Sneak Peek ~ Romantic White Summer Rose

A sneak peek at some new pieces 

I have up and coming in my Etsy Shop

{ The Little Bird }

Photography, jewelry design, and typography (c) Erin McManness 2011

One of my favourite parts about living in Los Angeles
was all the houses with the white roses climbing over everything. It was so romantic and whimsical, and was the inspiration behind the creation of these flower pendants, that are handcrafted petal by petal and hand-etched before baking. I was also doing some spring cleaning earlier, and stumbled across a lovely vintage glass bottle filled to the brim with unique vintage brass and gold buttons that I had fished out of a local Pennsylvanian antique shop. The shop was a 20 minute drive with a darling college friend into the leafy green summer woods of a little town called Lewisberry; it smelled musty (I love musty smells!), and had a gorgeous array of vintage and antique furniture, jewelry, and home decor. Taking my garden-inspiration and pairing it with the vintage buttons to create these pendants was such a fun, nostalgic experience for yesterday afternoon!

 Photo from Pinterest.com

As much of a chore as it is, 
sometimes I really, truly love to clean.
(I become more and more like my mother everyday!)

Because I find the best stuff! Old diaries that make me laugh [read: cringe] at some of the old crushes I used to have, sketchbooks filled with surrealism doodles from the days before my formal art training, vintage jewelry gifted or passed down to me as a child, and some peculiar but wonderful odds and ends that end up lovingly turned into jewelry!

The buttons I found (the vintage bottle is pictured on the left with the inspired necklace) are all unique and some bear unusual Coats of Arms. The Coat of Arms at the left includes crosses anchors and a setting sun. Oh, the mystery!

What's your best find while cleaning? 

This has got to be mine!

I'll be updating My Shop today and tomorrow with these necklaces, so keep a sharp eye!