Laura Vegas

have you seen the new vintage groove jewelry, by designer jill schwartz? she has teamed up with making memories to bring us some gorgeous jewelry supplies to create with. i first heard about this on my trip to the MM offices, last november. jill was actually there with all the pieces spread out on this huge table, and they were deciding on how they were going to group everything and package it. was neat to see a glimpse of the process. now, i'm the first to admit that i'm not actually a big jewelry person. meaning, the only jewelry i wear is my wedding rings. but i was totally up for the challenge of creating with this new collection.

i decided to invite my good friend, sierra, over to create with me. she's an artsy fartsy girl, like me. but with a different style. and while i was drawn to a ton of the pieces of this collection, i knew that some of it wasn't quite my style. it's gorgeous. just not "me". but i could see it being "sierra", and knew she'd have fun with it. she dug right in there, and started creating. pulling pieces out, taking chains apart, cutting pieces, and putting together fun mixtures. me? i sat there and debated, hemmed and hawwed, over analyzed, and maybe even got a little anxious and overwhelmed at one point. lol! i'm such a clean and linear person, matchy matchy, and everything measured to precise and perfect spacing. so this was a creative push for me. 

but the nice thing about doing something with a friend, is that you always start chatting and talking about stuff. and at some point, i just started making stuff. we were both totally into what we were making, not really looking at each other much, but chatting away. sierra even said at one point, "i've never talked to you like this". which was kind of funny, since i've known her about 8 years. lol! anyways. the point of this, is that i made a few necklaces. all on my own. and i loved it. they're nothing too fancy or elaborate. but for my first time jewelry-ing it up (i might have made that term up), i'm really happy with them.

tell me that's a great shot. because i took these all one-handed. holding the necklace in one hand at arms length, getting the pieces to dangle the right way, and hold my heavy camera in the other hand and snap away, all while trying to keep my focus point. i even had my external flash on there, which made it heavier. i like to do things the hard way 😉

i was determined to use this super cute teal flower. it was the first thing that caught my eye. i think i had something else dangling on there, with the two flowers. and then i thought about the "L" monograms. when i got my package, jenny had tossed a ton of L's in there. i'm assuming it was for "laura", although it could be because she "loves" me so much 😉 so, i was joking that i should add an "L" to everything i make. like a signature touch. i kind of liked that idea.

i should have changed into something that actually matched better. but i don't have access to my room during the day, since joe sleeps after working all night. and this was taken one handed, outstetched arm. not sure i would have looked better if someone else took the photo, but in my mind, i would have. lol! and i did mean for this to be slightly off to the side (i didn't just put it on crooked), and not hanging right in the middle.
 

another cool one handed shot. better than some of my two handed shots, to be honest 😉

this large chunky piece was another one that i was drawn to right away. i was joking that in my simple nature, i would normally just attach this to the chain and be done with it. lol! but i picked out another piece to dangle on there, along with my signature "L" 😉

this would probably look cooler with a different shirt. yeah, i think so.

an hour or so spend with a good friend, creative goodness, and six creations to show for it. not bad at all. although i only made two necklaces, and sierra made 3 necklaces and a bracelet. she wins. but i have plans for more, so i'll share more next week. edited to add: sierra has her creations up on her blog this morning, and she's be thrilled if you would stop by and see what she made HERE.

right now, the collection is being released at select target and ac moore stores, across the country. if you go to the vintage groove jewelry site, you can see a list of all the stores that are carrying it. and if you're local to me, you're in luck. the modesto target store is one of the select california stores, and it's all in stock and on the shelves 😉