This swap has been a long time coming. I was planning it before the move… then the move ate 2 months of my life. At any rate, now we’re ready. We’re having a charm swap… a Summer Flower Charm Swap!

Paper Doll Tutorial by Teri Calia
(and some new things for the Paper Doll Swap)

Teri has written a tutorial for her Crazy Lady Paper Dolls! She is not shy regarding mixing patterns and materials (let’s see… pearls, velvet, rhinestones, pewter, glitter, paper, fabric, chipboard… you get the idea). Anything goes with these dolls (and if you’re still thinking about joining the Paper Doll Swap, maybe this tutorial will help you make the leap.

New Doll Items

Pewter Girl Face
Holes on the sides for tying or sewing the mask onto a doll. Could also be used as a mask.

Fancy Brass Hand
1-3/4″ long. Brass stamping (so concave on the back side).

Pewter Hand of Fatima Charms

Said to ward again The Evil Eye.

Be Bold Crown
Back in stock

Distress Ink Pad — Antique Linen
A good color for distressing light-colored papers.

Wisteria Paper Pad
Beautiful florals (including roses and daisies) and dragonfly prints in peaceful shades of green, gold, blue & plum.

Die-Cut, Clear Acrylic People & Wings
They can be dyed, painted, glued (add glitter or papers), embellished… just peel off the clear protective film before decorating.

Here’s a bit of the info from the Swap Specs (that’s a link to the Yahoo Group, where you can also sign up for the swap):

Create 5 original flower (and/or leaf) themed charms and receive 5 in return! Your 5 charms should be similar (they won’t be exactly the same, as you’ve made each one by hand, but they should all be in the same neighborhood… like 5 red flowers all made using cochineal… ok, silly example.)

You can enter more than once… especially if you’d like enough charms
to create your own “Alpha Stamps 2009 Charm Bracelet.”

Even if you’re not interested in the swap, there are tons of beautiful new floral & leaf charms, glass beads & findings to oogle over while taking a break, so read on.

Round Metal Things
Beautiful Brass and Antique Gold… well, round things.

Repro Coins in Tin
6 coins in three different styles that range from 3/4″ to 1-3/4″. Big brothers of the tiny ones in the “Round Things” group.

Antique Brass Round Link Chain (or Jump Rings)
10mm round links (pre-cut so they can also be used as jump rings). Available in 4″ or 8″ lengths (4″ will provide 14 jump rings; 8″ could be a charm bracelet with a couple links left over).

Brass Dragonfly Charms

Two very detailed, ornate dragonflies (both are stampings so are concave on the back). The smaller is raw brass and has loops on both ends. The larger has a beautiful vintage patina.

Tiny Dragonfly Beads
Antique copper finish over pewter. Horizontal hole for stringing. 8mm x 6mm (really tiny… about half the size of the picture).

Leaf Hook & Eye Clasp
Pretty leaf & tendril clasp (silver plated with an antique finish). Pretty enough to use the components separately as charms.

4-Petal Linkie
Linkies are used to attach strands of beads, clasps, other linkies… kind of like a hub.

Leaf or Round Toggles
Lovely leaf toggle (almost a button with a shank on the back) and a round toggle. Use them separately or together. Gold-, copper-, or silver-plated cast pewter with an antique finish.

Iris Hook & Eye Clasp
Pretty floral clasp. 14k gold plated.

Jester Slider
This “slider” has a horizontal hole through the top so you can string it onto a strand of beads or a wire.

Delicate Floral Toggle Set
Double-sided design. Quite small for toggles. Gold-, copper-, or silver-plated cast pewter with an antique finish.

6mm Faceted Bead Mixes
If you like shiny things, try not to swoon… strands of fire-polished, imported Czech glass beads in 7 color mixes.

Olivine Glass Flower Beads
New color for the Medium Glass Trumpet Flowers. Shown with one of the new Cone Bead Caps.

Jasmine Bead Caps
3 jasmine flowers around the cap. Gold-plated pewter. Shown with an 8mm Red Glass Bead.

Carved Coral Flowers
Dyed coral; horizontal hole in the back (similar to a shank button).

Tim Holtz Metal Foliage Sets
Beautifully patinaed flowers and leaves in three colors plus matching brads.

(Single) Antique Gold or Patinaed Brass Metal Flowers
Beautifully detailed, 3D metal flowers (similar to the Tim Holtz Foliage Sets). Center hole. Choose Antique Gold or Patinaed Brass (darker and not as shiny).

Flower Dangles
12 sweet little metal flowers (4 each of 3 designs per package). Gold, Silver or Antique Copper.

Antiqued Silver Leaf Charms
17mm with loop, with incised veins on the front side. Plated cast metal.

Brass Flower Charms
Antique finish (and a little shine… like a matte varnish coating).

Jonquil Leaf Beads
Very pale yellow/green leaves. Imported Czech glass. Approx 10mm long with a vertical hole. Charm by Design Team Member Barbe Saint John
using 3 of these beads with a Brass Filigree Fan.

Copper Bee Charms
Just shy of 1/2″ tall. Antiqued copper (copper-plated cast pewter).

Red Pansy Buttons
1/2″ diameter. Plastic but nicely detailed with etched lines for the petals and variegated (yet monotone) color.

Mother of Pearl Flower Buttons
Beautiful, carved, dyed mother of pearl buttons. Metal shanks. Choose Royal Blue or Teal.

Aurora Borealis Flower Beads/Buttons – 2 colors
Czech glass flower beads with a horizontal hole in the back (similar to a shank button). As they’re glass, if you use them as buttons you should hand-wash. 8mm wide (about 5/16″). Choose Aqua/Amethyst (the AB coating looks aqua on top of the purple glass) or Clear/Silver.

Carved Shell Flower Charms
Natural color. 27mm diameter. Single hole, top drilled front-to-back. Colors and sizes may vary.

Carved Shell Fan Buttons
5/8″ tall

Lightweight Flowers Beads – 2 colors
Antiqued gold- or silver-plated plastic. Double sided.

Mother of Pearl Pendants (Leaves?)
Sizes vary but approx. 1-3/4″ long. There is a horizontal hole through the fin (?) that runs down the center of the back. They have a nice, broad area for doing an image transfer.

Red Rose Beads
8mm metallicized plastic. Lightweight.

Wooden Hearts
2 each of 3 sizes (3/4″, 1″ & 1-1/4″ tall; all are 1/8″ thick). Charm by Design Team Member Barbe Saint John
using an image from Roses #2 Collage Sheet.

Reversible Round Metal Number Tiles – 2 new colors
The antique gold are back in stock. And two new colors: Pewter & Copper.

Jewelry Books

A Charming Exchange
A wonderful book with beautiful samples of artwork made by women who participate in jewelry and charm swaps (with instructions in every chapter!). I truly had a hard time picking which photos to use in this description. Lots of different techniques and media (stitched felt to metal to glass… image transfers to metal patinaes). Eye candy plus lots to learn. Highly recommended.

French-Inspired Jewelry
Yum… a graphic designer’s design book. Every page is thoughtfully designed… even the pages without a photo of jewelry (and there are hundreds of photos) are beautiful.

Beading with Charms
From a reconstructed vintage necklace that incorporates family heirlooms to a locket collar with trinkets and ribbon, these projects are literally charm-filled. This book goes way beyond the familiar charm bracelet. 35 projects, each with lengthy instructions. And lots of ideas for items ready to be charmed, from arcades with penny-smashing machines to one-of-a-kind vintage earrings.

Miscellaneous

Brass Inchies Frames
The white paper “punchie” is from a 1″ paper punch, also available.

Metal Art Keys
Flat, skeleton keys in a variety of antique metal finishes (note: they’re meant to be glued down for scrapbooking… they can be used for other purposes but they are completely flat on the back). Sizes vary from 1 1/2″ to 3 1/2″ long.