Kathy O Inspirations

Downton Abbey inspirations

kathyoinspirations — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 22:52:33 +0000

I sadly admit that I missed all of Season One of Downton Abbey. A shameless act on my part. Tragedy. And even though I did not understand what was going on when I boarded the “Crawley” train this season, I’m hooked. The costumes…the jewelry…the scenery…and the costumes (did I say that already?).

And, so in celebration of my new-found obsession, I created the Lavinia earrings. Sweet, with a little bit country and a little bit urban vibe.

The earrings feature Grandma Kathy’s gold clip-on earrings (with clips removed) mounted on gold-plated filigrees hanging from repurposed gold vintage chain (from a multi-strand necklace purchased at an antique mall). Dangling from the filigrees are Grandma Kathy’s royal blue hand-painted porcelain beads.

“It is not in me to be Queen of the County.” – Lavinia Swire

P.S. I took the quiz. My result: Lady Mary Crawley. Now you take the “which character are you” quiz and tell me who you are!

Photo edited with Google+ Creative Kit using Polaroid Plus effect.

… inspirations

kathyoinspirations — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:42:55 +0000

http://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

Fairweather inspirations

kathyoinspirations — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:59:56 +0000

I’m headed south with my birds…

And my keys…

My vintage treasures…

Repurposed objects…

And, lastly, my Seaside-inspired creations…

Some of these jewelry creations will be staying the winter in Seaside at Fairweather House & Garden. Stop in and visit them if you’re in town…

2012 inspirations

kathyoinspirations — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:20:01 +0000

I’m looking forward to the new year with a redesigned blog and redesigned jewelry! In anticipation of switching the calendar to 2012, I’ve been busy creating new bedazzled accessories that combine my love of vintage with my “geeky” side. A big part of these creations are vintage keys that I purchased from a new favorite vendor on Etsy – Geek Girl Vintage. (I adore her introduction, “Ever feel like you were born in the wrong era? Me too.”) Incorporated into many of the new jewelry pieces are computer hard drive platter spacers, vintage rhinestones, and Grandma Kathy’s beads and other treasures. My hands have been busy cutting out vintage dictionary illustrations, words, and letters. The vintage dictionary letters (cut from a water-damaged 1953 Webster’s Elementary Dictionary) will be used for customized alphabet pendants, like the one in the picture. More to come in 2012!

Mid-century inspirations

kathyoinspirations — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 01:48:59 +0000

I adore vintage! And I’ve found a fabulous outlet (besides making jewelry) that allows me to exploit my love of vintage – specifically mid-century vintage – and my affection for writing! I have been writing for Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood Blog. Mr. Roger’s is a real estate professional in Seattle (real name is Roger Morris). He’s a mid-century maven as well, so this gig feeds right into my retro addiction. To date, I’ve written blog posts about Naugahyde (you know, the original “pleather”), mod mid-century paint colors, and the perfect mid-century thanksgiving hostess dish. Check it out at mrrogersneighborhoodblog.com! Oh, and subscribe, too!

It’s always a beautiful day in Mr. Roger’s neighborhood!

P.S. I promise to get back to jewelry inspirations soon.

Today’s inspiration

kathyoinspirations — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:10:57 +0000

No jewelry inspirations…just inspirational words via Eden M. Kennedy’s blog.

“Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.” ~ Henry Van Dyke

Let’s all make some noise!

hermit thrush courtesy of birdfreak.com

Afternoon inspiration

kathyoinspirations — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:02:32 +0000

Cupcake Royale Dance Party cupcake and americano

Bumbershoot Supplies inspirations

kathyoinspirations — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:22:29 +0000

My favorite vintage supply shop is having a giveaway! If you win the $100 gift certificate, will you send it to me?

Bumbershoot Supplies (in addition to featuring me as one of the October 2011 “Artists of the Month”) is my go-to place when I need that perfect vintage bead (like these vintage ruby red faceted glass beads with aurora borelis finish) to complete a piece that complements Grandma Kathy’s bead and costume jewelry stash. You can enter to win on Bumbershoot Supplies blog!

3:57 inspirations

kathyoinspirations — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 23:49:29 +0000

Two bird friends in a tree at 3:57

Today, as I was in the backyard waiting for the dog to “take care of her business,” I heard a bird making noises – noises that sounded somewhere between a squawk and a chirp. Not recognizing the call, I curiously looked in the direction of the sounds, over our roof, up to the top of the pine tree in the neighbors front yard. At the very top of the tree, in the highest sky-reaching branch, I espied a robin. What also caught my eye was a large, black crow perched atop another branch to the left of the robin. Two bird friends in a tree.

I took a picture using my iPhone’s Instagram app (using the Earlybird filter). What makes this scene photo-worthy, you ask? Two reasons: 1) before Grandma Kathy passed away, she said she wanted to be reincarnated as a robin, and 2) well, I recently wrote a blog post about crows and my friend Constance.

What is so inspirational about all this and how does it relate to creating jewelry? I took the photo at 3:57PM, and it dawned on me that I recently created a necklace and named it “Time Stopped at 3:57″ because of the vintage watch face I found in Grandma Kathy’s jewelry stash and used in the piece.

Oh, the rich connections that 3:57 now holds…

Time stopped at 3:57 necklace

Black bird inspirations

kathyoinspirations — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 03:48:30 +0000

What do you think of when you see a crow?

I used to be terrified of them! It all stems from an incident -nothing tragic – but still an event that left an indelible impression on my psyche. At the center of the event is Lala, my most treasured doll when I was a toddler. One day, as she hung out to dry on the clothes line, I watched in horror while crow after crow landed in the yard and on the line. As the horde of black birds squawked away, I was convinced they would fly off with her. Terrified, I stood at the sliding glass door, tearfully begging to save her tiny little life. Thankfully, the crows did not snatch her away, and later that day, Lala was back in my arms. But the fear and distaste for crows stayed with me…that is until recently.

A dear friend, talented artist, published author, and beautiful sage, Constance, agreed to an art swap – she would make me one of her intricately hand-torn and cut paper collages of a robin if I would make her a necklace with a crow illustration from my water-damaged 1953 Webster’s Elementary Dictionary that I found at an estate sale. A crow…really? Don’t they dig through garbage bins? Aren’t they mean buggers?

Hah…on the contrary! She regaled me with delightful stories of the crow family that lives in her backyard. The nest the family built, their conversations, their antics. Giselle, the mother, graceful as a ballet dancer, tending to her young son, and the rugged and stocky father stumbling around looking for peanuts that Constance throws into the yard each morning. Now, when I look out in my backyard and see crows digging in grass looking for earthworms and insects, I see different birds…not the mean birds that “tried to steal” Lala…birds with a personality and purpose.

I dug around the internet looking for information about crows and landed on Shamanism: Working with Animal Spirits, where I found a thoughtful explanation of crow wisdom and traits. According to the website, these include:

Guardian of the place before existence
Ability to move in space and time
Honoring ancestors
Carrier of souls from darkness into light
Working without fear in darkness
Guidance while working in shadow
Moves freely in the void
Understands all things related to ethics
Shapeshifter

Constance…now I understand. Thank you.