Gotta love a good Etsy Treasury:



Love the colors and textures. Incredibly cool...

Thanks for the shoutout Gloria!

Sara

Christmas Giveaway!

**Congratulations to Kelly for winning the December giveaway!  Enjoy the earrings, Kelly!**

It's about time I had a giveaway, right?  And what better time than during the Season of Giving.  Here's the deal:
1.  Go to the In Small Spectacles Facebook page HERE and "like".
2.  Leave me a comment about why you love earrings (who doesn't?!) by noon on Saturday.

I will have Boy 1 randomly chose the winner of this pair earrings:

The vintage filigrees are 8mm and are solid brass as are the leverbacks and top smooth antique bead.  Very lightweight and easy to wear, they look great with gold and/or your other In Small Spectacles pieces. 

I will ship these goodies to the winner immediately and depending upon the Postal Service, you should get them in time to wear to your Christmas Day celebrations!  As with every In Small Spectacles piece, they will be packaged gift-ready.

Good Luck!

Sara

Don't forget the In Small Spectacles Trunk Show at Patina at Home tomorrow from 10-5.  It's the last show of the year!   See you there!

Sara

The Little Things

Sometimes it's the littlest of things that make us the happiest, are more meaningful, and are what we remember most.  Private, quiet gestures from one to another without any strings attached warm our hearts and keep our motors running, especially during difficult times.  A sprinkle of cinnamon mixed with ground coffee awakens our taste buds.  An icy glass of water during on a hot day is the bomb.  A clean house calms our spirits, at least it does for me.  And a child's sweet hug and hot breath in our faces breaks our hearts. 

Another example:  a lone vintage metal rhinestone.  How beautiful is this?

Old fabric boxes holding unseen treasures are also quite nice:

And really nothing could be prettier than a single vintage metal rhinestone than a handful of vintage metal rhinestones:

At least until we open that old fabric box of goodies and find something so sublime, our hearts skip a beat:



And we behold the dazzling sight of 1,000 (not a typo) vintage metal rhinestones in pristine condition:

And we thank the Almighty for eyes to see, hearts to swoon, and Ebay to get our hands on such lovelies.

Be on the lookout for these pretties to grace In Small Spectacles pieces.

Sara

Trunk Show

In Small Spectacles will be having a Trunk Show this Saturday, December 10th, from 10-5 at Patina at Home.  It will coincide with the City of Wyoming's Christmas Walk, a quaint, old area of Cincinnati.  Patina is such a beautiful store offering an eclectic mix of vintage and new items for your home, your bath, and your personal adornment.  The perfect place to find those special items to help you check off your Christmas List.  There will be cookies and hot cocoa, and I hear a certain bearded man dressed in red will be making an appearance.  Hmmmm....

Hope to see you there!

Sara 

Christmas Time is Here

It's officially Christmas Time, at least according to my calendar sensibilities.  The retail world completely bypassed that middle child, Thanksgiving, with barely a glance at Halloween and dove straight into that time of the year that makes department stores giddy. 

I don't much like the frenzied Christmas with expectations of expensive gifts, crazy scheduling, and culinary demands (I'd rather clean my baseboards then bake a batch of cookies).  I like the awe-filled Christmas that pauses to wonder at the Grace that took on human flesh for our redemption.  The one that teaches my sons about sacrifice and how much they are loved by the Creator.  Twinkling lights and flying reindeer are nice, but they won't get you through the pearly gates.

With all that said, I do want to remind you that I'll be at the Northpointe Elementary Winter Wonderland this Saturday from 10-2.  After that, it's just one more show (trunk show with details to follow soon) before the Christmas and the end of 2011. I added more solid brass, loaded demi-cuffs to the inventory after they sold out:

And some more antique cabinet key bracelets that always seem to fly out the door:

Each is priced reasonably so you can be proud to give a piece that is unique and handcrafted with attention to detail without feeling like you've been gouged.  There may even be enough left over in your wallet for something for yourself!

Merry Christmas!

Sara

Never Fear, the Blanks are Here

I have only two more of my demi cuffs left, they are really selling like hotcakes.  I was initially only able to get a small number of the cuff portion of the bracelets, but after scouring sources old and new, I finally stumbled upon several.  Just in time for Christmas.

 I etched each cuff blank in acid, then aged and sanded them, sealed them to prevent further aging, and formed them into cuffs.

The chains are made from hand-aged rhinestones sandwiched in between vintage silver-plated beads I strung rosary-style.  I combined them with aged brass and silver metal chains. 

On some I etched a "Latin" script which Boy 1 (who is learning Latin in school) has informed me isn't Latin at all.  Whatever.  

  

I etched a medieval scene with an angel and a woman....and the wannabe "Latin" again.

Each has a vintage metal tassel, metal rhinestone, and sacred medal dangling on one side.  These add great movement elements without getting in the way of your everyday movements.

I think you'll agree that these loaded cuffs are tough, edgy, and lovely all at the same time.

These cuffs are super easy to wear;  you just mold or open the cuffs a bit and it stays on the top of your wrist.  Love these beauties!

Keep a look out for them soon!

Sara

Etsy Front Page....Again!

Yay....In Small Spectacles was featured in a Treasury that made an Etsy Front Page appearance at 10:30 this morning!



Many thanks to the curator, enollah, who featured my blue salvaged chandelier crystal assemblage necklace.

Sara