Wendy Brandes Jewelry Blog

Never Is the Next New Thing

Jewels of the Month: Vamping It Up for True Blood

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I couldn’t wait for True Blood’s third season to start this Sunday on HBO so I recently spent three days reading eight of the Charlaine Harris books that inspired the show. I downloaded them one at a time on a Kindle and, by the end of the three days, my credit card company was calling me to inquire about the legitimacy of all the $6 charges. I also watched the True Blood “minisodes” online.

This poster teasing the new season was released in March.

Back in February, when I presented my Vampire Diana ring as the Jewel of the Month, I told you that Spike — the Billy Idol style vampire from Buffy the Vampire Slayer — was my main VILF and the inspiration for the design of the heart pierced with a stake.

Click the photo to buy the Vampire Diana ring for $450.

The Charlaine Harris books are not works of art. If the original hot-Southern-vampire author and much better writer Anne Rice were a vampire herself, she’d be rolling over in her coffin. (Since she’s still alive she’s probably just rolling her eyes.) That said, Harris’s Dead to the World — in which obnoxious but sex-ay vampire Eric has a case of amnesia that temporarily turns him into the world’s best boyfriend — is HAWT. If that storyline turns up on the TV show this series, it is possible that Eric might replace Spike as my #1 VILF. They’re going to have to fight it out. Spike and Eric fighting. Ooh, the thought makes me all verklempt!

NOW COMPETING FOR WENDYB’S AFFECTIONS!

Spike from Buffy. Which are sharper? His fangs or his cheekbones?

VS.

Eric from True Blood.

When I wasn’t reading books, watching minisodes and fighting with my credit card company, I was creating more vampire jewelry. My newest piece and the official Jewel of the Month for June 2010 is the silver “wooden stake” necklace, available for $95.

The $95 silver stake necklace. Click for more information.

As you’ll see, the stake reflects my usual attention to realistic detail. Note the “wood” grain on the front (and back and sides) … and then look at the top of the stake. Tiny tree rings! The only thing that this stake is lacking is the power to kill a vampire because it’s not real wood. I’m telling you this up front so you don’t buy it and then come crying to me about how you were bitten by a vamp because you couldn’t defend yourself with the necklace. Of course, because the piece is silver, it could give a vampire an annoying little burn but I’m not going to guarantee your safety from supernatural creatures based on that. Buyer beware!

Anyway, you see how I am about getting things just so. Here’s another example of my passion for quality. When I did the Vampire Diana ring, my original plan was to have the stake plated in gold to make it more of a “wood” color, but I didn’t have time to get that done for Valentine’s Day, so I blackened the silver stake instead. When I was working on the matching Vampire Diana necklace, I went back to the gold-plating idea. I was hoping to be able to charge y’all a lower price for this piece, so I sent the job to a factory that charged me less for labor than the top-notch artisans with whom I normally work. This is the shit I got back. Look at how the gold has run off the stake itself and onto the heart.

I pondered this for a few minutes thinking, “Should I just let it go? A lot of people would. It’s not bad. Big deal. People don’t have an eye for detail anymore. They are used to accepting less than the best.” And then I threw a fucking fit. There’s already plenty of poorly made crap out in the world. I’m going to keep doing things my way — perfectly — for as long as I can. I stripped the gold plating off the stake, blackened the silver like I did with the ring, and told the factory peeps not to sit by the phone waiting for my next call. Now the work on this necklace is impeccable. I’ve said before that you get what you pay for and now you can see it with your own eyes.

Click to buy for $450.

Whew! All that anger makes me feel dangerous. Like a real, live, painted-up, wicked city woman … like your mother warned you about. Look out! I’m going to vamp you!

Lucille Ball vamping Tennessee Ernie Ford on I Love Lucy.

If, unlike me, you didn’t grow up watching I Love Lucy reruns every day after school, you’ll need to watch the clip below to get the vamping reference. It’s from an episode where Lucy and Ricky Ricardo are trying to scare off a country bumpkin who has overstayed his welcome as their houseguest. If you did grow up watching the show every day like I did, you should watch it again anyway. Lucy is comedy genius and this scene still makes me laugh out loud.

Remember, if you want to buy the stake necklace for $95 (there are only 12 9 available for immediate delivery) or either of the two hefty, perfect Vampire Diana pieces, you can get them from my website or just holla at me at wbjewelry at hotmail dot com and I’ll help you personally.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bring that stake necklace over on Sunday. I don’t care if my toxic skin tarnishes it to a deep black! I need it!

  2. Frankly, I think the blackened heart is sexier. It makes the black of SPIKE’S SOUL.

    (Also, I hate the True Blood show, but the character of Eric + Aleksandr Saarsgard? Yes, please. He and Spike really need to fight it out. Though it’s funny that only blond vamps in leather coats are sexy.)

  4. Your stakes are gorgeous! I’ll always be Team Spike, I think. And loving Lucy’s vamp walk and Tennessee Ernie Ford, I’ve never seen that one!

  5. 1. Eric… definitely
    2. This might come off weird, but what the hey… Lucy looks hot.
    3. I like the idea of the gold, wood grain stake but what a mess they made. It looks like they painted two stripes onto the silver heart.
    4. The ring is so very cool.
    5. The stake necklace is sexy. Something about a pointed, sharp object dangling in my cleavage would make me feel very confident!
    6. VILF — that’s pretty highlarious!

  6. Hey Wendy!

    I’m glad you didn’t shrug off the design faults in the quality of the ring–there’s such a huge difference between the two rings, after all.

    I think Spike is my favorite “popular” vampire of all time as well! I think he just grew on me episode after episode…

  7. Ok, first off I *must* have the stake necklace!!! I <3 it so much its not even funny. Second, I can't even read one True Blood book in 3 days. I am in awe of you're speed reading skills. The amnesiac Eric story was my favorite. Eric vs. Spike … can't I have both?

  8. LOVE the spike necklace.

    I suspect that if you shot that silver stake from the necklace out of a gun, it might count as a “silver bullet,” and be capable of disabling a werewolf. However, I wonder if it could disable a vampire?

    Spike is still my favorite of these two fellows.

    I’m glad you didn’t settle for the new Diana piece with the bleeding metal. That level of “quality” is just not good enough. Although if you had let it bleed, it might be quite satisfactorily ironic.

  10. Miss J LOVES these new Vampire pieces… Grea work as usual, Miss Brandes.

    Miss J’s fave vampire is Nic Cage in “Vampire’s Kiss”. Not scary so much as insane and funny, but awfully cute back in the day. Miss J made out w/ a Nic Cage look-alike once… Hey, it mighta been Mr. Cage…

  11. I have only read book 1 and watched season one. I can’t imagine liking Eric more than Bill. But I always prefer dark hair guys the most.

  12. This is my ALL TIME FAVORITE I Love Lucy episode! Seeing these pictures made my heart so happy! 😀 The second runner up for funniest episode is the one where she gets a trophy stuck on her head & then has to take the bus across town. HAHA.

  13. Loving the vampire pieces as you know I am a huge True Blood fan.. I would have to choose Eric as I never got into Buffy, I may have to revisit that series. xx

  14. hehe I think I’ve seen my fair share of afterschool and weekend episodes of Lucy myself. Im going crazy over True Blood too! I feel like your stake is going to be a big hit, pitch it to those Twilight freakazoids!

  15. those charlaine harris books are torture (pardon the expression) to read. i read a few and gave up. i liked the plotline and all, but SOOKIE?!??! i just wanted to shoot her. and seeing her come to life in the true blood tv series makes me want to stab, shoot AND stomp on her.

    but

    eric. eric is a whole other story. eric is smoking hot on the tv show. what a fox. i have to decide if i will start watching that damn tv show again. if i do, it will just be for the love of eric. but sam is pretty cute too.

  16. hi darling. hope youre having a wonderful weekend. do you have any other good shows to recommend that aren’t vampire shows? i used to watch buffy when i was little- but now ive grown tired of vampires 😉
    take care

    xx ediot

  19. Those are so sick! And yeah, I also like the black better than the gold in general.
    I wrote a feminism-themed psychobio on Lucille Ball back in grad school. It was the best paper I ever wrote.

  25. I think it was a good move to leave the stake ‘blackened’, love it more than the gold. Maybe I should get a stake necklace though, I am petrified of vampires and must be the only person on the planet not to have watched twilight and the like!!!!!!
    e xxx

  27. I loved Spike while “Buffy” was on, but oooooh, Eric is my main vamp these days. I can’t wait for the new season!

    I didn’t think the books were that great – if you like vampires, though, you need to read Kim Harrison’s series. They are sexy and funny – and way more fun characters.

  28. I am a HUGE True Blood fan/addict. I have been waiting with eager anticipation for the 3rd season!And Eric whoops Spike’s ass any day. (Are you as annoyed by Bill as I am?)

    I haven’t read the books…for some reason, I can watch smut but can’t read it. Maybe it’s the English teacher in me.

    Awesome necklace!

  30. I tried to read an Anne Rice book as an adult and I realized that it too was no work of art….I loved that shit when I was a teen goth though.

  31. OH MY GOD SPYKE!!!
    I’d forgotten about him. How could I forget those cheekbones?!

    I prefer Eric though 😀

  32. i love your attention to detail and VILF is fantastic. Is it a Wendy B original? You should trademark that ish. :)smiles, gina

  34. What a bungled mess the gold piece is! I like the blackened stake better anyway, it looks more sinister. As for those damn books, well I couldn’t get through the first. I’m anal about finishing books, but I just gave up I hated the writing so. Eric otoh, is for me the best thing about True Blood, and I’m always up for some Eric vampire hotness! The best line he had was when he looked at the kids as said he liked them, they were like “teacup humans”, now there’s a vampire for you! Bill is ho-hum, there is no chemistry between him and Sooky (which the way Bill pronounces it, it ironically sounds like “Sucky”) What is *really* funny is the character “Eric” played in “Zoolander”! Oh and Lucy, those shows still crack me up! What about the candy factory one? Can’t wait for the premiere, I’ll be in front of the telly and will rewind and replay every Eric scene there is… yeah, not too obsessed…
    XXX
    Suzanne

  35. The stake necklace is so so so tempting! Usually I look at your pieces, drool for a while, then move on because they are way out of my price league. The fact that I could potentially buy this one makes it even harder.

    (BTW, I haven’t seen TruBlood, but based on the pictures Spike would win all out. Of course, I would sacrifice my humanity (but not my soul) to meet Spike, so…)

  36. That ring is awesome.

    I’m glad that you got pissed over the sloppy gold plating. I notice mistakes like that all the time.I think big retailers have this idea that their customers don’t give a toss anymore but a few of us out there obviously do.

  37. keep on keeping on as you do hun. Don’t begin to skim just because the majority do my sweet. The stake through the heart is so clever
    congrats on this design Wendy.
    big kiss
    xx
    marian.

  38. Hi my dear!! Another gorgeous design, which you may well know I’m quite smitten with, I hope I haven’t left it too late! But if I have, I’ll think of something else instead, LOL!!

  39. Love this post Miss Wendy, especially the question on sharpness of cheekbones vs. teeth! You are so gifted, it is great to see you sticking to your guns on quality, we love that you are such a perfectionist on the subject of your work.

    Hope you have a blast with the series being back!
    tp

  40. I like it waaay better without the gold, actually. Always been a silver girl, but that’s just me.

    I couldn’t get into TruBlood, though I did try, but Buffy? Now you’re talking!! Loved that show to bits.

    xx

  42. OK, I just came across this post, and you are now officially the coolest person I have ever (not) met. I never realized Spike was the inspiration for that ring – that just makes it THAT much hotter. And the fact Eric is your #2 also rocks. I’ve never read Harris’ books (but watch the show), but I may have to start due to that description above.