Christmas Presents continued ....

 At Thanksgiving, I asked my 12 year old nephew if he liked Jewelry and he hold me 'he hadnt been introduced to it yet'.   Such a great answer for a young man his age.   I'd asked as I was thinking he was a good age to give simple jewelry pieces for Christmas, and his answer confirmed that.  

I saw these beads last week at Hobby Lobby and thought they might be a good fit for him.  The have the feel and look of rock, but they are lightweight, so I assume some type of resin.   When I got them home, however, I realized the hole was much to small to string on a leather cord and was about ready to discount the whole idea, when it dawned on me ... I could re-engineer them with a solder rim.     So, I soldered three ... One from my nephew, one for Alex best friend Paul, and one (still lacking the cord), which I'm donating to Grans.

I hope they will be liked.    

Rain Day

Today I was supposed to put up my tent and participate in the Northshore Art Market in Covington.    But, it was cancelled yesterday with the projection of 100% rain, weather in the low 50s and wind gusts.   Not great weather for an art market and it was cancelled ... the $50. fee will carry over into January.

So, we spent the day tucked inside.   Yesterday was my birthday and my present from Beau was a new 6' cabinet (with doors to hide the mess).   He sure knows the way to my heart ... doors; to hide the virtual mess.   He put it together for me and I spent part of the afternoon organizing to fill it up.    Tomorrow he's going to cut me a couple more shelves and on Monday I'll pick up more shelf pegs.  I love it.

I also put together the bead sets and completed Aimee's bracelet.    Originally I put on Scabble letters spelling her name, but it didn't look right ... the pendants being to chunky and just didn't lay nicely.   So, removed them and added in a few silver trinkets ... stars, a phone, windows and such.     I'm pleased with how it turned out and I hope that she'll like it (particularly since I don't really know what her taste in accessories are).

Marble Bead Experiment Continued ......

Back in June I did a little experiment of using E6000 to glue bellcaps to standards and it was, A COMPLETE FAILURE.    After completition, it didn't take but a couple hours for the marbles to start seperating from the bellcaps.   The sad bracelet has been sitting on my side board ever since; awaiting  ....

Round Two .... 
I picked 8 generic marbles (I must have literally thousands in inventory).   As it's an experiment; it doesn't really matter what they look like.
Cleaned the marbles.
Cut and attached a thin piece of foiling tape around each marble, overlapping about 1/2".
Soldered a jump ring.  The jump ring sits at the top of the overlap.
Soldered the rest of the way around each marble.
Washed and dried
Sanded out rough or unattractive points with the Dremel.

Two pieces fell apart almost immediately.  One the tape just came off, intact and the other the tape appears to have failed at the seam.   I'm guessing, on these two, that I didn't get the tape attached well enough.

Attached the remaining 6 to a marble to a silver chain bracelet, which I've put on and am going to wear for the next few days; kind of like a stress test.

Bracelet remake ; pretty little packages

About two weeks ago I picked up 7 boxes of 'stuff' at a yard sale for $40.    Size of the boxes were patterns and the final boxes was odds and ends of, what looked like, junk jewelry.     I started routing through the box to see what was in there when it was offered for $10.00.    Well ... okay ... a $10.00 grabbag.   There were a good number of button covers; 1/2 of which I put in my supplies shop and the other half went to Grans Thrift Shop, along with bunches of really gaudy looking earrings, which I've taken apart for the plastic gems.   At the bottom of the box I found about 15 little metal bracelets.   Some were pretty little metal Packages and the rest were hearts and diamonds; gambling motif.   These sweet little packages caught my attention (the rest I took apart and put the metal charms into inventory).

• I decided to dress it up into a more chunky charm type.   
• Cut 8 small sections of chain.
• Made up 32 beadsets using small beads
• Attached 3 of the beadsets to each link of chain.
• Strung them all together on stretch string.  

It's a fun little piece.

Small Heart Pendants (Cutouts)

Some time back I picked up a few packages of thin wood cutouts at a yardsale.    I took these with me to Gator Fest last Saturday, along with  book of my painted pages, in case I needed something to occupy myself.  As it turned out, I'm sure glad that I did.    So, on Saturday, I traced a couple of the (mostly heart) shapes onto the back of a couple different painted pages and then cutout just abit inside the lines.     When I unpacked on Sunday, I'd tossed these onto my workbench. 

I'm feeling better today (the cold is improving), and decided to play in my studio awhile.   These seemed as good as anything.   Very simply, but time consuming.

• painted front & back of each cutout (paper isn't going to line up perfectly)
• Glued the matching piece of paper to front and backs of each piece
• Applied two coats of polyacrylic to each side.  

Tomorrow I'll finish by drilling a small hole in the top.   I'm not really in the mood to make bracelets at the moment, so will probably just put them in inventory.
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After dinner I continued my solder practice.  My skill level has moved slilghtly above remedial.     I typically do not practice longer than an hour; that seems to be the amount of time for fustration to peak.   So, I simply stop.      I'm planning on putting the one with the girl in the swing reading a book in the Louisiana Handmade Guild Call, so will need to finish it tomorrow morning. 

15 Zipper Pulls to take to Gator Fest

I don't know how the general population feels about my Pulls, but I like them.    (Guess I'll find out soon).  I think I have around 30 of them made up, but wanted to create another handful, or two, for the Gator Fest next Saturday.   

I started on them yesterday, and pulled out a whole variety of items and put them together, off and on, yesterday and today.    They are a fun little bit.    For each one, I select a central focal piece and then just start picking and choosing, putting togehter bead sets as needed, until I have all the components chosen.   Then, out come the findings and 30 minutes or so later .... a new zipper pull.

You can see them all (or what is left) in the Zipper Pull section of my Artfire Shop. 

Fabric Beaded Necklaces

Last week, I purchased a box (about 450) 1" wood balls to make fabric beaded necklaces.     I'm planning on participating in the upcoming Gator Fest next weekend and want to spend this week supplementing my current inventory to take to the Fest.    This, of course, includes more Fabric Beaded Necklaces. 

Although the 1" beads balls are not heavy, they are heavier than the 1" styrofoam balls.  I put them into a rather shear scarf and I didn't think that the fabric would hold up well, over the long term.   So, I'll only use cotton scarves or fabrics.    I'm going to try a few variations on these.     In the first set of 8, I incorporated wood beads on a couple; paint and fabric markers on two others.   So far, I like them all. 

Necklace Pendants from Blank Slides

I went to add a little more solder to yesterdays' Party pendant and I, somehow, managed to crack one of the glass sides.  So, I threw it out and started over with another.     I selected two more of my grafitti painted pages and cut out 1"x3"  pieces, to go along with the Party paper.       I also put together a small collage.   Each of these are two sided. 

I then practiced the foil wrap and solder.    I didn't get the tape  properly secured on the collage piece and the solder was coming loose.  I was picking at it, to figure out how to fix, and it came loose to the point I just pulled it off.  Well, count that up to a learning experience.   If the solder/tape has a loose point, it can all be pulled off, the glass cleaned and the whole piece started over ... versus throwing out the little collage.  Cool.

Fabric Beaded Necklaces ... As per the Instructions

I selected a vintage (60's) piece of loose weave fabric that I've had for quite awhile.

I cut off a 12" strip of fabric, which was then cut down, on the bias, to 4" strips (these are the general instructions from the original Amy Butler pattern).   I stitched the individual pieces together to create one long bias strip.   Then, pulled out some fabric markers and wrote in some words ... Everyone loves summer flowers ... randomly, in green and outlined the flowers and leaves in black.   

 

Sewed the edges together and turned the tube right side out.  Inserted the wooden balls one by one, knotting in place as I went along.   Underturned the ends and stitched together.

The wooden balls, of course, make the necklace heavier than those I made with the styrofoam.   I like the extra weight, however.   Gives the necklace a bit of substances and it lays nicely.   It's not so heavy as to be uncomfortable.  I also like the way the writings and outlines make the pattern as a whole pop out.       I'll try some other variations in a day or so.

Scrabble Tile Pendants as Charms in 4 New Bracelets

Today, I decided to work with the scrabble pendants that I finished on Monday.

Used some of the 'already made' beadsets, created more, added in little pieces of chain and a few surprises here and there. Basically, there are 2-3 charm sets between each of the pendants.

I had finished 5 sets of pendants, but was growing tired of making bracelets. So, put the 5th set of pendants into inventory for some other day ... not to far away.

I'm planning on doing a few shows as we approach the holidays so will need to commit to creating a few pieces each day to build up a decent size inventory.

Finished with Love & Happy

I had pulled out the container of previously made bead sets to use in these bracelets, but, as I should have known ... just what you need at the moment is seldom what you'd put together awhile back on a whim.

So, I've created mostly new bead sets to be in the right colors and sizes. And, while I was at it ... created a couple extra for the pre-made inventory ... not that they will be right in the future, but what the heck.

These two bracelets are created with the scrabble letters, beads, buttons, chain and a few little metal spacer thingies. The chain were from pre-made bracelets sold at Hobby Lobby. I never like the clasps on these, so switched them out to ones just a bit easier for the regular person to put on themselves.

So ... here's Love and Happy ... to honor the release of Beatles 090909.

Imagine, Peace, Love and Happy

I've been watching (listening) the VH1C channel in the morning for the last couple days. Apparently they are having a Beatles week to comemmerate the Abbey Road anniversary last week as well as some Beatles game being released tomorrow. I've seen a couple shows on John Lennon and have learned a whole lot about the man that I'd mostly forgotten (except for perhaps 3 or 4 songs) ... Funny how that works ... So, in honor of John Lennon

Imagine .... Peace .... Love
And, what the heck ... when not toss in a little happy to go along with it.

So, I had out the container of scrabble letters from those little pendants I made yesterday, and Before I put them away, thought I'd pull out some letters for words to turn into bracelets.




Pulled out a bit of this and that and put together two of them .... Peace & Imagine. I'll create the other two tomorrow.

(( Saw a couple clips of the last Beatle concert on the top of their building in London (I think). Sure wish they'd show the whole concert).

A Play Day & A Variety of Pendants

Although it's a holiday, Beau still went to the Nature Center and I decided that I was going to spend the day just playing with my stuff ... versus housework or any of the other stuff that in need of doing.

Using 5 different sheets of my painted pages, and some more of the number wood tiles (just below 3/4" sqare), created a whole bunch of little pendants. I made a couple deviations from the set I created last week.

• Cut the paper down to appropriate size and glued to top using Elmers Glue.
• Painted on 2 coats of polyacrylic instead of the clear spray paint.
  

I like the Polyacrylic better. It gives a much better shine and acts as a secondary sealer to the paper.

I continue, each day, practicing soldering the glass pendants. And, if I don't say so myself, they are getting better. Today I branched out and cut some pieces of clear glass, put some of my papers between them and soldered. They are a bit thicker than I think I like ... I'll look for some picture frames at yard sale this weekend; they will have a thinner glass. Tomorrow I'm going to get out the dremel and a sanding barrell and smooth them up ... then re-evaluate.

It was a nice day. We ordered some Pizza for dinner and drank White Russian Daquiris in the hot tub ....

Little Mixed Media Pendants

I've been thinking about this for awhile and finally got around to it .... making little pendants with my painted papers.

1) Grabbed a handful of the little wood tiles. These are just under 3/4" square and are just like Scrabble Tiles, but with numbers. I don't recall what the game was they came out of.
2) Using my sanding block, lightly sanded the tile surfaces; just enough to rough up the surface.
3) Cut a section out of my 'painted papers'.




4) Cut 1" squares from the painted papers to create little paper tiles.
5) Applied my favorite adhesive, clear silicone caulk, to one side of the tile and put on the paper tiles, rubbing with an old credit card to make sure there were no air bubbles and let dry for about 15 minutes.
6) Cut along the edges with an exacto knife
7) Turned over and repeated on reverse side.


8) After thoroughly dry, took outside and sprayed both sides with clear laquer. I would have preferred to paint with polyacrylic, but, at this size, was not quite sure how to accomplish that without have drips and a general unsightly mess. (I'll have to think about this some more).
9) Pulled out my smallest eye hooks to screw into the tops. This was not too successful as they are quite thin and all but 3 split. I'll probably try this again, but next time I'll drill a small starting tool .. this should help with the splitting issue. For the rest, just drilled a small hole (for a jump ring).

Okay ... I like them. They are interesting, colorful and a great use for some of the painted papers I've made. I'm going to think about it for a couple days and perhaps try another variation and then make some up for general inventory.

Using 9 of them, made up a charm bracelet, with about 18 bead charms, to see how they work out. I'm going to put it on in the morning and wear it, at least, a few days, to see how they hold up; ensure the papers stay intact, etc. etc. etc.

Wine Glass Ornaments to Zipper Pulls

These are the wine glass ornaments I picked up at the yard sale on Saturday. When I saw them I thought that might be cool combined together onto a charm bracelet. Once I layed them out, however, realized they were different enough (2 different sets were in the baggie), that they didn't really belong together. Thought someone might like them as Zipper Pulls though.


So ... that's what I did.
 Fruit Salad Key Chain

Dozens & Dozens of Little Bead Charms

So, a couple days ago I was thinking about making some more charm bracelets and decided it would be a good idea to make up a variety of the bead sets in different colors and then I could lay them out with a variety of the found objects and just create to my hearts intent.

Well, I made a few beadsets and was having a pretty good time so I made some more, and then some more the next day and the next day. Today I had to force myself to a halt ... like how many do I really need anyway.

Besides, since I've been cutting some stained glass (a whole other story), I've been thinking about trying my hand at copper foil method for some little pendants to put on the bracelets. Beau & I even drove over to Slidell to Hobby Lobby so I could put up some foil and solder (in the pouring down rain, might I mention).

So, I just stopped and picked up the mess. Tomorrow, if all goes well since I promised to help with yardwork in the morning, and we need to work on Alex' room abit more, etc. etc. etc., I might start experimenting abit ... I'm having alot of thoughts ... hummm

I'm liking these Charm Bracelets

I haven't been playing with my stuff much. Lilly came to visit for a few days and there just isn't anything much more fun than spending time with her !

Sometimes, for me, things happen as a series of events. For example, I was cleaning out the closet in Alex' old room and came across a stained up shirt with great buttons. So, moved to the studio to remove the buttons before throwing out the shirt. But, they are great buttons, a nice brown and obvious that they would go well with the bead sets I put together a week back. So, pulled out the tools and some chain and made charm bracelets. Not like the closet, or its mess, is going anywhere.

Do you like them?

A Sad Disney bracelet to a Zippy Charm Pull

I picked up this little disney charm bracelet a few weeks ago. I discovered when I got it home that some of the links were loose and that's probably why it was sold (unless it just wasn't loved anymore). I originally thought that I'd fix the links, and a whole bunch of bead sets and make it an upgraded Disney charm bracelet. But, decided that some of the links just were not in good enough condition to support a new life. So, started seperating them ... and in the end, decided that just 12 link sets were good enough to work with ....






So, a zipper pull it is !!!

Being sidetracked produced 4 new Zipper Pulls

The other night I was digging through a container and came across a bag of the brass keychain initials. From recall, I've been having them a good 5 or 6 years but have never used them ... other than giving an 'A' to Alex for his keys. (He must not have liked it as it disappeared rather quickly). The were looking a a bit tarnished and stressed, so dropped them into the tumber that contains the metal cleaning compound and ran overnight. The next morning, took them out and, wa-la, nice and shiny again.

Later in the morning, stopped by Grans on my way to the gym and found this Yellow Necklace for $3.00. Decided it was a good buy as I don't have that many yellow beads and, it seems, to be a color I don't see that often ... either in stores or at yardsales.






The brass letters and the beads were laying together on the workbench and decided it was time to do something with them. Soooo ... pulled out the findings container and a few of the bead inventory drawers and started putting together beadsets. And then a few more and then some more ... got a bit carried away ... but was listening to Tour de France and chatting with Beau and they simple multiplied.


D Beaded Keychain
Fish Zipper Pull
Initial F Zipper Pull
Crystal Teardrop Key Chain


Put together 3 Pulls using the Brass Letters and then pulled made an additional Pull using the prism from the candlestick I picked up yesterday.

Not alot going on in the Studio ... still going through stuff

Finished the 3 New Zipper Pulls

Didn't take long to finish the third Zipper Pull ... and ... tada ... here they are. I'll be listing them in my shop later this week.

Dewey Duck Keychain
Large Teardrop Zipper Pull
Parrot Zipper Pull