DIYva Dish: Wedding Jewels

There are a lot of cool DIY projects out there, especially those involving jewels.  I am big on making my own costume jewelry, it's more special when it's personalized and can be inexpensive to make too.  One of my favorite DIY projects is to make cocktail rings out of thrifted earrings. One time, I scored some vintage YSL clip-ons for about $4. It definitely made my day! I have yet to venture out into the bracelet world, but scouring Etsy has motivated me to find some time to do a project.  Why not make one for your wedding or bridesmaids gifts?  To get started you can buy bracelet blanks from here and add what ever tickles your fancy with hot glue or craft glue like E6000 (my fav!). Let these inspire you.

~ Stay Sweet

1. Vintage earrings for the vintage bride

2. Bingo chips for the whimsical bride

3. Glass beads for the destination bride

1 / 2 / 3

Design Crush: Adam Foster Jewelry

If you are like me, you can spend hours browsing through different Etsy shops to see what different artisans have to offer.  When I came across this jewelry designer, I stopped in my tracks. Anybody that knows me absolutely knows that I LOVE vintage jewelry! So when I saw the Adam Foster Jewelry line, I fell in love with the aesthetics. The line is based in St. Louis, Missouri and is a collection of vintage inspired rings. Here's how he describes his work:

"We sell handmade jewelry and are a small family run business. All the pieces that you will find in my store I make from scratch here in my studio. I also handpick only the best and most beautiful gemstones and diamonds I can find to use in my work. Rest assured that I use recycled metals and conflict free or antique re-purposed stones, social responsibility is important to me." 

The top right is my favorite!


~ Stay Sweet

ROCK925 Jewelry!!

I'm really excited to write this post because it evokes some emotion and thoughts of good memories! A while back, (during the time of our launch party) while I was looking for companies I wanted to work with and include in our swag bags, I realized that an old friend had started a new sterling silver/fashion jewelry company!

Although we hadn't spoken in forever, I decided to reach out and see if I could get her some visibility, while getting some goodies for the bag! Of course, she was more than willing to help and provided us with discount cards (for online sales) and a beautiful bracelet (picture below) to give away, which I must admit, was quite difficult to part with!

This is on my want list! (The Letter N of course!) Wouldn't it make an amazing Bridesmaid's gift?

This is the awesome bracelet she sent!

The company is called Rock925 Jewelry and is sold online, and in California salons and boutiques. The mastermind behind the company is the lovely Tanya Kara, whose face you will see on all of her blog posts, as she posts videos showing her jewelry!

Check out her site, but don't blame me if you get hooked!

Fashion Friday: Handmade Beaded Jewelry from Beaddles!!

Being that it is a Friday and we enjoy dedicating our Fridays to Fashion, we wanted to incorporate the continuation of thanking our amazing Launch party sponsors with a post about some fashion forward jewelry, handmade from none other than one of our Launch Party sponsors!

When Karen from Beaddles, responded to our request for product donations for our awesome swag bags, we were really excited to work with her for a few reason: 1. We love anything (o.k. MOST anything) handmade 2. We love jewelry and 3. We love making connections with businesses we would consider buying from/utilizing ourselves!

Beaddles uses, well, beads to make beautiful, handmade, unique jewelry for women and has pieces for every occasion. Below are some of our faves:

I would totally wear this to a wedding, or more formal function with a low-ish neckline!

This is an awesomely funky every day piece! LOVE!

Visit her ETSY site where she sells her handmade creations at affordable prices and decide for yourself which ones you like best!!

Thanks again Karen, for your generous donation! They were a wonderful addition to the D.I.Y.va Swag bags!!

Londyn Kouture: Hand-Crafted Funkiness!

Soooooo for the next few days I am going to take the time and highlight the amazingness that we conjured up for our Swag Bags at the D.I.Y.va Launch. My first sponsor is Londyn Kouture, a really different type of jewelry designer. She takes everyday items and transforms them to fabulosity---at a great price for something you won't find anywhere.

This is SOME of the items that you would have found at our Launch Party---I have to feature my lovelies one by one so that you can get a feel for each artist....:) 

This is a close-up of the Londyn Kouture hand-crafted magazine ring. I love the pops of color and this is a fun ring to wear, or for a teen to receive as a gift. 

Click on her name to go to her blog and get contact information. :)

A Fabric Bib Necklace

So lately I have been drooling over this new bib necklace phenomenon. I love big jewelry! Especially on the summer when you want to show off those sun kissed shoulders (or when your shoulders are burnt to the point of such discomfort where you HAVE to rock a sleeveless.) A nice voluminous necklace just brings your outfit to life! I wanted to give Narine one of such pieces for her birthday that just passed, but I had a bit of a time crunch because I'm one of those people who decide what they want to get you about 24 hours before your special day. So I had to make it. I will show you how I did it, in case you want to craft yourself into oblivion for the next five or six hours. (or later when you get home from work lol). These will be available in our Etsy Shoppe by the end of the month so look out for one if you decide not to make it!

This is a typical bib necklace:

First step to making Nar's necklace was to gather all of the findings and fabric that I could find in my art studio. I wanted it to be black so that she could wear it with anything:

Then, I of course drew out the exact size and layout of the "bib" part of my necklace on paper, so I could figure out how much fabric I would need. I used two silk shirts that I had in my closet for no apparent reason, a pair of earrings that were made out of fabric, jewelry odds and ends from Michaels, and swarovski elements. I even dissected these old sandals that had some quality rhinestones on them, because the better quality the stones, the more polished it will look.

Next: I cut the fabric into several long strips , folded those strips in half. and stitched a loose seam along the edge. This gives you a smooth edge for the 'petals' of your flower. This is the easiest flower I can show you right now, although I used about three techniques to make her necklace. This is a starter flower so try this one first, but email me if you feel you are ready to learn a few more. (I do plan on posting them in the nearby future.)

When you have sewn the fabric along the edge, pull on the thread at one end while holding the other, in order to bunch the fabric up, and then shape it into the flower. You will want to sew the back of it together so that it stays put. You can add a gem in the center as I did here if you like.

After I was finished creating my flowers, this is how the necklace looked. You can leave some thread hanging for a grunge look, or keep it completely clean by cutting all of the excess thread. Then you will want to use a touch of clear nail polish to seal the threads where they fray. Just a dab ( like you do when you get a run in your pantyhose). You will arrange the flowers and then one by one, sew them together from the back. Add the two pieces that will connect around your neck to either side (OR you can use high quality ribbon as well)

Happy Bib-Necklace making! I think I'm going to make about 100 of these in various colors! lol. If you do one, please send me the pics!!

Obama Bracelet.

So I had some newspapers all wrapped up in clear plastic airless bags. They were from the night Obama won the Presidency, and the next morning I rushed like everyone else to find a newspaper. But what to do with the newspaper once you have it? I don't care to tatter the pages 45 years from now as I try to show my grandchildren that I, like everyone else who's old and flatulent like me  (I totally think I will be a flatulent old lady. Stylish, but very flatulent.)-----anyway they won't care. But if I can pass down THIS:

No, silly, not this, see below what I did to this bracelet using my cherished Obama newspaper clippings....

After like six more layers of acrylic finish paste this bracelet will be fool-proof. Water-resistant too. Loves It!!
We are getting booked left and right for 'things'---a cake here, a painting there, a full event here, day-of wedding services there---but I love you and I will update Sugar and Art at LEAST twice a week. Tell your friends about us, will ya! Muah!

Fashion Friday- Cranberry Souffle!

Ok I know, you see a pattern; all of my Fashion Friday posts are named after food, but that's because fashion is DELISH! This is what I want to wear tonight....So sexy beast.

Dig in!! Have a great weekend:)

Tic TOCS!

TOCS watches...if you're interesed, buy them on sale! They're all over the web from $32 to $60

I WANT ONE!!! These are SO cute and funky! Had to share!

Amrita Makes Me Wanna Singh!!

One of my favorite things is being able to buy something, especially jewelry, for a decent price and have people think it cost a fortune. (See my earlier post which included my criteria for picking out the right wallet). These days, there are so many crap accessories to choose from, I mean, I could go into Forever 21 and pick out 15 pieces for 50 dollars, but I know full well that not only will I have to replace the piece in 2 weeks, but my finger will also be turning a strange shade of green. In my quest for inexpensive jewels, I have come across Amrita Singh, designer of all amazing things Bollywood and Indian inspired; in regards to jewelery of course. Her stuff has been around since 2003, hasn't gone crazily mainstream yet. Here are some of my favorite pieces from Ms. Singh. Enjoy!

With a simple dress, these necklaces would pop!

These earrings are so old world stylish and only $14!!

I have ONE word of advice while shopping Amrita Singh...DO NOT, buy full price! Her stuff is always on the great designer sale sites for a fraction of the price as on her website or in stores. If you want more info about where to find this stuff, just ask and you shall receive!! Great! I am now craving jewelry!