Why hello there!

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It's been awhile! I think I have a year of stuff I haven't posted here, but I'll limit this round to jewelry:



Dangling Astronauts:


Extremely old-school craftgrrls might remember my first pair of astronaut earrings, which I posted here five or six years ago. (... Wow.) They were re-homed long ago, but I found these little guys in my bead box and made another pair for old time's sake. They still delight me. I like how they're feeling themselves up. Space is sexy! Sterling silver wire, hematite stars, silverplated chain, and ceramic astronauts on french hooks.

Clock Guts:


Have you ever disassembled a wristwatch? My suggestion: get someone else to do it. I was rummaging through my Sack Of Accumulated Clock Guts for another project, which you'll see a bit later on, and I came across these two matching Helbros faces, and the rest of the piece just fell into place. I like them because they're pretty subtle--people's eyes will register dangly sparkles, but they might have to look again before they realize how industrial they are. TOTALLY OFFICE APPROPRIATE. (No, really. Basically any jewelry made out of clock parts will make people squeal with delight, be they young, old, male, female, or something in between.) Clock faces, jump rings, and gears on leverbacks.

Happy Elephants:


These guys used to be trapped on a hideously ugly old necklace, so I decided to let them roam free on some cute hippie-ish earrings. (They're elephants. You can tell, right?) I can't get over their LITTLE FACES. They look like they just walked into their surprise birthday party. Just one party. They're twins, although one has a droopy eye like Thom Yorke and the other doesn't. Vintage wooden beads, carved elephants, and fishing line on french hooks.

Freshwater Pearls:


So I got these chandelier settings and they said "Hey, you should put freshwater pearls on us." I was all "Okay." Then they were like "Don't you have some little starfish somewhere?" and I was like "! YOU ARE SO SMART!" I like that these are the kind of earrings you'd get if you mugged a mermaid--I finished the pins the pearls are on with little spirals instead of using head pins to add to the effect. Pewter chandeliers, silver-colored copper wire, dyed red freshwater pearls, and natural black freshwater pearls on french hooks.

TARDISes:


This picture is TERRIBLE, because I took it pre-lightbox. The actual earrings are a little darker. I think I've made about ten shrinky-dink TARDISes now, because I was honing my technique--the ultimate specimens are made out of Frosted Ruff 'n' Ready shrinkies, with black and silver sharpie providing the outline on one side and colored pencils on the other. I've been sealing with Glossy Accents, because it's cheaper and easier to find than Diamond Glaze. I just LOVE THEM. They look like candies! Shrinky dinks, silver-plated chain, sterling silver wire, and glass beads on french hooks.


Rat Skull in Brass: (these pictures are also terrible and pre-lightbox--sorry, when I make another, I'll take better ones!)

My sister loves Victoriana and taxidermy. I am unemployed, and thus cannot afford big hunks of animal, so I was thinking I'd buy her a little finch skull or something from the Bone Room and make it into something wearable. BUT then, by a fabulous stroke of luck, I found a lovely woman who was selling fragmented rat skulls that she pulled out of owl pellets, and ordered six of them. The end result:




I LOVE these cracked-and-digested skulls--because I know that no rats died specifically to give me their bones, for one, but also because the distressing really adds this element of age to them that you can't get with fresh teaching-quality skulls. When I popped him on the cab backing by himself, however, he looked a little lonely, so I added some clock guts (the answer to everything!) and garnet chips and a tiny brass dragonfly, and he looked much more comfortable.



The whole thing is a Christmas miracle--I ordered the backing, acrylic cover, and skull from three different places, and they all fit together into a perfect little shadowbox. SO much prettier than I expected it to be. When my sister opened the box, she almost cried. ♥

My Bug:


This one isn't a major accomplishment, but to tarnish the copper charm so it looked better with the chain, I held it over a candle flame for awhile. I like the effect (he's got green, purple, red, and brown spots instead of the one-color patina you might get with a chemical treatment), so I thought I'd share.