I have to remind myself once in awhile that not everyone like big, chunky, funky things. I tend toward them because that's what I like but once in awhile I need to offer something for the ladies who are daintier in their tastes. So this was a perfect match; a simple brass bezel, ball chain and some vibrant color.
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I have always admired Barbara Bechtel's lovely beads and have wanted to try making them with my twist. No matter how I try to get a certain look, my brain always sabotages the final outcome, but then that is a good thing I guess because then it is more 'me'. Anyway, I have tried and tried to make them and it never came out right but finally I got the carving the way I wanted. When that happened of course I went full on manic bead making.
I like the results, even though I think they are somewhat different from Barbara's, however I now have huge blisters on my carving hand. Not sure if it is something I will revisit in the near future, so I guess it's a good thing I got several finished bracelets out of it. The bracelets themselves were super simple to do. After making the beads I used stainless wire to make eyes on each bead. Then I simply hooked one to another with jump rings in between each bead and a lobster claw clasp. They have such a neat feel to them, sort of slinky and snake-like. I hope it invites people to pick them up. Today I have combined another one of my loves (donkey beads) with my faux bone saber tooth beads. Also in the mix are real turquoise and coral bits, magnesite heishi and silver bead caps. I think this has a Native American feel to it, and should blend well with some of my other jewelry. Thanks for looking!
For those of you that think I am this sweet grandma that makes little birdies and cute beads, well, I do but there is a whole other side of me that refuses to grow up. This bracelet speaks to that part of me that is urban grunge, loves the night (although now I tend to fall asleep before it gets here), and is a bit of a bad girl with tattoos. I did not use my extruder for this one, simply rolled out a snake of polymer and then put on bits and pieces that looked like the tin man had a hand in it. Finished it with silver gilders paste and sealed it. Rockin' that edgy look!
Todays offering is short and sweet because I am spending the day with my mom. Valentines is her birthday and I have no beau so we will be a couple old broads just hanging out together....
These earrings are embossed brass hearts hung from turquoise polymer connectors that have a wash of Copic marker in teal blue. Happy Valentines everyone! Today I made another item for the show stash using beads that I have made and set aside to use "some day". Well, someday is now. The first pic is faux bone and real stone. I made the faux bone beads (faux bone is my most fav thing to make, second is faux stone). I have had the faux bone beads for over a year now and one day saw the magnesite beads on sale. I had no idea what I was going to use them for but they were a good deal. Finally, they have found each other. As 'Hannibal' Smith says "I love it when a plan comes together."
The fact that I could complete todays challenge as fast as I did just goes to show you how badly my studio/work space/basement/dining room needs organizing. The beads are some that I had left over from a necklace that I made for my cousin. I had always meant to make earrings from the extra beads but well...you know how that goes. Anyway now they are made and will be going into my stash for my show. Catherine if you want matching earrings I have more beads! I had so much fun making the little birdie for Day 9 challenge that I thought it might be something good to stock up on for my show in March. I decided that am going to offer components as well as finished pieces. So here are a few from the flock I made. The ones on the wire are getting a sealing spray; the others I tried to pose but their bellies were too round so I had to set each one on a jump ring to steady it. Even so they only stayed that way for a moment and then they fell over....taking a nap I guess.
Todays project doesn't really have any steps to the polymer parts. The Pendant is one that, like many things I make, just sat on my workbench for months. And the matching beads I found while I was looking for something else. A happy accident and a quick project. Just strung the pendant and beads with some nice copper bead caps and viola`- completed project!
Another project using scraps again. I have a show coming up in March and needed more earrings to round out my stock. I also needed to do some that were not for pierced ears. Not often but once in awhile I have a request for clip-ons, so I thought that this would be my TAD and increase my stock as well.
I started with a simple square cut from polymer with colored pieces applied in the 'torn paper' method. I know I saw someone else doing this but for the life of me can't remember who it is. The clips have prongs on them so it is a simple matter to push them into the clay before curing. I did find though that they didn't stay after the baking, so I super-glued them on after detailing was done. I antiqued the cured squares and highlighted it with gilders paste. |
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