Curly Tree Designs

Creative Break

2008-12-09T17:29:00.000-08:00

As the semester rolls to an end, spurred by a whole week off for Thanksgiving, I've been in a jewelry frame of mind. In the midst of the semester, as I was juggling two jobs, working on my MA thesis, and grading student papers, my jewelry got sidelined.

Now, though, now I've been spending my free time at my desk, catching up on missed TV online and beading. It's a vicious cycle, too. I start a necklace, start an episode, and they never entirely sync up. I finish a necklace, but am still mid-episode, so I have to start a new one. I finish an episode, but I'm not quite done with the necklace...

Another side-effect is that, as I find myself with more and more free time (at least for a few weeks), I find myself in the mood for more complicated jewelry, too. No simple stringing for me these days. No, I need chain and headpins or lots of seed beads and some bead weaving.

Two days ago, I had to thin out my necklace board to make room for the new pieces. Christmas wish: more storage for necklaces.

Fun With Chain

2008-12-07T15:13:00.000-08:00

I've been on a chain kick lately, using it for dangles because I like the movement it creates in a piece. The pictures, I know, aren't great. I took them in faded afternoon light, but I do kind of like hanging them from my mailbox.

Necklace 1: Purple glass beads, oil slick glass pony beads, brass spacers and silver chain.

Necklace 2: Blue coin pearls, black faceted glass beads, gunmetal seed beads, and silver chain.

ABS Entry

2008-12-05T09:50:00.000-08:00

Long time, no blog, I know. I've been busy with other things and, while still making jewelry, not taking photos. To help build jewelry momentum, I entered this month's Art Bead Scene contest. My entry is a finished piece built from one of my Coryl series beads.

Some Custom Work

2008-08-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

Since my parents moved to Colorado right after they got married, we don't see the relatives that often, with them all pretty much being back in the state of our origins, Ohio. This week, though, my dad's sister Marie is visiting with her husband John and my cousin Tony's kids, Madison (10) and Nolan (8).

Today they came to visit my house. My aunt and Madison are into jewelry (though I found out that Madison is very much not into Chris Isaak, who was playing on my stereo). I'm into jewelry. We had a big jewelry festival. It was fun.

Aunt Marie asked if I'd be up for doing a couple of custom pieces. Her plan was to have me make a necklace for her and for the kids' mom. Well, then I said we'd do something with a pendant and of course the kids each liked a different one and there was no compromise to be had, so we did two necklaces, one for each kid.

I've got to say, it was pretty entertaining. It's been a while since I've done collaborative work, and collaborating with kids that age makes me smile. They each picked out their pendants and we spread out some beads on the floor so they could pick accents. Then we picked out each kid's favorite accent beads and I strung everything together. Then, my aunt and I picked out the beads for her necklace, which brings my jewelry total for today up to three necklaces in one go.

Not too shabby for a day's work, I think.

Coryl Series Launch

2008-07-18T12:47:00.000-07:00

I'm catching up on experimentation and took some new pictures today, deciding there's no time like the present to put some new pieces in the Etsy shop. To start off, I've added one of the pendants I showed you all the other day, as well as a newly-finished necklace featuring one of the Coryl beads - though this one is a bit more evocative of raku than coral thanks to the coloring and lack of "barnacles."

What I've Been Doing The Last Week

2008-06-27T12:02:00.000-07:00

The past days I've been immersed in the new beads. With the use of an extruder, I was on a roll. These beads are the most labor-intensive I've ever made, but they also have a great deal of potential for experimentation. There's color to play with, the use/disuse of the beads, patterns of the coils... the list goes on.

A Personal Aesthetic: Part Three

2008-06-17T18:05:00.000-07:00

A while back I was on a candle holder kick, and after half a dozen, I started trying to think of something different I could do to cover the glassware. For some reason, the thought of filigree crossed my mind. A number of polymer artists do beautiful things with filigree, and I decided I'd try it too.

Since I didn't have a recent/clear picture in my head of what I'd seen other people do, I just started making it up as I went. Happy accident, that. Where most of the filigree you see (just google it) is pretty... geometric, my lines are much more abstract, which makes my style pretty different from what I've seen that's already out there.

I added little polymer beads and half-pierced them because it seemed like a good idea at the time. There was no real logic at work on that point. Another happy accident, because when you put the parts together, it becomes very organic. With the addition of color by way of pearlescent powders embedded in TLS, this is the result.

(Please pardon the lighting, I just now remembered that I'd better get pictures up, so these feature not-especially-strong afternoon light.)

The candle holder is where I started, but now I've become interested in jewelry applications. So, as I mentioned before, I began some experiments. This pendant is the one I'm happiest with.

In the end, I'm left with deciding on a name. It took a while, but once I noticed how much the "beads" remind me of barnacles, I noticed that the filigree itself reminds me of certain types of coral. As such, I think I'll call this my Coryl series.

Anniversary Jewelry

2008-06-12T09:37:00.001-07:00

A couple I know are getting ready to celebrate their one year wedding anniversary in a few days. She's a jewelry buff, and often comments on whatever I'm wearing when I see them. So, he bought a necklace & earrings set from me to give to her.

This was my first sale from my On the Rocks series, which is note worthy as I've only made two pieces for the series so far. I'm thrilled that it went to a friend, and I can't wait to see her wear it.

A Personal Aesthetic: Part Two

2008-06-10T10:07:00.000-07:00

I spent more time working on the new design last night. My idea to fix the problem didn't work, so now it's on to a second plan. They wouldn't call it an experiment if one was sure of the outcome, would they?

It's proving tough to get the look to come out the way I want it, but I did get one pendant out of my batch so far which I'm satisfied with. I strung it last night with some dark matte beads and I'm test-driving it today.

By the next few days I should have a few more pendants, some pictures, and a technique that I'm happy with.

Searching for a Personal Aesthetic: Part One

2008-06-09T08:54:00.000-07:00

If you take a look at Polymer Clay Daily you see many, many talented polymer clay artists. All of them have their own style and themes. Once you know a particular artist's work, you can spot pieces of theirs you've never seen before because, well, they look like an artist X piece. I think I could spot a Humble Beads bead anywhere, her aesthetic is that distinct.

The question that's been in my mind lately is, "what's my style?" I play with a lot of different techniques and looks in my polymer, but if I'm going to create my work on a serious/professional level, it stands to reason that I need to develop a signature look to my work. Something that makes a piece distinctively mine.

Different artists are known for different things: canes, surface treatments, subject matter, and sculptural detail are a few traits that come to my mind easily. Then, I look at my Etsy shop and think about how these pieces fit in. I've never been one to use canes much, I'm not excited about shiny, glossy finishes since I figure I want my polymer to look like polymer (versus glass, jade, etc.) So, I rule out certain things, and what am I left with? Layers.

All of my favorite pieces have the common thread that they're designed by adding and/or removing. It's all about manipulation. My newest experiment, the Vapor Trails series is based on surface treatment. My favorite, the Geometry series is similar, in a way. In both cases, the process builds from one step to another and the look isn't finished until the last step. Unlike with caning, where once you have a cane you can continue to manipulate it (a change in size or combining it with another) and have a "finished" product at any stage of that manipulation, my favorite pieces are only complete at the last step, after which, no further manipulation is really possible.

In short, I like to build. I think of it like the old style painters (such as Vermeer) who started with blank canvas, then added patches of color that didn't really look like anything, then started building up layers of color until what started as patches of colors became a portrait.

Thinking about this, I began a new project. A while back I played with a new design. It started with a candle holder, which I built in a style very different for me. I liked the unusual look of it and keep going back to try and refine the technique. While I've been making progress, I haven't quite gotten it to a point where I'm completely satisfied with the end result. However, last night I hit on an idea that should resolve my primary struggle with the technique. I'm excited. I wonder if this could be my signature?

2 Lbs of Black

2008-06-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

The other day I took a plunge and bought two big 1 lb blocks of black clay because I was on a roll with pendants and figured it wouldn't go to waste. Between a couple hours last night and a couple this morning, I've now gone through somewhere between half a pound and three-quarters and produced over twenty pendants. I've gotta say, I'm feeling pretty good about that.

The most exciting part was playing around with a new technique and being really pleased at the results. Now I've just got to figure out what to call this series.

Then I have one more for my Organics series, and a number of new additions to my Geometry series.

Last Minute Polymer Pendants

2008-05-23T08:27:00.000-07:00

I'm having some friends over for a BBQ on Memorial Day, which means I need to clear off my kitchen table so it can be used as such again. Of course, yesterday when I was thinking I ought to get started on clearing off the table, I also thought I should sneak a bit of polymer time in first. I figured a few pieces for carving would be just right, right?

Now, since I have a new dog, this also means I have a dog house. Oh a whim, I decided to do an experiment and see if the dog house roof my be a usable prop for taking advantage of natural light. I'm still undecided on it, I like the texture (if you haven't already figured it out, I'm addicted to texture) but the color is pretty blah. Of course, I haven't tried putting a backdrop on the roof, either, and I think that'd be worth exploring.

First up, I can't get enough of this design. I love carving trees.

Second up, the colors of this one makes me think of a raspberry truffle. This one's also an experiment because I'm going to affix a bail instead of having pierced the clay before I baked it.

Thirdly, we have another experiment. I was making squares, and thought I ought to play with the shape a bit, so with a little manipulation, I got a star kind of shape. Then I thought I'd also play a bit with my tree theme (because what I love about that is having lines come off each other) and use jagged lines instead of curvilinear ones. Very lightning-esque, I think.

A Custom Jobby

2008-05-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

Some friends of mine are having their first wedding anniversary in June and he said he wanted to get one of my pieces for her. I just sent him an e-mail with three options and I'm really curious to see which one he picks. One of them is the necklace I made out of those gorgeous agate beads and it's the kind of big and bold that this gal looks fabulous in. So, while I like all three, I'm really hoping he chooses that one for her.

It's funny how sometimes when I make something, my first thought isn't how badly I want to wear it right now, but how well it'd suit someone I know. The few times this has happened so far the person who's come to mind has been Katherine, then I wear the necklace to campus, she says "Let me try that one on" and then she buys it. We'll see if my hunch holds out this time too.

I had to take these pictures quickly, so I didn't have time to fuss with layout and get it perfect. You get the jist, though.

With the second picture, you get an idea of why I'm so in love with these beads. I think they're very Colorado. You get the red of the stone (think Garden of the Gods) and the green of the trees all striped together like a drive through the mountains.

Just Browsing

2008-04-29T21:46:00.001-07:00

I went to the bead shop yesterday. I only went because I was in that part of town and I thought maybe I could use a new pendant. One pendant, that's all. Or, at least that's what I told myself.

But, then I started browsing and found these incredibly cool agate beads, and then some more... I was pretty good, even so. I was able to restrain myself and only get two necklaces worth of beads.

It's funny when I talk to my English major friends about bookstores. They tend to say the same thing about bookstores as I say about bead shops. It's impossible to walk in and not walk out with something. There's no such thing as just looking.

Big Plans

2008-04-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

I've been incredibly busy and preoccupied with school and as such, neglecting my crafting. I've done a couple more candleholders since my last post, but that's pretty much it.

However, as the end of the semester nears and the prospect of a May where I have the bare minimum of committments, I'm starting to think of the nifty things I can do. I've continued collecting empty bottles from the bar, so now I have quite a big collection hogging room on my coffee table. Once break hits, many of them will quickly meet their doom.

One of my friends has requested a custom pearl necklace. Another friend just gave me a broken necklace for salvage, and yet another may have some more salvage jewelry for me as well.

Then, of course, I have more polymer clay plans and maybe a stamping project and/or a few recycling adventures. It's quite a list. Good thing I've got a month.

PC Candle Holders: Other Techniques

2008-03-29T15:02:00.000-07:00

This one I made by smooshing on a background of translucent red, then overlaying and smoothing in a few jelly roll slices. Noteworthy here: inclusions of cinnamon and ginger in mostly translucent clay (tinted only slightly with red clay and a bit of brown), the tan in the jelly roll has no colored clay and gets its color solely from ginger.

A Kato cane. Most of my candle holders are made with Sculpey or Fimo since it's so easy to manipulate. This one has an oddly matte finish. The next few are made with canes and applied more carefully. While they all have a certain degree of manipulation to even out the slices and make them meet, there's much less of it than with my marbled holders.
This cane has no translucent clay at all, but still shines beautifully because of how thinly I applied it.
This is what happens when you accidentally set your oven too high: the clay gets very glossy and darkens as it starts to try and burn. While I like the result from the accident, it's not one I'm in a hurry to repeat.

This next candle holder was made differently than the others. Instead of applying the cane slices to the glass directly, I applied them to a backing sheet of clay, ran it through the pasta machine, then applied the finished sheet to the glass. This saves time (and some wear and tear on your thumbs) when you're dealing with even-sided (or mostly even sided) glasses.

PC Candle Holders: Finished

2008-03-29T14:48:00.000-07:00

Here are two pictures of the finished candle holder. There's a lit candle inside, so you can get an idea of how it looks lit up.

The next two were also made with the "smoosh" technique. The octagonal one uses two canes. The blue is a marbled cane and the red and purple/blue is mokume gane. The mokume gane is also used on the small snifter. Ultimately, it turned out too dark and thick for much translucency, but I like it anyway.

I shaved clay off the corners of the octagonal glass with the intention of going back and filling it in with lines of black, but now I'm thinking I'll just leave it. The clear glass makes a neat effect when the holder's lit up.

PC Candle Holders

2008-03-27T15:45:00.000-07:00

I like polymer clay, candles, and scavenging, so when I can combine them all, it's an ideal situation. Here's how you do it:

Step 1: Gather materials. Polymer clay is easy to find and since Hobby Lobby had a sale back in Feb. I stockpiled a slightly excessive amount. Glassware is also pretty easy to come by. Your local thrift store will have a good selection of interesting shapes. The main thing to keep in mind is the fact that you'll be putting a tealight in the glass at some point, so the glass shouldn't be incredibly thin and the bottom should be level.

Step 2: Create a cane. The type, colors, etc. are all up to you. Lighter colors let through more light, but even dark colors can work if you apply them to the glass thin enough. A couple of tips: highly contrasting colors make more visible designs when illuminated, adding translucent clay is always helpful.

Here's a marbled cane chilling out in the fridge. Depending on how I'm going to apply the cane, a marbled one is sometimes the best choice because I don't have to worry about the design distorting. The steps pictured here aren't a good choice for preserving a detailed cane.

Step 3: Apply cane to glassware. As you apply the polymer, try to apply it in very thin slices. Doing so ensures that the candle can shine through even darker colors and makes the clay generally more translucent. Avoid air bubbles between the clay and glass.

To use this technique, you don't need to be too particular about how you apply the slices. If they overlap a bit, or don't quite touch, that's fine. To get the slices extra thin, I ran each through the thinnest setting of my pasta machine before sticking it to the glass.

As you go along, start smooshing the slices so that the edges meet and smooth out. This is the step that will distort a detailed cane and the reason I'm using a marbled one. In the picture below you can see places where I've already joined pieces and places where I haven't. This takes a while to completely work over the whole glass, but the end result is worth it.

Step 4: Bake.

Salvage: The Windfall From Constance

2008-02-14T22:30:00.001-08:00

Here's the lot that Constance gave me. I'm going to have to think of something really neat to do with the amber, I love the size, shape, and color of them.

I'm thinking the rose quartz will make a nice pair of "thank you" earrings. I've just got to look through my stash and see what I want to add to them. My first thought is freshwater pearls.

No ideas yet on the bracelet, except for really loving the blue of the faceted crystals. The "V" shaped hematite beads will take some playing around with so I can make something fun. The bird, well... I have no clue what I'll do with the bird.

This weekend is pretty open for me, and I'm going to make sure to put aside some time for beading.

Quiet, but Not Uneventful

2008-02-06T12:29:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a brand new semester on campus and all the demands on my time that come with it, I've not been taking many jewelry photos lately. I'll remedy this soon, I promise.

In the meantime, I spent a couple hours last night putting together a tiered three strand pearl necklace with with freswater pearls in two sizes, iolite chips, and 2mm round silver beads. I like the way it turned out, though I want to redo attaching the strands to the clasp - I need to get more findings specifically designed for multi-strand necklaces.

Then, this morning I had a friend give me a little ziploc bag with the broken remains of about five necklaces. Salvage is always fun, and this batch has some promising rose quartz, neat shaped hematite, and (my favorite) a dozen big chips of amber. Salvage is also interesting because you end up with limited amounts and therefore need to get more creative than if you had plenty.

Next project: a pair of "thank you" earrings to give to my friend as thanks for the bead windfall.

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Kitchen Table

2008-01-29T21:44:00.000-08:00

Once again my kitchen is overrun with craft. The table is littered with beach glass, both genuine and faux, a towel holding long-since dried shells from Mexico, and copper foil for soldering glass. My camera has staked out a corner, a small flower pot holds its own, and some old mail clings to the edge.

It's such a good thing I don't really use my kitchen table in the traditional sense of eating food on it. In fact, I've actually had to spread out beyond the table in order to work on my soldering (which I'm starting to get the hang of) and so part of the floor has been reserved for a makeshift work table, a makeshift stand for the soldering iron, and my Dremel.

One of these days, in theory, I'll have a studio.

Now, With Solder!

2008-01-26T11:11:00.000-08:00

Among my thoughts for using beach glass was the thought of how I've seen pendants made using stained glass techniques. A stop at Hobby Lobby and a few purchases later and I started my first trials. Tricky stuff, but fun to practice.

Diamond Bits and a Doomed Cockburn's Bottle

2008-01-20T11:22:00.000-08:00

I stopped by Hobby Lobby this week and picked up some diamond tipped drill bits. Now I can drill glass. I love having more options, but doing the actual drilling is pretty time consuming. Wire wrapping is still quicker. I'm experimenting with combining wrapping with the drilling and I've got one pendant that came out nicely as a result. The shape of the glass is unusual and not having wire to interfere with the outline is nice.

Last night I snagged a couple of green liquor bottles from the bar and wore a "beach" glass necklace, so now everybody knows what I'm up to. Having a visual aid is nice. One of my coworkers even said he had a couple of bottles at home he could bring in for me. No luck yet with finding red glass, so if anyone knows of something that comes in one, let me know.

"Beach" Glass Experiment 2, Results

2008-01-14T08:33:00.000-08:00

It turns out the red glaze was even thinner that I thought. Even after only two hours in the tumbler, all of the red had been sanded off.

Here I was on such a roll, too (no pun intended). I guess I'll have to keep looking for another source of red glass. Perhaps I'll do some browsing at the thrift shops this week.

Absolut: "Beach" Glass, Experiment 2

2008-01-13T11:32:00.000-08:00

Last night at the bar we emptied that bottle of Absolut Raspberry I've been eyeballing. I'm curious to see how it turns out since the red is just a thin layer over clear glass. I'm also using different abrasives this time. Instead of medium grit pumice I'm using coarse (60) sandpaper, some pebbles, and just a little bit of leftover pumice.

After breaking the Absolut bottle, I want to reiterate using safety precautions. Breaking the Cabo Wabo bottle was easy, a couple of medium hits with a hammer and I was able to bust it up with a good amount of control. Not so with the Absolut. I hit it with medium force and nothing happened. I tried again, nothing happened. Finally, I used both hands and whaled on it. The bottle pretty much exploded. When I opened the plastic bags I found the whole bottle had gone to pieces, many of which were too small for pendants, all of which would have made some pretty nasty shrapnel. Thank goodness for plastic bags.

Not Just For Broken Bottles

2008-01-12T13:50:00.000-08:00

Given the success of the broken bottle beach glass experiment, I went through my glass beads and dug out some that I'm no longer as fond of. Into the tumbler they went, including a strand's worth of grungy old glass pearls. The result was like having brand new beads. It's remarkable how just going from a glossy to matte finish changes the way they look. The colors look different, and I even ended up with frosty white beads once the pearl finish was abraded off. I think the recycled pearls may be my favorites, mostly because I can't remember seeing beads quite like them anywhere else. I also think the color will go excellently well with a beach glass pendant, or faux beach glass, depending.

"Beach" Glass Experiment 1, Results

2008-01-07T10:22:00.001-08:00

Here's a walk-through of the experiment, with the results at the end.

Step one: Find a bottle with a color you like.

Step two: Wrap it in a couple of plastic bags, which will prevent glass shards from flying, and use a hammer to break the bottle. Keep breaking glass until you have pieces of a size you like. Put these in a rock tumbler and tumble. I used a medium grit and tumbled the glass for twenty four hours.

Step three: Now you have your very own "beach" glass.

The pieces from the first batch all came out with a pretty even frosted texture. I'm quite pleased to know that the technique works so well. In the future, I think I'll add some larger sized grit (or sandpaper bits) to see if I can get a more irregular finish. I'll also have to play around a bit with varying the tumbler time. Overall, I'd call it an excellent first run.

"Beach" Glass Experiment 1

2008-01-06T12:09:00.001-08:00

All this talk of beach glass lately got me thinking of my old rock tumbler. I bought it years ago, thinking it'd be neat to tumble my own rocks. I got as far as step one before losing interest, but I kept the tumbler.

Since I work at a bar, I have the chance to grab all manner of liquor bottles, including the odd Cabo Wabo bottle with it's beautiful blue. Last night we emptied one and I decided today was a good day for an experiment. I figure that I might be able to make my own faux beach glass. With the help of a couple of plastic bags and a hammer, I made my first batch of broken glass. Into the tumbler it went, and it's churning in the basement as we speak.

Too bad it takes a few days to get results, I'm infinitely curious to see how it'll turn out with the medium grit pumice. I also got some sandpaper, which I've heard a few polymer artists use instead of grit in their tumblers in order to polish beads. I'm worried the medium grit might be too fine for the look I want, so the sandpaper makes a good back up.

If this experiment turns out the way I'm hoping it still won't be authentic beach glass. However, I think it'll balance out with the fact that I can tell people exactly where the glass came from, and I can be pretty particular about the colors. I've got my eye on a bottle of Absolut Raspberry at work, and hopefully I can snag some red glass when it gets finished off. Between the Cabo Wabo blue and Absolut red, I'm thinking people won't mind so much that it wasn't found on the bead. That is, if this turns out the way I'm hoping.

*Sigh* Too bad it'll take a few days to find out.

Isla Mujeres Morning

2008-01-04T10:11:00.000-08:00

Well, I got my wire wrapping in order, as well as my painted glass experiment, so the only thing left was to pull it all together.

Using the pendant as my design foundation, I used two shades of matte blue beads. The faceted beads came off a broken rosary I was given and recycled, and I like the extra layer of "foundness" it adds. I added two kinds of silver spacers to echo the silver wire, and the pearls were an obvious choice for an ocean-inspired necklace. Camii and her mom sent me some moon and sun toggles, and I had to try them out, so I added them to finish this piece off.

I'm really pleased with the way this necklace came out, and I love the way it echoes the gorgeous colors from the island.

Painting Glass

2008-01-02T11:50:00.000-08:00

While sorting out my beach glass, I lamented the fact that the colors were so limited. I've got some pretty greens, blues, and lots of clear/white, but that's about it. Very few of those are dark and there's no purple, etc. to speak of. The thought crossed my mind about polymer artists who use acrylic paints to antique and color their work. Also, one of my pieces of glass has an oil slick patina to it which is pretty well embedded in the surface.

I pulled out my acrylic paints, did some experimenting, and before long I had a handful of new colors on my beach finds. To test for durability, I ran a few under the faucet to try and scrub off the paint. While the patina lightened a bit, most of the color stayed on, embedded in the pitted surface.
Score another point for, "I wonder what would happen if..."

Beach Glass

2007-12-31T13:31:00.000-08:00

During my trip to Mexico, I had the chance to pick up a bit of beach glass. I immediately thought of jewelry, but I'm still working out the details.

Today I pulled out some inexpensive floral wire to do some wire-wrapping experiments. I think I may finally be starting to get the hang of it. The small triangular pendant on the right is the one I've been the happiest with so far. A few more test-runs and I think I may be ready to upgrade to silver wire.

Drops of Sky

2007-12-24T13:54:00.000-08:00

I have a fondness for necklaces with drops, but the problem with most dangle designs is that they take a lot of beadweaving. A while back I struck on a design that combines the look I love with easy construction. Add some apatite and silver spacers and you get a piece pulled right out of the Colorado sky.

Recycling

2007-12-19T14:05:00.000-08:00

One of the neat things about doing crafts is the recycling potential. In honor of Christmas, here are a couple of cards I made using recycled parts.

Hint of Fall Necklace

2007-12-18T09:44:00.000-08:00

My absolute favorite part of this necklace is the faceted fancy jasper beads. I've been drawn to faceted beads a lot lately because they're not only lovely, but also a pretty unusual cut. To find one of my favorite stones available with facets was like hitting the bead jackpot. A beautiful thing, indeed. One of my favorite things to put with fancy jasper (other than silver) is tourmaline. I added a fancy jasper pendant and it all fell together. I love the fact that, thanks to all the colors, this is one of those necklaces that goes with just about anything.

Drop of Sun Necklace

2007-11-27T19:41:00.000-08:00

There are two things to talk about with this necklace, the polymer and the amber. These are also the two main materials, so it seems kind of obvious, doesn't it?

First off, the polymer. I saw an article in a beading magazine about crackling paint on polymer clay and immediately had to try it out. Since, at the time, I didn't have anything to seal the finished product with, thus protecting the crackle effect, I opted for an alternative. I laminated. A sheet of translucent polymer, as thin as I could roll it, went on top of the painted sheet of polymer. A few more trips through the pasta machine to make the laminated sheet as thin as possible, and I had a sizable veneer sheet. I like the way the lamination gives a bit of opaqueness to the beads, and, corny though it may be, I think it gives the necklace a dash of antique flavor.

Secondly, the amber. During the summer between my junior and senior year of high school, I went on a trip with my friend and her parents to visit my friend's grandparents. We went to Flathead lake, where my friend's grandparents own a house - the yard of which turns into lake. One of the days we were up there, between kneeboarding, playing with various relatives, visiting with the people renting out the guest cabin, and frequent swims, we went to town. I don't remember the name of the town now, but it was a little touristy place with a ton of shops. In one I found an amber necklace. Half of those beads went into this necklace, which, accordingly, will always say "summer vacation" to me.

Good News

2007-11-27T19:27:00.000-08:00

I just made my first Etsy sale. Nifty.

Stories in Jewelry

2007-11-22T12:12:00.000-08:00

We all have possessions that mean more to us than just what they are. Since I'm a jewelry maker, my most personally significant possessions tend to be necklaces. I have the necklace with the pendant Camii sent me for my birthday one year, the choker with beads my parents bought me for Christmas last year, the necklace with a pendant I bought during my trip to Europe, and the one I'm showing you today. This one doesn't have the same kind of personal meaning as the others - no one gave me any of the components, nor are any of the particularly exotic - but it means something different to me than to everyone else.

One of my favorite writers is Terry Pratchett. I love his Discworld books and his illustrator, Paul Kidby. Part of Pratchett's mythology is that Discworld is a flat world on the back of a sea turtle swimming through space. The idea isn't original to Pratchett, rather it's him borrowing from existing mythologies. Still, I've come to associate sea turtles to Pratchett.

With this necklace, while the rest of the world just sees a turtle, I see Terry Pratchett, Paul Kidby, everything I love about their work, and a wish for my own. Also, since the turtle is articulated, I can move his legs.

Another Birds in Motion Post

2007-11-15T17:11:00.000-08:00

I took another trip to the park yesterday. This time I took a couple of old waffles and bread heels. I gathered quite a crowd and threw most of the bread bits up in the air to lure in the gulls. The luring worked, but my arm is sore today from all the throwing. Also, it's difficult to go from tossing bread to taking a picture in any kind of smooth fashion. Perhaps I'll look into having an assistant next time.

Another thing I did yesterday was download some photo editing software. It's not the program I really want, but it's free and it does some fun things, like make a goose flourescent pink.

Birds In Motion

2007-11-12T16:08:00.000-08:00

I took a walk today and started out from the city park pond. The geese and ducks were out in full force, with a few gulls thrown in for flavor. I took two hundred pictures all-in-all (I've gotta say, a digital camera was one of the smartest purchases I've made in the past year) and got a few good shots of the birds. While the focus isn't all I could hope for, it's better than I might have expected. I'll take what I've got and remember to bring bird snacks the next time I'm a the park to see if I can get any better shots.

Tutorials

2007-11-06T08:52:00.000-08:00

Before I moved this blog here, I put up some tutorials on my other one. Instead of doing a huge copy-paste job, I'm linking. Here are some tutorials:

Earring storage
http://ev-boulevard.blogspot.com/2007/10/earring-post.html

Tip for pearlescent powder surface treatment on polymer clay
http://ev-boulevard.blogspot.com/2007/10/note-on-pearl-powderssurface-treatments.html

Carved pendants
http://ev-boulevard.blogspot.com/2007/10/carved-pendants.html

Collage necklaces
http://ev-boulevard.blogspot.com/2007/08/its-like-goulash.html

Cufflink earrings
http://ev-boulevard.blogspot.com/2007/08/easy-earrings-using-chain.html

Economical beading
http://ev-boulevard.blogspot.com/2007/08/tutorials-economical-beading.html

Polymer clay project photos
http://ev-boulevard.blogspot.com/2007/03/project-pictures-polymer-bead-set.html

In the future, I'm planning to put more tutorials directly on this blog, but the links will show you some of the ideas I use in designing jewelry.

Post-Show Post

2007-11-02T11:11:00.000-07:00

I am not a fan of six a.m. and it is not a fan of me. Thank goodness I knew this Wednesday night and got all in order that I could, leaving six a.m. to focus on breakfast and little else.

The show was very slow, a couple of departments had meetings/appreciation luncheons the same day, which didn't help the staff turn-out. Since the show was held in a psychiatric hospital, there was minimal turn-out from the general population as well. On the bright side, a number of people took one of my cards - I'm hoping for more website traffic through that - and the pendants went over well. A lot of people touched them and picked them up and said, "It's pretty. What is it?" I had a "Polymer Clay Pendants" sign, but obviously my layout wasn't ideal if so many people didn't associate the sign with what they were holding. *Mental note to fix that next go 'round* I'm really glad I brought them, too, because I sold more pendants than anything else.

A point of curiousity on craft shows - vendors often turn into customers themselves, two pendants went to two gals who had booths of their own. I wonder if it's a karma kind of thing, putting the buying vibe out there, or if it's a boredom kind of thing? Either way, it's neat.

So, craft show - not a raging success, but I did get my name out a bit more. Also, since my mom works there I ran into some people (i.e. friends of my mom) I haven't seen for a while and got introduced to a ton more. Then, today, I woke up this morning, said "nuh uh" and slept in. It was great.

Done With the List (Mostly)

2007-10-31T22:11:00.000-07:00

Whew. I spent this morning getting ready and organized for the show, then I spent another hour after I got home from work (thank goodness I got out early at ten) getting it all put together and packed. Now, tomorrow morning all I need to do is load it all in my car, then unload it all again at the show.

The only thing from my list I didn't get done is putting price tags on my necklaces. However, I'll have an hour for set-up between the time I arrive and the time the show starts. Since my display is going to be very basic and low tech, I can use most of that hour to do my price tags.

Even so, I cannot go to bed quite yet, despite the fact that I'm incredibly worn out, because I have a paper due tomorrow night and I'll have no time tomorrow to write it.

I am not looking forward to 5:50 a.m. It is much too early in the morning for me to be conscious. Yes, I know there are plenty of people, like my mom, for instance, who are not only up by then, but they've also had their coffee and read the paper. The thing is, these early birds get off work much earlier than I. When's the last time these early birds stayed up until two in the morning because they just got off work at 1:45? Exactly.

One Down, Many to Go

2007-10-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

I stopped by the spa today during my lunch break to pick up jewelry (there's one thing off my to-do list). It felt a little strange. Here were a handful of necklaces I had pulled out of my collection a couple months ago and dropped off at the spa to languish in the display case.

Out of sight, out of mind, right? I found myself thinking, "Oh yeah, that one." The feeling is just a little like having new pieces, since I haven't looked at them for so long. One is even a pearl necklace, interspersed with lovely tourmaline rondelles. Almost half of them feature reds and browns - perfect for a fall craft show.

Naturally, my first impulse with new jewelry is the desire to wear it as soon as possible, so when I picked these up I momentarily found myself wondering which I should wear. However, the necklace I am already wearing is newer (the blue pearl necklace w/silver turtle pendant from the last post). The others can stay in the bag.

A Plethora of Pearls

2007-10-29T21:40:00.000-07:00

One of the great fashion mavens, (was it Chanel?), said that every woman should have a good pearl necklace. I like that idea, and in the monstrous bead order, I included many strands of freshwater pearls. I've been making pearl necklaces like mad and I've still only gone through about a third of what I ordered. It's beautiful.

Reasons I love freshwater pearls: they're an economical alternative to the expensive pearls you'd find in a jewelry store, the irregularities in their shape add interest, and you can get them in any color imaginable.

Thanks to the monstrous order, I'll have a good dozen pearl necklaces for the show on Thursday. Here's a picture of most of them.

Craft Show

2007-10-29T13:32:00.000-07:00

This Thursday I'll be doing a craft show and I'm both excited and nervous. I did the same one a couple of years ago - a lot of people said positive things about my jewelry and I sold some. Since then, I've changed a lot in my designs and materials and gotten smarter about prices, so I think people might respond a bit differently. Therein lies the nerves. Fortunately, I can't spend too much time worrying because I've got far too much to do in preparation.

After reading Luann Udell's (http://luannudell.wordpress.com/) wonderful series on booth design, I came up with a couple of ideas on the presentation of my table. Mostly, color, light, and something vertical.

Color: I'm offsetting jewelry with felt and colorful napkins to create contrast, both with the maroon table cloth and the necklaces.

Light: I've got two table lamps with flexible necks and a table with an outlet (which were in short supply).

Something vertical: I played around with many ideas, but due to time contraints, they're not going to work. What I'm planning to do is use a dark canvas as a backdrop for my earring display (which is screen, and thus, see-through). It's not as much as I'd like, but it's what I've got.

Now, between today and Wednesday morning (I'm working Wednesday at both jobs, so from 1 p.m. to possibly midnight or later, I'll be out of comission and unable to do any last minute prep) I have a nice long to-do list for the show, plus homework I need to do early as I won't have my usual time during the day on Thursday to do it. Whew.

To Do List:
Iron tablecloth & napkins
Pick up consignment jewelry from the women's spa (not an ideal venue, and I'd rather have those pieces with me and being seen than languishing in a display case)
Pack display materials
Create pricing signs
Print a batch of business cards
Print larger cards (these'll go in the cellophane bags I've got for when someone makes a purchase, they'll be bigger and bold colors for attention-grabbing)
Finalize my decisions on what goes to the show
Put price tags on everything
Pack all jewelry
Pack some extra supplies so I can have a project while I'm sitting all day and it gets slow
Remember to pack a chair

Braid, Braid, Who's Got the Braid?

2007-10-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

A number of years ago, I was reading an issue of Bead & Button and discovered that you could braid beads. I braided a few necklaces with seed beads, then did other things. Lately, I've gone back, this time replacing the seed beads with pearls and semi-precious stones. Right now, in the shop, I've got two braided necklaces I'm in love with.

The only thing better than freshwater pearls is lots of freshwater pearls. I wanted to have some contrast, so I picked pearls that were different sizes and shapes as well as different colors. It turned out beautifully and looks great against a backdrop of a friend's handwriting.
It's hard to find anything redder than coral, and the deep, saturated color of this necklace feels exactly right for October. The fact that the beads are all coral, and chips, means the braid is more subtle, but the overall texture is nice and chunky. Bohemian, even.

I'm so pleased with the way these turned out that I know I have to do more braids. Lots and lots. The only drawback is that braiding means I'm essentially making three whole necklaces just to end up with one. Triple the work, triple the materials. Still, the finished product is worth it.

Launch

2007-10-25T14:47:00.000-07:00

With the new jewelry shop on etsy.com and my focus on jewelry, I thought now would be an appropriate time to launch a jewelry-devoted blog. Wish me luck.