Cousin Blog

Make the Connection in stores now!

Cousin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:00:00 GMT

Back in December we had a preview of our new Make the Connection program and we had a ton of great feedback. The wait is finally over and Make the Connection is in stores now!

Make the Connection was created with the idea that everyone, whether a jewelry designer or not, should be able to create their own style of jewelry quickly and easily without any tools. We have utilized an intricate style of snap that not only looks great but also allows all of the pieces to connect and reconnect in seconds making that morning rush of "What do I wear today?" that much easier. The program will initially have 15 pendants, 15 short connectors and 12 long connectors. That means even if you just choose one piece of each type there is over 2500 different combinations possible! Feeling a little bright today? Change out the pendant for a brighter color in just a snap. What about that dinner date right after work that you want to look extra special for? Well now you can change your whole look as quickly as you can snap together the pieces!

Click →here← to take you to a map of all of the stores that currently carry Make the Connection.

Below are pictures all of the pieces that are currently in the program.

What's your favorite Snap?

Cousin — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:23:53 GMT

With our new line Snap in Style arriving in stores just around the corner in late Spring, we wanted to hear from all of you about what your favorite pieces are. Below are 20 Snaps and 4 Bases from our Snap in Style program, use the corresponding "Like" buttons to tell us which ones are your favs. Don't be scared to leave us your comments below either, we will be using all of this information to help shape the final program!

Party On!

Cousin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:50:22 GMT

Here at Cousin we have so many wonderfully imaginative employees. They have created everything from beaded Christmas stockings to gorgeous embellished outfits, even a hand painted and bejeweled "art vehicle"! With all of this talent surrounding us, we have decided to showcase a few of our employee creations over the upcoming weeks here on our Blog. This week's blog article is from Dawn, a Support Member to our Graphics Arts Dept.

I love beads. I love chains. Heck, I LOVE jewelry and so this project was just TOO much fun.

I had a friend's birthday coming up soon and wanted to surprise her with a unique gift, but to be honest a lot of my friends have already received jewelry from me, so I felt I needed something new. On my journey to find a new and exciting jewelry project, a friend of mine reminded me of those embellished wine and martini glasses you see in stores like Hallmark or Bealls. I thought that this would be a great gift, but having never made one before I was off to the craft store to find some paint and inspiration.

My first stop was to find paint that would work well on glass. I asked the employee at the store about their thoughts on my project and they pointed me towards the enamel paint. I found Folk Art has a great line of enamel paints for glass that are generally all under $3 a bottle! Well with a few choice colors and some brushes I was on my way home to begin making a blinging wine glass!

The materials you will need for this project are; enamel paints (colors of your choice);brushes, rhinestone chain, super glue and of course your glass!

     Start by cleaning your glass with a little bit of rubbing alcohol or Windex to make sure it is squeaky clean. Even one oily fingerprint can make a BIG difference. Let the glass dry for about ten minutes.
     For the painted design on my glass I ended up doing pretty basic polka dots with the words "Party On!" written on one side. The polka dots I cheated on a little bit and made with a circular sponge brush and just dabbed the paint onto the glass with it, you could easily do the same design painting with a brush though. The words I drew onto a piece of paper first and then tested to make sure they would fit nicely on the glass. When I was happy with the size and shape of the words, I used a Sharpie to draw them onto the glass. Please don't frustrate yourself here either, be patient and wait for the paint to dry completely.
     With the paint and sharpie dry, the glass is about half way done. And yes the glass looks pretty good, even in its current state, but personally I felt it just didn't "Gleam" yet. Now it was time for the fun stuff :-D With a nice red/purple rhinestone treatment it should catch every eye in the room for the birthday girl! You could use individual rhinestones but using the chain is a little trick that really speeds up the process.

I began the rhinestone work on the foot of the glass. Start by measuring and cutting enough of the rhinestone chain to make your 1^st small circle around the stem. You can cut the rhinestone chain with either heavy duty shears or wire cutters; I suggest trying the scissors first. Now put the super glue directly onto the glass and then press the rhinestone chain into the glue. Repeat the same steps making bigger and bigger circles, until the entire foot of the glass is covered. Let the foot dry for at least 15 mins just to save you the headache of bumping into them and the rhinestones moving. Now flip the glass upside down and proceed with the same technique for the top of the glass stem. I found placing the last row of rhinestones on the stem facing out instead of down helped a lot with presentation. Again let these dry in place before moving on.

While creating the letters on the glass I placed it into some crumpled up paper to helphold itstill while I adhered the rhinestone chain. Lay each piece of chain onto each letter to help find the exact size you'll need. Then cut, apply glue to the glass and carefully place the rhinestone chain on. Try not to use too much glue on the letters as extra glue is more visible here than the foot.

And that's it! All in all once I had the materials together it really only took about an hour start to finish (that includes waiting for the glue to dry but NOT the paint). This project was really fun and in the end the birthday girl absolutely LOVED her gift. I hope everyone enjoys!

Dawn.

Preview of our new Snap in Style program!

Cousin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:12:00 GMT

Check out Cousin's next concept, arriving in stores late spring!

We know a lot of our fans came to us when they first began making jewelry. That is why we have always spent such a great effort on tutorials and techniques. Now we are introducing a new program that from novice to expert or from teen to grandmother, Everyone can enjoy!

With Snap in Style™ It’s a snap to create

unique, interchangeable jewelry. Simply choose a base and snap in your personal style!

The program will feature a variety of bases including; rings, hair accessories, bracelets, pendants and even watches! To begin we'll be offering over 45 different "Snaps" to make creating your own style a snap.

We have created a gallery on our Facebook page where we will be uploading samples created by our designers. You can visit the gallery simply by clicking Here.

As always, we LOVE your feedback, so please don't feel shy to tell us what you think everyone!

A Romantically Rustic Bracelet

Cousin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:00:00 GMT

This week we are welcoming our good friend Carol Heppner to the Cousin Design Blog. She has always been a great supporter and we are so happy so has created such a wonderful tutorial to share with all of us.

On my desk sits aged-copper chains and findings from Cousins®. They have a wonderful patina and I am drawn to their rustic charm. There can be no doubt, they must be the base on which I will build my bracelet.

Contrast and asymmetry are the main elements of my signature style, so I quickly focus on the smooth Perles de Verre Glass Beads and the sparkle of the green bicone crystals. While the aged-copper components will invoke a feeling of rustic charm, the contrasting shine and sparkle of the beads and crystals will give me the romantic look I like all my jewelry to have.

Materials Used:

Jewelry Basics, Cousins®

145 Piece Copper Starter Findings Pack, #34719069

Copper Chain, #34718032,

Copper Chain, #34718046,

Metal Accent (3 Pieces), #34708116

Metal Charms (3 Pieces), #34708131

Perles de Verre Glass Beads, #34722047

Trinkettes™, Cousins®

Blue/Orange Mix #34699126

Green Pearl Mix, #34699070

Crystazzi® Cousins®

4 mm Biconr Mix Bouquet, #3673046

6 mm Back Satin Bicone, #3670135

9x6 mm Light Smoke Satin Oval, #3670337

Craft & Jewelery™ Cousins®

Clear Monofilament, 30, #32026

Additional Materials

Masking tape

Silk or rayon lining fabric: black, green, white

Tools

Chain nose pliers

Craft scissors

Crimping pliers

Heavy-duty pliers (2)

Sewing needle and white thread

Torn fabric is my surprise element in the bracelet design. The fabric will provide the soft- romantic contrast to the rustic charm of the metal. The soft-white, green, and black fabric colors are a perfect match to the Trinkettes™ beads. Even the gossamer-white ribbon from the beads’ packaging finds its way into the braided fabric design in this bracelet. The soft fabric and smooth beads are juxtaposed with the textured and aged metal to produce a multi-layered bracelet with haute-couture style.

It is also important to me to create pieces that can be versatile - being able to look great in many different occasions. This Romantically Rustic Bracelet is a statement piece that is as comfortable with a pair of jeans as it is paired with a little black dress.

Because this bracelet is such a strong fashion piece, it’s best to style it with the matching earring from this post.

The 145-Piece Copper Starter Findings Pack (#34719069) has all the findings you need to create the bracelet and earrings. The color works perfectly with the copper chains. There is even a fine-weight chain that will be used to secure the fabric to the heavier chains.

When looking for fabrics to use, choose ones that are the weight of silk or rayon lining fabric in black, green, and white. You need a 1 by 12” length of each fabric. Layer the pieces of torn fabric on top of each other and then place the ribbon from the Trinkettes™ on the top of the torn fabrics pile. Use a needle and thread to secure one end of the layered fabrics. Sew the end of the fabrics about 1/8” from the top edge of the fabric.

Secure the sewn edge of the torn fabric to your work surface with masking tape. Use a second piece of masking tape to fasten the ribbon from the Trinkettes™ out of the way from the torn fabrics. Create a loose braid with the torn fabric strips. Once you have created the braid, remove the fabric from the work surface and wrap the braid around your wrist to determine the length of braid you will need to create the bracelet. Add 1” to that measurement.

Place the green, black, and white Trinkettes™ onto the ribbon from the Trinkettes™ and then weave them into the braided torn fabric. (Photo 1) Use the needle and thread to stitch the unsecured ends of the ribbon and fabric before cutting the excess fabric from the braid.

Create two large jump rings from two headpins from the Copper Findings Package. To do this, wrap the headpins around a thin round object (like a thin, rounded ink pen) and then cut off the top of the headpin with jewelry cutters. Slip one end of the braided fabric through a jump ring and create a 1/2” fold. (Photo 2) Sew the end of the fabric braid in place to secure the jump ring. Use this same procedure to attach the jump ring to the opposite end of the fabric braid.

Use the Clear Monofilament and the crimp beads from the Copper findings Pack to create the alternating glass and crystal beaded strand of the bracelet. Two Light Smoke Satin Oval Crystazzi® crystals flank the center Perles de Verre Glass Bead. (Photo 3)

Use the heavy-duty pliers to remove seven links from the heavy copper bracelet and then attach it to the end of the three large-circle links. (Photo 4)

Thread the glass and crystal beaded strand through the large-circle links and then secure them together with a jump ring. (Photo 5) Lay the fabric braid, crystals beaded strand, and then the copper chains onto your work surface (Photo 6) and then use a jump ring to attach the ends of the strands together. (Photo 7) Attach a lobster clasp to one end of the bracelet and a large jump ring to the opposite side of the bracelet.

There is a thin chain that comes in the Copper Findings Package. Cut the chain into four 5” sections. Wrap each section around the fabric and copper chains as seen in the main photograph. Each section uses a small jump ring to close the chain. These chain circles help the three bracelet sections to work as one unit.

Attach the metal charm and accents to the bracelet with jump rings (use the main photograph as your guide).

The earrings are very simple to make. Just slip the green and black bicone beads onto a eye pin from the Copper Findings Pack and then create a loop in the top of the eye pin. Remove the excess wire with jewelry cutters. Attach the top of the eye pin to the earring wire from the Copper Findings Pack and then attach the copper charm to the opposite end of the eye pin. Repeat this process to create the second earring.

Enjoy wearing your Romantically Rustic Bracelet and matching earrings.

Bio

I am a writer, mixed-media artist and a Design Member of the Craft & Hobby Association.

As a mixed media artist I work in paper arts, including scrapbooking, rubber stamping, collage, inks, watercolor, as well as in wearable arts including fabric painting, jewelry making and batiks.

My work has appeared in national art shows, galleries, magazines, books and advertisements.

If you're in California this upcoming weekend for CHA, come visit me! I'll have a display at the Designer's Showcase (Table 2) - I used the bracelet photo in my display :-)... and we're having a designer's spotlight event on Monday at 6:00 PM that takes place in Room 204A.

Web: http://www.carolheppner.com
Blog: http://heppnerstudio.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/queenofcr8tvty
Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/queenofcr8tvty