More painting, yay!

While I'm not that great at making jewelry, I still like to try on occasion. "But the title of this post is about painting. What," you ask, "has that with making jewelry?,"


At Michael's (arts and crafts chain store), they have some great finds. Among them were these black plastic pendants with birds and flowers on them, in a set of four. You could hardly make out the birds when they were black, but the design of them is fabulous even if the color sucked, so I thought it would be fun to try painting them. As I had enough to make 2 pairs of earrings, I tried two vastly different styles.

I can't take credit for this idea - a friend did it first, though not in multiple colors as I used.

Here, I dry-brushed gold and a dull, dusty brown over the black. It made the earrings turn out looking antiqued.



Here, I went a bit wild with color. The design is of a bird in a tree, with branches, leaves, and flowers, so I painted the branches brown and the leaves green, the flowers red on one side and purple on the other. For the bird, as far as I know peacocks don't hang out in trees, but I painted them to look like peacocks anyway since the shape of the birds themselves made me think of peacocks. I used blue, green, and gold for that. I really love how they turned out!


I'm posting the painting I did of the shrimp boat again, because I touched it up - mostly by thinning out the "wires" and outlining the white rigging bits of the boat. I think it is just what was needed for me to be happy with it.


This is a painting I just completed, of a Nawlins French Quarter balcony during Mardi Gras. This took quite a while to do, what with all the fine detail and all. Like my other Louisiana-inspired paintings, this one is 8x10".


Both of these paintings are Christmas gifts. I still have one more to do. I hope the recipients love them!

Jewelry at its worst

Oops! 2008 is almost gone, and I have a few things I've made that I've not posted. Mostly in the form of jewelry, which I am posting now, but I have a couple of paintings as well, which I will post later, when I get around to taking pictures of them.

Honestly, jewelry-making is one of those hobbies I wish I could indulge in more frequently, but just cannot afford to (without giving up pretty much all of my other hobbies). Plus, for those of you who make jewelry on a regular basis, how do you decide to buy your supplies? Namely beads and stuff. Do you just buy stuff you like, or wait until you have an idea? Also, are there any websites you frequent?

Anyway, so the main point of all this being that I do not make elaborate jewelry. I am aware of this, and most of what I have made is nothing special.

First, we have two pairs of earrings I made for my Secret Santa partner. We are doing several small gifts, then a big gift. These were two small gifts. The shells are just beads put on earring hooks, and the leopard print was a set of pendants that I simply put on hooks. So, nothing complex, but I think they are cute.



Next, I made these seahorses from beads that came out of the same pack of beads as the shells. I loved these little seahorses, and really, so much could have been done with this pack of beads (in fact, I have some left over and hopefully later can try something more elborate), but really I didn't think it NEEDED that much as the beads were so cute.


This pendant is a gift. I couldn't resist, as the person who is going to receive it for Christmas has the last name of Lucky.


I made these peacock feather earrings earlier in the year, but they are probably still my favorite pair of earrings right now. I saw the idea for these on some website; they were $99, which I could not afford no matter how well I liked them. But they were so simple, I figured they'd be easy to recreate, and they were. They were hard to photograph; when being worn, they do not look raggedy as they do in the picture. Additionally, I love the closures I used for these - I don't have to worry about losing an earring or an earring back.


I love these little jewelry-sized bottles. I wanted to use the green sand for something, and I thought this was perfect. Then I found the little green shell beads, and voila! I think the necklace turned out really cute.

Graduation Earrings!

Here are my special order earrings, designed by Susan of Sulu-designs. Aren't they gorgeous and just perfect for the dress?!


She ships for free, too, just in case you wander over there and see something you must have! ;-)

Edited to add: Photo taken by her, not me. She is a fantastic photographer, I'm not! haha.

Fused Glass

Remember the class I took last summer in fusing glass? I didn't think so. Haha. Anyway, it was such fun, and I've wanted to do it again since. I finally got my hands on a microwave kiln (sooo neat!), so now I can make more jewelry! But, I know I need other things for fused glass jewelry making... the things I am aware of needing are: glass cutters and pliers, a drill with a teeny-tiny bit, and a grinder. And, of course, the glass. Anything else I need? Anyone know how much this stuff is going to cost me? I know the drill and the grinder are going to be expensive, and I have no idea when I'll be able to get one unless you know of a great deal somewhere! :-)

By the way, if you're interested in one of these microwave kilns, I found them here.

I'm almost to the sleeve shaping on Rapunzel. A very long car trip will do that for ya.

Finals and graduation soon. Yikes! I'll probably be scarce for awhile.

New Use for Buttons!

I don't make jewelry often, mainly due to a lack of supplies and time (since I focus more on other areas of crafting), but I thought of a pair of earrings that sounded really cute, and decided to try it out. I like the result! The earrings are not quite as "dangly" as I'd like since - don't tell anyone - I used picture hanging wire as I didn't have anything else to work with, but overall, I'm very happy with them, and can only imagine they will get better when I get more supplies! Ghetto, right? Haha. Well, as Tim Gunn would say, "Make it work." So I did. :-D




I think I may have found a use for all those random buttons I have! :-D

And thank you all for the comments on Gatsby Girl!

Oh, and I wore the LG wrap sweater today since it was chilly, but not cold enough for GG. It was so nice! I really love this sweater. I recommend it to anyone! I plan to take pictures wearing it completely finished, but I'm linking it as an FO for now, anyway. It doesn't look THAT different than the last picture.

Just Keep Swimming

That Finding Nemo tune is in your head now, isn't it? You're welcome. Who doesn't love it?

The title is in honor of this:



How cute!! I love the packaging. Pretty packaging makes everything better, even the things you didn't think could be any more awesome, like what's inside this one. Opening presents is such fun! Waiting inside were these:



My Sulu Design goldfish earrings! When I first saw these, I knew I had to have a pair. They weren't left on the cardboard for long. Almost immediately I tried them on.



And loved them so much I couldn't take them off. They are fabulous! I've gotten so many compliments on them today, too.

Go, check out her Etsy Shop! Just don't buy any of the stuff I want. Haha. No, go ahead, otherwise you couldn't buy anything. All of her creations are really beautiful. I definitely see more Sulu Designs in my future!

Larkin from Pattern Review, if you read this, I can't pm on that site... I don't have a paid account yet. You can email me at cnp71201 at hotmail dot com. I left this message on a forum at the website, but who knows if you'll read it there, so I thought I'd leave it here too, in case you dropped by again. :-)

More Fused Glass Jewelry

Hopefully not the last! But here is everything I've made since the last post about the jewelry. Sorry the photos suck... I haven't figured out how to photograph fused glass yet. If you have the flash on, the glass reflects, of course. If you have the light off, you get blurry pictures.
















Lots of earrings, a couple of pendants (the purple/white were supposed to be earrings, but I decided they'd be too heavy, so now they are pendants), a fish, and a turtle! YAY! This was really fun, and I would love to continue!

Burda Blouse and a Belt Buckle

I never posted anything about working on this blouse from the Burda May '06 issue, mainly because I wasn't sure I'd ever finish it. When Burda says something is "easy to sew," that obviously means easy for experienced sewers to sew! I had a very hard time with it and eventually ended up diverting from the "instructions" and just BSing it. The sleeves are really too tight, and of course, the bust area is too small, so I HAVE to wear a cami underneath. Still, I think it's pretty good for my first try at a blouse, and my second piece of clothing. I hand-sewed snaps on, and I didn't do a great job of it, so I may go back and try to learn how to sew a snap with my machine. I thought about doing buttons, but I didn't have any I liked for this blouse lying around, and I'm a little nervous about trying buttonholes. I'm sure I'll do it eventually, though... just maybe not for this blouse. I will probably make this top again, and I know I want to make the version of it with the long sleeves, too. I really like it! I also made a belt to go along with it, inspired by a review of the blouse from the Sewing Pattern Review website... but I think I like it better without.

Please excuse the mess in the background, since I've been too busy to clean! Actually, I already did clean when I looked at the pictures and realized what a mess that bed looks, but I didn't feel like going back and re-doing the pictures. I'd say it's not normally a mess, but I'd be lying.





Here is the belt buckle I made for mom. It's fused glass, and I thought it turned out so beautifully. So did everyone else! The colors are not due to the light; they are really like that... part blue, purple... part yellow. It looks like the light is reflecting it, but it looks those colors no matter the angle.



Here is a pin for my grandma. It is made of stacks of glass, fused together, and then cut. What a neat technique!


That's all for now. Time to go work on my PCR project!

Mainly Jewelry Post - Faux Pearl Necklace!

Alas, no, Rambling Rose is not yet finished, although it is very near completion.

Last night, I did make a necklace of which I am quite proud, and so I decided not to wait until I'd finished something else to post pictures of it.

As most who know me well are already aware, I love pearls. This is made of faux pearls and one of those really long chains you can buy and cut to size. I used a cute little heart-shaped toggle for the closure. Here are two pictures, one taken with flash, and one without.

Pearl Cascade:





I really love it... but I don't know what anyone else thinks. I was thinking of maybe making a couple more and trying to sell them... but I don't know. Anyway, I am happy with mine!

I thought I'd have more fused glass jewelry to show today, but instead of drilling my pieces, I spent the whole time making more stuff, since it was the last time we'd actually have to make anything, I figured I could spend the last day drilling. So at the end of next week, I'll be posting lots more fused glass pictures!

Inside my jewelry chest

Once upon a time, a girl searched and searched to find the perfect jewelry chest. She could never find one she liked, and though many would have said any box would be better than the Ziploc bags in which she stored her jewelry, she refused to lower her standards. Finally, she did find a box she loved, and the search was over.


Now that she finally has that box, she has quickly filled it with beautiful jewelry she adores.


Now she is eager to show you some special treasures stored inside!
If you look very closely below, you can spot the pieces:


Here's an even closer look:


It's some of the fused glass jewelry I've been making!
Here is each piece up close. The flash and the glass don't get along well, so please excuse the blurry pictures!
This is a pendant I made for my mom:


My first pair of earrings. I call them Mardi Gras Rocks:


Another pair of earrings. I call them Pinkies:


My favorite pair so far, and the hardest to photograph. They don't have a name yet. What should I call them?


There will be lots more. It is so fun, and we can make as many small pieces as we want and have time for. That means lots more earrings (most of them as gifts)! Please excuse any typos... it is past my bedtime!

Almost done with the sleeves on Rose. CANNOT wait to have this one finished!!

Because picture > words

Here are the earrings I made yesterday. The pictures are not very good. Please excuse the wet hair and so-called "elf ears." I have been picked on about that quite a bit, but I never thought they were that pointy... although it's cool to be an elf now, right?




Also, here is a picture of Grandma wearing the scarf I made her last year. She loves it. There is a matching hat, but she didn't have it on that day.



And finally, just because I love shoes, and this pair in particular:



By the way, sewing with premade bias tape = easy. Sewing with bias tape you had to make yourself... that is uneven... annoyingly difficult!

The other day, I went to Hobby Lobby, and while I was there, decided to pick up a cable needle, since I'd lost mine. I looked around the knitting dept, and there weren't any. I decided to ask someone about them, so I asked one lady and she directed me to another lady, saying "That's her department - she knows all about that stuff." So I ask the other lady about a cable needle. She's never even heard of a cable needle, she says. "I've heard of a cable, and I have heard of needles, but never a cable needle." I couldn't believe it. I later bought a set from Michael's. I really hate when people who don't know a craft are expected to help customers. I imagine it is frustrating for all parties involved. I just wasn't prepared for there to be not even one person at Hobby Lobby who knew what a cable needle was. I wish there was an actual yarn store nearby!

Whoops, this is supposed to be a knitting blog!

Why are the sleeves on Rambling Rose taking soooo long to knit? Probably because I am so ready to have this project completed, and I just haven't felt like working on it much lately. I haven't even finished the ribbing yet! I have never worked so long on one project... normally I switch back and forth to keep from getting bored and/or tired of anything. Don't worry, I'll finish. After seeing someone from the KAL finish hers in nearly the exact color as mine, and seeing how fantastic it looks on her, I am even more impatient to have this sweater! I normally knit just because I love to knit, and to learn all of the neat stitches and techniques, and RR did start out that way... but I'm just ready to be done with it now. I hate 1x1 rib!

Yesterday, at Michael's, I picked up a jewelry-making kit and a little set of jewelry pliers to make a couple of pairs of earrings. I did that today, and it was a lot of fun. It was very quick, too! I'll probably be doing more jewelry in the future; actually I know I will, because I have been doing a fused glass jewelry-making class that is so much fun! I don't know whether I'll ever afford a kiln, but I would love to keep doing that after the class is over. It only lasts a month. Right now, I have made a few pairs of earrings for various people (including myself!), and a pendant for my mom, who does not have her ears pierced. There is another really neat project we are going to work on, but I'll have to wait to post about it until it's finished. I can't really explain it well without a picture. Tomorrow, I'll post some pictures of the earrings I made from the kit today, and maybe on Thursday I'll post some of the things I've been making in the class, assuming any of them are finished. The class only meets every Thursday, so things go quite slowly. Another fun thing about making jewelry is that Christmas presents and birthdays will be pretty simple for the ladies!

I'm sewing a bag for my roommate, and it's turning out very nicely, too. I am finally getting straight lines on my machine! She is leaving on Thursday or Friday, so I will have to finish it by then, and I will post a photo of it here, too. At first I thought the brown fabric and the tan/dark blue/burgundy plaid lining was a lil boring, and it is still not my style (I prefer bright colors and usually avoid browns and black), but now I really love the combination of the lining and the outside fabric. It's cute and stylish, and I think it is going to be a great bag. I actually like this pattern for a knitting bag. I plan on finding some fabric I really like, and adding lots of pockets.

Oh, and to top it off, I got one of those Boye interchangeable sets for so cheap! I was super-excited, because I never thought I'd own one of those. They are normally so darned expensive... well, they are actually a good deal even at regular price, considering that you get all those needles, but $70 to spend on something like that doesn't come my way often. I really want the Knitpicks' ones, but the Boye was right there, very inexpensive, and beggars can't be choosers, right? I love it! I have to admit, I think the brown case is very ugly... but that's easy to remedy. I can "slipcover" it, and I think I will. Boye are the needles I'm used to working with anyway; I have two or three sets of bamboo needles, one Addi Turbo circular, and a Susan Bates circular, but all my others are aluminum, and I really like using them. They are the only things easy to come by around here, and even then not all sizes are available. I don't have to worry about that now! YAY! So now all I really need is to expand my collection of dpns (I hardly have any), and I'll be pretty well set for needles. Dpns are going to be harder to find, especially as I would like to get either bamboo or at least plastic sets. I can just see metal dpns slipping out all over the place! Yikes!

Oh, and another note. I taught my 7 yr old nephew Joey how to knit, and it was so cute! He actually picked up on it pretty well, although he was soon bored with it.

Finally, check out New Orleans Paintings by Angel Turner Dyke. I am in love with this one:



When I spellchecked, the dictionary did not recognize the word "blog." That's funny!