Brandy the Magpie is Happy

Here’s a pic of the bib necklace I designed and made to wear to my friend Alise’s wedding this weekend. I’ll post more details soonish. (By soonish I mean when I eke out time between graphic facilitation gigs and if I don’t get the creeping crud that I feel looming.) Details below –

It is shiny. It makes me happy. All this began with a segment on Martha Stewart’s show I saw at the gym. Aided by a NYC gig allowing me access to the mecca that is M&J Trimming.

At M&J Trimming I bought a bunch of silver, gray, white and black sequines, rhinstones, odds and ends. I was most in love with the white leather jewels and the long thin sequins. Then I found a tin of old rhinestone jewelry Alise gave me, from an estate sale. And found a few other bits and bobs in my stash.

The next part is the bestest, funest part. I absolutely love sorting and arranging things. I separated everything into The Best Craft Tool Ever: muffin tins. Then I started arranging everything on a black piece of paper. I took a digital photo of each composition:

Then I set the project aside so I could have “fresh eyes” to look at it later.

I ended up with a None of the Above design that didn’t use any of those beloved white leather jobbies. I used black velvet for the background.

First I glued everything down with Fabric Tac. *whew* Fumey!

Then I sewed everything down. I think the MSL video says you can do glue-only. Some of the pieces fell off before I could glue them done – the backside were too smooth and nonporous to really stick. So, I recommend sewing everything, even if it’s tedious. I both glue and sewed the ribbon in. At this point I was tired of sewing, so I “hemmed” the edges with glue.

Here’s the nearly finished piece, modeled by Gunther the Very Handsome Cat. He loves to sit on the table while I work and was happy to lay on the extra velvet. This is actually a candid pic:

Next I sewed on those awesome long sequins. It was futzy, but I think the result was worth the effort. Lastly, I glued the whole darn thing to a black felt backing and trimmed away the extra felt.

Here’s the finished necklace:

Uh, yes, The Girls were out for the event. I wore a velvet vest from New York & Co (bought a few years ago), with black pinstripe pants and a black jacket from Lane Bryant. Was comfy in the cold and could really boogie down at the reception sans jacket. The necklace was a big hit and I wonder when I’ll next get to wear it…