Time Flies

Wow, didn't realize it has been awhile since I posted anything, okay yes I did but not as long as it actually has been. What have I been up to, existing. Yep, just existing. So far this year hasn't turned out to be near the hopes and dreams I had back in January. The creative ideas are there, just not the drive. I really wish this funk would go away, it's been hanging around to long. I have dabbled here and there on stuff. Nothing all that significant, wish I could say otherwise. I'm trying to get a duct tape dummy form done but can't seem to find a willing person to help me. Daughter says it's weird and hubby doesn't want to listen that it needs to be done a certain way not just taking tape and wrapping in a circle, UGH!

1st- Harem Pants. The ones I had been working on, finished, then promptly tore them up and threw them away. The fabric was thread bare and they were just for practicing on. I removed the elastic from the mock up to reuse in the real ones. The waistband on these is made from the runner on the bottom inside of the sari. I did do a bit of color dying trying to match it to a skirt color, eh. I got the sari fabric and figured out somewhat of how I wanted the fabric to be and snippy snippy I went. They didn't turn out exactly as I had envisioned by fairly close. I realize my biggest issue with pants of any sort is the rise factor in cutting the crotch area. Practice, practice, that's all I really need.


2nd- Dyed Pearls. That was some fun experimenting. I went on to make other colors, like silver/grey and black. I tried to make a bahama blue but it came out more like the faintest of blue instead and I left them in a long time. They just didn't want to hold the color. I also made a few things from the pearls I dyed and have ideas for some of the other pearls.

Pink Dyed pearls and pink swarovski 4mm bicone crystals and delica beads.


Close up of Pink Dyed Bracelet/earrings


Purple dyed bracelet


I also made this green bracelet but I bought the pearls this color. Pearls and 2 different sized/color swarovski's and delica seed beads.


I finally put the finishing touches on this hair fascinator.. added a few flowers and a clip.


I also made a skirt using some of the left over from the sari harem pants along with another found odd fabric apparel. I think the main body of the skirt was a head type covering that india and muslims wear. I still need to make the matching arm decor to go with it. It ties in prettily with the harem pants. Once I finish those, then I need to make a top and i'll have a full matching outfit. YEAH!. The skirt is a deep burgandy, chiffon maybe. It flows but it's kinda heavy as well. I should probably get a pic of this. It has a spot on it that looks like paint that I can't get out but it's at the bottom. I thought about doing some beadwork or something to cover it up. UPDATED: Got a pic of skirt.



Lets see I made this ring earlier this month. I'm still a bit iffy on it though. I was trying to use materials I already had without buying more. I have way to much already.




Other than those, not much else. I've been trying to get into sewing but I just don't seem to have the room and without a dress form, be it store bought or handmade, it's really hindering me at the moment. A lot of the things I want to make, I can't because I don't have an extra hand/helper that knows what to do. The teenlette is more interested in satisfaction right now instead of makeing an effort for the long term goal. I do think she is becoming a bit more interested with Faire season here and we now have one that is really close to us.

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND NEW IDEAS!

It's a new year and i'm hoping this one will be filled with more creative persuits than last year or the years before. Crossing fingers that I can make that happen. I'm trying, might take me a little bit to get going but I think this year will be good.

Here are some pics of the gifts I made for family and friends for Christmas. I call these Scoodies (scarf with a hood). I looked them up on the internet and they are really a very basic pattern. I did modify it a little bit in the back behind the neck so that there wouldn't be a lot of bunching up. So far so good.

My scoodie: Black fleece with faux animal print trim on hood.




This is the one I had originally made for my grandmother but ended up giving it to my Uncle's girlfriend after my grandmother said she couldn't stand things on her head because it would mess up her hair when she saw me wearing mine. Glad I was able to change it out before I gave it to her and it never got used. It's made from fleece. I had just a plain black bias tape on the hood edge but it really felt like it needed a bit extra so I added the black lace. I also added small black looped fringe to the ends.






I made this one for my mom. It's just like the pink one except it doesn't have the bias tape edge, just lace.






Just recently I came across a tutorial on dying glass pearls over on Martha Stewart and just had to try it out.

I'm still on the fence with this one. Yellow and Tan seem to take better to the pearls than the other colors I tried, black, wine, dark green. Here are some pics of the results.

1st experiment:

2nd experiment



Other than those things, nothing new. Hopefully I will have new things to show more often this year instead of once every few months.

Just a jolt

Well it seems that I've recieved a bigger jolt of creativity than I had thought. YIPPEEEE FOR ME! Some of my readers know that i've been dealing with a major slump the past few years. This has been the longest and hardest slump I've gone through in a really long time. There are many factors that haven't helped in getting me out of this but I have hope and look forward to another year. Around the end of the year, christmas holiday, I get a little more inspiration to create, mostly gifts though. So here is a few things I'm working on at the moment.

Necklace- Sterling silver, fresh water pearls and black czech faceted briolettes.



Close-up


Cute little angel earrings- sterling silver and faceted czech glass rounds



Here are my girls, Kitty (aka Fat cat) and Lira (aka Brat cat). This is one of their more quieter moments. Kitty had been cleaning Lira.

Hello Monday, Goodbye Weekend!

Another weekend gone and all I really managed to do was wash 10 loads of laundry. I've been putting it off and putting it off. Most of it was bedding which takes up so much room, but it's done. I also remembered to charge the camera batteries and download some pictures this morning.

1st, I mentioned I'd made a green pendant in a previous post (i think). I kinda like it but my wire skills needs some brushing up on, seriously. LOL! The base design was supposed to become earrings but when I made 2, they didn't come out as alike as I wanted. I'm waiting on the wire I bought on friday so that I can try that again. I did pick up some more glass pearls from Wally World (wal-mart) on Sunday when I did some shopping. One is a blue and the other is kind of a bronze, maybe a bit lighter in color. I can't remember at the moment but it's pretty and I think it'll look nice on the other pendant frame.

Green Pendant - 18g & 24g silver filled wire, glass beads and I think the pearls might be plastic, I haven't broken one to check but they could be glass.




I have a new addition to my family. On Friday when I picked my daughter up after summer school (that's a whole other story), she was holding a frightened kitten. She said it was stuck in a tree and she thought it might have been there for a couple of days. The kitten was so skinny and whining for her mom. If we would have let it go, the probability of it getting run over was to high. I think the kitten might be about 4 months old but due to her thinness, I can't really tell. Yes, it's a little female.
We brought her home gave her a bath and fed her but not to much to fast cause I didn't want to make her sick. Her hip bones and ribs were showing. I think she may have been around people because she's pretty friendly when your holding her but as soon as you put her down she's off like a bullet.

My cat, Kitty (aka Fat cat), wasn't to thrilled with the new arrival. The kitten, I guess, thought she was her mom and showed no fear, even when Kitty was hissing. Kitty has now come to tolerate the kitten to a degree. They were eating and drinking together this morning and I even caught Kitty a couple of times licking the new baby. I have noticed that kittens she tolerates but older cats, NO WAY, NO HOW, NOT GONNA HAPPEN!

We haven't decided on a name yet for the new addition. My daughter offered up the name Bindi (croc hunter daughter) first and I was like NOOOOO, then she suggested the name Lira, which I kinda like. She's really sweet, when she's not hiding. She's got such an inquisitive little personality though. Her ears are to big for her little head and she kinda looks out of proportion. LOL! She's been playing and eating and staying out from under the couch and exploring more than she was a couple of days ago.

So here are a few pics of the new baby with my daughter:

Finished Pendants

So it seems that my muse has come back to fiddle with some wire. I've got a headache brewing and I should probably go and take something before it gets full blown. I think it's just a combination of poor sleep and sinuses. I really didn't want to get up this morning. I was comfortable and warm all snug as a bug in a rug.

Last night while finishing up the circular pendant I had another idea for some simple pearl earrings. Off into my own little 3D world I went or starring off into space as other's would see it. I can visualize the shape of the pearls, tossing the design from smooth round pearls to more natural pearls. I toss on posts, french hooks and lever back ear wires to see which one seems to fit. Natural shaped pearls of somewhat uniform size look lovely hanging from the lever back ear wires, simplicity at it's best.

I'm happy to have some things brewing and my muse letting my hands cooperate enough to make things. I'm slower than I usually would be but it's slowly coming back, it's a nice feeling.

So without further boring ramblings from me here are my 2 finished pendants.


Moon Pendant- silver filled and non-tarnish wire in 18g, 22g,and 24g. A small selection of glass beads and seed beads along with a shell heart.




Pearl Pendant- silver filled and non-tarnish wire in 18g, 22g,and 24g.Glass and natural pearls in different sizes and colors.




So maybe tomorrow I'll have some pearl earrings to show. I wish I could come up with witty stuff to say to make this blog a bit more interesting. My cat loves me, she keeps my bed warm.



Edited to add: sorry I had the wire gauges wrong but they are fixed now.