Wednesday, February 22, 2012

I might be offline for a little bit ...

... 'cos I'm hitting the road and heading East! I am lucky enough to be taking a class (well two classes actually!) with the lovely Mr lo Bue. My tools are packed ...


Thank goodness I am not flying! I couldn't decide just what I might need so I packed everything. I will be taking part in a market whist I am away too. These are some of the goodies I will have on sale ...



So all that and the other stuff you need when you do a market is packed up too ...


it should be great fun - I can op-shop my way across the border! I will be attending the Grampians Texture event so if you are in the area drop by the market on Saturday evening and say Hi! Just gotta pack some clothes and wine and a couple of books and I will be all set.

Happy Trails!

Monday, February 20, 2012

Craftily Covered Buttons.

Do you remember those craftily covered buttons I showed you over here? Well here I have given some of them a second life in a neckpiece. They are reincarnated!





I added in some vintage shank style buttons for some extra colour and finished it off with warm brown wooden beads. I had to cover a button myself for this project and was reminded why I don't do that very often - it is a bit tedious really isn't it?!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Flea Market Finds

Most Australians are familiar with the Legacy organisation because at some point they have probably purchased a pin or a badge from volunteers who sell them on Legacy Day to raise money. Many of us are probably less clear about who and what Legacy is - we just know it is a good cause! Legacy is in fact an Australian welfare organisation that was established in 1923 by ex-servicemen. Their core business is to render aid to descendants of Australian veterans who have died or are incapacitated during their service. Legacy offers financial support, advocacy and assistance to these families and to the families of serving military personnel who lose their life as a result of their service. Today I found a couple of  Legacy pins that I think are rather powerful little symbols. I will be incorporating them into some jewellery.


I do believe the Universe is conspiring against me - truly I do! After some serious reflection and a moment of gay abandon I was prepared to quash my button buying ways. I was planning to be a reformed button glutton but the Universe intervened and kept on throwing luscious little bundles of buttons in my path this week and what can I say? I succumbed to the temptation. Again.








At least I have turned them into something wearable rather than just sorting them into little piles and gazing at them lovingly. Here is what some of them have become this afternoon ...



A mix of lovely vintage buttons and some not-so-vintage-but-still-pre-loved buttons!


My heart craves the multi-coloured necklaces but every now and then I try to make a more or less monochromatic one.

These beautiful muted tones have great vintage appeal I think.


Ah - the little red swallow - truly the most perfect button ever found by me!

'Tis luverly innit?


Delightful little stacks of button goodness.


This one includes a really big button that I decoupaged ages ago with some hand-stamped Japanese paper and some contemporary patterned wood buttons. I feel a little more justified with regard to my button-buying-ways now that I have actually created something with them and just had to share some of my button "rehab" with you. To see what all the cool kids are doing in the thrift stores this week, head over to Sophie's.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Nichos


According to Wikipedia "A nicho is an object of Latin American folk art. Nichos are made from mixed media and traditionally combine elements from Roman Catholicism, mestizo spirituality, and popular culture." The article goes on to say:
 " Nichos are made of objects that can be easily purchased or scavenged in the home or community. The media are characteristically humble for a religious object, especially compared to the typically ornate icons of the Catholic Church. The shadow box itself is easily converted from a cigar box or other mass-produced wooden container, but can also be constructed from any lightweight wood, recycled tin, or glass. The colorful designs on the box and borders are created not only with paint, but also with sequins, glitter, chain, thread or rope, paper mache, and any small bric-a-brac. Other ornaments within nichos include milagro charms, beads, stones, nails, and other manufactured and found objects."

I have long admired this folk art tradition for both its beauty (and often ohteetee kitschiness!) and also the mood of reflection and spirituality that they invoke. I have toyed with the idea of making shrines for quite sometime now and have collected a stack of things I put in a box marked "shriney stuff". Apparently, the time is not quite right for me to make my shrines but I have been playing around with some bits and pieces to create my own version of a nicho. Sort of. It is wearable and there isn't a saint present, but like a traditional nicho, it is made of some fairly common stuff , it is colourful and I have imbued it with a sense of spirituality by using a word that is close to my heart - "seek".


 The folk art flower that sits behind the frame has been cut from a tea tin.


 The heart is crafted from 2 pieces of reclaimed pewter.


I think it is evocative of a traditional nicho. Certainly that was my inspiration!



Last week I came across this little bag of vintage beads at a second-hand store - there are some lovely (albeit grubby!) jug beads in there and also those gorgeous red beads.


I reckon the red ones might be just right for this necklace. This is an idea that I can see growing and expanding but I must say I was very happy to have made something (at last) that resembled a shrine-like object!

Friday, February 17, 2012

On my bench ...

I have a really big mess ...





The payoff is a whole bunch of creations ...



Reclaimed lead free pewter, recycled sterling silver, brass and recycled plastic.

And that folks is about as close as I get to 'mass production' ! Now I need to clear the decks and get going on the next project ...

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Ellen's 21st Birthday Party!

Time to share some pics from Ellen's 21st birthday party - yay! It was a dress-up party and the theme was fairy-tales. We held it in a little country hall ...


We strung up lanterns and decked out the tables with homemade bunting ...


 and added mushroom forests and woodland critters as centrepieces ...



 We cleaned up all our favourite cups for afternoon tea ...


And made sure everything was ready for a fantastic party for a fantastic girl ...







 The guests all got into the spirit of things ...



 There were lots of fun games played ...


 Some were fiercley contested ...



We shared memories and reflected on just how lucky we are to have such an amazing family and truly wonderful friends ...


Of course there was cake ...


And most of all there was a celebration of a child who is now a fantastic young woman. Here she is with her lovely young man ...


I think he may have been the best present of all since he has come all the way from England to be with her ...


Cogratulations to Ellen and congratulations to all of us who raised her!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Colur ..

One day it is about texture and another day it is all about colour ...



 A recycled rainbow - ready to go ...


Reclaimed lead-free pewter, recycled plastic, reclaimed sterling silver, brass.



Reclaimed lead-free pewter, recycled plastic, reclaimed sterling silver, brass.


Reclaimed lead-free pewter, recycled plastic, reclaimed sterling silver, brass. recycled cotton t shirt.



You know all those containers without lids or lids without containers that accumulate in the cupboard? Have you ever wondered what happens to them? Well, it seems a goodly number of them end up in op-shops or worse, in landfills - eek! In this project I have reclaimed the humble lid to create some colourful jewels and am dead pleased with the way they look. The process and the variety of materials means that each one is different and they look really handmade - which they are of course but you know what I mean - they have little differences that give them that 'organic' approach. I am thinking of revving up my Etsy store again - maybe these should be the first thing I list? What do you think?

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Texture ...

I have a fairly low-tech approach to jewellery making - well actually just about any making really. I like the idea of being able to create stuff in a fairly domestic setting, say the kitchen table and with a minimum of specialist tools. Now don't get me wrong I love tools and y'know the right tool can make all the difference but I do like the adventure that comes with substituting 'proper' tools for what is at hand. What I wanted to achieve was some texture on metal. So, in the absence of a rolling mill (sigh) I grabbed a hammer and some assorted bits and pieces and set to.


I used a variety of materials including a linen tea towel (standing up at the back), some coiled wire, lace (over there on the right) and a hefty brass brush.


Sorry about the colours in the pic - the metal is in fact reclaimed pewter and is a lovely warm silver colour rather similar to unpolished sterling silver. Yummy patterns - yes? I was keen to use them and since the swirly wire was my fave I cut that up first. I opted for a kinda organic looking piece.


I cut out a nice oval shape from the swirls and an irregular-ish petal shape from the brushed piece. If I owned a hydraulic press, I would have domed the oval piece even more but alas I don't own such a creature so had to make do with carving the appropriate shape into a lump of wood and whacking the oval into it - not ideal but hey - it worked - more or less!


I patinaed the swirls and assembled the piece using brass rivets for contrast. This pic is probably a truer representation of the colour than my other photos.
Voila!




There you have it - my low-tech foray into the world of texturing metals - no machines, no chemicals - just a girl and her mallet!