Lovesick: Earrings

Last week, I undertook an arduous project: Reorganizing, relocating, and rehoming a large chunk of my stash.  It took 3 days and I am STILL not done.  Mostly done, but not done, done, you know?  As I was going through things, it was like a magic trick exploding all over my room.  You know the one with the never-ending scarves?  Except it was with beads, which are heavy, solid and impossible to hide up your sleeve in the quantity that magicians do with their little chiffon scarves.  You never realize how living in an apartment makes you a master of hiding stuff from yourself in an effort to preserve all important space.

Anyway, I forgot I had these little charms and beads.  So, I pulled them together to make some Nana inspired earrings.  For those of you who don't know what Nana is, it's an old shojo manga that was released in the late 90s, early 2000s by Tokyopop.  I never finished the series.  But, let's just say that it glorifies high fashion. 

Dark colors, hearts, bows, and just enough punk to keep it from being lolita-style.  I think these captured the spirit of Nana quite well.

U.K. Commission: Strawberries!

Someone asked for something similar to a bracelet I made ages ago, the strawberry fields one, here:

Cute huh?

Well, I didn't have all the things at my disposal to make an exact replica, but I came pretty close.  I hope my prospective international client is pleased.

There's more green on this one, but I tried to keep it from taking over

More Jack

Another little Jack Skellington charm bracelet I made.  This is the first time I've done a design with just black and a neutral color.  In my charm bracelets, I've always combined black with a bright or rich color like red, green, or purple.  Sometimes blue.  You don't want the bracelet to look too dark, you know?  

Anyway, here are the photos. 

Chibi Jack Skellington Charm Bracelet

These charms were cute and on sale and in the same lot as the charms for the last Jack Skellington Bracelet.  One great thing about Disneyana (any and all Disney related and licensed merchandise) is that related objects share common dimensions.  The Jack Skellington charms, for example are all about 3-4 cm long and 2-3 cm wide.  So are most of the charms for other characters.

Chibi Jacks

This sort of consistency makes it easy to create patterns and design maps that would fit a wide variety of charms without too much alteration in execution or pattern.  It's a reliable model.  You see, there's a bit of science in every jewelry project.  Physics, geometry, and a host of scientific units of measure come into play.  Jewelry making is architecture. 

It's a charm bracelet.

So the reliable Disneyana metrics have allowed me to design an equally reliable metric for gauging how easily I can take on a new project when I'm suffering from shaky hands.  If I can complete a Jack Skellington or Disneyana charm bracelet in close to my usual time frame, it's good idea for me to start on a more intensive, strenuous project.  It also serves as a good warm up.

I'm sure I'll make more.  I have a ton of charms to burn through. 

Beads in the top right of the picture...  Clearly, there's more to come..

Jack Skellington

One of the first cult 'Goth' movies I've ever seen or enjoyed was The Nightmare Before Christmas.  Not only did Tim Burton find a way to make the spooky and creepy parts of Halloween loveable and charming, he also found a way to make Santa into something just shy of nightmare fuel.  I mean, Look at him!

GRRRR FEAR ME!

This is one of the movies where the 'hero' is unclear or understated.  Many people think it's Jack Skellington, but in reality it's Sally.  Sadly, Sally isn't the focus of most fanart.  Jack is.  If it were possible to find more charms of her, I'd make something inspired by her, but Jack's so much easier to work with. 

At any rate.  I made a Jack Skellington bracelet.  I had just enough beads and charms to squeeze a nice cohesive one out.  Take a look.

I used some pretty big honking charms this time.  I couldn't find any of the smaller ones anywhere.  I'd have liked to.  I was able to get ten of those for like 99 cents a few years ago.  Not any more, I guess.

In addition to the charms I added onyx teardrop shaped beads, Czech glass crystals, and swarovski electroplated crystals.  They're meant to emphasize the color scheme and keep it from being too plain.  I like my charm bracelets to have a smooth, undulating feel, despite them being chunky.  It makes them look like a solid band

Here, you can see the effect better.  It looks more like a solid woven band from this angle than a mess of jangly things.

Well, that's it for Skeleton Jack. 

For now at least..

Forgotten Necklace

I didn't realize that I had this.  It's quite pretty, but somehow got lost in the shuffle.  I'll post it for you guys to judge, since I cannot remember how, why or what inspired me to make it.

I think it had something to do with the colors.  You don't see too much copper jewelry these days, at least not in filigree applications.  This pendant is absolutely audacious.  I'm glad I had enough sense not to make the chain too intricate or add too many elements to it. 

What do you guys think of this blue, copper and golden necklace?  Hit or Miss?

Things That Look Like Other Things

You all know that I like things that look like other things.  If you don't know what I mean, here's some examples:  I used to have a flash drive that looked like a purple monkey.  I have a ton of erasers that look like realistic food.  I have a pin cushion that looks like a hat when you look at it from one angle and like sushi rolls from another.  I have a candle that looks like a spool of thread... And I like visually ambiguous patterns.

You can see where this is going.  Yup.  Jewelry making.  Did you know, that they have all kinds of dolamite and other stones that are artificially enhanced to look brighter and richer?  Did you KNOW that they have a whole host of beads and charms that look like cakes, fruit, and other things?  No?  You'd better hit up eBay and Etsy, then.  Just type in something ridiculous and attach 'beads' as a suffix.  You'll see some things. 

About a year ago, I started searching for and acquiring all sorts of these 'strange' beads.  The results were bright, flashy and candy inspired jewelry pieces that are positively adorable... and ridiculously HARD TO SELL!  It seems like I'm the only adult who likes this sort of stuff.  Ah well.  I did get some good photos of these things before I got rid of them or packed them away.

Let There Be CAKE! 

Just a Cherry Key Fob.

I love these things.  I ended up keeping them for selfish reasons.

These used to be shank buttons.

Such Sparkle.

Each strawberry is a locket.  I wish I still had this one.

I love how you can get polyclay slices of fruit these days.  Super easy to use!

This one reminds me of Tang.