's barely over and all the Christmas stuff comes out... My thinking is that with Thanksgiving seemingly so late this year (less than one month 'til Christmas after Thanksgiving Day) that it will sneak up on all of us!

I'm not posting too much holiday jewelry yet because of my upcoming jewelry party - I just plan on posting whats left. But this piece is too cute not to share. The Snowman Polymer Clay Necklace was made using a recycled Christmas ornament, and some handmade multi-Christmas colored polymer clay beads. I made these beads last month and finally found something that they go great with!



For other holiday-inspired jewelry in my shop, click here!

My Halloween items have been added! Check out my spooky decoupage spider web necklace, fun polymer clay items, and my classic agate gemstone beaded necklace. Prices range from $3.00 to $41.00. Click on any of the items below to hurry up and get in the Halloween spirit! Boo!

A Keeper's Jackpot