Some new things

It's late and I should be sleeping. But instead I'm going through some photos. Took almost 100 pictures off of my camera tonight so I've been tagging and sorting. But here's a few that I wanted to share.



This first one are some inchies that I did for a swap on the BookArtz group. They are 1 inch square. I did 16 of each color & rec'd some wonderful returns. They were fun to do.

These are the the beginnings of the pile of returns that I sent back from the charm swap that I hosted. I wrapped up the packages before I stuffed them into envelopes. They've been received by the participants and everyone is enjoying their returns. It was another fun swap. I had started to make a second set, ended up using some for fill ins, and a few became earrings before I was even finished- I'll have to grab a photo of those too.....I liked those!

Copper and sapphire swarovski crystals for a swap on Adornmentz. The copper was treated to a heat patina then hammered around the edges for texture.

Oh, these are terrible photos. But they are on the other side of the country now so these pix will have to do. For the same swap- copper washers hammered, then married with indicolite swarovski crystals.

And lastly, for the same swap, hammered and heat treated copper together with emerald swarovski crystals. The theme was earrings using swarovski crystals in case it wasn't obvious. Although I don't use them very often, I did really like this design. I'm going to do some more with little gemmies. Iolite, garnet or moonstone- I've got some pretty little rondells of those 3 stones. And all three would be pretty with copper. Notice how there's a crystal on the ear wire too? It was a nice touch to bring the design together, however.....I think I should have given them a LOS dip. Next time.....it was an after thought. I should have the returns from this swap in the next week or so. Looking forward to it!

More pieces out of the tumbler and photographed.....but it's time to me to head off to dreamland.



Be happy!

BookArtz Charm Swap

I almost forgot to post the pic of these charms. We're doing a charm swap and here is a few of my offerings. I'm looking forward to adding some of the charms from this swap to my bracelet that I always wear.....you know the jingly one.





I cut the copper sheet, used my new dividers....straight lines can be a beautiful thing. Then I filed the edges and corners. Drilled holes. Tumbled them. Grabbed some pages from an old book (1920's) and started tearing & burning. The smell of vintage paper burning isn't pleasant. Then I used gel medium to adhere the paper. I scanned this before I added jump rings so that I could get a better scan. Then I added the jump rings & bagged them up. Twenty five of them. Well I made more, but 25 are for the swap.

My oldest had a look at them while I was working on them & said they looked like something from the movie National Treasure. Then I realized that I had made them right after we watched the movie. Sometimes it amazes me where inspiration comes from, when you aren't even paying attention or looking for it. That's the best kind!

Lots of other things going on around here. I do have some pieces that need to be properly photographed. I envy people who have the knack to hang a piece on a tree and have an awesome picture come out.....I still struggle with every photograph. Lighting is my main issue.....and I'm still working on it.

Scroll Charms

I really haven't been around too much on the "boards" or here. I've been working on things that aren't art related. But I did want to share some of these with you. They started out for a charm swap but I think I'll use them for some things that I've got upcoming. I did a few in silver also that I'll be making into earrings, but I think these will be a great addition to a charm bracelet. The green ones are made from hand painted paper & the other from a vintage dictionary. These are done with copper with a swirl at the bottom. See that lone swirl at the bottom? I do everything in stages. First the scrolls, then they are sealed. Then it's time to wrap the scrolls, and swirls to go on the bottom. There's a lot of wrapping/ twisting at the same time.....a lot of hammering at the same time.....and then wrapping & twisting. As the pieces are ready to be assembled- they go into a bag to keep the tarnish to a minimum until I'm ready to put them together......then I'll grab a handful to "age" them. Copper gets a lovely warmth to it after a few weeks of sitting out.

I really haven't been able to spend the time in here to make things, but here shortly I'm hoping to get in here to wrap up some things. But I will say that my idea journal is filling up.

Time to go get dinner ready.......if I could get the little ones to cook I'd have more creative time.......we're years away from that happening! Thanks for stopping by. Sometimes I'm amazed at how many people come by for a visit ;-)