Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Instant Gratification Jewelry: Styled by Tori Spelling.

Ooh, heaven.  I got to play and play (and play!) with a whole collection of new jewelry components, fresh from the crafty mind of Tori Spelling.  The line is called Styled by Tori Spelling, and it's such a smart concept.  Super chic, on-trend components that go together without tools.  You design your own mix-and-match looks for pro-looking results.


Question: why on earth is Mich, the weird upcycled jewelry girl who makes things from oddments, trash and camel spit, writing about this product line of ready-made components?  What, is this the end to jewelry made of cat toys, tennis racquets, rubber grapes and tractor parts?  Why, Mich?  Why?

Answer: I adore a great shortcut!  Lemme show you what I mean...



Here's another one.


What I personally loved most about this line: the ability to spend my creative time on an original focal piece - then have the instant gratification of slapping it onto a finished piece of jewelry, assembled from a few of Tori's gorgeous components in (literally) two minutes.







Let's say I am suddenly obsessed with an idea to make a flower pendant.  From a roll of vintage faux bois shelf liner.



Cue mad creative session of cutting, peeling, melting, assembling...until finally...tadaaa.





Whew.  So now I have my focal, and I want to turn it into a necklace.  But I'm tired from all the crafting.  And cranky from the snide comments of my husband the woodworker, who doesn't appreciate faux bois shelf liner as a concept, far less as a jewelry-making medium.  (Ahh, what does he know?)


As I was saying.  I am tired and cranky, and I want a necklace NOW.  Here's where Tori steps in.  It's very quick; try not to blink.







And that's all there is to it - one very cute necklace, done!  Purt' near instant gratification.







Recently, I needed to make a wrist corsage from a reusable plastic ice cube.  (That's happened to you, right?)






Here's where I started, with a few bits and bobs:



From my Tori stash, I grabbed a clasp, a tassel and a pack of 'bracelet builders,' which are brilliant because they have lobsters on each end.  Look how quickly you can make a sweet multi-strand bracelet: 




As with the necklace, that took all of two minutes.



Then I added my bits and bobs, to make it uniquely mine.




I love how it turned out.





Um, I could go on.




And on.





And on.




I hope you can tell I really enjoyed creating with these nifty components.   Some general observations...

Quality: excellent.  Everything feels expensive and well made.  The connectors are clever and easy to work with.  Small caveat - some of the bracelet builder sets were uneven lengths; there are times you might want to adjust with an added jump ring or two when making a multi-strand bracelet.

Price point: really reasonable for components of this quality.  (A three-pack of bracelet builders: about eight bucks.)  Hey, factor in a coupon or two, and these baubles are a very nice price. 

Design: beautiful and cool.  And sometimes kinda wild!  Lots of the pieces are BIG and aim to make a statement.  I really love that Tori's 'statements' remain classy - even when taken to the very edge of over-the-top.  And for those people who don't love statement jewelry, there are absolutely tons of fabulous basics.

I say check them out, keeping in mind your own unique style.  There will prolly be something that speaks to you.  Styled by Tori Spelling is available now at Jo-Ann and Michaels, individual pieces will vary by store.



Excuse me, I have to go play some more.




Disclosure: I wrote this as a compensated post, on behalf of Darice for Blueprint Social.  All opinions are entirely mine.
 

14 comments:

  1. I hear ya. Sometimes it's just too time consuming to do everything from scratch. Concentrate on the important focal point, right? Tori can use some creative input from you too. Hey, that's an idea!!

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  2. They should hire you at this very moment! Even if I like how the "styled" elements look like... if it weren't for your cool stuff, I wouldn't think of using them because even with the combination possibilities... in the end it is all the same. But you made it really special and show how easy it is to combine it with your own personal style and handmade jewelery! :)

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  3. Those do look like loads of fun...

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  4. You made so many fun goodies! Thanks for the brilliant overview!

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  5. I feel you feeling it, but it leaves me saying meh to Tori's parts... ....though the shelf liner flower is awesome!

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  6. I love how you've put your own style on the "Styled" components. They really complement one another. Job excellently done!

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  7. I love what you've done with Tori's products. It makes last-minute jewelry emergencies (and I do have them) easy. I adore {styled} By Tori Spelling TM Boho-Danglers Gold Turquoise Medallion Drop.

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  8. what a great idea!!!!
    I love your flower:-)

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  9. Great Post dear Mich..I just love these cool creations from you & the awesome products of Styled by Tori Spelling..amazing..keep sharing more fun & we would love to see more :)

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  10. Sarraccino said it ll for me, but for the sake of this comment, let me repeat: The components do look good (I love the little connector thingies, and the coppery multi strand chain that goes with your amazing faux bois flower looks impressive.) But without customization it would not be quite as cool as it is after you had it in your magical little hands for a while! I think I would actually use some components as they seem to be decent enough, but they do need a whow factor a la Mich L!

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  11. You put together some great combinations there! How fun!! Love the animal dominos. LOVE.

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  12. oh my gosh girl you are so creative! you make me wish i posted all of the combos i could think of instead of just one... i love your blog and you are hilarious! mystery thing is my favorite!
    ~selina

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  13. I've been dabbling in making jewelry lately, and THIS is, as promised, just brilliant! Hmmmmmmm, what time does JoAnn's open...?

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