Spring and Summer 2013 Fashion Forecast, Part 1

BRRRR….even though we are still feeling the chill of winter , it’s time to look ahead happily to Spring and Summer.  You’ve probably already seen the colors and styles we can look forward to  this season in your local department stores, on line at websites like Pinterest, where  you can follow me ♥, or in catalogs or magazines you read at home.

The folks at Pantone are always ahead of the curve putting together the season’s IT colors.  No study of upcoming trends is complete without looking at these colors.  Of course, Pantone also names a Color of The Year. This color is featured year round in clothing and jewelry designs, and for this year, it is emerald.

This cameo necklace is featured in my store at The Craftstar

Rounding out the Spring/Summer palette are Grayed Jade, Dusk Blue, Tender Shoots, Lemon Zest, African Violet, Linen, Monaco Blue, Poppy Red, and Nectarine.

Grayed Jade

Dusk Blue

African Violet, Nectarine, Linen, and Tender Shoots

It’s probably no surprise that pastels will be the dominant  colors this season, but Pantone has rounded the palette out with a couple of brights for pop.

Monaco Blue, Poppy Red, Lemon Zest and Tender Shoots

The bright red and blue will also be part of the return of the nautical/naval trend. This look comes and goes , but is always a fun look for summer.  The red and blue combined with white also make this combination perfect for all of the patriotic summer holidays.

Sarah Coventry Brooch, Will be listed in my Ebay store this week.

I think that Grayed Jade is one of the more unusual colors for the season.  To me, it is a cross between a light gray, pale green, and a sky blue.  My ebay store will be featuring several vintage items in this shade that will perfectly accent this summers fashions.

On the left is an Avon necklace, circa 1980’s, and on the right, a fun circa 1960’s necklace still with the original “Genuine Lucite” tag.

Nectarine is reminiscent of last years color of the year Tangerine Tango, but a bit softer, with a less orangey look.

Sarah Coventry 1980’s Acrylic Necklace

Here’s a beautiful pastel brooch, and a very old one, too. This is done in pot metal, and features a plastic pink center with a rhinestone accent. The petals and leaves are painted in pastels. This brooch circa dates to the 1930’s.

Be sure to come back this weekend, and I’ll talk more about specific styles that incorporate these colors, as well as featuring more items that will be for sale.

Time for Soup Again! (Bead Soup, That Is!!!)

Sign ups for Lori Anderson’s Bead Soup Blog Party are this weekend!!!  I love participating in this blog hop.  You can read all about it here.

I have been very fortunate both times I participated prior to this to be paired with wonderful partners.  For my first BSBP, I was paired with Tara Plote.  For a look at what I created with her lovely gifts, take a look here.

Starfish necklace made with 2011 Bead Soup items.

My second Bead Soup partner was Katherine Gale.  Like Tara, she was wonderfully generous in what she sent me, and packaged everything so specially.  You can see my post about my creations here. Here is Katherine’s blog.

Earrings , July 2012 Bead Soup

If you have ever considered being a part of this event, but shied away for some reason, I recommend that you give it a try and sign up this time!!

Memories and Thanks Blog Hop

Hello and Welcome to my Memories and Thanks blog hop creation.  This blog hop has been organized by Lori Anderson as a way for us to honor, or pay tribute, or give thanks to someone who has inspired us, or touched us in some way.  You can read Lori’s original idea here.

My piece orginally started out as a tribute to my little sister Kathy.  But once I got going, as most things do, it took on a life of its own.  I didn’t want my sister to be alone in my tribute, so I added my parents.  Later, I decided to include my mom’s parents, and my grandfathers sister.  These are the family who influenced me the most as I grew up, and all of them are now gone.  I didn’t choose to include my dad’s parents because I never knew them, and each part of my creation brings back a special memory I have of my family member.

My sister went into the hospital for a routine surgical procedure in the fall of 2009.  It didn’t turn out to be so routine, as her colon was perforated during the surgery. She became very ill, and needed a colostomy. Over the course of the next several months, she suffered one setback after another, and virtually never left the hospital. By June of 2010, she was on a feeding tube and a respirator, and at the age of only 47, me, my other sister, my sister Kathy’s husband, and her two children made the difficult decision to remove life support.  This is something I struggle with constantly.  My sister and I were not close as adults, and I grieve not only for her, but for the time we missed sharing together.  I will enjoy wearing this piece, because it makes me smile.

My sisters absolute favorite love was cats.  She always had multiple cats in her home, so I chose a cat cameo from B’sue Boutiques to be the focal.   My mom also was a cat lover, so she shares part of this charm with my sister, but I also put  a second cat in the necklace so she could have her own.

The rose charm represents my mom, and her mom.  My mom loved roses, and her middle name was Rose.  I attached it to an Asian coin, because every time my grandmother and I got together, her  destination of choice was a Chinese restuarant so she could get her chow mein.  The tassel at the bottom of the necklace is also there in honor of my grandmas favorite food.

My mom’s dad was a tinkerer, and an inventor.  He was in the Navy, and when we were children, he built his own cabin cruiser that we took boat rides on.  The gear and the clock are my tribute to his love of gadgets.  They are also shared by my mom, because she loved science fiction, and these pieces remind me of HG Wells writings.

The compass and the star are for my grandpa. He would use the compass to navigate, and the star represents his service in the Navy. He shares the star with my dad, who was in the Army.

My grandpa’s sister was Jeannette, and my mom was named after her.  My great Aunt Jeannette was a nun in the Sisters of the Assumption, and  we often recieved gifts from her in the form of crosses and religious medals.  My grandparents and my mom were very religious as well, and my grandmother had a special love for the holy family. This Miraculous Medal in sterling is a representation of that.

The shamrock and the Celtic cross celebrate my father Irish ancestry, something he was very proud of.

The charm with the French word “Non” celebrates my mothers and  grandfathers French Canadian ancestry.  My dad’s side also has French Canadian roots.  Ancestors on both sides were some of the original settlers in Canada in the 1600’s, and were involved in the fur trade.    The seed packet is for my dad.  If you have read my blog before, you know the gardening is a great love of mine, and I have my dad to thank for this.  He treasured his vegetable garden, and enjoyed his tomatoes and cucumbers!

Thanks for taking the time to look at my tribute.  Please take a few minutes to visit the rest of  the participants, and don’t forget to visit our hostess!!!!

Hostess, Lori Anderson       Pretty Things

Adlinah Kamsir                   Dream Struck Designs

Aimee Biondolillo               Aimee’s Jewelry Treasures

Alicia Marinache                 All the Pretty Things

Andra Marasteanu               Handmade by Indra Marasteanu

Andrea Trank                      Heaven Lane Creations

April Grinaway                   Brooklyn Bead Goddess

Barb Solem                         Vivi Magoo Presents

Becky Pancake                    Becky Pancake Bead Designs

Beth Emery                         Stories by Indigo Heart

Bonnie Coursolle                Jasper’s Gems

Cassi Paslick                       Beads: Rolling Downhill

Catherine King                    Catherine’s Musings

Cece Cormier                      The Beading Yogini

Chandra Leitz                     Juniper Goods

Charissa Nesler                   FireStorm Designs

Charlie Jacka                       Clay Space

Christina Hickman              Vintage Treasures Jewelry

Christine Murrow               Charis Designs Jewelry

Christine Stonefield            Sweet Girl Design

Chrizette Bayman               Bead Soup Mix

Cindy Wilson                      It’s My Sea of Dreams

CJ Bauschka                       4 His Glory Creations by CJ

Crystal Thain                      Here Bead Dragons

Cyndi Lavin                        Beading Arts

Debbie Rasmussen             A little of this, a little of that

Denielle Hagerman             Some Beads… and other things I like

Diana Gonzalez                  Arte y Poemas

Diane Hawkey                    diane hawkey

Dita Basu                            ankarshilpa

Donetta Farrington             Simply Gorgeous

Dyanne Everett-Cantrell     Deeliteful Jewelry Creations

Emma Todd                        A Polymer Penchant

Erin Kenny                         beadiful therapy

Erin Prais-Hintz                  Treasures Found

Gina Hockett                      Freestyle Elements

Gloria Allen                        Innovative Dreams Jewelry

Heather Marston                 CSW Designs

Inge von Roos                    Inge’s Blog

Iveth Caruso                       Creative Atelier

Jacqueline Marchant          Fiddledeedee Jewelry

Jami Shipp                         Celebrating Life!

Jean Yates                          Snap Out of it Jean, There’s Beading to Do!

Jennifer Reno                     Musings of a Crafty Jenny

Jenny Robledo                   Peppa’s Dream

Jennifer VanBenschoten    Jewelry, Art and Life

Jessica Klaaren                  Cellar Door Jewelry

Jessica Murray                   Whimsical Monkey

Joan Williams                     lilruby jewelry

Jo-Ann Woolverton            It’s a Beadiful Creation

Joanne Browne                   josjewels1

Jodie Marshall                    Jodie Marshall Lampwork Beads Wearable Art

Johanna Rhodes                 Fire Phoenix Creations

John Rasmussen                 Rasumussen Gems and Jewelry LLC

JuLee Wolfe                       The Polymer Penguin

Julie Bean                           Blue Pig Blog

Karen Mitchell                   Over the Moon Designs

Karin King                         The Sparklie Things Blog

Karin Slaton                       Backstory Beads

Kat Douglas                       Washoe Kat’s

Kay Bolton                        Toodles and Binks

Kelly Hosford Patterson     The Traveling SideShow

Kim Ballor                          Vitamin C … A Daily Does of Creativity

Kim Dworak                       CianciBlue

Kim Houston                       The Pink Martini

Kym Hunter                         Kym Hunter Designs

Laren Dee Barton                Laren Dee Designs

Lea Avroch                          LA Jewelry Designs

Leanne Loftus                      First Impression Design

Liddy McLaughlin               Liddy McLaughlin Art

Linda Florian                       Lily’s of the Valley Jewelry & Creative Creations

Linda Inhelder                     Must-Haves Jewelry

Lisa Hamilton                      Simply Irresistable Jewelry

Lisa Suver                            Fancee That

Lori Bowring Michaud        Artfully Ornamental

Lori Poppe                           Adventures in Creativity with Lorillijean

LouAnn Elwell                    Southpass Beads

Mandi Effron                       Craft-o-licious

Marcia DeCoster                 MadDesigns

Marcia Dunne                     The Alternative Foundry

Marie Covert                      Creating Interest

Marjorie Savill Linthwaite     bennubirdrising

Marlene Cupo                        Amazing Designs by Marlene

Martha Aleo                           Ornamento

Marti Conrad                          Marti’s Buttons -n- Beads

Mary Ellen Parker                  BeeTree by m.e.

Mary Govaars                        MLH Jewelry Designs

Mary Lindell                          Mary Lindell Artisan Jewelry

Maureen Connolly                 Mrs Beadsley’s Workshop

Maybeline Tay                       The Jewelry Larder

Melissa Elgin                         The Addicted Beader

Melissa Mesara                      one-eared pig beads

Menka Gupta                         Menka’s Jewelry

Michaela Pabeschitz              la mar de bonita

Mischelle Fanucchi               Micheladas Musings

Mona Rae Baroody               Who Does She Bead She Is?

Nan Emmett                          Spirit Rattles — Spirited Earth

Nancy Pedersen                    Something Heartfelt by Nancy

Natalie Davidson                  NorthShore Days
Nikki Douglas                      Bead It and Weep

Pam Farren                           re-maker

Pam, the Crazier Sister        The Crazy Creative Corner

Pam Traub                            Klassy Joolz
Priya Krish                           Hellopalz  
Rebecca Anderson               Song Beads

Rebecca Sirevaag                 Becca’s Place

Robin Kae Reed                   Artistry HCBD

Rochelle Brisson                  a creative chelle

Rosa Maria Cuevas              Helena de Troya

Sabine Dittrich                     perlendschungel

Sandi Volpe                          Sandi Volpe

Sandra McGriff                    Creative Chaos

Sarah Goode                         Pookledo
Sarah Singer                         String a Song of Sixpence

Serena Trent                         All Things Made Jewelry

Shai Williams                       Shaiha’s Ramblings
Sharon Palac                        Sharon’s Jewelry Garden

Sharyl McMillian-Nelson    Sharyl’s Jewelry & Reflections

Sheila Davis                         Stone Designs

Shelley Graham Turner        Fabric of My Life

Sherri Stokey                       Knot Just Macrame

Sherry Baun                         Unicorns Jewels

Skylar Bre’z                         Brising Beads

Stephanie Haussler              Pixybug Designs

Tania Spivey                        Moobie Grace Designs

Terri G.                                Blooming Ideas

Terry Carter                         Tapping Flamingo

Terry Matuszyk                    Pink Chapeau Vintage Jewelry    You Are Here!

Toltec Jewels                       Jewel School Friends
Tracy Kruse                         Goldkisses Art

Tracy Martin                        Nutkitten’s Jewelry

Zia Parks                              Anzi~Panzi’s Work Shoppe

Zoe Marcin                          Beads, Tea and Sweets

  

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 5,400 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 9 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

Fall 2012 Trend -Brooches

Take a look at the top fashion magazine and trend news for Fall and Winter, and you can’t help but notice that blingy brooches with  BIG stones and bright colors are all over the place.  This is NOT your grandma’s brooch!  They are worn as accents all over – lapels, hipline, accenting purses or bags, or even the pocket of your jeans.  Use them to clip on a scarf.

Nieman Marcus says about them:  “One adds newness. A cluster adds drama.”  Wearing them in multiples is not only fashionable, but it’s fun!

Pink Chapeau has a large selection of brooches in many styles.  Keep looking at our ebay auctions over the next few weeks as we feature fashion forward brooches and pins.  Here are some examples.

And our fun and fashionable jewelry is always affordable!!!

A Request for Help

Hurricane Sandy has left thousands of Americans without access to food, water, clean clothes, electricity and heat.  Many are homeless.  The hurricane was especially hard on our society’s most vulnerable-the poor and the elderly, as you’ll see if you take a look at this link.  Whitney Hess has done a wonderful job of bringing a human story to the news stories about deaths due to the hurricane.

Of course, property damage is widespread and amounts to astronomical numbers.  The following pictures were taken in Belle Harbor by an acquaintance of mine.

I have posted a lot of information on my Facebook page daily in an effort to keep people informed and engaged.  Our lives may be back to normal, but normal is far from what many are living right now.

You can look at my facebook page for links to other news stories and information.  Even if we are not “friends,” I purposely made all of my Sandy links public so all can see them.

I have set up a fundraising page which links to Mercury One’s fundraising efforts.  You can give anonymously if you like. I know this sounds very trite , but no donation is too small. It all adds up.  With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, it is more important than ever to show love and kindness to our fellow man.   And it always comes back to you.

With my next blog post, we’ll get back to the topic of jewelry. Thanks for taking the time to read, and thanks for your help.

A Very Special Blog Hop for the Holidays

I love participating in Lori Anderson’s blog hops.  She is hosting a very special one this holiday season.  The idea is to honor someone who is special to you.  Have a look at Lori’s blog for more details.

I”ve got a lot of ideas swirling around in my head, but I’m not going to reveal too much right now.  I will tell you that my piece will be in honor of multiple people.   I lost my younger sister two years ago, and part of what I am doing will be for her.  She LOVED cats more than almost anything, so I’ll be incorporating them into my design.

The hop will be on January 12…Mark you calendar so  you don’t miss it!!!

 

 

 

Making a Cameo Appearance

The romantic vintage look is so hot this year in both clothing and jewelry styles.  One of the hottest trends for jewelry is the cameo.  Designers such as Lanvin, Miu Miu,  Amedeo and Bottega Veneta are featuring them in their Fall and Spring collection.

If you love this look, but those designers are a little out of your price range, I’ve got great news for you!  Pink Chapeau Vintage Jewelry is featuring a new line of big, bold and bright cameo jewelry for your enjoyment.  I have designed these pieces with Fall and Spring designer colors in mind, but the styles are timeless enough so that you don’t have to worry about putting them away after the season is over.

My specialty is the floating cameo. These are done in resin, typically in super bright colors.

These are fairly large pendants, at 40 x 30 mm, but I am coming out with a line of smaller cameos, in the 25 x 18 mm range.

I’ve also got slightly more nontraditional cameos done with floral motifs.

You can see a photo album of all of my cameo jewelry on Facebook.  Remember that I can customize orders to your color specifications, too!!!

October Pink

Obviously, I love pink.  I wear a pink hat when I do live shows.

I have a pink hat on my  business cards, tags, and earring cards.

and my business name is Pink Chapeau Vintage Jewelry.

During the month of October, pink  takes on another meaning.  Pink is the color that has been used in remembrance of survivors of breast cancer, victims of breast cancer, and is also used to help raise money in the fight against breast cancer.  I wear my pink with a lot of pride this month, and with deep feelings for my friends, family, and coworkers who have been affected by this disease.

Next weekend, I will be taking part in the Making Strides event in Albany, NY to raise money for the fight against breast cancer.  Won’t you please consider supporting me in this worthwhile event?  Any donation is welcome, and no amount is too small.  Thank you for letting me take some time away from my usual chatting about jewelry for this valuable information.  Wait a second!!!  It does tie into jewelry just a bit….

For everything pink I sell from now until the end of October, half of the proceeds will be donated to the American Cancer Society as part of my fundraising efforts. This includes Ebay auction, or items purchased at Etsy

or my Craftstar store.

Watch my Ebay listings– I will be adding more pink items for this special event starting this evening!

Fall 2012 Fashion Trend ….and Handmade with Love

You might remember my Bead Soup blog post…if not , here’s a refresher.

The “Shell Game” necklace has just been listed in my Etsy shop.  This lovely Fall necklace features gemstone beads, including Fall’s hottest color, Oxblood.

And in my Craftstar shop, you can find these earrings, handcast in ICE resin and amethyst chips, featuring Pantone’s Fall 2012 color, Rhapsody.

As always, no matter what shop you buy from, Pink Chapeau features free shipping via First Class mail to US and Canada.