Today I’m excited to unveil a new series on the blog… Designer DIY, where I will be visiting with a few of my favorite designers and working on a project or two with them. As much as I (ADORE) bringing you weekly designer-inspired tutorials, a lot of craftsmanship + hard work goes into creating the original pieces. I am hoping that this series will give you an insider look at how it all goes down behind the scenes and get to know these amazing designers a little bit better!
It was only fitting after our little studio visit to kick things off with the incredible Lisa Salzer of Lulu Frost. We made these beautiful earrings (above) and a necklace that I can’t wait to share with you on Friday.
I brought five old pieces to Lisa… some family treasures that were no longer wearable, and a few sparkly flea market finds. We sat down over coffee and strategized. I was blown away by her ideas. Note: This is actually a service that Lulu Frost offers.. if you have old family heirlooms or jewels you don’t regularly wear, you can send them to her and she will reconstruct them into something beautiful/relevant for today. (Just shoot them an email!)
I’m going to get to the project details in just a second… but first, can we just pause and admire this crazy cool jewelry display wall that she made with my pals at Honestly WTF!?
To make the earrings, we decided that we’d split up the red + crystal buckle into two “pendants” to make earrings. Lisa first used wire nippers to remove the back of the buckle (just some errant clips) and then a metal file to smooth out the backs.
From there, Lisa used a drill to gently pop out one crystal on each side of the pendants… I have always been a bit afraid of my drill, but she was a master. Maybe I will give mine another shot after this.
And here are our pendants, all ready to be transformed into beautiful earrings!
Next, we wandered over to Lisa’s (incredible) wall of chain to select a delicate brass chain to connect to the pendants. Also – how gorgeous is she!? One of the most stylish human beings, like ever… if you ask me.
We grabbed some pliers + jump rings and were ready to go!
Using two small jump rings, Lisa connected the chain to the pendant.
From there, we added a simple brass earwire, and I was ready to go!
And voila… the finished piece. I feel so lucky to own these amazing earrings – made from my old vintage find, by one of my absolute favorite designers. Stay tuned for Friday, where we make a beautiful necklace. We also have a little reader challenge for you… get excited!
photos of Lisa and I by Lexi Cross. all other photos by me.
Lisa is so great I heard her talk at the #ifb conference she was my favorite speaker, maybe I’m biased because I love making jewelry as well.
xo
http://pinksole.com
what an amazing opportunity! the pieces are gorgeous 🙂
Going to the LuLu Frost studio looks like a dream come true! The finished earrings are beautiful!
OMG, I’m so excited for this series! And those earrings are gorgeous!
What an amazing opportunity! I’m really excited to see what else you’ll be doing– what a great way to do-it-yourself while experiencing the amazing talent and craftsmanship
wow!! what a cool experience and amazing you got to transform your pieces with her. those earrings are amazing.
I loved these on Insta and love them here too – I really like this collab. idea!
What a fun experience!
That is really awesome! Congratulations! So inspiring to work with people you admire:)
I absolutely adore the idea behind this series. I can’t wait to see more!
I am so excited for this new feature! I adore Lulu Frost & this is such a fun way to see behind the scenes of the magic they create. Those earrings are fab!
ahhhh!!! could you be any cooler? I’m so excited for this new feature!!! YAY!!! you’re such a rockstar!
What a fun post and so great that you are really stepping up the gear in showing us more of the designer side to making ! Loved seeing the tools, wall of chains, and idea from start to finish.
x
What a great new feature – and great new earrings! I’m looking forward to Friday’s post and DIY!
This is such an awesome series Grace!! Love the way the earrings turned out!
Those are stunning and what an INCREDIBLE experience!!!!! So COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!
Incredible, Grace! What an amazing and surreal experience for you! These turned out so lovely, can’t wait to see the necklace!
xx
Lia
Smart n Snazzy
This is SO amazing!! Blown away by this series. Seriously.
That is such a cool opportunity!! btw you look pretty in your close up pic
http://fashionablyspeakn.blogspot.com/2013/03/cameo-in-camo-ootd.html
Such an amazing partnership!! The final earrings are beautiful!!
such an amazing, creative new feature – thanks for sharing and i’m excited for the next one!
Awesome series! Can’t wait to see what comes next. Makes me want to look through my vintage jewelry and “attempt” to make something like those earrings!
This is so cool, those earrings turned out amazing!
Kristina
Kristina does the Internets
Grace, this is an amazing feature!! I love how you re-purposed something unwearable and the earrings are so beautiful. You never cease to amaze me with your creativity.
This is one of my favorite posts you have ever done! I loooove Lulu Frost jewelry so it’s such a treat to get a behind the scenes glimpse like this. And I adore those earrings you made!
OK wow!! This is so cool that you got to work with Lisa!! I heard her speak at IFB and she left such a great impression on me! She was so inspiring! I love that you could share your insane creativity with her! xoxo
I love her style! They’re super cool jewelry pieces!
And congrats for your opportunity 🙂
xx
Novella
http://9lla.it/
Fashion & DIYs
Oh my Goodness I love this new series already! And I love how she reconstructs old pieces into new ones! This is amazing!!
Grace what an awesome DIY!! That’s incredible that you got to spend the day DIYing with Lisa of Lulu Frost! She’s one of my designer idols as well. She partly Inspired me to start my little DIY jewelry line way back when 🙂
amazeballs.com
I love this series that you’re doing! It’ll be so fun to get a peek behind the scenes with these jewelry designers.
Lisa is incredibly inspiring and talented and I just love your new series! I didn’t know that Lulu Frost could reconstruct old pieces into new ones. Definitely something to consider with a lot of my grandmother’s old / broken pieces!
I can’t wait to see more, Grace!! These earrings are beautiful. I had no idea that Lulu Frost offered that service – that’s goood info. to have!!
Wow! Love the finished earrings. I also love this as a column, I think it’s so wonderful to get to “meet” different designers and see a wider perspective of the DIY thought process! Very inspiring!
Wow! What an absolutely amazing series. Lulu Frost is one of my all time favorite jewelry collections. How unique and special! Thanks for the great content, Grace! xo
Beautiful earrings! I will have to check out this service…
How exciting!!! I would kill to spend the day at Lulu Frost. I’m looking forward to seeing what else you have in store for this series.
xoxo,
Chelsea & The City
Be sure to check out my Stella & Dot trunk show + giveaway!
Great new feature! Very cool behind the scenes look.
Grace, I am totally giddy over this new series – such a fantastic idea! And I’m not sure what I’m more obsessed with: the awesome jewelry or that framed jewelry organizer! #swoon
What an awesome experience and a super fun series! I am in love with Lulu Frost and it’s so incredibly cool that the offer this service!
Chelsea
Haute Child in the City
Um, this is amazing! Can’t wait to see more!
How fun! That day must have been a blast! And how amazing is having a wall full of chain? Love it!
This is seriously incredible!! What an amazing experience
what an amazing opportunity! love the diy 🙂
& Pretty Things
Wow, what a cool experience, and I love the earrings!
This is an awesome series and i love the final result. It’s amazing what a little pair of pliers can do!
I love the concept and agree – some stuff can be DIY’d but artisans also put in great effort to really come up with other beautiful pieces and they should be appreciated!
xoxo,
Chic ‘n Cheap Living
Holy inspiration! I just love her designs 🙂
//Birdie Shoots//
Amazing!! Can’t wait to see the next one.
love your creations! can’t wait to see your next project AND the reader challenge!
I am seriously jealous about this experience. I love Lulu Frost and I can’t believe you’re getting to work with her to create custom pieces. Great post – can’t wait to read the rest.
Love this DIY its so inspiring. Lisa is so stylish and talented.
Can’t wait to see more of your personal & designer DIYs.
Xx,
http://www.casualuxe.blogpsot.com
Such an amazing opportunity and series idea, Grace. I loved Lisa’s IFB keynote – she’s an incredible inspiration. How fun to have a sneak peek into her daily life!
What a wonderful post. I just love idea of transforming older pieces into something totally new and chic!
This is SO cool! I have so many family heirlooms that I just don’t enjoy that I would love to turn into something beautiful and new. I will definitely have to shoot them an email. And also, it is so cool that she herself still made your earrings and did it all herself 🙂
Lauren
thepearshape.com
Love what a great series you are starting, I’m excited to see what’s next. I love Lulu Frost jewelry, I actually just bought the lips necklace with the pearl as teeth. Very excited to wear it. The earrings you made are gorgeous and thanks for letting us know about the service they provide with repurposing old jewelry.
Quinn Cooper Style