Peppy's Dream Crafts Blog

JANUARY 23, 2008 

Today I worked on my jewelry mosaics. I wanted to create some new pieces to present to GILI ANNA for her adorable shop in La Jolla.

GILI ANNA sells jewelry, art and Judaica -- some of the most beautiful pieces I have ever seen.  Her shop is fabulous -- filled from top to bottom with amazing, one-of-a-kind objects to wear or display.  Her walls are painted a turquoise that is bright and reminds you of the sea.  She carries beautiful corals, which complement the colors so perfectly.  Every piece is so colorful, sparkly and eye-catching that you don't know where to look first!

She is a very sweet woman, who creates a lovely aura of good feelings as soon as you walk into her shop.   I am really hoping she will be able to sell these new pieces for me.  I first discovered Gili's lovely shop on January 8th when I drove to La Jolla on a quest to find a great shop to carry my creations.  I was led there by fate and she was very enthusiastic about my work.  She asked me to make smaller pieces, which would be easier to display, so I have been working very hard since then.

The first piece I created especially for her shop is a small faux-tortoise shell hand mirror, which can also be hung on the wall or propped like a picture frame on a table, so it's very versatile. It's very small -- 3"x5".

Sorry about my messy bedroom reflected in the mirror!

The other is a round mirror about a foot in diameter, which had a white plastic frame that was about 2" thick on the sides. I decorated the entire top of the mirror with jewelry, but the sides looked empty and unfinished. It would take tons more jewelry to finish up the sides, so I decided to decoupage pictures of jewelry on the sides of the mirror, to give it a pretty, finished look without making it prohibitively expensive to sell.

The good thing is that more of these mirrors are available, if she likes them, so I can make a lot of each. I can also just decoupage the white plastic mirror and it would look fabulous, too!

JANUARY 27, 2008 

I brought Gili Anna my two new pieces and she loved them!  She put them out for sale and I left happy and optimistic.  I got a call from her the next day -- she had sold the small mirror -- in less than 24 hours!  Beginner's luck?  I guess so!  I had finished a third mirror, and I got to work making another, so she would have more in the shop to sell.

I brought them to her today and she was thrilled.  I hope they will sell, too!

I will keep working, as Gili Anna told me that a collection of frames will sell better than just one or two!  I hope she's right!

FEBRUARY 17, 2008

GILI ANNA now has about 8 pieces of my work in her shop!  Last weekend I brought her four more jewelry mosaic mirrors and a small jewelry mosaic picture frame.  I am hoping that they will start to sell, as she sold my first piece in less than 24 hours!

The pieces look so beautiful surrounded by all the gorgeous pieces of jewelry and decorative pieces she has in the shop.  They fit in very well!

Gili told me that a customer was interested in having me make one that was all pink, so I'm going to try to get more small mirrors, so I can do that for her.  That should be really beautiful.  I love pink, too! 

FEBRUARY 23, 2008

I started my commissioned mirror – all pinks – and I was a little nervous about it, because I really didn’t have that much material to work with that was ALL pink.  I had pinks – mixed with purples, or blues, or greens.  I thought it would be kind of boring to have an ALL pink mirror anyway, so I just started working with what I had.

Here's a close-up of my decoupaged "clock" tray.

While I was working on the mirror, I also varnished my “clock tray.”  I just put it outside  on the balcony sitting on top of a vase and I sprayed it.  Then, I sprayed the other side.  It dries so fast here.  It’s the perfect temperature and not very windy, so it’s easy to do.  In NY, sometimes I’d be standing outside the back of the shop in the winter, spraying a piece.  Or it would be 90 degrees outside, which also isn’t the best situation.  San Diego has perfect varnishing weather!

I finished the mirror and went to La Jolla to bring the pink mirror (which turned out great) to GILI ANNA.  Unfortunately, she wasn’t working.  Her friend was working for her, so that Gili could have a day off.  She works seven days a week, so she really needs some time to herself every once in a while.  I know working six days a week was hard for me, so it must be really hard to do seven!

Here's a picture of some of the treasures in GILI ANNA.

Here are some of my small jewelry mosaic mirrors:

FEBRUARY 26, 2008 

I had this vintage metal purse -- the little compact kind that holds your powder, lipstick, has a mirror, a space for your money and that's about it.  It had seen better days.  It had a beautiful jeweled applique on the lid, but the rest of the cover was kind of beat up.  The silver metal had dulled and was scratched.  I had it for a while and loved it, but knew I couldn't wear it or sell it unless I did something to make it better.  I decided to cover the lid with vintage costume jewelry and make it ready for the Red Carpet!  Voila!  Just a few hours and some old jewels and now it's fabulous!

I'm tempted to keep it for myself, but think that some diva will love to carry this to her next "big event" -- a black tie gala, a wedding, or even just a Saturday night at a chic restaurant in town!

As you can see, this purse had seen better days!

Inside there's room for everything a gal needs for a night on the town!

Now, it's fit for a queen!

I used a rhinestone necklace, clip-on earrings, and loose vintage stones of all shapes and colors!This would also be fabulous sitting on a vanity, dresser, or even your desk, to hold business cards!

I also had a gold-framed wooden vanity tray with a mirror in the center.  It stood on four gold ball feet.  Adorable, but it was all chipped.  Something had to be done to bring it back to life!  Aha!  More jewels!

Wouldn't this be fabulous with some cut glass perfume bottles on it?

Eric really loves it, which makes me so happy.  I can just imagine this in a lovely lady's boudoir.  If I had a dresser I might be tempted to keep it for myself, so it’s a good thing I don’t!

TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2008 

I've been a busy little bee trying to make as many pieces as I can for the NORTH PARK CRAFT MAFIA SPRING LINE-UP CRAFT SHOW on Sunday, March 30th from 12-6pm. 

I haven't done any decoupage, but I've been working with my jewelry mosaics like crazy!  Here are some of the results!

After getting such great feedback on my pink mirror, I decided to do one in blues!

The piece at the very top is a 1920s pot metal brooch.  I had this piece for the longest time and never had the perfect place to put it -- until now!

This piece has a faux carved jade brooch on top, surrounded by faux pearls.  I wore this pin until recently, but the pearls kept falling out, one at a time.  I finally decided it was too delicate for every-day use and it deserved to be featured on one of my mirrors! 

 I love the dangle at the bottom, because it brings movement to the piece!

This 1940s cigarette case had seen better days.  The finish was dull and scratched, so I "dressed it up" with strands of multi-colored rhinestones and used a single faux turquoise and gold earring in the center.  I think it looks fantastic, but I'm hoping it won't really be used for cigarettes!

Wouldn't this look fabulous sitting on a dresser or vanity? 

This make-up brush could really be used to apply blush or loose powder, but wouldn't it just look gorgeous on a vanity in a woman's boudoir?

This tiny silver frame would be perfect to hold a picture of the one you love!

I'm still hard at work, so I will have more pieces to show you in a few days.  Check back here soon!

Saturday, April 26, 2008 

I did my first key frame about a month ago and my friends Katie and Susan both fell in love with it.  Since Katie expressed an interest first, I sold it to her and told Susan I would make one for her.  She actually wanted it to give as a gift.  I worked on it over the course of a couple of days and kept thinking it wasn't coming out as well as the first.  I'm finally done, and I think it looks great, but I'll let you be the judge!

Sunday, October 26, 2008 

I am so happy, because Marlene found my website when she was looking for a replacement for a broken hand mirror.  She commissioned me to bejewel one for her, using purples and golds. 

Before I bejeweled this hand mirror, it was pretty, but nothing special.  It also showed a lot of wear and tear.

Marlene wanted to replace a broken hand mirror and asked for purples and golds.  I think this is now fit for royalty!

My friend Marlene commissioned me to take a mirror she owned and use all the big, glitzy, sparkly, fabulous '80s earrings she no longer wears to create something that would be decorative, but would also provoke a lot of great memories.

She and her boyfriend, Chris, brought over the mirror and a big aluminum pan filled with her '80s earrings.  They brought back memories for me, too, because I had a lot of earrings just like it, but I got rid of mine a long time ago.

Most of Marlene's earrings were very expensive, hand-made, signed by the artist, and were really beautiful and fabulous, but they are not likely to come back in style (okay, maybe -- but who knows?).  Anyway, even though they ARE showing big earrings for 2009, they're different and the '80s ones would look, well, '80s!  There were also a few '80s pins thrown in.  I know you girls all remember the profile face pins (I used three on this mirror) adorned with fur, fabric and feathers!

So, Marlene decided she wanted me to make something that she could enjoy, but that would also provide good memories for her and her children, Chaz and Buddy.  I enjoyed every minute of this construction, because the materials were so much fun -- tons of rhinestones, crystals, and beads -- but also because Marlene is so sweet and beautiful that she truly inspires me.

Since I wasn't working and didn't have much to do before the holidays, I worked on it extensively and managed to finish it in just over a week.  Okay, my back was killing me (because I do most of the work standing up and leaning over a table), but I still loved it and was so pleased with the results.

One of the reasons that I was in such a hurry to finish it is that Marlene lives north of San Diego, and I was going to my cousin's Bar Mitzvah in Los Angeles on December 20th.  I knew if I was able to finish it in time I could deliver it to her and save her and Chris the trip down to San Diego!

I did deliver it and got to see their lovely apartment, and all the pieces she has purchased from me, displayed so beautifully.  I also got to meet her son, Buddy, for the first time and promptly fell in love with him.  He's gorgeous, sweet, and funny.  Okay, so he's 26 and I'm married, I can dream, can't I?

Here's a picture of Marlene (my inspiration) and Buddy (my crush).  Enjoy!