Works in Progress Owls & More

I made several more wire pieces that will become either pendants or brooches. 

Click on the photos for a closer look.

I will add a pin back to this little guy. I made the wire owl first then pressed it onto a textured polymer clay sheet that I highlighted with PearlEx powders. I used an Exacto knife to trim off the excess clay. After curing I usually seal PearlEx pieces with liquid Kato but this time I used Future. 

This one is fairly big, it measures 2 1/2"x 3 1/2" across.  This was made in two sections which I secured together with glue and wire. My muse and I are still trying to decide how to finish the necklace.... maybe with copper chain, cords or  beads or a combination of materials.  

This is just a funky doodad, not sure how I will use it. I am tempted to try and sell some of my wire doodads as decorations for hats, purses, belts hair clips etc.  

The vintage 40's plastic button was the inspiration for this one, it is a pretty peach that goes well with the orange beads and amber wire. I used light amethyst wire for contrast. I used 28 gauge wire over 18 gauge wire, it has a tighter weave than the ones I made with 26 gauge wire..... I like the look so I ordered more 28 gauge wire from Parawire.  I am such an impulse buyer, I can't resist shiny objects so I had to have every color.

This one is made with brown wire, yellow glass square beads and a couple butterscotch buttons from the 40's.  It will be a brooch as soon as I figure out how to attach the pinback. 

I will be doing turkey day things the next few days,  if I don't have time to post again before thursday I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving 

Antique Jewelry

Fritz watching tv. I have a small tv in my office, it sits on a little foot stool that is about 8" off the floor. It's the perfect height for Fritz to watch his favorite shows.  He likes animal shows, Big Cat Diary is his favorite and anything with domestic cats or dogs. Does your cat watch tv? My other cat, Corny, could care less, she'd rather go outside and hunt little critters, she killed another bunny. 

Click on the photos for a closer look.

 Here is some of the antique jewelry I found while clearing out the basement.  This first photo is single cufflinks that I've acquired over the years. Most were in old button boxes or tins. I've always thought I would find a use for them. Maybe I can figure out a way to use them with polymer clay. Any suggestions?

 Antique pins. The cameo can be worn as a pin or pendant.

 Mostly pins/brooches and a couple lockets.

 A couple tortoise shell brooches, tie clasps, hairwork watch chain & fob, bars pins and rings.

 Another watch chain and fob, slide chain, brooches, stick pins, earrings, and cuff links

 Cuff links,watch fobs, cameo pendant, cameo bracelet and a couple brooches.

 Lots of odds and ends. Mostly small bar pins, some mother of pearls pin, a heart locket and another watch fob.  I still have to sort the sterling and crystal pieces and take photos. I knew there was jewelry down there.... just not that much.

Yesterday I found more buttons. They need to be sorted and then listed on Etsy. I have a gazillon old books, I've been sorting them too. Most will go to the auction but I'm keeping some to list on Etsy.  And I have lots of advertising cook booklets. They have such fun illustrations and the recipes are good too... does anyone cook from scratch anymore? I do, but I'm old and have lots of time on my hands.

Now I am going to go take photos of buttons and books so I can list them in my antique shop on Etsy. My antique shop on Etsy is Swan Song Antiques . I'll let you know what else I find.

Polymer Clay Steampunkery

My version of Steampunk. 

Click on the photos for a closer look.

I made a Skinner blend sheet in soft pearly colors, stamped with one of my favorite texture sheets, added a little PearlEx and then decorated with watch parts and wire. I'm not to fond of the coiled wire on the second one, I may take it off and try something else. 

 This one is my favorite, I haven't decided if its a bug or an alien.

 And this of course is an mirror image elephant.  his trunk was inspired by creatures in CF's book. I added some vintage chain, watch gears and Swarovski rhinestones.  He is quite a handsome fellow.

 I liked doing these. I have ideas for more. 

More Polymer Clay Brooches & Necklaces

Yes, more brooches. I am determined to put pinbacks on ALL the brooches in the "to do" boxes before I make anything new. The jelly belly kitty pin is one of the first things I made over 3 years ago and the poor thing has been sitting in the "to do" box patiently waiting for a pinback, now she has one... she is a happy kitty, I can hear her purring.That poor turtle has been sitting around for a while too... not as long as kitty... but over a year.
I like the 3-D flower pins in this photo. I like the others too, they are made with alcohol inks on gold and silver leaf then sealed with liquid Kato.
And I finished a couple necklaces too!! I used copper wire, faceted crystal beads and copper bead caps to make the links.
And last but not least a Mica Shift pendant. I'm a big fan of copper so once again I made the links with glass pearls & lacy bead caps, glass cathedral beads, copper wire and chain. The back of the pendant is pretty too... I forgot to take a photo... I'm old, I forget things, okay?

Procrastination

I have a limited attention span. I'm always in a hurry to finish what I'm working on so I can move on to the next project. So much to learn and so little time. As a result I have boxes of unfinished pieces. Most of these are almost finished, all I have to do is glue on a pinback or a bail and add a chain or cord. And this is just a drop in the bucket, I have lots more. You should see the boxes of stuff that needs to be sanded, pretty pathetic huh?

Now tell the truth, I'm not the only procrastinator am I? It's a mental disease, like hoarding... come to think of it I'm a bit of a hoarder too.... although I prefer to think of myself as frugal and environmentally aware. You can imagine my delight when I took up polymer clay and actually found a use for all those mesh vegetable bags and quilted trays from candy boxes.

But I digress, my latest interest is beading cabochons. I bought gobs of beads, thread, backing, a book and various misc. supplies so then I needed more cabs to bead. I hauled out all my boxes of unfinished things.... as you can see... and I found quite a few goodies that need beading. Once they are beaded I can toss them into a box and move on to something new.

Click on the photos for a closer look.