Patina inks and earrings

If you're wondering where my BSBP7 Reveal post is, don't worry, it's here.

Before you go haring off to check out what I made, you might want to take a look at these new earrings. I succumbed and bought myself a few bottles of Vintaj Patina Inks. I unearthed a pair of brass frames I've had for the longest time and had a fine old time dabbing/painting the inks on. This is the result:

A couple of Swarovski pearls for the centres and some copper-tone ear hooks and I've got me a pair of vaguely vintage-y earrings. I call them Springtime Bouquet. 

Thank you & a giveaway

Thank you all so much for your kind, generous comments about my BSBP pieces. I'm (very) slowly making my way through the 3rd Reveal - and the 2nd and the 1st - and leaving my own comments on your blogs. It may take me all year but I'll get there in the end. Till then, please know I appreciate every comment that I receive.

I was tickled by the fact that so many of you liked Caliban's Treasure - my 'unpretty' fishnet earrings. You guys are too funny! In view of the love you've showered on my decidedly odd earrings, I'm holding a giveaway - of Caliban's Treasure itself! Leave a comment below and I'll pick a random winner on 12 May (Sun). I'm willing to ship internationally so everyone is welcome to try. Best of luck!

Something new...

I made something new this weekend, and used a new (to me) technique. Who knew how fun coiling and hammering wire could be? I'm still learning my way around so please excuse the wonky, uneven spirals.

Oh, and the lovely ceramic charms are by Mary Welsh Hubbard of White Clover Kiln. Aren't they beautiful? They're an intriguing mix of green, blue and brown...and possibly some other colours I don't have a name for. 

Re-working

So, that necklace I was feeling iffy about? I went through my beads and tried a couple of things. It eventually turned out something like this:

I'm not ecstatic. But it looks a little more balanced. So I'm going to leave it alone. What do you think - right decision, or not? 

I also whipped up a quick pair of earrings using lampwork glass beads by Paul Spencer (aka Paulbeads, another talented glass artist on Etsy). This will go to my shops - I need to start selling my work or I'm never going to be able to buy new beads.

Pictures!

The earrings will be added to my shops this weekend. And finally, the necklace. I was going for asymmetrical but it's not something that comes naturally to me. It looks a little awkward to me and rather spare. I'm thinking of re-working it - maybe adding some beads on the other side.

What are your thoughts? Should I leave it as is? I'd love to hear your ideas and feedback. Oh, and the adorable owl pendant is from Etsy.com's brendabeads. Also from Etsy is Misspottery's ceramic trinket dish in the topmost pic. I spend way too much time on Etsy, y'all.

Replicas

Remember the bellflower earrings I made and sold some weeks back? The photo's a couple of posts down. I liked how the wire frames I made mirrored the bell shape of the flower beads so much that I made replicas of the earrings yesterday - using 3 different colours of artistic wire. I paired silver-plated wire with some navy blue flower beads, gold-plated wire with purple flower beads and finally, brass-plated wire with green flower beads. All 3 pairs are listed in my Artfire shop. I think they're quite girly and romantic, which considering Valentine's Day is coming up, is rather apt really.

What do you think? Do you like them as much as I do? They're not perfect I know but I'm secretly quite proud of myself since it's the first time I've bothered to make a component - ie. the spirally wire frames - myself. I'd love to hear what you think.

Go me! Part 2

I got it wrong. My jewellery's been featured in two other Artfire collections. Isn't that great? I can feel the warm fuzzies descending on me as I type LOL. I never thought my Lovebirds and See You Later Alligator earrings would be pretty enough to be selected.....but they were! Unfortunately, one of the collections isn't available anymore so I can't showcase it here. But the other one - featuring my See You Later Alligator earrings - is, so go check it out!

Fluers~n~Gators

  Curated By: jenX72

ArtFire.com

Handmade Gifts

By special request

An old friend surprised me a few weeks back by asking if I would make some jewellery for her. She's started being a little more adventurous in terms of her fashion and was lamenting that she didn't have jewellery that could match her new clothes. She specifically wanted a long necklace. And if I could come up with some earrings, that would be great too.

I decided from the start that I would stick to a silver/neutral tone for the pieces so she could wear them with almost anything in her wardrobe. And I also knew that the pieces would have to be fairly simple and understated, while incorporating some 'bling' if possible. This is what I came up with. 

Yet another..?

I'm amazed at myself. I actually got inspired to make a pair of earrings after visiting my Artfire Store and seeing the rather miserly collection. I seriously need to beef up my offerings. So, without further ado, here's my newest piece. I call it 'Heart of Gold'. I used pewter spacer beads and brass heart charms - both in antique gold - and 10mm fire-polished rounds in Transparent Champagne Luster. Another addition to my store...way to go, me!

PS. Any photo-taking tips you might have would be much appreciated :-).