Wedding Corsage tutorial

When my friend from college got married a few months back, I really didnt know what to give her. Since she was going to USA, I didnt want to give her anything that she wouldnt want to carry from here.That's when I thought of jewelry. But I also knew that she was/is not a jewelry person. As my dilemma mounted up, I even thought of going bare handed to the reception, but felt bad, as it is against my tradition to see a newly married bride/couple without any gifts. Finally I thought what the heck and made her a simple tie up corsage, which she could wear during her honeymoon or even for a formal occasion. Thats what this tutorial is for. It can also be a great bridal accessory in Christian/western weddings.If you having a DIY wedding, you could even make something like this for the bridesmaids.
PS: my friend really liked the corsage...so off to the tute.

Materials Required:

- tulle/gauze,tissue ( I picked a white & silver jacquard tulle)
-Satin tape (in a colour matching to the tulle). I chose beige
- pearls, beads and focal objects
- a piece of felt or fabric felt
- scissors, sewing needle and thread
- clear glue
Procedure:
1) Measure your wrist circumference and cut a length of tulle that is twice that measure. Choose the width depending on how broad or narrow you want the corsage to be. Then pick the approximate center and start making gathering stitches from one end to the other. Leave 1/2" gap and repeat. Full to gather and tie the knots.

 2) Press the tulle down (you can weigh it down with a book if your tulle/gauze is stiff). Then place (the center of ) the length of satin tape (wrist circumference plus min 3"-4" on each side for tie up). You can make it as long as you want. Singe or fray check the edges of the tape before starting to stitch.You can either stitch them together using a machine or hand stitch as I did. Since I was hand stitching, I attached the silver beads and pearls as I went to save time.

3)Before you start this project, think about your focal piece. It can be a bead, a ring, the top part of a brooch/clip/clip on earrings, a personalized photo charm, anything that you think will do justice to this corsage. Since I wanted mine to be simple (my friend is not a bling person), I chose a focal rose bead and a matching silver colour ring for the center. I first glued it down and rand a couple of stitches through it to secure it.Then complete the other side with pearls and beads. Finish and secure.

4)Once finished, glue a strip of felt/fabric felt on the understand to cover the stitches and to provide stability to your corsage. Don't we all like our pieces to be neatly finished?

5) Its done, wear and enjoy or gift wrap it to be given away as a present
I hope you find this project interesting.
cheers

Please vote for me

 Hey guys....

Here is a request...I am participating in a tote design contest held by Nine west and tatenthouse. Here is my design.

  Description : The design comprises of multi hued bright summer stripes in the background with Nine west lettering and the foreground boasts of two fashion figures.This Spring - summer tote symbolizes both flamboyance and the playfulness of youth

If you like my work then Please support me by voting for me at voting link

Copy Paste link -http://www.talenthouse.com/creativeinvites/preview/ac33002c8ae81e46b554c0bec920d3cb/219

  

Voting ends in 3 days and I need more than 200 votes to come in the top 10 !!

Comments on this post dont consider as votes... Please visit the link to vote - you can log in with your facebook or Twitter account - no need to sign up on Talent house..but if you wish to...you would see that it is great site where you can upload your work and create online copyrighted portfolio...

So please wish me luck and vote for me 

Glass Beads and finishes

Dont we all just love glass beads? I do, for it is the bread and butter of my work. Glass beads being available in plenty in India, It is the most economical of all materials for me. It comes from Uttar Pradesh in the north (an area famous for its glass work) and is distributed by gypsies (yes you heard me right,  gypsies!!) across the country. I have a group of friendly gypsies  living 10 minutes from my place and they love supplying me with all my glass necessities and I love meeting and interacting with them. Since they are experts in stringing they also make such beautiful tantalizing jewelry. The only downside of buying glass beads from them is that they are not aware of the types of beads and finishes that go into it. So keep my work on track, here is a resource I use and would like to share with all of you. Here is a teaser...
Shown in the pic are color lined, gilt lined, cut and lamp work beads
Glass Bead Types

Bead Type	Appearance
Agate	Made to look like the gemstone agate. The glass has white swirled with color.
Charlotte	Beads have a single cut on one side of the bead which gives them a bit of sparkle. Most commonly found in size 13, although other sizes are available, too.
Color Lined	Transparent beads with an opaque color 'lining' inside the hole of the bead. The color may be scratched off by the stringing material over time and certain colors will fade.
Cut	Usually refers to hex cut, also called 3-cut or 6-cut, in which the bead has been cut to form a hexagon.
Gilt Lined	Inside of the bead has a golden (not real gold) lining.
Gold Lined	Inside of the bead has a gold lining.
Inside Color	Transparent beads that have had an opaque color applied to the inside of the bead. Also called color lined.
Opal	Semi-translucent glass that transmits light but is milky. Good opal glass has a bit of glow to it.
Opaque	Opaque glass transmits no light. Opaque glass has a dull gloss, although surface treatments are often applied (e.g., matte, rainbow).
Satin	Satin glass has a layered or satin-like appearance. The exact color depends on the viewing angle.
Silky	Silky beads, like satin, may have a striated, satiny appearance.
Silver Lined (s/l)	These transparent beads that have been lined with silver. The silver lining is much harder to mar than a color lining.
To read more on bead types and finishes visit this site.  I hope that it is helpful in your work Cheers

Giveaway Winner and my eternal Dilemma

The "26" giveaway is finally done and I have winner... But before I announce the name I have a few questions to ask and a few thought to share...I promise I wont bore you all much

- Of late I seem to be creating products just so that I can post a tutorial or just post it on my blog...I know that Its supposed to be the other way round...that's where my dilemma comes in. All the products I create to sell locally are strictly ethnic even traditionally Indian at times while most of my blog readers are Europe and USA, So I don't know if that'll be interesting to somebody...so to all my readers/followers/ casual glancers - I just need a feedback on what do you expect from this blog and me (if at all there are any expectations)?

 - Online selling :I was just wondering about online selling. I have an artfire store for now. It is great in a sense that its free...no listing or transaction fees. But on the other hand I see people selling more from their etsy store...so should I just stick with my artfire store or move on to etsy or what about a blog store - no paypal (extra fees for Indian currency with paypal)  no transaction fees - basically less torture more money!!

- Rupee/dollar: If you had been following my blog, we would know that once I had a blog store (which I eventually let go before shifting to artfire). I am thinking about bringing it back - maybe with items that are priced  less than $ 5 or10. So here comes my next confusion, should I prices my products in Rupees or dollars? A product for $5 might appear cheap/small change in America or Europe while in India Rs.225 is still a big deal (you can get a good meal or a decent top for it or even both at times!!)

Also any suggestions on the kind of products that will work well on a store like that?

So as you can all see I am completely confused now in this east Vs west dilemma and could use all the help I can get now...Finally

 - Supplies Store: Also I am thinking of opening a supplies store, where I would be stocking things like paper beads, satin rosettes, bangle bases, leather bows..those kind of things that could be readily converted into a piece of jewelry/accessory or can be used in crafts. Do you think that's a good idea?

BTW though the comments on the giveaway post were really low (even including FB) my blog stats have shot up like there is no tomorrow and that brings back to my initial thought - Though getting free stuff is always fun, you dont need to give freebies to spread your word - your work will do that...sounds a lot like Amma's (JJ) election speech  right?;)

Finally as I promised I'll put an end to my questions and announce the winner.

It is  Vichitra Agarwal who commented on facebook

Congratulations Vichitra...please send me a mail with your details so that I can mail you the earrings at the earliest..
I hope that you would like them...
cheers

The 26 Giveaway is here

This Giveawy is now closed.
Hey Guys...some time back, I had made a comment on the jewelsofSayuri facebook page that if my blog reaches 26 likes on FB, 26,000 hits on blogger and 76 GFC followers on or before my 26th birthday (June 5th), I shall do a giveaway. Looking back it feels strange. But now,  as I have almost reached the target I have decided to do the giveaway....:)

So what do I giveaway this time...????

  Jewelry (ya, right what else !!)

 

 I am giving away two of my bow fabric earrings which are very much in trend this year. Made from tape (one from satin tape and the other from a denim tape), both these earrings are studs.The pink one has a stone center while the denim painted one has a faux pearl center.

 To participate:

- Leave a  comment - tell me when or with what would you like to wear these earrings or if you like to give them to someone? (you dont need to have a blog to comment, just sign in with your Gmail ID or leave a comment on the Facebook  page)
- You dont have to be a follower to participate in this giveaway, but if you follow, please leave an extra, separate comment letting me know how you follow  (facebook or GFC) :)

This giveaway is open internationally and is open till 20st June and I will announce the winner (chosen randomly) on 20th evening.

So blog, comment, tweet, do whatever you want to, to spread the message
Participate and have fun!!
Cheers

Royalty & Jewelry - Nepal

 

Mention Royalty and Jewelry in one sentence and the Indian Maharajas/Ranis and their Victorian/Elizabethan counterparts.will immediately come to ones mind. I have often wondered that what is it about them or their attire that makes it so fascinating. The answer struck me as I was looking at the portrait of Nepali kings in the Baktapur museum.

I realised that it was not so much about the the fabric of their clothes or the size of their jewelry. Nor was it about the charisma that they demonstrated or the heroic deeds that they had performed. Yes it was all this but also something more. In my opinion the truth is that we are fascinated with the stories that these pictures, the clothes and the regalia tell us. Stories of whom they had met and what they had seen and been through. Yes these are reference points of the era gone by that still remind us of how things used to be once upon a time.

What I love about these two portraits apart from their beautiful chunky jewelry ofcourse, is the way they had been portrayed. Read about these kings in the History of Nepal Kingdoms.

Talking about the jewelry, I was fascinated by their headgear in particular. Made of glittering diamonds, snow white pearls and green emerald drops, the crown had a fascinating plume of feathers. On further research I found that this was the plume of the 'Bird of Paradise'. I didn't even know that such a bird existed in reality before this. It seems that Nepal had only three such crowns: the King's crown, the Rana Prime Minister's crown and the Army Commander-in-Chief's crown. Visit Subodh's blog - History lessons Nepal to read more about this crown along with other facts about Nepal. 
While the other 2 crowns seem to have disappeared,  the king's crown was last seen during the accession ceremony of King Gyanendra in 2001 at Hanuman Dhoka (Kathmandu durbar square). Currently, the crown is under the supervision of the Nepal Army and has been kept inside the palace. I learnt about this only after coming back and I seriously regret not being able to visit the Narayanhiti Palace museum. The fact that I went till its gates (braving a bandh - strike) to only find it closed, makes me think that I am destined to see the crown (hopefully it will be shown to the public by then) and other precious jewels some other time.

Maybe a second visit is on the cards for me in the future...and I think that i'll enjoy it.
Now that royal jewelry has my full interest, I think I'll read more about it, starting with the ever popular Indian Maharajas of course ;)

Cheers

Fabric Jhumka earrings tutorial

Jhumka or Jimki earrings are earrings that usually drop from a stud or a hook in the shape of a basket, cage, a barrel or a ball. These earrings are traditionally made in gold/ silver but can be adapted to many different materials. Today I would like to show you how to whip up a pair of Fabric Jhumka earrings in about 40 minutes (which includes 30 mins drying time).It is very light to wear, looks pretty and costs nothing - I bet you have a scrap of fabric, some ear wires and couple of eye pins lying around - no kidding, that's all it takes. :)

Materials Required :

1) Fabric scrap - 2 squares of 2X2 or 3x3 (any size depending on what you want)

2) 2 eye pins
3) 2 bead caps

4) a pair of ear hooks

5) Cotton or polyfill for stuffing

6) Pearls or small beads for decoration

7)matching thread and sewing needle

8)Fabric Adhesive or clear glue

9)Scissors and one set of pliers

Procedure:

1) On each of the cut square, draw a circle (on the reverse) and do running (gather) stitches on it. I am using a blush pink satin fabric for demonstration - you can use any fabric from glass tissue (above pic) to silk to cotton

2) Gather the stitches and stuff the pouch with cotton or polyfill. Tighten till you get the shape of a candy pouch. Slowly flatten till you get the desired shape. Try around the mouth and knot. Cut the excess fabric and secure with a drop of glue.

3) Take your bead caps (I used a  plated flower design for this project) and slightly flatten it with a hammer so that it opens out a little. You can skip this step if you bead cap is wide enough to cover the fabric excess by itself. Now add the ear wires to the sized eye pin (cut the eye pin to desired length so that it just gets into the pouch) with the pliers. Then drop this whole set in to the bead cap and reverse it onto the tied up pouch or potli as we call it. Glue it in place. This make take a while (around 30 minutes to dry). You can even add the ear wires after the jhumka dries.

 4) To hide any stitches that are visible and to decorate the piece, just stitch on some pretty beads or little pearls as embellishment. You Jumkha earrings are now ready. Wear them with pride and a smile on your face.

If you notice the first picture, you can how how by variating the fabric, the bead cap and the beads you get a completely different look and feel for the earrings. Try it sometimes. I hope that you will find it interesting.

Cheers