Twinkle Studio

Earth Day...in Twinkling Action

Yesterday being Earth Day caused me to reflect upon the fact that you can be entirely gorgeous and fabulous and, at the same time, be consciously green. That's really what the baubles at Twinkle Studio are all about! 

Recycling and reusing vintage jewelry prevents these items from ending up in a landfill and, more importantly, displaces new jewelry that comes with it's own set of environmental no-no's including manufacturing pollution, transportation's fuel usage, and excess packaging just to name a few. 

Here are a few new items (just posted today) that demonstrate that you can be posh and green at the same time!

Sparkling Neutrals Necklace - $68

Rosy Garden Cocktail Ring - $26

In the Shimmering Nude Necklace - $64

** Listening to...The Bird and The Bee's  Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future. Loving it's techy, swoony melodies. Fun and easy to list to. Check it out! 

Earth Day

It's Earth Day! Which, of course, is a great time to explore ways we can take care of mother earth. 

Some books that I love regarding the environment include:

- Gorgeously Green by Sophia Uliano

- Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

- In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan 

In my home, we just recently switched over from paper napkins to cloth ones. It's a small step, but reducing our garbage production is a big deal. We bought really nice cloth ones for special meals and then just a big bunch of cheapy cotton cloths for everyday. And, I must say, that using a cloth napkin is just so much nicer than paper!

I'm also planning a garden this year. Which is a big, big undertaking for me! I pretty much have a brown thumb. So I'm starting small with a container garden so I can have some success. This past weekend, I planted my seeds for several kinds of tomatoes, cucumbers, jalapeno peppers, basil and cilantro. I am hopeful we'll have some little green shoots coming through the dirt in a week or so. Very exciting! We're still part of the community supported agriculture and will be augmenting heavily at the farmer's market, I'm sure. 

Cloth bags are also a big deal. I am on a one-woman mission to save the earth by eliminating plastic bags! I keep the grocery bags in the car so they're always there. I also have a cool, fold-up bag that I always keep in my purse...it's tiny and always ready-to-go. Every bag counts!

I'd love to know what you're doing in your house...each of our daily actions is what matters most! 

Desert Inspiration

I recently had the opportunity to hike through an amazing desert park. While it was quite brown, crisp, and dry, I was amazed at the vegetation that was thriving. From gnarly cactuses to prickly bushes, the plants had adapted and were growing like crazy. 

Most amazingly, is the little desert and cactus flowers that were blooming. They were the most brilliant shades of yellow, bright red, true blue, and beaming orange. Bright and beautiful! I'm inspired to make some flashy Spring jewelry with these shades and hues. 

If you get the opportunity to visit Vegas, be sure to check out Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. It's a great break from all the glitz and glamour. 

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Mother's Day is coming up (Sunday, May 10 to be exact) and that means only a few weeks for finding the perfect gift to express your love to your mom. 

Here are a few budget-friendly, but thoughtful ideas:

1. Handmade Bath Oil: This is easy, inexpensive, but oh so luxurious! Mix a base oil (I prefer olive or almond) with nicely-scented essential oils. Lavender, rose, orange, lemon, and eucalyptus are all delicious, but select one that your mom will love. Mix about 1 cup base oil with 1 teaspoon of essential oil. Pour into a clean bottle, cap or cork, and tie a ribbon around the bottle neck. 

2. Letter: Write your mom a letter and let her know how much she means to you...describe a fantastic favorite childhood memory...or explain what you learned from her . Don't type it! Write it out in your own handwriting. Use nice paper or embellish the paper with stickers or scrapbooking goodies. Frame the letter. 

3. Personalized Music: make a CD or load up her mp3 player. Pair this with a list of the songs and a brief note about why you included that song. Some song ideas:

- Mother and Child Reunion - Paul Simon 

- Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys - Willie Nelson

- Teach Your Children - Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

- Your Momma Don't Dance - Loggins and Messina

- Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This - The Shirelles

- Mama Said Knock You Out - LL Cool J

4. Childhood Photo: take a photo of you as a child and your mom...blown up into a large size (at least 8"x10") and have it framed. Do something fun like print it in black and white or add a fun effect with photo editing software. You can also get all sorts of items personalized with photos. I love the mugs, notebooks, and puzzles from Shutterfly  . 

5. Customized Jewelry: There are many ways to customize jewelry with items such as:

- Locket with photos or a little note

- Tiny frames that hold photos or keepsakes

- Children's birthstones

- Special moment or location mementos

- Engraving

If you need a little help with the customized jewelry option, let me know. I'd love to help you come up with a fantastic idea and then make it for your mom! 

Organize Your Stash - Part 3 - Display!

Lastly (and most fun!), let's display all your gorgeous baubles! There are lots of ways to showcase your jewelry including:

- Wall hooks or drawer pulls: get some cute and fun wall hooks or drawer pulls and mount 'em on your wall. Then hang bracelets and necklaces from them. Anthropologie is a wonderful place to find these! Here are a couple of my favorites: 

Rosy Knob  $10 each and comes in lots of funky colors

Carat Wall Hook  $18 each (I own a few of these!)

- Wall-mounted cases: there are lots of options for wall-mounted jewelry boxes. These are mid-sized pieces that you put right on the wall and open up for jewelry storage. This one from Overstock.com is pretty neat because it has a mirror on the front of it. So it just looks like a nice mirror, but opens up for all your goody storage. 

- Vintage jewelry boxes: I personally love old jewelry boxes...they're perfect for all your glam jewelry! Here are some of my Twinkle Studio favorites in one of my favorite boxes. 

Photo by Niki Rossi Photography

- Bowls, ash trays, goblets, champagne glasses, dessert dishes: any of these containers would be perfect storage. Look for vintage ones at antique stores! 

- Traditional jewelry armoires: these free-standing pieces of furniture are a one-stop storage solution. This one from JewelryArmoire.com  is pretty representative for what's available. Most have a flip-top compartment for earrings, doors for necklaces and lots of drawers for earrings and such. My

I personally own this glam one   from Pier One (the photo doesn't do it justice). Each time I went to a store to buy it, it was always sold out. So be prepared to have one ordered and wait a week. It's worth it though!