Week 45: Gears Galore

It's steampunk o'clock again!  The more popular the style becomes, the more materials seem to show up at my local craft store.  I have to admit, the lure of antiqued metals and gears is too much for me to resist.  So in another great showing of my favorite crafting style (gluing things to other things), I decided to work with my considerable steampunk components stash this week.

Clock face, key, and gear pendant on leather.  I love these little flat keys from the scrapbooking section at Joanne's!  They look great and are super easy to attach to other components.

Clock face, gear, and cameo necklace.  I'm really feeling the clock-y goodness this week!

Altered key with clock face, hex nut, crystal, and weathered art-deco style "wings".

Another altered key, this time with gears, scroll work, and a neat little mirror!

Filigree pendant with gears and hex nut.  I created a blue patina on the base for the pendant  by using the ammonia and salt technique.

Altered key with keyhole, gear, and fan "wings".  The fans came from the clearance isle at Michael's, and I just knew they had to go on a key!

And back to clock faces!  Clock face with gears and washer on antiqued brass base.  The pendant is threaded on leather, and I added a few gears to keep it company.

Week 44: Au Naturale

This week I decided to try and work with more "natural" materials; stone, shell, pearls and the like.  In do very much enjoy working with all types of materials but I noticed recently that I had fallen into a "polished gemstones and metal" rut.  So I challenged myself to come out of it, and here are the results:

Earrings with shell and freshwater stick pearl dangles.  I've had the shell dangles forever, and I'm so glad I finally got a chance to use them!

Wire wrapped natural stone and fancy jasper arrowhead.  The base arrowhead was a gift from my aunt, the fancy  jasper one on top was purchased at Fire Mountain.

Copper wire wrapped driftwood necklace.  I'm really happy with how this turned out, and can't wait to start using more driftwood in my designs!

Lake stone wire wrapped in steel on leather, with hand-wrapped steel beads.  Making wire wrapped beads was super fun, and I'm sure I'll be incorporating more of those into my future designs.

Shell and freshwater pearl dangle earrings.  I love the iridescence of the black coin pearls! 

Matte-finished stone stick necklace, in rainbow of course!  I'm falling in love with matte finishes on stones; it really does make them feel more raw and natural.

Empty watch face turned into a pendant!  I filled it up with this cool box of old animal teeth I had (don't ask...) and some text from an old book.    Then I added some raw quartz point dangles.  I'm sorry for the picture quality; for some reason this bad boy was really difficult to photograph!

It was really nice to get back to working with elements that had a more natural feel.  All in all I feel like the natural elements give the designs a softer feel, which is nice.  Thanks for checking us out this week, and I'll catch you next time!

Week 43: Copper Bonanza!

Copper is pretty much my favorite metal to work with.  I really love the warmth of the color, and I love the way it acquires a patina over time.  Antiqued or natural, I'm a fan.  So I decided to indulge myself this week and use copper in all my designs.

Moss Quartz bead on copper paddle pin with spiral wire wrap.  That's a heckuva sentence. 

Multi tiered copper chain choker.

Embossed copper disc earrings.  I love my Big Kick!  Embossing metal is so much fun, and it's a great way to add texture to your designs.

Labradorite and garnet on antiqued copper eyepins and chain.  Simple, but  fun!

I found this cool copper disc at Michael's, and I knew it had to be a necklace for me!    So  I added some dusky purple crystal beads with segments of chain in between.  I have a feeling this is going to be one of those necklaces I wear the heck out of.

Copper plated aspen leaf earrings with fancy jasper accent beads.

And last but not least, this wire wrapped black agate donut pendant!  I used a piece of scrap metal that I had cut a disc out of as the base, then hammered it and punched holes for adding wire.  I like that you can see through the donut.

I know "copper" isn't all that much of a theme, or even a new theme (it was my first!) but the longer this project goes on I find that I'm more motivated by doing what makes me happy than trying to experiment every single week.  Still, I do hope to have at least a few new themes over the remaining weeks.  We'll see.  : )

Week 42: Chip Off the Ol' Block

It's no lie, I have a king's ransom in stone chips I've collected over the years.  A small country's king for sure, but a king nonetheless.  I don't really use them so much as I collect them, and I decided that it was time to put the collection to good use and actually make something.  Thus, here are seven stone chip jewelry designs!

Sodalite and quartz crystal necklace on leather.  I'm glad I finally found a use for those giant bead cones!

Wire cage (with ammonia and salt patina) filled with raw aquamarine chips.

Russian Amazonite and Amber wire wrapped square earrings

Tiger eye on turquoise leather teardrop earrings

Amethyst, peridot, citrine, and garnet chip bracelet.  Hurray for memory wire!

Chakra chip earrings.  Garnet, carnelian, citrine, moss agate, sodalite, amethyst and quartz crystal.

Two strand amber and rainbow obsidian chip necklace.

 This didn't even begin to put a dent in my stash, but at least it's a start!