The trouble with ear-rings is that one always has to make two of the blighters!  Do you think a line of ear-rings for solo-lobes might catch on? It kinda worked for Madonna in the 80's but I have a feeling it won't catch on now. So I will just have to keep making pairs! (sigh)

I used up some roller printed pewter that was left over from another piece for these. It kinda looks like snakeskin, but it is in fact, lace. It is hard to see in the pic but these are domed on both sides - creating a bead-like effect.

These sweeties also have a domed back. The discs are brass and the flowers are, once again, pewter I have reclaimed from utensils. Personally I think these are way nicer than a beer mug but that could just be the girl in me talkin'! I gave these ones lovely big, round hooks to hang from.I love that the sterling silver wire is 100% recycled - thank-you A&E Metals.

So this gives you an idea of how the back looks - it is a nice way to finish them off - they feel substantial without being too heavy. I am planning a few more "pretty" ear-rings so it is back to the bench for me. In the meantime I look forward to hearing from all those uni-lobed folks that I just know are out there eagerly waiting for someone to take up their cause and create those single ear-rings ...

Wild weather and earrings - a good combo...

We have had some very wild weather here in SA - crazy lightning and thunder storms - and rain - buckets and buckets of the stuff! There has been quite a bit of localised flooding - we are high and dry thank goodness and have escaped with very little damage - just some overflowing gutters and a few spot leaks. In this State we are just not that equipped for torrential rain so the drains were not coping at all and a number of shops in our local town sustained damage. No human injury though so I guess we should be thankful for that. With all that scary weather activity I holed up in the studio and have been playing with my torch again. I really enjoy the process of adding colour to metal so I made a few earrings today to pop onto my madeit site - it is a bit empty after the market action of the last week so I hope to add things over the next little while though I fear I may have missed the Christmas rush?!

This fiery red is my favourite enamel colour. I have used some little Greek ceramic beads as accents - this one is grey although the pic is a bit dodgy!

A nice pastel mint colour with lemon beads - great for Summer I think!

And purple of course because there simply isn't enough purple in the world - especially teamed up with RED! I also made a few other colours so there is a nice little range now.

Getting it on madeit.

I seem to have spent an absolute age getting things onto my madeit store today. It is a bit of a process but I am pleased to say I have added some lovely beady bits! Here is a sample ...

A beach inspired necklace full of lovely 'beachy' tones and below, something a little more colourful ...

I added some ear-rings but have more to go ...

 I fell in love with these Peruvian birds - so sweet!

I really like my quasi steampunk ones - not exactly hard-core steampunk but I am getting there! At least I acan have the satisfaction of saying that I used bits from a watch I pulled apart myself! I still have some bracelets and a couple of necklaces to go as well as a whole bunch of simple ear-rings but they will have to wait until tomorrow!

Rejuvenation.

Blogtoberfest (Day 14)

Today I thought I would share with you a makeover of sorts. I always seem to be banging on about stuff I have found in the oppie so I thought I should show you just how I utilise some of it. I don't just hoard my op-shop finds you know. Well actually I do hoard my op-shop finds - my cupboards runneth over with china cups and saucers for instance (I hardly feel that is a major flaw given how pretty they all are!). I do try to remake,recycle and renovate stuff I get from the thrift store and I thought I might share the rejuvenation process of one such find with you all. Step one in the process is of course head to an op shop (or 3) and find something that looks like it might be useful but is fairly unattractive in its current state! (makes it more of a challenge!)

This piece fits the bill - it is a stand (always handy!), easy to pull apart and really, you have to admit that it is a bit on the UGLY side! It was also pretty grubby and despite it having a $2 pricetag, the op-shop lady insisted it was only worth 50 cents - seems she was glad to be rid of it!

Step two is a really simple pig-removal-maneuver - I used a bread and butter knife to pry out the little nails holding the back on. Note to self - don't toss out the offending backplate yet - makes a handy template for new backpiece!

Next up - a light sand to get rid of loose bits and create a 'key' for the new paint to stick to.

 Some new white paint ...

 

 And a little sanding back for a 'distressed' look ...

I created a new backplate from some music paper and a scrap of black cardboard - just a quick trace around the old one for a template, a little UHU glue and we are sorted!

Now for my favourite tool of all time - yep, the ubiquitous HOT GLUE GUN! I love this baby so I just had to show you a pic!

Final step - hot-glue the new back on and -  voila!

  Strange little pig stand is now a rather stylish ear-ring display!

I think larger, swankier ear-rings will look great on this but these were at hand and I am sure you get the idea! I know I will use it and really, I like to think I did someone a favour by removing it from the oppie and thus removing the temptation to actually put it in their kitchen where it would just be a dust collector!

Oh and I just wanted to ask if anyone else is having some issues with Bloggers photo uploading syatem - seems to be a bit temperamental at the moment?

Hang it all!

Last week a friend was wearing a lovely pair of ear-rings that she bought in Tassie. I was fascinated by the hanging mechansm as it was a single piece of wire and had a secure closure as well as a great shape. Naturally, I had to have a go at making a similar one. It took a few goes to get it right - glad I didn't launch into the sterling wire straight away - and I am pleased with the result. I have quite a few applications for this style of hanger burbling away in my brain now! Sadly the pics don't really demonstrate the lovely curve of these ear-rings - you get a better idea of the shape from the last photo.

The discs are some I cut ages ago from a brass planter and were close at hand!

I love that the back closes securely. I will probably make some kind of jig to form these in the future, for the sake of uniformity. Despite this pair being a little odd, I am really happy with the way they turned out.