O June Jewelry Blog

Happy Face

2009-06-04T00:45:00.000-07:00

"I woke up this morning. The sunshine was shining. I put on a happy face. I'm living. I'm able. I'm breathing. I'm grateful to put on a happy face."

Name that tune!

If you answered "Happy Face" by Destiny's Child, you are correct.

I've been inspired by music lately, especially songs that I like to sing out loud. So hit play on the YouTube video and sing with me!

So here's my Happy Face necklace.

I made this just for fun. I'm not sure if I want to post this for sale or if I want to keep it for myself. I guess I can always make another one, but I'm one of those artists who does not like to duplicate their work. Maybe there's a Happy Face remix coming soon.

Anyway, just want to share. I hope I made all my readers smile by posting this. I was smiling the whole time I was making this. So put on your happy face and have a wonderful day!

"Enjoy" Necklace

2009-06-02T10:45:00.000-07:00

I've been a fan of Janet Jackson since she was "Nasty." I was on one of my jewelry making tantrums and just started singing her song "Enjoy." Have you heard it? It goes something like this:

"I just enjoy and celebrate
Enjoy the love we make
Enjoy, appreciate
Enjoy
Just keep on doing it
'Til my hearts content
And enjoy when someone smiles
Enjoy
So just enjoy the simple things
Enjoy the day life brings
Enjoy the song love sings
Enjoy
Just keep on doing it
'Til your hearts content
And enjoy the gift of life
Enjoy"

It's a great song on her "20 Years Old" album. Listen here if you've never heard it.

I was digging through my scrapbook materials and found an "Enjoy" chipboard circle and decided to make a necklace out of it. I put the "Enjoy" cirlce on top of a larger paper pendant to give it a pop-up look so it would make you want to have a second look and sing Janet's song one more time. Then I put her song on repeat (either on the iPod or in my head) while I made the matching paper beads. And here it is. My "Enjoy" necklace!

This was made in the same way I did my purple scrapbook paper necklace, so go read that blog for a bit more detail on how I made the pendant and paper beads.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my "Enjoy" necklace and that you will enjoy my other jewelry projects shown on my website at http://www.ojunejewelry.com.

Enjoy your day!

Till next time,

Omega June

My Scrapbook Paper Necklace

2009-05-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

I love finding new ways to create jewelry. I wish my public library had a bigger selection of jewelry making books. I think I've already checked out all the jewelry making books they have. This lead me to splurge on some books at the book store and today, I'm so glad I own the books that inspired me to make this necklace that I am sharing with you today.

I already wrote a blog about how much I love Margot Potter, The Impatient Beader. I own that book as well as Beyond the Bead. For the pendant of my necklace, I started with the chipboard pendant idea from Beyond the Bead. Margot Potter goes above and beyond using art supplies that I have never seen before to decorate what started out as a plain piece of chipboard and turn it into a beautiful pendant. Because I didn't have the all the materials Margot used for her project, I improvised and took shortcuts because I'm probably more impatient (a.k.a. "lazy") than Ms. Potter.

The pendant of my necklace is made from scrapbook paper and reused junk mail. I used a paper punch to make six circles from the junk mail (heavy cardstock) and two circles of the scrapbook paper. Then I stapmed a design on the scrapbook paper circles. I made the bail using 24-gauge craft wire. I made a wrapped loop and then made an "S" with the tail. I used the most porous circles to be the core where I would sandwich the bail. I dabbed a bit of E6000 glue on the wire and adhered it to the paper circle, then smeared some Mod Podge on top of that and sandwiched the wire between two circles, making sure the edges were completely sealed. After the bail was set, I added the other layers of junk mail circles and the scrapbook paper, again taking care to seal the edges. Then I applied a layer of Mod Podge on the front and back (let one side dry first) of the pendant. To add a super glossy finish, I used a dimensional adhesive on both sides.

Because I had a 12x12 piece of scrapbook paper with two holes punched out, I decided to use the same paper to make beads. I have a copy of Making Beaded Jewelry by Barbara Case. Ms. Case has instructions in her book for making your own beads. I wanted to try her papier mache beads, but I didn't want to mess that comes with papier mache. So I created my own method to acheive the same result. I cut six 12x0.5 inch strips and started coiling the dry strips on a toothpick. When I got the coil started, I applied glue to the whole strip using a basic glue stick. I removed the toothpick and continued coiling the strip using my fingers to keep the coil straight. Then with wet fingers, I smoothed down the seam. With the paper wet, I tore a tiny bit off the end to acheive the "seemless" look as suggested by Barbara Case in her book. After making six beads like this, I let them dry for about two hours. Then I dipped them in Mod Podge and used my fingers to smooth it all over. I used a head pin to make sure the hole was clear before I set those to dry again.

Now that I had my pendant and matching beads, I found more coordinating beads in my bead boxes and here's the end result. I didn't discriminate the beads I used, since the main focal bead is paper, this necklace has paper, glass, plastic, and metal beads. Here's a closer look:

A close-up of the pendant.

The opposite side:

A closer look at the beads:

The clasp:

One last look:

A lot of love went into creating this necklace. That's why I decided to blog about it. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Sweet Inspiration

2009-05-25T11:02:00.001-07:00

I'm Filipino and I've been to Jolly Bee exactly two times. On both occasions, we went to the Jolly Bee in Vallejo, CA. That weekend, it was very hot, around 90 degrees. After we ate our Chickenjoy, we ordered halo-halo for dessert. It's my favorite Filipino dessert and I would eat it every day if I could, especially during the hot Summer weather. The shaved ice and milk, ube ice cream, and fruits and beans was perfect for cooling us off.

If you ask anyone familiar with culinary arts, the color of your food has to be attractive to make it more appealing to others. The same applies for jewelry. You have to match your colors in a way to make it appealing to other people. If halo-halo is appealing because of its colors, why not use the same colors to make jewelry? So this is what I came up with:

And this one, too:

These are my halo-halo-inspired bracelets. I didn't have all the colors on hand that I wanted, so this is what I came up with using the beads I had on hand. If I wouldn't have eaten a halo-halo at Jolly Bee, I probably never would have thought to put these colors together.

So what do you think?

Maria's Wedding Necklace

2009-05-19T11:40:00.000-07:00

I made this necklace and earring set while we were driving to the Bay Area. We were on our way to my friend Maria's wedding. I needed something to match with the dress I was going to wear, so I threw this necklace together. Because I made it for Maria's wedding, it's even more special to me and that's why I decided to blog about this particular piece.

The shell pendant was originally a pair of earrings that I bought at WalMart. I'm not a fan of huge earrings, so I ususally buy them and turn them into pendants. This particular pendant is heavy and not something the average person would want to hang on their earlobe, but is ideal for a pendant. It was an awesome find!

The dress I wore was black with pink flowers and green leaves. So all I had to do was add some black and green with a little more pink. I also used some clear AB bicone beads to give the necklace just a touch of sparkle. I made the pendant bale out of green seed beads and a metal flower bead. This necklace is designed to be a choker and is 14 inches, but I added an adustable chain and lobster clasp it is adjustable to 16 inches.

The earrings are simple and sweet. In my jewelry world, the acronym KISS means Keep-It-Simple-and-Sweet. I used the same pink bead to be the main focal point, then added a small green bicone and a round black bead. Nothing more, nothing less.

I'm very happy with the way this set turned out. This is my personal souveneir or Maria and Justin's special day, so it is not for sale. I do have the other earring (soon-to-be-pendant), so if you want me to make a duplicate, ask me. I hope from the picture, you will appreciate the beauty of this set. Let me know what you think!

Custom Photo Pendants for Mother's Day

2009-04-29T01:26:00.001-07:00

I'm offering custom photo necklaces for Mother's Day. If you want one, please contact me to place your order. Send me a digital photo (one that you have permission to reproduce) and I will reduce it to fit the pendant. I recommend photos that can be cropped into head shots because this particular pendant is small. But this is, after all, a custom pendant so I will work with whatever photo you choose. However, I will not use photos with inappropriate or distasteful images so please don't even ask if that is what you had in mind.

Get your orders in by May 4 to ensure delivery by Mother's Day!

A Word About Copyrights and an Artist's Intellectual Property

2009-04-27T17:21:00.000-07:00

The hot topic of the day is copyright protection. It is common sense that copying someone else's work is stealing, but there are many people out there who think that its ok. For those of you who think stealing is ok, I frown upon the person or people who failed to instill moral values in you. Most of the time, people will steal because they feel that the consequences of their actions are minimal if any. So I'm publishing my two cents in this blog to hopefully change your mind about stealing other people's artwork.

Remember that an artist owns the copyrights to their works the very second is it created. If you copy their work, you can be sued. It is true that a person must register their works with their local copyright office in order to legally enforce their copyright. However the concept, which is common sense, is that the work belongs to the artist, so don't copy it.

On the other hand, I believe in idea sharing. Being a software designer, I know that it's not always a good idea to reinvent the wheel, so we reuse code all the time. We call this reusable code "libraries." In an art sense, it's a bit more complicated. If you reproduce even a portion of the artwork, you are still infringing on copyrights. So I'm making this blog my official permission grant for other artists to get ideas from - but NOT COPY - my designs. Let me add a bit more fine print just to make sure we understand each other.

I post pictures of my designs in my blog and on MySpace mainly to promote my Etsy store, but also to inspire beginning jewelry designers. In fact, it would be the biggest ego-booster for me if someone would send me a picture of a jewelry piece that was inspired by one of my designs. However if you make an exact copy of my work, it's ok until you make a profit from it. So if you copy one of my designs and sell it as your own, you are stealing from me. On the other hand, I will give you permission to modify my design in any way, as long as you give due credit. For example, let's say you make a necklace I designed, but you use different color beads. Now this is truly your design, but when you display it please state, "Inspired by O June Jewelry" or something to that effect. This way, you will be respectful to myself and other artists who inspire your work.

The whole concept about copyrights and intellectual property is about respect. So I encourage you to be respectful to other artists and not copy their work. I have officially given permission for artists to "partially" copy my work, but other artists may not be so giving. Remember that you must ask permission if you would like to copy their work or even post pictures of their work on your website or blog. I DO NOT give permission to take my photos of my jewelry for your own use, but I will allow you to post links to the sites where my photo is located - that is, the whole website and not just a link to the file. If you must use my photos, you must ask for my permission in writing and I will grant it on a case-by-case basis. Also, just to add more fine print, I can reverse these permissions I have granted at any time without notice.

So I hope after reading this blog I have changed your mind about copying another artist's work. As an artist, I put my heart into all my work and I think you should, too. If you put your heart into it, then there is no need to copy someone else's work.

About Me

2009-04-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

I decided to blog about me. I feel that if you know a little bit about an artist's personality, you find more (or less) appreciation for their work. So here's a brief autobiography about the person behind O June Jewelry.

My name is Omega June. I am the youngest child out of five children. Yes, my real name is Omega. No, my oldest sibling is not named Alpha. My family is of Filipino decent. I was born in Reno, Nevada. I spent most of my childhood in a small town called Fernely, which is now getting more and more visible on the map. After high school, I went straight to college. I moved to sunny Phoenix, Arizona and attended DeVry University where I finished my undergraduate degree in computer engineering technology in 2003. Yes, I am a total nerd! Then I moved back home to Reno and ended up earning an MBA from the University of Phoenix in 2007.

I wish making jewelry would pay my mortgage, but that's just not the case. I am working for a gaming company as a firmware engineer. I actually love my job. I tell my boss all the time that I'm glad that I have a job where I am constantly being challenged. But honestly if I had a choice, I would prefer to be a stay-at-home-mom so I could spend all day everyday with my beautiful daughter. I am happily married to a wonderful man and we have to most beautiful daughter, a stinky dog, and a cat with an attitude. Our family is perfect! When I'm not chasing my toddler or yelling at my husband to take out the trash, I'm making jewelry.

I started making jewelry because I enjoy it. I love looking at a finished piece and thinking, "wow, I made that!" After making my first necklace, I became a bead addict. When I find beads that I like, I buy then without thinking twice. I actually had to stop going to my local bead shop for a while after I received my credit card statement!

I am a self-taught jewelry designer and today I am still learning new techniques. I think jewelry making is a great hobby where you can never stop learning. I'm not one of those artist who keep an art journal and make jewelry designs on paper. Instead, I see what's in my bead trays and throw something together. I love reading books about jewelry making and other jewelry blogs. I would never copy another artist's work, but instead just learn from them.

(Margo Potter wrote a great blog about artist's intellectual property. It's worth a read. Here's the link.)

Right now, I'm learning wire-wrapping techniques. I offered to make all my friends simple bead rings for free just so I could practice. Here's how they turned out.

If you're laughing, I'm definitely laughing with you. These rings are very messy and have suffered unnecessary abuse from my pliers. But hey, they're pretty good for a wire rookie, don't you think?

Maybe I'm getting a little of the main subject. I have more wire projects that I am currently working on and will post a blog about them soon!

So this is a little about me. I hope you like me so far! Keep reading my blogs and you'll get to know me more over time. If you're on MySpace, check out my profile at http://www.myspace.com/ojunejewelry. If you have any comments or suggestions about my work, I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks for reading my blog!

O.J.

Inspired by Margot Potter

2009-04-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

Before I started making jewelry, scrapbooking was my favorite hobby. I had collected boxes full of scrapbook supplies. Then I read Margot Potter's Beyond the Bead. One of the projects in her book was making "faux-enameled" pendants out of chipboard. Of course, Ms. Potter's version was more elaborate than my version, but the concept is the same.

These two pendants shown here are my first attempt at making jewelry out of scrapbook embelishments. I had a few printed chipboard circles. With my amazing Crop-A-Dile (thanks Gina), I punched a hole for the jump ring. I added a self-adhesive acrylic flower emblishment. To hide the paper look, I painted the back of the circles using a metallic silver colored acrylic paint. Then I added one coat of dimensional adhesive on the back and two coats on the front. To top it off, I followed Margot Potter's example by adding some jump rings and bead dangles.

I listed these two pendants in my Etsy shop as PIF items and they sold the same day. I plan on making more chipboard pendants and selling them as PIF items on Etsy. These two pendants sold like hotcakes, so check my Etsy listings often if you want one!

I really enjoyed making these pendants. Margot Potter is my hero. If you haven't read her books, I think it's worth the trip to the book store or the public library. After reading Beyond the Bead, I find myself examining just about every object to see if it has jewelry possibilities. I hope Margot Potter and I will inspire you to make your own chipboard pendants and have a blast while doing it.

FREE Jewelry and Other Handmade Items

2009-04-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

Pay It Forward (PIF) means that you pay the debt in a form of a good deed done onto others. On Etsy, there are tons of sellers who give their jewelry away and only ask for you to "Pay It Forward." I invite you to go on Etsy to check out the PIF items. Just do a search for "PIF" or here's a link.

I'm writing a blog about this because I like the PIF concept. I think that if everyone goes out of their way to do something nice for someone else, the world would be a better place. That's why I will try to keep PIF items in my Etsy shop at all times. See my Etsy shop at http://ojunejewelry.etsy.com.

The true PIF items are listed for only 20 cents. However, some Etsy sellers are trying to sell their items for fundraisers and will ask for a higher price and promise to donate all the money to a non-profit group. Check the PIF listings often and hopefully you'll buy one of more of those items and pay it forward with a random act of kindness.

Happy Easter!

Welcome to my jewelry blog!

2009-04-06T16:30:00.000-07:00

My name is Omega. I am addicted to making handmade jewelry. I'm starting this blog so that I can share my passion for jewelry making. I am continually learning new techniques and will try to list all my adventures in jewelry making here.

I started making my own jewelry because it's much more cost-efficient than purchasing mass-produced jewelry, and most of all because it's fun. It's so easy to create something that's truly yours and unique.

I have some of my jewelry for sale in my Etsy shop. See what I have for sale at http://ojunejewelry.etsy.com.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade
ojunejewelry.etsy.com