Conspiracy Theory Jewelry

I'm not going to lie... I bought a six pack of beer a few months ago because I thought the caps were pretty. Perhaps I was a victim of a marketing ploy, perhaps it was artistic destiny. Either way, one Google search lead to another and I got a brief history lesson, and enjoyed some good beer!

Cool bottles, can you blame me for buying it?

The fancy purple caps, as well as the decorative bottles, featured the Eye of Providence, which is the symbol found on the back of the US one-dollar bill and the reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States. The Latin phrase underneath the symbol reads "Novus Ordo Seclorum," meaning "New Order of the Ages." However, the phrase has been mistranslated by conspiracy theorists as meaning "New World Order," and some misinterpret the eye and pyramid as a Masonic symbol of the Illuminati.


Originally, the Illuminati referred to the Enlightenment-era secret society group founded in 1776, known as the Bavarian Illuminati. The movement was founded by Professor Adam Weishaupt and was made up of freethinkers. Today, it refers to a conspiratorial organization controlling today's affairs through government and corporations, often used in reference to the New World Order, or an autonomous world government. Some proposed methods of a shift towards New World Order include the use of Social Security Numbers, barcoded UPC codes, and microchip implants.

So why did I incorporate Benjamin Franklin into this piece?

Freemason Conspiracy

Some conspiracy theorists believe that Freemasons conspired to create this New World Order, and that some of our nation's founding fathers, including Benjamin Franklin, had included Masonic symbols into American society, such as in the Great Seal.

The Eye of Providence symbolizes the all-seeing eye of God, the eye resting on an unfinished pyramid of 13 steps, representing the original 13 states. The Roman numerals representing the year 1776 are on the bottom step. The Masonic Eye of Providence is typically enclosed in a triangle and has a semi-circular glory below the eye. It does not involve a pyramid, however, the triangle is often interpreted as one. It was designed 14 years after the Eye of Providence on the seal, despite claims that the Masons incorporated the design into the Great Seal of the United States. Furthermore, only one of the three designers of the seal was a Mason - Benjamin Franklin.


I made another pendant with this interesting bottle cap. Going along with the pyramid theme, I used Sphinx scrapbook paper:

Sphinx

Halloween is Almost Here!

As always, I'm a little behind on promoting my holiday items, but FINALLY, I have all my Halloween stuff listed in my shop. New items this year include glass tile pendants and bottle cap pendants. I'll present you with a few of my oldies-but-goodies too.

The EtsyBlogger Team Leader, JoeyAndAleethea bought one of my Halloween glass tile pendants, but I still have a couple left including a Mummy and a Monster. They would make a cute gift for youself, a mother of young ones, a teacher, or anybody into celebrating Halloween! A complimentary silver ball chain necklace comes with the purchase of either of these pendants.

Thanks Joey!


Click on Either Pendant for Details

I also have a not-so-scary scarecrow pendant made using scrapbook paper and a square wooden tile. Similar to a scrabble tile pendant, but a little larger at 1.25 inches on each side. With the purchase of this pendant comes a free silver ball chain necklace.

Scarecrow Pendant

I have a few bottle cap pendants can be for Halloween, or autumn in general. Both were made using foliage tree scrapbook paper and beer bottle caps. Click on the pictures below to see what beer *had* to be consumed to create the pendants.

Foliage Beer Bottle Cap Pendants
Click on either picture for details

And some returning favorites from last year include pumpkin earrings, a decoupage spiderweb necklace, and a really cool choker. One of my year round favorites is the Black Widow's Web necklace made with agate. A close look at the pendant resembles a spider web.

Click on any image for details

Classy Trash

I'm always trying out new ideas in my Etsy shop, my most recent one being handmade pendants with beer bottle caps and decoupage technique. I thought about making jewelry from recycled parts last Halloween while making a beer and soda can pop-top necklace for my costume (I was a Joe in a Joe the Plumber/Joe Six Pack costume pair).

Kona Blue Hibiscus Bottle Cap Pendant

I have made a few pendants so far find myself wanting to wear them myself instead of selling them! I have listed three in my shop so far and I'm collecting my caps (and my friends') to make more.

I have two Hawaiian themed summery pendants and a poker themed pendant so far. I have decided to try to make the picture in the pendant fit the theme of the beer. For instance, I have two Hawaiian beer caps from beer produced by the Kona Brewing Company that feature Hawaiian fruit and flowers. I decided on a poker theme with the MichUltra since that's the beer of choice for a world renound poker player.

Hala-kahiki Bottle Cap Pendant

Scotty - Poker Pendant

Some are made with Aanraku style bails, but on some I tried to preserve the appearance of the back of the pendant and made my own bail so that the wearer could see what beer their particular cap came from.

Decoupage Alphabet Tile Bracelets

My newest line of jewelry are my Alphabet Tile Bracelets. I like the whole idea of Scrabble Tile Pendants, but I personally prefer pendants a little larger than a Scrabble tile. I bought alphabet craft tiles because they looked a little bigger than an authentic Scrabble tile, but they are still a little small for my liking, so I decided to drill holes through the sides and string some together and make a bracelet.

Glittering Butterfly Decoupage Pendant

With my Cat Eyes and Butterflies bracelet, I decorated the tiles with a colorful assortment of floral and butterfly paper. I used cat eye beads of matching colors to add some flair, and they were threaded into a double stranded bracelet with a Life is Good metal toggle clasp.


In my second piece, decorated with street signs and titled Bumpy Road, I got the idea to spell a related word on the reverse side of the tiles. With the road signs as a theme, I found that I had enough tiles left to spell the word "BUMPY," and can be worn with either side showing. This bracelet is on jelly stretch cord which can stretch over the hand without a need for a clasp. It'd make a cute gift for a new driver.

More Holiday Items

I'm trying to get the rest of my holiday inventory online before it's too late. My problem is mostly weather and schedule related. My pictures come out best in natural sunlight, but there was only one day this week that the sun was still up and shining while I was home.

I've added two more decoupage pieces, a snowman and a two cent postage stamp of Santa. The snowman piece comes on a ball chain necklace. The Santa stamp necklace comes on a gold plated choker necklace wire.



My Garden Gnome necklace isn't exclusively a Christmas piece, but will go nicely with a red shirt. I got inspiration from the pendant which reminds me of a garden gnome hat for some reason. It was made using turquoise howlite beads and coral chips. Sterling silver wire was used to make the bail, and the clasp is a sterling silver hook and eye clasp.


Search my Etsy shop for the keyword Christmas for all my Christmas pieces, and some things that would go nicely with red or green.

The leaves are changing colors...

...and your jewelry can too!

I got my inspiration for this piece from a leaf shaped piece of wood and a sheet of scrapbook paper. I thought the leaf would make a nice fall pendant and went in search of something to decorate it with. In the scrapbook paper aisle, I found a single sheet that had both a red-orange pattern and a beige and tan pattern. Instantly, the thought "REVERSIBLE PENDANT" came to mind.

I used decoupage technique to glue and laminate the paper on both sides. I drilled a hole through the top and wrapped around gold plated wire to create a bail. It is on a simple brown leather cord and fastened with gold plated ends and a clasp. I gave it the title Reversible Maple Leaf Pendant. Feeling red-hot and bold today? Wear it on the flashy side. Feeling mellow? Go beige and tan. Or switch it up in the middle of the day... The leaves are changing, why can't you?

My Halloween items have been added! Check out my spooky decoupage spider web necklace, fun polymer clay items, and my classic agate gemstone beaded necklace. Prices range from $3.00 to $41.00. Click on any of the items below to hurry up and get in the Halloween spirit! Boo!

A Keeper's Jackpot

What Keeper's Keeps

The next EtsyBlogger's Blog Carnival had two topics. I chose to write about the following:

"So, you have an Etsy shop. You enjoy to make and create and really love it when others love it as well. What kind of crafts do you do for yourself? Any adventurous do-it-yourself handy work stories? Is your home filled with your creations? Do you make your own clothes, jewelry, etc.? If so, why not show off your favorite item you kept for yourself."

I've had my Etsy shop for about 8 months now. I do it for the love, not for the money... obviously :)

While I make a lot, I don't sell everything. I do mostly make jewelry, and usually what I keep for myself is something that I made for a certain occasion, or something that I didn't really think came out well enough to sell. I also try new ideas and wear them, see if anyone says something. If I wear it twice and nobody blinks, I think maybe it isn't anything that people would enjoy. Keeping things for myself serves the purpose creative accessorizing and free advertising and marketing.

Of course I don't have many pictures of what I keep for myself, but this here is a piece that I made to go with black things, since I wear many, and the black, white, and silver color combinations can go with a lot of things.


This one is something I made for my cruise in February to go with a dress and fun shirt that I brought.


My husband picks on me for TiVoing the show "Tool Belt Diva." I'm pretty handy for a young woman, learning pretty much everything from girly DIY books, the internet, and the advice of others. I ripped up the near-shag carpet in the living room and put in laminate flooring - before and after pictures shown below. For anyone considering putting in laminate flooring themselves, it's probably possible to install by yourself but it's definitely a lot faster with an extra set of hands; one person can hold the pieces together and the other can bang them into place. Depending on the size of your room it can feasibly be installed in a weekend, not including the removal and disposal of the previous flooring. If you click on the "after picture" you may see that Pepper is sticking his tongue out at you.

Before and After.

I'm still proud that I found and fixed the mysterious leak in the kitchen sink, and repaired the water damaged cupboard. I paint too (the walls, not artistically).

Before (gross) and After - Obviously the kitchen floor is my next project.

I'm going through a decoupage phase and have made outlet covers, switch covers, and coasters for my house. I'm trying to find a sealer for coasters that can withstand a hot cup of coffee. (Suggestions anyone?) My mom has a much more creative side than I do. As a kid, my mom and I made our Christmas gifts for relatives in the summers at the camper. We'd sew me up some school clothes, decorate wreaths, make candles. Actually, now that I think about it, I would love to relearn candle making.