What else I've been making...

My creativity has returned in the last couple of weeks, so I've been making a lot of new stuff! These earrings were made from an Extruder cane. Remember my wonderful clay extruder I got myself for my birthday? Well, I stacked a few different colors together, and with the extrusions, made the cane that I used to cover these earrings. Cool, huh?

I also made this little snowlady as a gift for my husband's great-aunt, who we will be seeing in AZ in a couple of weeks. I hope she likes it!

I bought some really pretty czech glass beads with the intention of making a copper cuff, however, the holes were not quite big enough for the wire. So I guess I'll have to make a more conventional bracelet, or see if the silver wire will fit.

Speaking of wire... I've really enjoyed working with the Sterling Silver Filled wire. It works just like sterling silver, and looks like it too. I've been able to inspect where I've cut the wire, and I can just barely make out the copper core, so I feel confident that the silver will not wear all the way down, even with repeated wear. In fact, I used up the wire I had, and just received another order this week!

Grab Bags and other things

I got this fun Grab Bag from Auntie's Beads a few months (yes, I wrote months...) ago. I just sat on it, because at the time, I had NO inspiration when it came to copper. I have a little more now, but it just seems to be one of those colors I struggle with. I'm hopeful that I'll be more inspired in the fall, when copper is more prevalent in nature. Anyways, the picture shows 2 half-strands of chinese crystal rondelles, and 2 half-strands of what appear to be acrylic bicones, as well as 2 stone (?) focal beads, copper beading thread, and a beautiful glass leaf. The bag also came with a BEAUTIFUL strand of dainty white rice pearls, and a copper dragonfly link, as well as copper crimp beads (YAY!!), and crimp covers.

I think this leaf would look lovely with some hand-dyed silk ribbon that I have. I just have to put it together.

The pearls and dragonfly were not pictured, because I used them!

I happened to actually have this beautiful S-clasp in copper, and these teeny-tiny spacer beads in copper as well, and what came out of it was a delicate necklace, that seems to be perfect for summer wear!

I'm sure I'll come up with something for the rest of the beads that came with the grab bag. I think that's what I like about the grab bags from Auntie's Beads - there is always something to challenge me creatively!

More ornaments

I decided to expand my offering of customizable ornaments, and I have introduced these little polar bears! I really love them - they are made with a combination of clays, including GLITTER white Premo! polymer clay, which makes them sparkle.

This ornament is actually for my family, but I wanted to show how they would look with a "baby" bear as well. It's especially good for us, as my son's nickname since he was a baby has been Bear.

Remember, it's never too early to think about your holiday decorations!