Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Odd Pod Specimens

Tried something new!  I have an obsession with old-timey cabinets of curiosity, and even though I don't actually have one, I have enough stuff on my "shelf o' cool" that I should probably invest in one already...

In any case, I picked up loads of these little bottles last month, and decided to make something that I would like to see in a cabinet.  Behold!



I had a LOT of fun coming up with the "description" for these for Etsy too.  I knew I wanted something that was a Victorian sounding story, but ended up writing a letter:

My dearest friend: 
I write to you today with the most interesting of propositions. The famous Professors Chester O. Kensington and Sir Thaddeus R. Vandeviere have found, in one of their many daring journeys into the unknown countryside far to the west, the most peculiar of botanical specimens. I am sure that you are already familiar with their triumphs and wonders in the worlds of cryptobiology and botany. And yet, as with all serious forms of inquiry, even the most studied intellectuals must turn to their peers in the hopes of broadening their compendium of knowledge. And this, my dearest, is where you come in. I have in my possession several such mysterious exhibits, and the express permissions of sirs K. and V. to send them to those intelligentsia who may be able to shed light on their morphology. It is most curious that we have been given the privilege to peek into their secret investigations, and indeed, they have all but admitted defeat in the cataloging of these ‘odd pods’ as they ever so diplomatically refer to them. I implore you to look upon these specimens and deliver your thoughts directly to K. and V. as I have instructed them to expect your post.
Yours always sincerely,
B.B.

Monday, June 29, 2015

New Nautilus Design and more jars in general!

I am really loving my jars!  Every one I make I feel like I am on the verge of keeping. I am trying to branch out from the octopus design while  avoiding doing dragons.  I know dragons are all the rage, but I learned how to do these eyes from a tutorial on "dragon eyes" and I don't want to impinge on the tutorial artist's territory.  The weirdest (and disappointing) thing is that she started doing dragon eye jars  literally days before I posted my first one unbeknownst to me. Imagine my chagrin when I proudly thought I had a totally original idea and I see that I was "beat".  She is a lovely artist and has talents that I am terribly jealous of.  The least I can do is defer to her in this and not sell dragon eyes!

So now I am working on other creatures.  I have a crow version which I am not happy enough with to post pictures.  But I am quite happy with this Nautilus!:

There will be more to come with these guys.  I am excited to see where the design ends up from this one, which is my first attempt.


I did actually make a dragon version which went to family member:


And a sea dragon version that went to another family member:


I do have two ready-made jars already up on my etsy site, too!:



I love that I get to play around with different techniques and ideas on the body of the jars.  I really never had room to do that when making jewelry, mostly because I don't like the way polymer jewelry that is just a cabochon look, so I just never really bothered to branch out.

Monday, May 25, 2015

Octopus Stash Jars

I have been in such a slump for months but I finally found something that I am having a blast making!  I just spent this whole 4-day weekend immersed in clay creating stash jars.  I have been thinking about making these for a while, but the stars must have aligned just right because I went on a tear and made enough of them to get a listing for custom jars up on Etsy.

So far I have made 4, two of them by request for a couple of frents, and two of them for me because I can't part with them.  There are more shots at different angles on my Flickr gallery.

I have so many ideas for other creatures besides Octopi too... guess we will see how those turn out :)







Tuesday, May 5, 2015

I'm a Terrible Blogger

I never really set out for this site to be a blog, really.  It was just the easiest way to get a quick website up that linked to my galleries and Etsy shop.

I just finished up day two of the Spring Craft Sale that I have been running for the last 5 years out of my office building here.  I made lots of beautiful jewelry (yeah... just ignore my protestations in my last blog entry about not making jewelry anymore.  I'm such a silly pants).

It is time for me to bid a fond farewell to my bi-annual office craft fair, sadly.  It is a LOT of work (I run the show as well as vend at it) but the foot traffic is quite poor, and the clientele I don't think really match up to my funky and whimsical jewelry tastes.

Here is a little preview of the jewelry I made for the show:




I am hoping to get these up on Etsy in the next few weeks since I didn't sell anything at the sale. 

All of the beads are made from molds I created.  I went to the beach by my house and picked random leaves and flowers one afternoon and made beads out of my favorites.  I will likely be making more.  I think they are so beautiful!

I am also seriously considering doing "real" craft shows now.  Since I am not going to be doing the ones here at my office and I still need an outlet, it might be high time I move forward with this!  We will see if I can motivate :)