Experiments... with polymer clay and silver solder

Another bird skull made with polymer clay and my new surface treatment. Just a few fast pictures because the skull and the ring were for a friend and just finished before she left again and... just in that moment my digi camera run out of energy. At least I got a few pictures ^^

I have to admit that I really like this simplified, maybe (if it wasn't for the surface) even comic-like shape. Due to the crackles and colours it rather gets a tribal look for me. I'll have to make more!

The only useable... at least you get an impression... picture from my first ever made silver ring! Okay, silver filled with copper.... but still! Hammered, soldered, oxidised with liver of sulphur... at the same time easier and more difficult than I thought but I learned a lot! One day it will all go together, the polymer clay, the metal etching, the soldering, the recycling, the fabric and of course all the beads!

And everything else I may find ^^

"Tribal dance " - Earrings for the bead hoarders blog hop

Lori invited some time ago to join in her "Bead Hoarders Blog Hop" to finally use your precious little gems. I took this chance to start with some of my first bought art beads (not counting my own ones as well as the single random ones from markets or gifts). For years I really had to calculate my money strictly. But now I have more to spend, to treat myself a little bit more. Still, I was hesitating buying expensive treasuries. 

The person breaking through this with her work was Kimberly Roger. I was following her work online for a long time until she had a facebook auction for orphan beads. I could not... not... join and finally seeing the beads in real life... let's say... just got me. Since then (we are also not talking about a long time period rather the opposite) I got more of her beads and of course started a growing collection of art beads from other artists. Kimberly makes lampwork beads as well as these great copper sticks with enamel, her so called Numisticks. She made some in an unusual form and I instantly wanted some to challenge myself! 

The earrings you see are made with these Numisticks. It took me some time to finally decide how to incorporate them into the design. The pieces are just laying over each open therefore they are open but with the copper wire going through the pieces as well as before and behind and being wrapped with additional wire at the sides they are able to move but not to get lost without using so much force that you would be able to destroy any kind of jewelery. 

Hoarder... is a hard word but... yes I have a hoard. Not in a negative sense but rather like a dragon hoarding all its treasuries. Knowing each and every one, gaining pleasure by looking at them, by touching them, by dreaming of all possible designs and simply just by having them.

Strange thing is: I never ever had troubles giving a finished piece a new home if my work was loved. Even though that the beads were gone. 

One thing which may be a reason being afraid of using the little precious parts is (at least for me) not the fear of not doing them justice (honestly? Just start over!) but rather that by defining the one design you are losing all the other dreamed of possibilities of creation. 

This also reflects my desire to create. I wear my own earrings nearly every day, just change for some old special pieces (precious metal as well as cheap stuff but with stories to tell) as well as newer ones that are handmade by other artists. Still, even though I love them, even though I enjoy wearing them and the idea of losing them is a horrific one, I am not looking at them as often as I am looking at my beads. The beads are the ones that have the untold stories and images in them. 

If you wonder why I am saying stories: There is a feeling in every bead and piece I create. Sometimes more, sometimes less... Due to this I also started naming my creations, trying to reflect a little bit what I felt about them. 

There is something special in bringing a story to life but this one story destroys all the other possible stories. This is not a bad thing because this one story is growing in its creation process and the end is so much more than I ever thought of. But the first step to grow is to decide and to let go. The worst thing is to never ever have any story at all. Dreaming is something that shows me how beautiful the world around me is, gets me out of my dark moments and is the driving force of my creativity. But dreams require to give them life. Not all dreams can be part of our reality but also they don't have to. 

I try to use every bead I have as well as any other material. No matter how precious to me (be it handmade, with a special story, the only one left...). By not using them they never ever get the chance to tell a story. In the end it is not about losing all untold possibilities but to never ever give them life at all.

There may be just one... small... problem...

Ehm.... 

The amount of beads. ^^

If you are still with me after this long rambling you earned yourself some of the real life pictures! The ones reassuring ourself that we are not alone in our chaotic ways! Here some of my beads that are on the living room table right now (I am moving with my stuff despite the fact that I have a crafting room but Rumpel and I prefer to be together in the same room and he is tolerating my chaos). This is the tray ongoing projects. The bird I made for the challenge last month over at Art Bead Scene but never finished my idea of a necklace.

Mostly my own polymer clay beads and other handmade components as well as some random item. All stuff I would like to use soon therefore they are in an extra tray next to me ^^

Some of the pieces: A turtle I made for a challenge, wings, butterflies, beads...

An old tile piece I got from a friend (she found it at the coast, it is absolutely smooth): I soldered it and added wire to use it as a center piece n an necklace. I already love it until now but it takes time to go on. I already remade some pieces several times. I will also redo the connection between the tile and the white polymer clay bead ^^

A view of my packed art beads. The box also has some foam pads to keep them safe and secure!

Finally I started soldering! HA! I already did this during our work internship in the 9th grade in school (for three weeks with a goldsmith) and last year I had a weekend course. But now I also have all the materials at home for small work. Actually I even soldered the loops of the "Tribal dance" earring of the ear wire!

This could have been part of the annual pink advent calendar I make for a dear friend but... didn't make it...

Some dangling earrings in process with beautiful lampwork beads made by Sue Reynolds. She also send me some beads with a tough (but gorgeous!) challenge. More about this later...

Last but not least some new polymer clay beads in progress... still a long way to go!

So... and finally that was it: Earrings made for the blog hop, some images of work-in-process as well as chaotic bead mixes ^^

And again: Have a look at all the other beautiful beads here :)

"Red riding hood" - Earings

Okay, you my say, why call the earrings red riding hood when they show... red tiny houses? Honestly? I don't know! Since I started naming my earrings I just went with my gut. If an idea, a word, an impression comes into my mind, I go with it. The creation process itself, from the bead to the jewelery, always goes together with an image in my head. This idea consists not only of shapes and colours but especially of moments and emotions. 

The idea of creating houses with polymer clay is not a new one. There are tons and tons of images if you start googling polymer clay house (you may add bead as a search tag). But every single one if different and special... and... I just wanted also to have some house beads! I went for a beautiful dark red and used paynes grey acrylic paint as contrast. It is not as hard as black even looking nearly black. Trust me, it makes a great difference! :) 

I combined them with clear facetted czech glass beads. They look like frozen water and are by far belonging to my favorite beads ever. I repeated the colours of the house with the black and dark red drop. Just darker... grey to black and cherry red to blood red. 

Even while house beads are playful and I named the earrings after a fairytale... the earrings itself have a more grown up and somehow sincere feeling to me. I am a little bit surprised by this but hey, I really like it too! :)

Even if the houses are not too big, the earrings itself are actually quite long. It seems that I am in love with long dangling earrings at the moment. Maybe because I was surprised how well really long earrings fit myself! 

One thing I really learned creating my own beads and earrings: There are shapes and colours fitting everyone. I even had the perfect fitting pair for a friend who was never ever wearing long earrings just studs. Her features (don't get the wrong idea, she looks great!) were really difficult for any hanging kind of earring. We tried and she even convinced me that only studs were working for her. Then she visited us over a weekend (really spontaneous, she texted me late in the night and arrived early the next morning... she lives at the other side of germany) and joined me at the fair I was selling at (company is so great to have!). She looked at all my earrings and finally had one in her hand she really liked and even knowing her "problem" she tried... and they fit perfectly! They just had an unusual shape (you can see them here). There are earrings for everyone :)

On my table... Blue wings - Polymer clay bead

I will try to show you more of my work in progress or what projects I currently am working on. There are so many that are taking a long time but I still think it may be interesting to show them to you. Also to prove that I am still creating a lot of things, that I am just not showing too much of them.... because they are not finished. 

I try to allow myself the time to work slowly, to get the right components, the right idea for the composition. Several months ago I set myself the aim to create more necklaces. I have so many images in my head but the way from there into reality is a long one. Especially because they are ever changing.

The wings are made with polymer clay (Fimo professional, I am not happy about it... I want my Fimo classic back!). They will be the focal point of a necklace... now I just have to arrange everything else and maybe create another bead for the center. We will see :)

Can you see the rather crusty textures? And the different layers of colour and metallic spots?

...maybe on the other wing ;)

And an idea about the size... 

The backside is just rough and in a blueish grey. Is it strange that I also really like how organic the surface appears and already thinking about how to incorporate this into new beads? :)

"Coke and candy" - Earrings

After the name for earrings came into my head... and I wrote it down... it somehow appeared to me that one could get the wrong impression! But then I thought that it may even fit better in regards to the time of art deco. Also have a look at the beautiful redhead, she is looking like she would enjoy every aspect of live even the darker sides.

I made the circles with tin from a candy box. Don't ask me where I got the box because I had it for at least 15 years or so. The inner parts were starting to rust therefore I took it apart. The flavor was cola (as you may already have guessed). So... the coke actually comes from coka cola and not the other stuff and candy from the simple fact that it was a candy box. 

Although... it could also be true for the redhead ;) Okay, it is late, maybe I should stop writing. 

But I really like the earrings, the images combined with the glass daggers. Now I just have to find more of these candy boxes! If you know where I may get them, please tell me.

A beaded little bird - made by Lachafa a long, long time ago!

You know this moment, when you unexpectedly find something you had for a long time while looking for something else? Something that just makes you smile? This was true for me with this beaded little bird. A colibri my sister made for me years ago... years... something between 8 and 10 years I think... I tend to ten. 

She made it with silver wire and seed beads. I have more beaded little things from her but I especially loved this bird! It was part of an advent calendar she made for me. 

The orange and white belly...

And sitting on my hand... :) I will have to find a new place for him, he should not be hidden in a dark box anymore.

"Hints of red" - Earrings

Okay, yes, I started also to use my own new beads. I love this drops with the hint of dark red going over to a pink colour with all these tiny wee crackles! Tiny...! If you start wondering about my sanity, I think Rumpel may agree. All the time I am running to him, waving some new beads in front of him and shout in a very excited manner: LOOK! SEE THE CRACKLES! THE BIG ONES! TINY ONES! AND... ORGANIC WEIRD BUBBLE HOLES! (imagine this scene going over and over again ^^)

He nods seriously and says: Yes, very beautiful.

Every single time.

I just love him :)

The balance of the earrings is a the lower part due to the drops. It draws the eyes to the crackled beads while the beautiful czech glass beads give a nice accent... without them it would not feel finished for me :)

Inspirations: Moments (Formentera, Spain)

Summer is long gone. But here is a moment we caught from formentera. Want to be back there...!

"Sylvan stories" - Earrings

Originally I planned to create these earrings for a challenge but I didn't manage to make them in time (or rather to take pictures in time ^^). 

I used real moos... and a lot of czech glass beads. The leave were part of Rebecca's Curiosity Kit. 

...and.... uhm... the rings were originally red and for sealing tubes from the hardware store. I just painted them with acrylic paint in black. 

I played around, just wrapping them with wire and glass seed beads... or hanging some drops and beads onto them.

...and more pictures! They are really organic in the truest sense of the word... and they probably won't last forever. But I love how they look and feel :)

Here one impression about the size with my universal comparison tool - my hand!

On my table...

On my table: Since I am not showing you all the stuff I am working on... don't get enough daylight anymore to take pictures... or just have too many work-in-progress pieces... that I decided to join 

I am making a lot of earrings at the moment. These little ones are always my bestseller on fairs. For me there are a great opportunity to test new treatments and colour combinations, pattern and structures... but they don't cost to much in term of material and time. Okay, for time it is only true if I make a lot at the same time... otherwise they will take long. But since this is also something I would also do to test and play, it is a win/win to also have something to sell. 

They are also the little dots of colour people like to take away from markets because they are not too expensive. My little sister Lachafa told me (and she is one not having a lot of money to spend at that time) that if she is going to a market or a fair she wants to buy something. Take something with her. She was right because I am like her. If I visit a fair I want to find and buy something beautiful even if it is just a great postcard! A small treat for myself... :)

I also played with techniques, new pattern, made some mold from vintage buttons (a friend visited me with her whole button treasure box!), new stamps, new powders I bought (from a nail art store by the way)...

While I love the text and the colour, I am not sure whether this butterfly pendants may be a little bit too big. I used a wooden base (scrapbooking area at the craft store ^^), glued some old paper on the backside and used polymer clay on the front. 

And while we are at crafting stuff... I also played with old book pages, stamp ink, crackle paint... I am using this for my boxes :)