Busy weekend

Honestly, I did have a busy weekend. I finally finished 2 pieces. One is my Leinenkugel bracelet. I've been debating if I should add crystal dangles in matching colors, but it's big - it's loose on my husband's wrist, so it would probably go to a guy. Plus it's Leinenkugel, so it would still probably go to a guy. =)

So, I found out that the bottle caps that are used to make necklaces I've been trying to copy are made from unused bottle caps. That's why they flatten out all nice and clean - they've never been crimped. So if I want to make necklaces and charms and stuff, they won't be on the nice flattened disks - it's not exactly recycled jewelry if the item didn't have a life before.

Here is the other piece - it's a necklace made from lock washers and chain from a goodwill grab-bag. I also thought about adding crystals for color, but decided adding color would limit it too much.

That's the center flair/dangling part - the chain length is just longer than my laptop, so about 16 inches? It looks great in a v neck. =) I know, I've tried it on to make sure it hangs right.

Pop tab Earrings

As a reward to myself for finishing my homework actually on time for once, I spent the evening working on more jewelry for the Fashion in Detritus show. Here is a bit of a teaser.

I apologize for the lighting in the picture - I took this fairly late, and it isn't the best, but I hope you get an idea.

These will eventually be post earrings, once I finish modifying the posts to my liking. My mate says he likes the red ones the best, though I like the aquamarine drops - the crystals are faceted in a spiral, causing fun with the light.

I also want to comment about how wonderful a medium the pop tabs have been to work with. No matter how much I abuse them, scratch them, bend them, they still keep their finish - matte, yet shiny. They're very tough and handled my playing with them much better than some of the wires I was using.

Cousin Impression

I was wandering around my cousin Tracy's Flickr page, and I was taken by her tallent. The woman has a truly wonderful eye, turning things like her husband's forgotten stationary bike and making it into something that looks like it came from an expensive gym membership flyer. She is such a beautiful and tallented woman, and I love her to death. And then I realized I don't think she knows that. Either of 'that', actually. So this is to tell the universe:
My cousin Tracy has a tallent for photography that surpasses professionals I have worked with. She rocks like No one's business. Her awesomeness is mighty impressive, and I am honored and blessed to be know her.

Creative juices

So, I promised a sneak peek at what I'm working on for the show. Here's the first bit. Earrings.

They are shown hanging off of my Scentsy warmer, but I think you get the idea. The small copper disks are button pearls, but the rest is industrial leftovers. Copper ring washers and steel disks. I made 4 pair, that's all I had the supplies for, so once they're gone there will be no others made. The steel disks have a worn patina to them that I love, but doesn't show up well in the picture. It makes each earring unique. =)

I'm also torturing bottle caps.

I'm bending the rough edges inside. I'm thinking of either using them as frames for something else, or drilling the tops and just using them as is. Haven't decided yet, though. The possibilities with bottlecaps are endless!

Show

So I will be participating in my first show, “Fashion in Detritus.” It’s being hosted by several of my good friends, and I am quite excited about it. I’m taking the theme personally as a trash into treasure type of concept. I’m making jewelry out of discard items, like pop can tabs and Coke bottle lids. I’m also thinking about decorating a glass Coke bottle with a sheath of beads, but I haven’t decided if I have the time / supplies for such an adventure. As I finish pieces for the show I will display them in a special sneak peek for the blog!