Bottle Cap Beads

I started making some of these beads out of old bottle caps a few years ago.  I quickly stopped and lost interest when I realized how much work they were.  Recently, I ran into the few I had made and decided that I really loved them.  Now, I was determined to make enough for a necklace.

I made roundish ones that I drilled holes in to so I could string them for a necklace ... 12 ruined drill bits later, I achieved this.  I also made some that are somewhat oval in shape. I decided that soldering rings to these instead of drilling holes made more sense .... mostly because I was now out of small drill bits. Not quite sure what I'll do with these yet.

Now that I have that out of my system for the time being, I am on to other things ....

A New Necklace

Well ... the necklace is new, the beads are very old.  They are made from fossilized Woolly Mammoth bones.  Can you believe that?!  I bought the strand of beads and restrung them with a few matte black glass beads in between each.  It showcases each bead a bit more and gave the whole necklace a little more length. The beads are about the size of smallish grapes and now with the added glass beads the necklace is now about 32" in length.

Diversions

Summer is such a busy time for me.  Lots of workshops, lots of traveling.  It leaves little time for anything else.  However, I have been right on top of things (to help keep my sanity) and have my bags packed and ready to go in a few days for Art Unraveled in Phoenix. With a little extra time on my hands I decided to make a necklace and an anklet out of some of the old pearl buttons I have.  I have been wanting to make these for quite some time now. You can't tell from the photo, but the buttons on the necklace are rather large.  The largest being over an inch and a half across ... that's pretty big for a button.

As I mentioned I am headed out to Phoenix in a few days.  Art Unraveled is a fabulous event and many classes still have openings.  Hope you'll join us!

I'll be teaching the following (Links to samples included) -

"Into the Crypt"

"The Hand Book" - Flip through Video of the Hand Book

"The Bee Book"

"The Twirly Swirly Journals"

Taking care of loose ends

I am embarrassed to say I have had "parts" (meaning partially constructed jewelry components) buried on one of my work tables ... oh, I'd say for a few years now .... that were in need of finishing.

I had soldered all these buttons into nice neat little glass boxes and soldered bands around other buttons.  Pretty wonderful "parts" in themselves, but that's as far as it got.

Last week I went to a used jewelry sale put on by the Livonia Senior Center not far from me.  I bought a necklace made of chain and small pearl beads for $1, took it apart and had more than enough to put all my parts together and make 2 necklaces.  I think they look pretty wonderful worn together as well.

Now on to the next UFO (unfinished object) ....

"Jewelry Affaire" Premier issue!

A brand new magazine "Jewelry Affaire" just arrived in my mail box today. I am honored to have a few of my SteamPunk influenced pieces in this issue. I am also very pleased with the photos of my work in this magazine. There is so much unique jewelry in this issue, not to mention all the beautiful photography. I like that most of the photos are rather large so that you can clearly see a lot of the detail in the pieces. I look forward to sitting down and savouring each and every page of this publication!

"Helping Hand"

I made up a few of these SteamPunk inspired necklaces using some of my clay pieces today. I am calling it "Helping Hand" as I made it in mind as a gift for someone that has helped me out quite a bit lately. I made up several so that I could pick out the best one for giving. They are all basically the same but still have slight variations. I don't think anyone else could really pick out the differences, but I can. These were a lot of fun to make. I wish that I was able to have gotten better photographs, but I had a lot of difficulty with the photos and my patience gave out. One of the necklaces is available in my ETSY shop. Photo enlarges to show detail.

Mermaid and Doll photos

Just having a bit of fun with mermaid and doll photos. I thought they looked rather interesting all put together. Photo enlarges to show detail.

Voyage Vessels - published!

The new issue (Summer 2009) of Belle Armoire Jewelry has come out and I am honored to have a few photos of my Vessels in it. They are beautifully photographed.

"Sweet Memories"

Another new Vessel design. Just listed in my ETSY shop. Photos enlarge to see detail.

100th ETSY sale !

Well, it has taken awhile, but I finally made my 100th ETSY sale. I'm pretty excited! I'm still trying to figure out all the ins and outs, but seem to be getting the hang of it. Now between my Website and ETSY I am rather pleased with the sales of my Vessels and other "parts" I have somewhat recently added to the mix.

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The quote in this egg reads "Ex ovo omnia" Latin for "Everything from the egg" Inside the egg floats a small key among the tiny stars with clear and gold glass spheres. Size of the egg is 1 1/8" X 1 3/4" Approx. 3/4" deep.

*Link to my ETSY site*

Charm swap

1 - Portable Time Machine
2 - Portion of doll face
3 - Zentangle soldered charm
4 - Robin egg Vessel
5 - Bird nest encased in glass

Charms

Today I'm catching up on a few commitments I have made. These are for a charm swap. The one pictured above is a portable time machine with tiny golden glass spheres in the copper wrapped glass tube. It also has a working spinner and is just under 1 1/2" long. The one below is shown from the front and the back. Both sides of the charm are glass and it's 1 3/8" in diameter. Photos enlarge.

A hiding place

I was able to get a few more of these metal purses. I look forward to making more of the purse necklaces and incorporating more beading in them. I have an outstanding order for more of the silver ones, but apparently the machinery to make them is broken. I have been waiting for weeks and was only able to get a few of the silver ones. Now I am getting nervous that I won't be able to get them anymore, so I bought several gold tone ones as well. I have some beautiful beads that should work well with the gold. A couple of these purse necklaces have been listed in my ETSY shop along with "parts" that I use to make my Vessels. I have been having so many requests for the parts for various mixed media applications that I decided to go ahead and list some. Curious what people will make with them.

"Her Silent Way"

Much to my delight, I ran across this delicate little metal purse and of course it had to be made into a necklace. This tiny purse is approximately 1 ½’ X 1 ½". The perfect size for tucking a small note or concealing a written secret. Made with milky glass beads and fresh water pearls. It certainly is a unique piece finished with that vintage patina we are all so fond of. The necklace can be adjusted from 20"- 24". It has just been added to my ETSY shop. I will see if there is an interest in this and if so I will expand on the idea. SOLD

New Vessels in the making

The egg shown above has just been added to my ETSY shop. The quote inside reads "No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings" by William Blake. This egg has wings and inside contains a bird with tiny gold and glass spheres. The metal has a gun metal finish and the 20" chain has a lobster claw closure. Size of the egg is 1 1/8" X 1 3/4" Approx. 3/4" deep.

I have been working on a new series of vessels for a few days. In the past I have felt a little limited working with a realistic color palette for the eggs. I have decided to start a selection of fantasy eggs ... these will be Fairy eggs. They will be available in a wide variety of colors complete with a tiny fairy inside. I should have those available in a few days.

Skull necklace

I just finished up some new Reliquary necklaces. This is the first skull Vessel I have made available. The quote inside is taken from a 16th century epitaph that reads "What you are now, I once was. And you will be what I am now". Inside are tiny clear and gold glass spheres, metallic stars, a bone and a key metal charm. The skull measures 1 1/8" X 1 3/4" and is approximately 3/4" deep.

Exquisite Corpse Charm Bracelet

This a bracelet made with the charms made by 5 members of our Exquisite Corpse group. The charms are based on the concept we used to create a collaborative book with 11 participants several months ago. The book is now on exhibit at the the Impact Artists' Gallery (3rd picture down on the left) in Buffalo, New York. The last 2 images shown are of a book of mine "Star Hunger" that is also on display at the Gallery.

A new item in the ETSY shop

I have added a new item to my ETSY store. It's a small speckled egg with the quote "Adorn me with wings so that I may fly". Inside is a small bird charm with tiny clear and gold stars and spheres. The size of this egg is 5/8" X 1 3/8" and approx. 3/4" deep. I took this photo with an old bird nest that I have saved from several years ago. It was found in our Christmas tree with an empty egg shell in it, very similar to the ones shown. I'll slowly start adding new items now that The Renaissance Festival is drawing to a close and I have more time to concentrate on the Vessels.

Working on Doll necklaces

I am working hard on making a few doll necklaces for the Renaissance Festival beginning this weekend. I still have a lot of last minute details to take care of, but am hoping I can also make up a few mermaid pieces. I have some out right delicious elements to work in with the mermaids so I can't wait to begin work on those. I am hoping I'll have a chance to put one of them in my ETSY shop today.

A successful firing of doll parts

About 2 months ago I fired several doll parts in my small kiln which just never came up to the proper temperature, so the parts were unusable. Finally I have gotten around to pouring more parts and have filled up the big kiln for a successful firing. This is the first piece I have made using the doll parts and I am pretty excited about it. There are several different types of little dolls and 2 different styles of mermaids. I just can't wait to start on those. My sister has sent me wonderful sea glass from the

Australian coast to work in with the mermaids and today I went out and bought fresh water pearls to match the sea glass. Just can't wait to get started on those! I am hoping I can have a few ready to bring out to the opening weekend of Festival ... which is this coming weekend. The doll only (not including "Wings") is 1/2" X 1 3/4".