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!

"Cloth, Paper, Scissors" Charm swap

The September / October issue of "Cloth, Paper, Scissors" has posted the results of the "Charm and be charmed" swap. They have chosen one of my charms to be included in the article "Beguiling Baubles". The top photo of this blog post shows my "home" charm and below that, the other charms that I sent.

Altered book collaborative

I am involved with a group that exchanges books every month. Each person has chosen their own theme. This book belongs to Leann Meixner and her theme is Newspapers. I used the personal ads from a Dutch newspaper for my background and wrote a quote (unknown author)on the left hand side of the spread. On the right I used a photo transfer of a newspaper boy. The dangles on the right are some old tiny typeset letters that I soldered rings to and tied to the page with embroidery floss. The pages were made as tip-ins and sewn in. I wanted to use heavier paper than what was in the book.

"On Crystal Wings" Steam Punk inspired

I have made a little time to work on a few Steam Punk inspired necklaces before getting VERY serious about make stock for the quickly approaching Renaissance Festival. The necklace shown above is available on my ETSY site. SOLD

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 new journal page

This is an 8" X8" journal page, which includes a large soldered "charm" wired into place. On the front of this page the border is outlined with locomotion dancing figures alternated with the same images in negative. The edge is also sewn over, somewhat obscuring the figures. The smaller picture shows the back of the page with additional visible wiring. The image on the soldered charm is the same on both sides.

Portable Time Machine

I have been thinking how convenient it would be to have my own personal time machine. Really could help me out with how busy I have been. However, I can't seem to get it to work quite right yet. I'm thinking if I had a bit more background in Quantum Physics it could be very beneficial at this time ... another one of those things in life you think you'll never need to know and then it turns out you really do in the long run. 2 1/2" long X 3/4" at the widest part and of course the arrows really spin.

Zentangle Journal

This is a new journal that I made for my new obsession of making Zentangles. It's a re-purposed loose leaf binder as have been my last several journals. This one differs in that it's a leather bound binder. I could not (nor did I want to) cover it completely with collage. This binder is also smaller than the others, being 7 1/2" X 9 1/2" and 1 1/2" thick. This seems the perfect size for Zentangles... not too large to be over whelming and not too small so that the detailing has to be made so very small.
The leather covers were a bit flimsy to my liking so I tore the covers off an old book and hand stitched them to the leather covers. The letters are metal and sewn to the red book covers. On the spine I have done some beading including some tear drop shaped mini Zentangles encased in glass and soldered. A bit of black leather was outfitted with snaps for a closure on the journal. All photos enlarge to show detail.
As always my frustration level soars when I have to take photos. The above photos are not true to the book at all. After about 100 photos, this is the best I could come up with. I have much better results when I can just cram stuff in the scanner.

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.

New "Secret Keepers"

I have been working very hard on my "Secret Keepers". I have made them with a colored glass on one side and clear on the other. It adds a very subtle but nice effect to the piece. Very intriguing actually. So far I have made them with the Amber and the Rose colored glass. I will see how people react to them and hopefully there will be enough interest that I will make them in other colors as well. These are the smaller size of 1 1/2" in diameter. I like this size better than the larger ones. They are actually more difficult to make, but I believe they make for a nicer finished piece. They all contain a different somewhat cryptic message inside, it is of course a secret. I will make them available on my ETSY site and hopefully on the website soon.

Secret Keepers

Welp... I'm on to another idea for my vessels. This morning I was messing around a bit and came up with this. Usually an item is first made and then a title is made according to. Instead this time, I have a title that really appeals to me and I made a piece to work with that. I think I am on to an interesting concept here. I will most definitely expand upon this idea. The inside of this piece holds tiny glass spheres, golden glass balls, stars, golden metal thread and charms including a lock and key. I might add some beading or additional embellishment where the chain and the piece meet, I'm still working on it. It's glass and wire wrapped on both sides, giving a rather interesting glimpse into your inner most secrets. SOOOO many possibilities!

Picture enlarges for more detail. This particular piece is 1 3/4" in diameter by 1/2 "thick, with a gunmetal finish. I think I'd like to try some smaller sizes as well.

A few Charms

I haven't done a charm swap in ages, so I thought this would be fun. The heart is made of clay and is smaller than those candy conversation hearts. Probably the smallest thing I have ever made in clay. They were fired and given a stone finish, all a little different. The other charm is a glass car fuse that I took apart and put in a bit of vintage old German bible text. I then gave it a gunmetal finish so that it wasn't so new and shiny looking. I actually had more fun making up the little cards to mount them on than the charms themselves! That was a nice brief break, but now back to "The Exquisite Corpse Project" and designing new Vessel collages. I have so many new designs in the works... can't wait to share them.

A million parts

I fired the kiln yesterday with at least a million pieces ... at least it seemed so. it took me forever to pour and finish all the pieces. There are 5 1/2 shelves full of (mostly double stacked) parts for vessels. Toward the end I ended up pouring a few fairies and woodsprites to help fill up the kiln.

I finished off one of the house shaped vessels. This is just a prototype. Have to experiment a bit till I find something I am really satisfied with, but I think this is a very nice start. Have to admit I am rather pleased with my faux heart shaped rocks. Now I am wishing that I had made more of them. I really don't plan of firing for awhile now. I believe I have enough fired pieces to carry me through for the Renaissance Festival this season. I did some serious making and firing of figures awhile back, including Elfins, fairies and wood sprites. And now with all these new vessels I am sure I have enough to keep me busy for a very long time. I am looking forward to working with all the new parts. I have many new shaped to experiment with that will really be a lot of fun. The quote inside the house shaped vessel reads "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and then returns home to find it. -George Moore- ". The house shape is 5/8" X 1 1/2".