1/27/15

Milagros, etc.



 I managed to sell four pairs of earrings without even listing them recently, which is always awesome. Here's some for a lady who wanted something religious-->

And another gal really liked an old pair I made ages ago with milagros. I decided to order some and they spurred a whole bunch of simple little milagro pairs. 

These are already spoken for: 

And therest I'll have to actually list. I'm thinking of maybe including a few interpretations of possible meanings of the milagro pairs, which of course I picked for deep and meaningful reasons and not just cuz they looked good together.
Girl and Bottle.
Like this one could mean you're hoping for a kick-ass girl's night out or you're worried about your daughter's drinking problem.
Bust and Car.
I'm thinking this one might mean you need a ride to your chemo (you know, boob cancer) or that you want to pay off your car loan and finally get those double Ds you've been dreaming of. Lung and Kidney.
You want to breathe easy over your incontinence or you want to do some Pranayama yoga after punching your cheating ex in the kidneys.
Goat and Donkey.
This one means you just really want a goat and a donkey. Or you want to cure your sick livestock. Or you want a new significant other in your life who's as stubborn as a mule and can be easily trained to jump at your call?
goat animated GIF
This one's easy- you want applause for your magnificent horse shoeing prowess. Hand and Horse Shoe.
Luckily beads don't need interpreting.
Golden Dawn.
 Though cascades of little teardrops are just as fun as prayers about incontinence. Golden Dawn 2.
These onyx with electroplated bails I found in Uruguay. Darkest Night.
Druzies I've rimmed in gold leaf with some greybirdstudio dangles. A Quiet Spark.
Ghaaaaa these beads are killing me! They're shipwreckdandysupply.Heart of Hearts.
I treated myself to some of her polybabies and OMG. I already liked her stuff but.... I can't tell you how impressed I was with these. A lot of my more complicated polys are kinda big. These are practically dainty! Which means they go with everything and are just so ... ugh, I can't find words.
Those are also hers in the pair with the girl and bottle. Here's some more of what I got from her: There's so much tiny detail that just makes me squee. 
Eudaimonia. Rustic assemblage bracelet with lilac and green art beads, enamel connector.
For that matter, here's a bracelet with an orgasm-triggerling connector/clasp from 4ophelia. What she's been doing with enamel has me slamming my forehead repeatedly on the desk in stupefied admiration. She sent along a few little extras. 
While I was at it I snagged these double-headed lampwork headpins from Numinosity cuz they're amazing for earring findings. I even curled one up already to show you what I mean. 
They still need hammering, but you wanna make sure to place something heavy (like a flat section of a dapping cube) over them and hammer that- if you try to hammer this directly you could smash the glass. 

So part of me is like, I need to buy more shit from my friends who are clearly all creative geniuses. But another part of me is like oh shit oversupply panic again.
Speaking of getting things in the mail- one of you lovely ladies sent me this package of adorable goodies and now I forgot who it was to thank you! Deborah something? I'm going to use those mini copper plates to set stones in. 
Look at the metallic details, that's Roman glass right there. And look at these crazy earrings that if you cut apart you get crazy cool caps.
And those white naga conch things are valuable for reals. And echo some of what those shipwreck 'turban' beads were doing which means I have to use them together and I'm already working on that but with so many awesome supplies the creative ADD is on overdrive.
Thank you Deborah or Barbara or something else! You're awesome.

Where was I? Bracelets!!! Remember I was talking about setting coins?
 Well, I had these where the backs weren't necessarily mind-blowing, so I set them on this tin after dapping them a bit. There's teeeeeny rivets in those little holes. The jumprings are even soldered, damn this thing was a shitload of work. 
I made that resin charm, that soldered ring with the stones, that bit of chain. I set that sea lion tooth and I made the beaded suede cord links. So yeah I'm pretty pleased with myself. 
Here's one where I made nothing and just tossed things together. 
Well, I turned some big-ring chain into byzantine chain mail like I described in this post. And turns out when you use much much bigger size rings, surprise surprise, it gets exponentially easier. Also, it was my clever eye that noticed similarities in hues between these different bits so there's that. 
And I've had this pitcher (which again, someone just sent me out of the blue) for ages and it's always awesome when a long-time supply finds a home. 

So last week was the first time in my Zumbadventure that I was able to keep up and not feel like I was dying after class which means- Zoinks!- I've actually made a noticeable impact on my fitness. I feel like giving an academy awards speech after this. But then the rest of the time I'm walking around like-->>
Not sore but stiff. I guess I need to stretch? Is this a turning 40 thing? Cuz it's super fun.

So the other day, Mom was all, "I went on your blog but you hadn't put anything new up."
To which I was all, "!!!!????? Whaddaya mean-"
Mom: Oh, I mean any new animal gifs.
Me: *sputtering noises of outrage and indignity* So the only thing you...!! The only reason...!!! *incoherent sputtering, etc.*

So lets get to it shall we?



1/18/15

Did somebody say bracelets?

Mutalibun. Rustic assemblage cuff bracelet of filigree and salvaged tin.
Mutalibun.
Cuz beeatch, I got yer bracelets right here.

Here's a cuff with filigree from Kathyhaul (yeah, I'm still chipping away at it) and Uruguayan tabacco tin. How much stuff did I ruin before it occurred to me to just use a nice chunk of tin with the filigree? Idk, lots. But also check out the little eyelet rivets I put in the tin holes. Thats a new thing for me and I need to do that more.
A Dream of Glory. Antique medallion assemblage bracelet with blue apatite stones.
A Dream of Glory.
From my huge stash of Uruguayan medals/coins/round shit. But this one came with its own connection there with that strange cable trim. I linked it to these little kutchi then added all kinds of delicate little blue stones.Barakah. Ornate escutcheon cuff bracelet with citrines and aquamarine briolette.
Barakah. 
Another Uru-haul.  I discussed this with y'all months ago- what to do with the holes in this escutcheon.  Here's the originals:
Leaving the holes alone certainly didn't work, adding decorative crap didn't either. Then I hit upon just filling them with a variety of eyelets and rivets and did a dance of glee.

Superluminal. Rustic cosmic iridescent assemblage bracelet.Superluminal. 
An old watch frame from Kathyhaul was the perfect bezel for this huge Patroness-abandoned stone. And I just went fully over-the-top with this, adding everything blingy I had laying around. It's weird cuz one side is thick from the chunky beads and one side lays flatter against the wrist but idk, it's big and redonk and yeah.Ragnarök. Rustic double wrap assemblage bracelet with archeological dig find.
Ragnarök.
Getting back to rough and rustic, a double wrap baby. I do so love a double-wrap. I feel like each bit doesn't have to be as amazing cuz I have twice the space to make an impact.

 Like here the long bit of leather links I made from some cord shipwreckdandy once sent me. Aren't those cool? Like leather chain. Something to do with leather cord you might have too much of?
Eudaimonia. Rustic assemblage bracelet with lilac and green art beads, coin, cut steel shaft button.
Eudaimonia.
But I am enjoying trying my hand at these bead and bits type bracelets the type you see more on etsy. For sure, Lorelei Eurto is the queen of these. And while her style is 1000% different than mine, I still love her stuff and am super inspired by it.
Visitors in the Universe.  Rustic assemblage bracelet with art beads in pale greens and peach.
Visitors in the Universe.
Here's another in that style. I tried being creative with some poly elements- like a longish connector and the eye-shaped beads.
Measure of Darkness. Rustic assemblage bracelet with steel ruler and rhinestones.
Measure of Darkness.
But yeah, I still make stuff like this one that's all me. Very simple piece really, maybe one to add to a collection of bangles.
Underwater Tribute. Tribal gypsy bangle stack in blues and greens.
Underwater Tribute.
Speaking of which- gasp!- a stack. I had tired of making these as they had become just a sloppy way to use up every random bit of destash I had. But I made these with more care and less stuff. And better stuff I think. And less bangles making them easier to photograph and manage.
Ingenue. Antique romantic photographic button earrings.
Ingenue.
You might remember these Uru-haul buttons- finally used them. Had to be small and simple because the buttons alone pack such a punch.
The Lover. Rustic assemblage earrings with rose quartz, art beads in shades of white.
The Lover. 
Here's some poly experiments with large grit glitter and liquid poly. They ended up pleasantly inverted. The colors 'n shit. And some lovely tumbled quartz from Uruguay, the rose with sterling electroplated bail.
Celestial Light. Rustic assemblage earrings in iridescent purples.
Celestial Light.
So yeah, I managed a little time for some earrings, though they haven't been my main focus lately. Here, asymmetry which balances color and form.
Figa. Dark assemblage earrings with vintage charms and smokey quartz.
Figa.
And the figas from Uruguay too.

Among the Lost.
And I listed this guy. Oh I forgot to mention the prongy stuff from last post? You can get it on etsy. You gotta search "gallery bezel wire."I'm so glad y'all liked that, yay.
And now we gif party.

Here's some owls upon hearing music from a cellphone: This kitty after her bud came home sedated from the hospital:

And finally, parable about the price of covetousness (maybe):