Keepsake Crafts - Sharing the Love of Crafting and Sewing

Friday Findings-Wire Words

Mar 062015

Here’s something different to do with wire.

Make words, all sorts of words, lots of words. Especially today when so many names have their own unique spellings you can personalize anything.

You may have to dust off your cursive handwriting. (Do they even teach that in schools anymore?) And you’ll definitely need to practice a little to get things to come out the way you want, but it’s worthwhile and rather fun.

My favorite tools to use for wire shaping:

This 20 gauge craft wire is perfect for making your own wire words or sayings. My three words “love,” “joy” and “peace” come from Galatians 5:22. What words or sayings inspire you?

I’d love to see your projects based on this tutorial at my Facebook page in the “Your Creations” album.

Enjoy the video and happy creating!

You can watch the Friday Findings-Wire Words video over at YouTube.

Thursday’s Dragon #9-Cornelia

Mar 052015

This week’s dragon definitely was out of my comfort zone…

… as you can probably tell from the results.

Bleah.

I’m definitely sticking to three-dimensional art from now on.

But, it was a fun project and I learned a lot.

To learn why I’m making a dragon every week check out this post on Errol, dragon #1, for the details.

As I’ve mentioned I’m participating in the Polymer Clay Adventure this year and want to put the classes to good use. This week’s class was by Suzanne Ivester. She’s the Polymer Chef in Polymer Cafe magazine and is also well known for her polymer painting technique, which is what she taught.

Because of the detail in my composition, I would call mine more “polymer clay marquetry” than “polymer clay painting.” All those bits & pieces on the castle took forever, but I’m pleased with how it came out.

The dragon, I’m not so thrilled with, although I really do like the patterning ~~I figured out how to do~~ discovered by mistake.

I was using a blade to shave off bits of the dark lines on the wings and accidentally shaved into the purple part of the wings. Voila, cool texture!

My favorite part of the process was making the blends, like for the sky and the mountains.

Also, Suzanne had a great technique for adding an overall canvas-like texture. I didn’t have the tool she used, but found a vinyl placemat that worked pretty well.

If you’d like to keep up with my dragon creations this year, I’ve made a Thursday’s Dragon Pinterest board just for them.

Happy creating!

WOYWW – Mermaid’s Purse Copper Earrings

Mar 032015

Happy first What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday of March!

Today I’m still working through Abby Hook’s Wire Jewelry Masterclass.

Here is one of her Mermaid’s Purse earrings done and the frame for the second one started.

I love that the fine gauge wire was reclaimed from discarded electronics by my son. All I have to do is run it through a candle flame to burn off the coating, then remove the firescale with a bit of sandpaper.

Wondering why I’m posting photos of my desk? Well it’s What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday, the day we all go visiting the creative spaces of creative people all over the world. The blog link party starts at Julia’s.

Turquoise and Silver Dangle Earrings Video Tutorial

Mar 022015

Have you found that sometimes the simplest of supplies can make a project with great impact?

I love the simplicity of a single color bead, today it’s turquoise, in a single repeating motif, just simple dangles on silver plated headpins on a silver plated chain.

The trickiest part, as I mention in the video, is working with this tiny chain. You can make it easier on your eyes and use larger chain, putting a dangle on either side of each chain link.

Enjoy the video and happy creating!

You can watch the Turquoise and Silver Dangle Earrings Video Tutorial over at YouTube.

Materials:

2 silver plated ear wires
2 4mm silver plated jump rings
20 silver plated head pins
2 11-link pieces 12-link-per-inch silver plated chain
20 4mm turquoise beads

Tools:

chain nose pliers
round nose pliers
wire cutters.

Slide a turquoise bead onto a head pin. Trim wire above bead to 3/8-inch. Grasp wire with tips of round nose pliers and twist to form a simple loop.
Repeat to make simple loop dangles on other head pins.
Use chain nose pliers to open a simple loop by twisting it to one side. Place loop into a link of chain. Close loop securely. Repeat to place a bead dangles on all but one end chain link of each chain piece.
Open a jump ring and slide on the last link of chain and an ear wire. Close jump ring securely. Repeat to make second earring.

What combination of colors would you use to make these earrings?

Happy creating!

Friday Findings-Quick “S” Clasp

Feb 272015

With the right tools it really is very simple to make your own jewelry findings. This “S” clasp has an elegant look, but you can make one in just a few minutes.

The tools I used to make this clasp:

Enjoy the video and happy creating!

You can watch the Friday Findings-Quick “S” Clasp video tutorial over at YouTube.

Thursday’s Dragons #7 & 8 Frodo & Sam

Feb 262015

This week I’m going from one extreme to another. Since dragon #6, Rosalita, took SO long to make, I decided to go for a much smaller scale this time around.

To learn why I’m making a dragon every week check out this post on Errol, dragon #1, for the details.

Meet Frodo and Sam.

Click on any of the photos for a closer look.

Since Rosalita took over 2 weeks, I was one dragon behind. So I made a pair for you this week.

The “cabochons” are actually the two halves of a glass bead I made when I was first learning to lampwork. I let it cool off too quickly and it cracked.

The original intent was to make a pair of earrings, but they ended up too big. They’re 1 1/4-inches tall and 1-inch across. (Rosalita’s head is bigger than that!) The little dragon’s head’s are only 6mm (1/4-inch) long.

A dusting of Perfect Pearls gives them their shimmer. I had thought to antique them to bring out the details, but kinda like that you have to look for a moment to realize that they’re dragons.

If you’d like to keep up with my dragon creations this year, I’ve made a Thursday’s Dragon Pinterest board just for them.

WOYWW- Copper “S” Clasp

Feb 242015

Happy What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday everyone!

Today I’m finishing a necklace using techniques from Abby Hook’s Wire Jewelry Masterclass. Last week I showed you the figure eight chain in progress, plus the pendant.

This week I’m putting it all together by making hook clasps. The two in the upper left didn’t come out quite right, but the bottom ones will do.

Now the necklace is all done except for a Liver of Sulfur patina. If you’re interested in knowing what that is, I made a video explaining the process: Liver of Sulfur Patinas

If you’re wondering why I’m sharing photos of my desk, well, it’s What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday, the day we all get together at Julia’s and take a peek at each other’s creative goings on. It’s always fun and often inspiring. Join us if you have a the time.

Pink & Purple Chain Bracelet Video Tutorial

Feb 232015

Sometimes it’s fun to dig through the bead stash and pull out bits & pieces of chain, some orphan beads & put them all together in a pretty piece of jewelry.

The gold chain and charms tie in all the differing components of this bracelet to make a varied and interesting whole.

What bits & pieces are in your bead collection that might work together?

Happy creating and enjoy the video!

You can watch the Pink & Purple Chain Bracelet Video Tutorial over at YouTube.

Materials:

10 8-10mm beads
12 6mm beads
5 charms & 5 jump rings
(or make your own charm dangles by adding assorted metal beads to headpins)
3 different styles of chain 6-7 inches of each (or use a variety of small bits and pieces)
20 gauge wire
12 headpins
toggle clasp
2 split rings

Tools:

chain nose pliers
round nose pliers
wire cutters

See the video for detailed instructions.

Thursday’s Dragon #6 – Rosalita

Feb 212015

Sorry folks that I’m over a week late with dragon #6. But now she’s done, finally!

To learn why I’m making a dragon every week check out this post on Errol, dragon #1, for the details.

Click on any of the photos for a closer look.

As you can see, Rosalita has climbed up on top of the castle to take a closer look at the first open rose of spring.

This project is one that’s been in the back of my mind for a long time. Ever since over a year ago a friend gave us a cylindrical tin of tea bags…

This one, to be exact.

…every time I looked at it I pictured a castle turret with a dragon climbing on top.

The tin is 2 1/2 inches in diameter and 6 inches tall, but I never imagined the project being SO HUGE.

Well, huge for what I’m used to. The finished sculpture is 14 inches from the base to the top of the flagpole. (The flagpole is a toothpick, just to give you an idea of scale.)

The stone work, windows and turret top alone took a week.

Then it was time to start on the dragon.

Somewhere in the middle of the project it became “that danged dragon” (or slightly stronger words which I shall not repeat.)

I got discouraged along the way, but decided not to give in to the temptation to rush just to get it done. If I did that I knew the outcome would certainly be disappointing.

Yesterday (Friday) I finally got to the final details: the base, the door, the wings and the flag.

Yes, I made a rose cane just for the flag. I used an excellent tutorial over at Polymer clay central by Leigh Ross for the rose and the leaves.

It was quite a trick figuring out how to make the cane into a flat flag with the cane showing on both sides, but it worked out.

Some things I’ve learned in the past two weeks:

Things always take longer in reality than you might think. (Well, I knew that one already, but this really drove it home.)
Creativity is sometimes just plain hard work!
My favorite parts of sculpting are adding texture and detail, so sticking to a smaller scale would be wise from now on.
Baked polymer clay can be heated with a heat tool (like scrapbookers use for heat embossing) for about 15 seconds to soften it. It will then be flexible enough to slightly reposition. This was how I got the dragon’s feet to cling to the tower. That and super glue.

Gosh, there were a lot of other tips and tricks I utilized or figured out, but that’ll do for now.

On to dragon #7, which I can promise you will be a lot smaller!

If you’d like to keep up with my dragon creations this year, I’ve made a Thursday’s Dragon Pinterest board just for them.

Friday Findings-Molding Putty

Feb 202015

Today’s video shows you how easy it is to use a molding putty such as Easymold Silicone Putty to make molds and texture sheets of just about anything you can think of. You can then turn these molded objects into your own custom pieces for jewelry making or other crafts.

A few things you can put into these silicone molds:

Of course, the bottom three can all be colored with paints, inks, chalk pastels, etc., plus have all sorts of inclusions like glitters, mica powders & such. You’re only limited by your imagination!

Enjoy the video and happy creating.

You can watch the Friday Findings-Molding Putty video over at YouTube.

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