In December 2010 I repaired a jewelry box for my Mom.
I glued sections back together, cleaned the hardware and reinstalled, cut new mirrors, and lined the jewelry box with new purple velvet.
I regret not taking more in progress pictures of this one, but at the time I was not blogging and just need the photo record, not a detailed analysis.
Going back to a pumpkin contest in 2016, here is my hand crafted pumpkin cover of Mama Bear of the Berenstain bears.
It probably really isn’t in the spirit of pumpkin carving, but at the time we lived in such a humid environment that pumpkins started rotting on day 1. The library would host an uncarved pumpkin contest (paint and glued decorations only) to avoid the rot. I rather like the crocheted cover, it is reusable.
Happy Halloween.
This is another favorite jewelry project I made back in January 2010. I used silver clay, some with cubic zirconia inclusions, to make unique beads, created custom wire elements, small chain link florets, and built links with end caps and beads.
This necklace did not do as well in the Fire Mountain Gems contest, which disappointed me because I thought this one displayed more technical skill. In hindsight, that is probably why it didn’t do well, it isn’t something easily duplicated, so wouldn’t advertise their products to the best advantage.
Live and learn.
In April of 2009 I made one of my favorite metal clay jewelry sets. Metal clay is fine particles of silver suspended in a medium to make it workable like clay. It is then fired in a kiln to burn off the organics leaving nearly pure silver in the slightly smaller shaped form, all without forging or soldering.
The metal clay does give options for designs that are difficult to achieve with traditional gold smithing tools, but requires its own set of specialty tools like the kiln.
Back in February of 2009 I was doing glass fusing in a small Paragon kiln. I was experimenting with fusible glass paint, which is applied with a bottle fitted with a thin steel tube. Colored ground glass is suspended in a liquid medium and placed on the glass, rather than painted with a brush. It is an interesting technique and one that requires a steady hand, a pin to clear the nozzles, and a wipe to clear up the mistakes. I like that these pieces reflect my preference for the Art Nouveau style. After I fused the paint to the clear glass in the kiln, I mounted the glass on acrylic photo frames. (I don’t know why I went this direction, it seems counterintuitive to glue glass to plastic rather than just use a frame. I’m sure there was a reason.)
Critters and Craft 