"Rad Dads" Wear Jewelry

Custom ring; flames and skulls, sterling silver (top/side of ring)

 "Rad Dad" what his 8 year old son referred to him as for his Fathers day poem. After making this custom ring and getting to know him and his family, I'd say I completely agree!  I knew it would be a fun project after meeting and discussing what he was looking for in such a unique piece of jewelry. He and his wife had been to several shops looking for options to replace his simple wedding band. They wanted something that was a little more him for his guitar playing hands but couldn't find anything that they loved or wasn't manufactured with billions more out there for others to wear.

Custom sterling silver hand carved mans ring (bottom)

"Don wore a Costco platinum band for 15 years and 10 months while we shopped for a band more suitable for his style. One plain ring on the left hand while the right rocked some seriously large rings. Kendall designed a custom, one-of-a-kind ring fitting for a "been in a rock-band now in a church-band " guitar-playing, God-loving, software architect with tattoos and earrings!! He wanted Kendall to create a big ring with skulls and flames. Not cheesy, but cool. Black accents and handmade, not done by machine. I couldn't imagine what she would come up with and the final design is amazing! From 18 skulls with faces to the flames and texture, the ring turned out amazing and fits Don's personality perfectly." -Wendy (the equally rad wife)

Sketching and looking at images of flames and skulls... two things I don't normally spend my time doing and certainly different from my style as a designer. I tend to lean more towards "pretty things", natural organic shapes, inspiration from the ocean and objects from nature, movement of the body and feminine beauty. This design posed as a challenge conceptually and technically; depicting flames and skulls realistically in metal without looking cheesy, like a bad tattoo. 

The overall process of researching, sketching and creating something beautiful for a dainty woman or a rugged man proved to be the same. My aesthetic is still evident in this heavy mans ring. The use of texture, the organic movement of the flames and the depth and detail of the skulls are details that are just as evident in much of my previous work. Whether its a pretty butterfly on a flower or a fire breathing dragon you will know they were made by the same two hands. My artistic expression naturally stepped in as my fingers went to work and I am happy to know it was not lost in the fire. 

As an artist it can sometimes be difficult to create something specifically for someone else. I worry that by creating what other people want me to make instead of what I want to make I may lose myself as artist. The artistic freedom and creativity that comes with experimentation, inspiration and ides; never to worry about satisfying a boss, instructor or client. That idea that sounds so appealing when you decide to quit your job or go to art school in the first place. 

Flames; Sterling Silver (Top view)

I realized after this project that creative freedom still exists even when doing a custom design. I do have to satisfy a client but my design, my creativity and my aesthetic will shine through. Not only did they see my previous work and like my style but they wanted ME to create something like it just for them. I was able to express my ideas to them, demonstrate that through sketches, collaborate and make changes we agreed upon. Even experiment, fail, try again and have the creative freedom throughout the process to make something beautiful and enjoyable. I also realized that the boundaries can be pushed in my designs; for some reason I was unsure of my skill set to pull of the details but only showed myself what I am capable of, and more. 

Its nice to know there are still people out there that won't sacrifice personal expression when it comes to their jewelry, especially when it replaces the traditional mainstream wedding band.  Ibelieve this piece truly represents not only his personal style but their unique style as a couple and family. As his new and improved wedding band I'm happy to wish them a Happy Anniversary of 16 years today and I'm honored they can finally celebrate that in style. 

Black patina to highlight texture and depth (bottom view)

(side/bottom view) 

Jewelry Trunk show turns Photoshoot!

Leave it to me to turn a simple trunk show/ gown sale into a full on photoshoot. The Gown sale was one of  the second day events for the Marry Me Bridal show put on fabulously by Luxe Productions. Courtney and I with Human Beauty had a blast styling both of the fashion shows the previous days with makeup, hair styling and custom jewelry and accessories for all of the runway brides, children and men.

The second day was simply to display all of the jewelry and accessories for brides trying on gowns at the gown sale and to experiment with our veils and necklaces to complete the look. It was a great experience but of course I couldn't help myself with all the amazing dresses...I just had to try some on. Yes I am married but playing dress up never gets old!

So I grabbed a few dresses and my jewelry designs, threw up my messy hair from a long weekend and grabbed the photographer!  I discovered I very talented and sweet new friend  Tessa Anne! You can check out more of her work on her Facebook page 

Tessa Anne Photography Her work is so natural and beautiful and she made me feel so comfortable. The Bouquets are gorgeous as well so couldn't help but grab those by Amanda Karam Florals!

 

 

 You can see more photos like these on my facebook page KTemotio Designs as well as our bridal styling website Human Beauty Bridal

hand made boutonnieres

Can't forget about the guys! For all our grooms, ring bearer  fathers and grandfathers of the bride and groom and our officiant my mom and I handmade these adorable boutonnieres. Each one starts out with a circular doily which we folded into a cone shape. In the top of the cone we stitched in different fabrics that matched the clutches for our bridesmaids. All the grooms had different colored fabrics inside their boutonnieres and each had a flower made from ribbon. There are tons of tutorials on how to make flowers from ribbon online but you can also just add a touch with the wire edged ribbon that ripples and folds easily  we also added a bit of tool, a pearl, and the blue fabric in the front is left over fabric from the girls dresses that was removed from the bottoms of the shorter gals. To differentiate the Groom's his was the only one with a white lace flower on the inside rather then colored ribbon and fabric to match the clutches.

Vintage display and lace inspired cake

I have always been attracted to the delicacy of lace and its vintage quality. I wanted to use lace but not have the wedding feel old so I used it in places like my cake to add a touch of detail, or as the ribbon on signs, and around bottles. However, my grandmother has many beautiful items from her life, old gloves, vintage purses, and gorgeous vintage lace.  I wanted to display all of these items not only for their symbolizm but I wanted to display photos of generations in my family on their wedding day as well. We have a photo of my parents on their wedding day as well as both sets of grandparents and my great grandmother. It seemed like a great way to show comparison of weddings over the years and those precious moments being captured each time.
       The Wedding cake came out so beautifully and the flowers tied it all together again. Chickadee Hill Cakes made it exactly the way I had explained and it tasted delicious!

Photos by Kyle Hoffman Photography

Just in case peopl forgot which ones were getting married! ;) My dad had a box full of molding samples so I picked out two that I liked and painted them white, added the letters and drilled holes for the lace ribbons. Voila! Using what you already have in your house is the cheapest way to make crafty ideas come alive!

Ceremony touches

photos by Kyle Hoffman Photography

  











Our ceremony being right outside of our reception space we definitely had to tie the two together and the best way to do that is with the flowers and special touches for your guests. We had flower petals down the whole runway, along with flowers in mason jars tied to the end chairs with lace/ribbon to tie into the mason jars and vintage bottles on the tables inside.
  
   There are cheaper ways to decorate a gazebo rather than doing the typical wrapping of tool up and down the posts. Our florist (Suzannes Flowers) added this special touch keeping it simple and not distracting.

Marrying a Brazilian native I wanted to bring our two cultures together and symbolize the joining of two lives from two different places. He brought sand from the beaches near his home in Fortaleza and mine from Rye beach NH. After mixing them it was nice to actually see the different colors of sand layered together. (NH sand was much darker and coarser than the beautiful beaches of Brazil)!

Alterations to fit your style!

Photos by Kyle Hoffman Photography

This necklace and earrings were transformed from a necklace that my grandmother had in collection I got after she passed. The original necklace had a large pendant in the middle of a silver fillagree flower shape with three tear drop shaped crystals hanging from it. For my wedding I wanted something a bit more simple with matching earrings. I took two of the crysals off of the necklace and made them into earrings and removed the pendant from the necklace to have just a simple chain with tiny crystals for my special day.

For my headpiece I had an idea of what I wanted and my mom and I were going to try to make something. While shopping for the materials we came across this beautiful bridal headpiece at new boutique called Accessory Appeal in Exeter NH. Lucky for me the bride who had it personally made for her never showed up to get it so it was the only one in the store!. To help it fit me even better I bent some of the feathers so they fell closer to my head instead of sticking up and out. Added a few antique pearls with the already white pearls so it pulled in the pearls on my necklace. I also added a peacock feather to the back. Although Peacocks or their colors had nothing to do with my wedding I do have a pretty good sized peacock tattoo on my back and it was sure to be shown off. Just to let everyone know that "Yes I know I have a tattoo" and "Yes I like it there!"

Leave an impression and help them fly away!

As a guest book I loved all the different versions I'd seen on this idea. I decided to make one of my own, so I draw this old fashioned car for us to "fly away" in or float away with the help
of the balloon thumb prints. My husband loves old fashioned bugs and I even added the little detail of the headrests to look like a brazil flag and american flag for our international marriage!

Unfortunately, most people did not get the "balloon" idea and printed below/all around the car. None the less it came out really cute with little smiley faces, drawings, and messages next to many of the thumb prints. This was a great way to interact the guests with the guest book.
Coming up...another great untraditional guest book and keep sake for years to come!
Photos by Kyle Hoffman photography!

hand painted seating cards and table cards

DIY seating cards and table cards. I took a large sheet of Bristol Board which is pretty sturdy and painted the large heart with water colors so its still light enough to write the names and tables on. After the watercolor dried I cut the sheet into 2x2 inch squares. With this type of seating cards you have to be careful when you write the names on. If you mess up you can't just write a new one because each peice is part of the backround picture! Also make sure to write them in alphabetical order!!

To tie the seating cards into the tables we had the table cards handpainted as well. These are just on watercolor paper 8.5x11 painted as a flat sweep of color with a little variation in color. We had our tables named after cities in Brazil  (seeing as I've now married into the Brazilian world!)

Nana's vintage bottles on all the tables too!

Photos by Kyle Hoffman Photography

handmade clutches vs. bridesmaid flowers!

Instead of having all my bridesmaids carry flowers that will be put down right after the ceremony and forgotton for the rest of night, I decided to make them clutches! They looked great next to my flowers and with the flowers in their hair as well. The lace doilies,pearl and touch of ribbon and fabric peice on top also match the boutineers for the guys!

I picked out the fabrics to match the color scheme of my flowers all in
different patterns. Each Clutch has a clasp sewn into the inside as well as
message to my bridesmaids written on the inside.

I also added a few little goodies to the inside including, mints,
chapstick, hairties, and deodorant!

 

Photos by Kyle Hoffman Photography!

One of a kind bridesmaid necklaces - 6 girls 6 designs!

One of the best parts of planning a wedding is planning what everyone will wear. Not only did I get to pick out all the dresses but I had the pleasure of making all of the jewelry for my wedding party as well, along with clutches for the girls instead of flowers, and all of the boutonnieres for the men!

Each necklace is hand peirced out of copper and stamped with a lace texture. Each necklace is unique in design and pattern to the next. All 6 necklaces have a patina and fresh water pearls placed throughout the necklaces.

 

            Necklace Photo: Kyle Hoffman

For the Maid of Honors (my sisters) their necklaces were powder coating with a white paint and brushed back through to see parts of the metal.

 

 

 

engagement rings, bridesmaid jewelry, and wedding creativity!

I have been soo busy these past few months and Im so sorry to leave my blog hanging! I've been so busy this summer with family and friends but also planning my wedding!!

I wanted to create as many unique attributes for my wedding as possible, some related to jewelry of course and some a bit more of my creative side!   I'll be posting quite a few right in a row to catch everyone up on what Ive been up to!!

First off, Being a metalsmith I couldnt stand the idea of wearing a ring that was most likely mass produced. I do appreciate it the ring I got from my fiance very much and it certainly was beautiful! However, I really wanted to add my grandmothers diamond too it and a bit of my own personal touch.

(sterling silver, gold accents, diamonds and a yellow sapphire)

Photography: Kyle Hoffman Photography

Our wedding took place at Zorvino Vineyards in Sandown, NH

July 27th 2012

Not only did I re-design and re-make my own ring but I also made my Husbands ringas well!

Both rings have a lyric written on the inside...

Hers: it's always been...
His: there's no end...

 "You and me" by Soja
It's you and me, it's always been
And how I feel about you, there's no end, end
But you make me chase you around, all around
And then you need me there when you fall down, down
And when this dance is done,
You and me are still the only one
Well since our time begun
And I'm still with you even when your gone
When this dance is done,
You and me are still the only one
Well since our time begun
And I'm still with you even when your gone

Significance of the Yellow Sapphire

Happily married couples give credit to the Yellow Sapphire for its presence in their lives. The yellow sapphire is also said that if you seek to sort all marital problems, then it is the solution for you. The Power of this gem is such that the girl that you desire will be yours forever and if a girl will wear this gem then she will get married early!