New necklace

I'd been working on this pendant for a few days, off and on, and when it was done, I was stumped as to how I should use it. I had a pretty sterling silver pinch bail all picked out for it, but it just wasn't... right. So I was doing a little flickr browsing, which I do sometimes when I get stuck with a design, and was inspired to use my Irish Waxed Linen cord for hanging the pendant. I think adding in the swarovski crystals gave it a little extra texture, too!

I created the pendant using the Sutton Slice technique, where you fill in the grooves of a texture sheet or stamp with clay, and then carefully transfer it on to a flat sheet. It looks smooth because I also used large amounts of resin (I'm still learning, and it takes multiple applications for me to not "miss" any spots sometimes), but I think that makes it even more interesting! It also gives the necklace some weight, so it hangs nicely.

This is currently listed in my Etsy shop, and would make a unique addition to anyone's jewelry collection!

I plan on doing another pendant using this technique soon, so I'll take some photos during the process to show you all. It's a really interesting technique!

Trying something new

When we were checking out the fantastic bead store in Branson, it was obvious that the shop owner was quite the fan of wire wrapping. I'd taken a break from wire for a while, since silver was pricing itself out of my studio, but she mentioned trying copper, and I was inspired by her many cuff bracelets that she had made. This one, is my first attempt:



I don't know exactly what those beads are, but aren't they fun? Some sort of composite, I think, but they were nice and chunky, and just what I needed!! This particular design was actually pretty easy, so after I make a couple more, I may write up a quick tutorial for it.

I remembered over the weekend that I'd gotten some metal plated cabochon settings in a grab bag (not a good grab bag like at Auntie's beads... this one was pretty much a bust). I'd been reading that gold and pink were a hot color combination for spring/summer, so I thought I'd give this a shot. There is gold leaf mixed in with the 2 pink tones, and I paired it with my favorite accent color, stringing it from silk ribbon. This really does scream summer to me! It's just gorgeous in person, and not too big - only about 1" long! I also made one in shades of olive green, with Navy, Denim, and Purple accents.

So what have YOU been working on this week?

I'm ready for spring!

Right now, as I look out the window, the sky is gloomy, and overcast, and it's been raining off and on all day. I long for green grass, brightly colored flowers, and my vegetable garden! So with that in mind, I made these two pieces the other day, and both are listed in my Etsy shop.

These earrings were inspired by the photograph for March in our Arizona Highways 2011 calendar. It was a macro-photograph with large fuchsia flowers, smaller orange flowers, with green foliage and small cream colored flowers. They aren't colors I would traditionally mix together, but I thought it came out beautifully! (and they aren't heavy either!)

I really love the color combination of brown and light blue, and continuing in my floral mood, I created this bracelet! I've had the light blue glass round beads for months, and hadn't used them yet, so I mixed the clay color to match. It's like getting flowers, jewelry, and chocolate all in one package! It's strung on stretch cord so it's really easy to wear.

I've been down with The Plague for the last 2 weeks, but I have more ideas in my head for flower beads, because I love them, and they are FUN! They are surprisingly easy to make, so I'll try to post my process when I make the next ones.

The first day of Spring is in one week, and you'd better believe I have my countdown set!!

Something new

Sometimes, I really get the itch to try out a new clay technique. I had been wanting to try out making these little embroidery-style flowers for a while, and recently, I had my chance! I made the pendant below on a light silver base, with rhinestone centers. It was actually easier than I had anticipated. (It also sold very quickly out of my store!)


I wanted to make MORE in that style, so with the Pink Variscite stone from my grab bag in mind, I created the beads below today.
I'll line the whole necklace out tomorrow, but I think I might need some smaller turquoise beads to go with it. I'll have to go through my stash in the morning. I like the gold with it, because it looks really great with the green, especially... I've had all of these Vermeil spacers sitting around for almost a year, but I think they will work well in this project.