Sunday, July 28, 2013

Jewelry # 2 - The Long and Short of It

 
 
 
 
 I continue to work at finishing this jewelry project. 
 
 
 
 I made a few of these some time ago,
but ran out of chain and the project was put on hold.
 
 
 
I have finally managed to finish a number of them
 
 
 
 I have made them so they can be worn as a long necklace
 

 or a shorter necklace.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Then I worked at creating a label and a way to hang them on the rack I have.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I am happy to have many of  them finished. . . . .although I still have a few more in the making!
 

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Jewelry 1 - Earrings

 
After making a pair of indigo coloured earrings (previous post)
 I  found I couldn't stop
 
 
And ended up making a variety of pairs.
 
 
 
They are made with resin, but I don't really like the shiny resin look, so I grunged them up a bit.
 
 

 
 
 

 After I made the earrings, I made some display cards to hang them on,
and used a stamp I carved to decorate it.
 
I have some other jewelry in the making  that I hope to share soon!

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Searching for Indigo

 
 
I have been joining Julie and Jennifer in their search for all the colours of the rainbow. 
This month we are looking for the colour I N D I G O
It has been a tough one to find.
 
I started my search on line and asked google to show me INDIGO images,
and I got everything from a brilliant violet, to a deep blue.
 
To me INDIGO is a mixture between a navy blue and a deep purple
and so that is what I decided to search for. 
 

I found it in my image of some lupines,
(and from now on I will say these flowers are indigo in colour and not a purplish blue)
 
 
 
It is also in the lobelia's that I mounted on this rock. 
 
 
Then I challenged myself to create with this colour,
and I decided to make a pair of INDIGO coloured earrings.
 
 
Once I made them, I struggled to photograph them in a way that you can see that they are indeed INDIGO
 
 
They do look a bit more INDIGO here. 
Which is actually the closest to their true colour.
 
 

Then I had too much fun taking pictures of my little wooden giraffe modeling them
that I ran out of time to look for more Indigo. 
 
Make sure to visit Julie and Jennifer to discover more INDIGO.
 
(INDIGO has become a new favourite word that was rarely in my vocabulary before this month!)
 

Monday, July 15, 2013

Sticks and Stones

 
I love bits of wood and stones and seem to collect them wherever I go. 

I also love collecting botanical bits.
 
 
and in the past year or so, I have so enjoyed putting them together.
 
 
I not only love how these bits look when they are combined, but also how they feel. 
 
They feel so good to hold.
 
They also bring me so much joy in their making - I am not too sure why.
 
 
 
These are the newest ones  I have made
 
 
 
And on this sunny summer day,
 
 
I enjoyed playing with them
 
 

and arranging them

 
 
in different patterns.
 




When I was done playing they joined  a few of the others I have made.
 
Although I don't have many others left, - as I often seem to be giving them away
 - and with the giving I hope I pass along the joy that they have brought me.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Bundle Book II

 
 
 
 
I so enjoyed making my last bundle book (inspired by the amazing eb),
 that I decided to make another one. 
 
 
This one ended up being a hard covered book,
bound using a decorated tea bag wrap along the spine
that extends over the front and back cover. 
 
 
 
When opened,
the pages spill out waiting to be discovered
 
 
 
each one a different size,
folded with numerous accordion style folds
 

 
decorated with  tea bag circles, holes, ink, paint, stiches and x's
 
 
 
something new on each page
 
 
and when the pages
are all put away
and the book is closed
it gets wrapped with a thin piece of fabric
that holds onto a small
bundle of branches

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Emerging

 
 
 
 
 
 
After many hours and many layers of paint  she emerged.
 
 
 
She is created from a piece of wood that I covered with paper and tea bags to provide some texture.
 
 
 
 
I continue to be comfortable working on pieces around this size or smaller. 
And so for now that is where I will stay.
 
 
I love the idea of scribbling on a creation, so I continued to try it out here.
 
 
 
Some of the leaves were made from a hand carved stamp I made,
I then continued to add leaves by scribbling them on with my pen.
 

I wonder what will emerge from the next project???
 
I have many things started, so I hope to finish one of them before beginning anything else brand new.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Blogging Blessings

 
I had the wonderful good fortune to meet a blogging friend in person earlier this week.  Kim Rogers lives in Alaska and together with her husband Dave made a 6 or 7 hour drive to visit me on the shores of Kluane Lake, Yukon.
 
 
While they were there we enjoyed the beautiful flowers
 
 
  
 
and we spent lots of time collecting rocks and bits of driftwood on the beach.
 
 
The nesting Arctic Terns made sure we didn't get too close to their nest.
 
 
and the gulls kept us entertained
 
 
Especially the Mew Gulls that liked to bother the Terns and cause a raucous.
 
 
Dave dreamt about a spot to catch a fish, so tried his luck in the morning
 
 
while Kim and I wandered the beach enjoying the scenery, the beachcombing and each others company.
 
And while Kim and I were exploring, Dave caught a fish, which we immediately cooked up on a fire by the beach.
 
 
Here are Kim and I just after we finished eating our delicious Lake Trout meal. 
 
 
How thrilled I was that Kim brought her earrings with her to show me what she has been making.  She combines her beautiful handmade lamp work beads and headpins with components from other amazing artists and designs many diverse and beautiful pieces. 
 
 
They were such a delight to see in person!
 
AND ....
Kim also gifted me with some of her beautiful crusty beads and headpins as she knows I like to make some jewelry too. 
I LOVE each of these pieces, and can't wait to decide how I am going to use them.
 
(I have promised myself to use them and not hoard them away as I seem to do when I get such precious and beautiful things)
 
 
 
When I arrived home I dug through my bucket of rocks and driftwood and added some pressed botanical bits to some rocks, and then played with them and other Kluane Lake finds
 
 
I know that every time I dig through that bucket of bits, I will smile and think of my visit to Kluane lake with Kim and Dave.
 
Blogging has been such a gift for me, and to meet Dave and Kim in person because of blogging, was even a greater gift then I imagined when I set out on this blogging journey. 
 
What a beautiful time I had.