Remember those Trays?

Here is what I made ...

Little Miss, EPNS, printed tin, brass, 7x4cms (brooch)

And here is how I made her ...

Firstly, I drew up a design, cut it out and stuck it onto a piece of deconstructed tray.

Then I whipped out the trusty jewellers saw and carefully cut out around my pattern. How do you like my "action" shot?

And here she is - basically done - a bit more sawing required, followed by a lot of filing and polishing but at this point I can tell I am gonna like her ... It took me a fair amount of fussing about to get the dress pattern just right. Also, given the size of my scrap tin collection I was a bit surprised it took me as long as it did to find a suitable piece. I tried tartan, I tried a retro pattern, I tried a lacey pattern. In the end I realised that it was actually a matter of scale. The size of the pattern on the tin needed to suit the size of the brooch! Duh! 

The silhouette of the figure was based on an illustration from this book ...

This gem, printed in 1961 promises to demonstrate "quick easy professional ways to simplify home sewing" . It includes handy tips such as "Style details with braid" and has a whole chapter devoted to "Accessories and wardrobe planning" which begins: 

"Making an attractive costume is only one part of being smartly dressed. Accessories - suitable belt, butttons, trimmings, a becoming hat, correct handbag and shoes, attractive jewellery - also contribute to the smart fashionable look of an ensemble"

Do you suppose Birkenstocks count as "correct" shoes? It is a great book full of wonderful illustrations and I used one from the "Sewing for children" section as the basis for my brooch. In the foreword, the editor says that the books primary objective is "...to encourage women to sew, and experience the rewards of this creative hobby." Well it didn't make me want to break out the sewing machine, but I suspect the editor would be pleased to know that all these years later the book has inspired another creative pursuit. Don't you?

On my workbench today ...

The Butterfly Project continues! I am still making a series of butterflies from stuff that gets thrown away - mostly food packaging. I have used beverage cans, plastic containers and takeaway coffee cups to list a few materials. Did you know that in Australia we use about 1 billion takeaway coffee cups each year? And that many of them are coated with polyethylene which renders them difficult (pretty well impossible actually) to recycle? I didn't know that before I started  research for this project. Our consumptive ways have a big impact and sometimes it does my head in thinking about that!

These are made from aluminium food and beverage cans - which are immensely and infinitely recyclable but grubby to manufacture. The good news is that when you do recycle a can, you save enough energy to run a 100 watt light bulb for 20 hours, a computer for 3 hours, and a TV for 2 hours.

That centre on has been made from a compact disc. They are made from some curious stuff - queer arse plastic and what not. Technically they can be recycled but it is a very costly exercise so many of them end up in landfill - or more happily as raw materials for my art!

What are you creating today? To see what other people are making in their creative spaces, head over here

First pieces for 2011

So I have gotten the New Year off to a flying start! Could be that I know I am going to be away from my workspace for a week ... whatever the motivation, I have made 2 new pieces of jewellery on the very first day of the year.

This piece I have decided to keep for ME! I can't seem to get a decent photo of it though so you will just have to imagine that when I put it on I go from regular scraggy-Sue neck to giselle-like Uma Thurman neck. At least that is how it makes me feel when I wear it which is what really counts huh?!

It is made from a pewter tankard, a brass planter and sterling silver.

I polished the pewter and the brass using emery paper then my trusty Dremel and then 2 grades of steel-wool. In real life this accentuates the contrast between the pewter and the brass.

I cut a weeny disc out of some pewter and stamped it with date and name so that it would be a bit commemorative. The second piece I made is completely different - it has a gorgeous vintage feel.

I made the central component by sandwiching a piece of lace doiley between a glass pebble and a piece of copper. The key is an old one I found in my father-in-laws workshop.

Other bits include some stacked mother-of-pearl buttons, a large crystal and some chandelier crystals. Oh and some freshwater pearls for scrumminess. The chain is courtesy of a recent trip to Spotlight - yikes they had a lot of stuff on special and I couldn't resist. So that is me started for the year - can I keep it up I wonder? Probably not once the realities of family life, Uni and so forth sets in, so I shall bask in my productive warmth whilst I can!

Back in the saddle?

Well, after the heady excitement that was Blogtoberfest, November seems to have been a bit of a blogging drought for me. I could blame end-of-the-academic-year overload or preparation for some upcoming markets but I think I just didn't have anything interesting to say! Now, about these Markets - my daughters and I will be at the Goodwood Christmas Market this week-end (Nov 27th 9am - 3pm) so if you happen to be in Adelaide do stop in and say hello! Daughter #1 has made some super cute kawaii inspired hairpins and ear-ring along with some recycled journals. Daughter#2 has made some lovely candles in tea-cups, cards and paper-cuts. I have screen printed some grocery bags and of course made some jewellery. There seems to be a focus on ear-rings in our house just now  - here are a few I have made from recycled materials. I have come to realise that I have a definite, organic style!

Some recycled brass (from a tray) with pewter cut from  a beer tankard and sterling hooks.

Pretty simple but kinda fun - electrical wire and sterling silver.

 

Copper, brass and some horn discs with sterling hooks - just love bashing that copper about!

More bashed up copper but I didn't get to do the beating because these are cut from a pre-beaten bowl!

These are fine silver and some beach glass collected from the Yorke Penninsula.

Again some pewter cut from old beer tankards - this material is great to work with! I was going for an industrial tribal look - did I pull it off?

More pretty beach glass - I think these are really elegant.

More pewter - so good for ear-rings because it is lightweight - also easy to pattern and patina as you can see from these! I hope the market-goers like these as much as I do. Right now it is back to the Salt Mine to make some more stuff to tantalize all those Christmas shoppers!