This week’s dragon is a practical little guy.
Click on any of the photos for a closer look.
His name is Virgil, can you tell what he’s doing?
Check out this post on Errol, dragon #1, for the details on why I am making a dragon every week.
He’s guarding my pen for me! Such a clever fellow.
He may look cute and innocent, but just you try to steal it….
If you’d like to keep up with my dragon creations this year, I’ve made a Thursday’s Dragon Pinterest boardjust for them.
Happy What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday once again!
Look at the view out that window. You can actually see the ground at the base of the stockade fence. Just a couple weeks ago snow was nearly up to the top.
Today finds me working on this quilt for a friend. She made the top quite some time ago. Judging by the colors and fabrics it may have been in the “70’s. 🙂
Anyhow she asked me to finish it by adding borders & backing and doing the quilting. I’ve put off the work for too long now and decided today was the day. I was going to spend all afternoon & evening and get this baby done.
Half an hour after this photo was taken my sewing machine ceased to behave. I did everything: changed the needle, rethreaded, changed the bobbin, clean out lint, nothing worked. Now it’s time to bring it to the repair man. I suspect it’s a timing issue, which means it’s in need of a tune-up anyhow. So much for best laid plans!
Since I can’t be productive in my preferrred way I’m going to finish this post and go watch another couple episodes of Outlander
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.
We’ve made strung jewelry and we’ve made wire wrapped jewelry. How about combining the two by adding wire wrapped dangles to a strung bead bracelet?
These mother of pearl leaf dangles add some great movement and the simple color scheme keeps it elegant. Want it even less busy? I think 4 or 6mm Swarovski crystals would be lovely as well.
Enjoy the video and Happy creating!
You can watch the Gold ‘n’ Pearls Bracelet Video Tutorial over at YouTube.
Materials:
Tools:
1. Slide a 15mm x 20mm leaf onto a head pin, followed by a 4mm spacer. Use chain nose pliers to grasp wire just at point where it exits spacer bead. Bend wire at 90° angle. Grasp bend with round nose pliers and wrap wire around pliers as far as possible to start to make a loop. Reposition pliers to finish loop. Close loop and hold with chain nose pliers. Use another pair of chain nose to wrap remaining wire around wire below 90° bend. Use wire cutters to trim, if necessary. Use chain nose pliers to tuck in end.
Repeat to make five dangles with 15mm x 20mm leaves.
2. Onto one end of bead stringing wire slide a crimp, then slide wire into one end of wire protector and out the other. Add one end of your clasp to the wire protector. Slide the wire end back through the crimp and bring crimp to within 1/8-inch of wire protector. Flatten crimp and squeeze ends of wire protector together. Trim excess wire. Cover crimp with a crimp cover by picking up with crimping pliers, sliding over flattened crimp and gently squeezing pliers. Use crimping pliers to shape cover into a round bead shape if necessary.
3. String onto the wire the antique gold plated spacers, 8mm pearls, wire wrapped leaves and glass lentils in the following pattern:
spacer > pearl >wire wrapped leaf > spacer > lentil >
Repeat until you have four pearls and four lentils strung, then finish with a spacer, a pearl, a wire wrapped leaf and another spacer.
4. Repeat step 2 to add remaining piece of toggle clasp to other end of bracelet.
In today’s video I share with you some of my favorite sources of jewelry making information and design inspiration.
In addition I do have a jewelry inspiration Pinterest board, but don’t think to check it very often.
Although I’m am always inspired by other people’s work, I try very hard not to make exact copies unless I’m copying to learn. (And then always give credit to the original designer.)
One way to get from a copy to “inspired by” is to make rough drawings of the pieces you like in a sketchbook. It’s likely that when you go to make a piece based on a sketch you will add your own personal spin and it may not resemble the original at all.
I tend to lean towards wire wrapped designs, but there are so many other things you can do: chain mail, steampunk, mixed media, resin, gem cutting & setting, this list goes on.
I highly recommend if you can that you use your local library to see all the different areas of jewelry making you can find and further research the ones that most interest you. If you are in an area that has inter-library loan, you can just sit at your computer and reserve stacks of books on any topic you want. (One of my very favorite activities.) 🙂
Enjoy the video and happy creating!
You can watch the Friday Findings-Jewelry Books and Inspiration video over at YouTube.
A few weeks ago I made a big dragon (Rosalita) looking at a tiny rose. This week I have for you a tiny dragon inspecting a huge rose.
Why am I making a dragon every week? Check out this post on Errol, dragon #1, for the details.
Meet Priya, Hindi for “beloved.” (Any Tiger’s Curse
Click on any of the photos for a closer look.
And just why does her rose appear to be in danger of running away?
Well, this is a walking pod, a clay inspiration by Christi Friesen. These fun conglomerations of crazy legs and plant life were the class she taught last week over at the Polymer Clay Adventure.
This little dragon makes me think of a bee, flitting in to check out this bizarre plant life. Is there any nectar in there?
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 What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday everyone!
Today’s desk show me working on the walking pods from Christi Friesen’s class over at Polymer Clay Adventure. All of the pieces are currently in the oven. I’m hoping to add this week’s dragon #11 to it. Nobody will be more surprised with how it turns out than me. 🙂
Since I’ve been showing you jewelry in progress for the past several weeks I thought you might like to see a few completed projects.
These copper and silver pieces are awaiting warmer weather when I can patina them outside. (For some reason my family objects to the strong rotten egg smell that liver of sulfur gives off indoors.)
The latest project from Wire Jewelry Masterclass is that ring. I didn’t really care for it in the book, and definitely don’t like my completed version. Ah well, it was supposed to be a learning experience, and it was. However, I pretty sure those beads will soon be getting snipped off and the silver recycled.
To see what other creative people from all over the world are up to, make sure to check out What’s on Your Workdesk Wednesday. The party starts at Julia’s!
When I saw these cute little Lucite flowers, all I could think was to make dangly earrings with beads coming out like stamens.
They didn’t come out exactly the way I pictured, but I think they’re rather adorable.
Anyhow , let’s celebrate spring flowers!
You can watch the Dainty Dangles Flower Earrings video over at YouTube.
Materials:
Tools:
Have you ever wished you could add additional holes to your metal jewelry bits and pieces?
Or perhaps you have found objects that just need holes in the right places in order to be made into jewelry or home dec. OR maybe you want additional holes for dangles.
I don’t know about you, but that’s how I think. “Oh, I’d love to use this in that way, if only….”
Enter the Screw Punch
In the video I’ll show you how to use it and also give some ideas for what you might use it on.
Enjoy the video and happy creating!
You can watch the Friday Findings-Using a Screw Punch video over at YouTube.
I was SO happy to be back to sculpting in three dimensions after last week’s “meh” polymer clay painting.
Click on any of the photos for a closer look.
Meet Stuart. He’s made with a lot of translucent clay and I love how you can see the depth of his layers.
To learn why I’m making a dragon every week check out this post on Errol, dragon #1, for the details.
Stuart’s body is covered with Snowflake Jade cane from Kim Schlinke and Randee M. Ketzel’s Polymer Clay Gemstones: The Art of Deception
In the book they show you how to use the quite translucent cane slices over different colors of clay to make bangle bracelets. I love how they look so different when over white, green or gray cores.
Stuart’s wings are made from thinned out slices of bits trimmed off the end of the cane. I really liked how those ragged edges looked and wanted to preserve them.
The bottle he is hanging onto is the largest of the Tim Holtz Corked Vials
What’s in the bottle? That remains a mystery, but it looks sort of magical, doesn’t it?
Meanwhile, Stuart is living up to his name, stewarding the contents, whatever they may be.
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.
I thought you’d like to know…
…my Polymer Clay Chocolates class is live over at CraftArtEdu! You can learn how to make seven different miniature chocolates – in polymer clay.
Click on the photo for more info and a free class preview. There’s a 20% discount if you sign up by Saturday, March 14.
Happy creating!