It’s a nice sized stamping, and I decided it would be a great opportunity to use some of my African glass beads. I wanted a unifying bead to go with them, and Sondra offered up some lapis slabs that I thought would be perfect. It has lots of lovely pyrite flecks in it.
I used a variety of small gooseberry beads as spacers. In back, a brass lobster claw finishes it off. This is one of those projects that actually turned out how I envisioned it. When I punched holes in the stamping and then filed the edges of the holes smooth, it rubbed off some patina on the tops of the ears. I touched the areas up with Vintaj patina, and even that turned out to my satisfaction.
My mom and I had another patina day! We were very pleased with the results. I also tried an idea I had with Mod Podge and was super pleased that it turned out as well. So, I will just get right into the show and tell.
I got one of these lily of the valley stampings from Sondra’s Estate Beads Destash Depot. I have gotten a lot of great things from Sondra, so check out her page if you have a minute. Tons of stampings for sure; many of the older really quality, heavy duty kind. Anywho, I forgot to take a picture of mine nekkid, so Sondra let me use hers. I used Vintaj patinas in marble and a mixture of moss and seafoam pearl for the green. I used the Vintaj reliefing block because I always like stampings to look old.
My mom patina-ed another lily stamping I got from Sondra with the same colors. Here are the original and color versions, with the original once again by Sondra Jackson.
I didn’t go in with a solid plan for this pewter dragon fly focal by Fire Goddess that I got from Andrew Thornton’s destash. I kept changing my mind, but in the end I think it turned out kind of fun. Here are three quick pics: the original pendant, with bronze patina and some reliefing, with white gold, ochre, and carnelian.
I guess I didn’t get many before pictures. My mom had a silver face pin that she patina-ed with verdigris, ochre and cinnabar mixed with garnet. Here it is in progress and finished.
My mom also had an old brass vase stamping; here is a picture in progress and finished.
I had these fish I was just going to lightly patina with sea colors, but they were smoother than I first thought. The patina didn’t take well, and I would have had to rough them up. They are way too cute to even consider doing something that could ruin them, so I decided to leave them as is. I just wanted to include them to say that not everything ends up needing patina! These are also from Sondra Jackson.
The last thing I patina-ed is some copper chain. I thought it was a good candidate because it was so heavily textured, and I didn’t really like it that much in its natural state. I have a pendant I want to use it with, and I chose moss patina. Here is a picture of the patina (right) and then after I reliefed it (left).
I cut the chain, so I had some extra bars. I said I was going to throw them away because I can’t keep every little thing – that’s why my studio is the way it is (giant mess). My mom decided to keep them in case I needed them at some later time. Not minute later I broke one of the bars being a little too rough with my reliefing. My mom was able to hand me one of the spare bars (that I had tested the patina on, so it was already done!) and I fixed it. My mom is the smartest!
One last thing I did was Mod Podge some old flowers I have onto a wooden bead. Hope Smitherman’s blog showed a project with washi tape earrings. I think that in combination with another project I saw but really can’t remember made me think about a little table I Mod Podged with tissue paper. It turned out so cute! I figured I could do that on wooden beads. I looked through my paper craft supplies, and I really wanted to use some old flower items a friend had given me. I got the wooden beads from St. Katherine’s Supply Co.
And here is the finished product in my first ever video on my blog.
Whoo! That was a long post. I hope you enjoyed it! You will be seeing these items turn up in finished jewelry in the future.
I love Vintaj patinas, and the company recently came out with three pearl patinas that are more sheer than the regular patinas. They are called abalone pearls with a pink, blue and green. I have really been interested in trying the marble patina (white) because with the proper reliefing or other distressing the item could get that old look I love. Here are some of my recent patina trials. Here are some of the pre-patina items (also from Vintaj.) I got the patinas and some of the metal items from Rustic River Finds and some of the metal items from Vintaj Salvage on etsy. Love these shops!
I also got some vintage brass bracelets from B’Sue Boutiques on etsy. I love their vintage selection.
First I used verdigris, ochre and moss patinas on the bracelets and brought out some of the raised brass design using the Vintaj reliefing block.
I tried a couple of different things with the marble patina on some Vintaj arte metal blooming flower pendants.Both of these were done with the marble patina. The one on the left was done with a wet brush. The one on the right was initially done with a dry brush with relatively full coverage. I intended to use the reliefing block, but then I used a wet brush before it was completely dry. I think I was trying to thin out the paint and, happy accident, it took off chunks of paint in a way that made it look very much like old metal losing its paint. I put touches of seashell pearl patina on it after it was dry.
I gave my sister her pick of the patina items, and she chose this flower (which was the one I had made with her in mind at my mother’s suggestion!) Also at my mother’s suggestion, I put it on this long piece of leather. My sister likes very long necklaces, and this flower actually looks great on the leather.
Here is a patina progress shot.
This is an example of all the pearl patinas together.
First I covered the heart with seashell pearl, then layered on ocean peal and last painted a few parts with seafoam pearl. I think it looks a little like stained glass.
I don’t have a picture of this butterfly before the patina, but I covered it with pyrite, used the reliefing block, then mixed seashell and ocean pearl to make a purple color, layered that on and then blotted it on papertowl when it was wet and used the reliefing block when it was dry.
Here is a Rhapsody Romance Boho pendant with garnet patina. The design is very detailed, but it’s small and a bit shallow, so I didn’t get as much metal look as I thought I would after reliefing. It’s still very nice.
This is a piece I did quickly when I first got the pearl patinas. The Vintaj Queen Anne’s Lace pendant is a favorite. I used marble and the seafoam pearl on this one. I love the way it turned out. You can see how the patina colors look very different on different metals and depending on the techniques used. I look forward to many more patina experiments. I Love the very sheer, soft looks I’ve seen people get with the pearl patinas like in this photo from the Vintaj Facebook page.
I tried Vintaj patina the other day, and colored some chain I really like.
I had an idea for it, but when I tried it, I didn’t think it came together that well despite using wonderful components.
While I love these beads by Ragged Robyn and wire and fabric component by SagaHus Components, the necklace didn’t work the way I thought it would. So I tried something else.
I liked this version with dagger beads by Slate Studios Supply better, but it still wasn’t quite right.
As I pondered what the issue was, I realized that most of my beads are more rustic and this chain is more refined in style, even with the patina. So I thought about what I had in my stash that would be a bit smoother for it. I have pictures of many of my beads, so I looked through those which is a way of going through my stash (at least part of it) without making a big mess. I envy people with things like printer cabinets where they can open a drawer and see lots of things. I have to paw through baggies and small boxes in bigger boxes I then can’t close properly to stack.
Anywho, I thought a lampwork bead with lovely colors from Uglibeads would be just the thing, but really, it was a bit rustic as well. So I looked at some other lampwork beads and found this set of orphans by Dean Abner of BubbyMcGurk Beads.
I decided these go best with the chain. Each part lets the other shine, and there is plenty of interest with the different colors, sizes and patterns. They have relatively large holes, so I used some thicker 7-ply waxed linen to attach the beads to the chain. The knots are a bit bigger due to the ply, so I’ll have to decide if that bothers me. But I’m pleased I found a way to use the lampwork orphans and the chain that I think works and will gives me a necklace a bit different than things I often make.
It was patina day for me and my mom. I bought some Vintaj patinas at Bead & Button. My mom recently had an idea for changing a pin she had with patina. I recommended Vintaj so she got some patina as well. So we decided to have a patina day, and it was a ball.
I had seen one video by Heather Powers of Humblebeads about using Vintaj patina, and my mom and I watched another. Thank you, Heather!! It was wonderful to get a little view into how the patinas worked. I was especially happy to see how fast they dried. Impatience drives a lot of my design style! So, on to the show.
I did not get a before picture of my mom’s pin, but it was all black and too dark for her. She had wanted red and bought garnet. It was more pinkish than red, but my mom made it work by layering it with white gold. She had planned to leave the middle black crystals but decided to use white gold on those as well. Definitely the right decision!
The first piece I worked on was a bracelet. I had some really heavy, textured vintage chain from B’Sue Boutiques. I thought I would patina it and then add a bead dangle. After I use the verdigris patina on it and the Vintaj reliefing block to take some of the color off the high spots, I loved it so much I didn’t want to add anything else. My mom had the perfect clasp to go with the heavy chain, so I used the verdigris patina on that too. I love the outcome. Here is a picture with some of the original chain.
This picture doesn’t show how the metal sparkles through the patina. It’s the best! My mom also used the verdigris on some brass in the form of ball chain for a multi-strand bracelet. It turned out great as well. I had also seen a post by Candie Cooper with a tutorial for a Mod Podge cuff bracelet. I had a much smaller channel bangle form, but I decided to make something similar. My bangle was just plain silver (forgot to get a picture) so I decided to randomly paint some patina on it to make it look like old metal on the parts that would show. I combined the colors earth and white gold. I didn’t rough up the metal much (the impatience, you know) so it’s streaky. But it works for my purposes. Earlier this week my dad got a package with some great, thick paper packaging. I decided to use that as the base in the channel.
I added several coats of Mod Podge. You can see what now looks like aged metal on the inside of the bangle.
Then I added some vintage rhinestone chain. Very cute!
I also used verdigris and white gold on some vintage flat brass chain that I have plans for later. Here is a picture of some original and patina chain.
I also did just a few trials on a couple other brass pieces.
Here is the front and back of some random pieces. On the top left I used garnet and then the front of that piece has white gold. On the right I used verdigris and reliefed it back on both the back and front.
Although it has nothing to do with patina, the other project on the docket today was to put a little more interest on a leather and metal bracelet my dad made. He took a thick piece of leather and paired it with a nice metal slider. It seemed a little plain, so I suggested some rivets. My dad was impressed that I had a leather punch and a rivet setting kit. (The kit is from my card making days!) That’s just what it needed.
I leave you with a picture of my two finished bracelets together. If you haven’t tried Vintaj patinas yet, I recommend it. My mom and I plan to get more colors and do more experiments.
I went to the Bead & Button Show on Friday for the first time in five years. I had such a good time! I got to meet some online friends, which was very fun. I bought lots of great stuff. I’m already scheming my plots and plans for next year, but I know that is folly because I had a big plan for buying this year, and I didn’t really follow it. But I’m super happy with everything I bought (and I only forgot to get one thing I meant to get!) and I did realize something that affected my shopping.
I generally cannot deal with a ton of strands. I can buy from a booth with lots of strands, like Dakota Stones. But a ton of strands all laid out on top of one another just makes it impossible for me to focus. Throw in a big 75% off sign that will force me to calculate a price in my head, and it turns a good deal into a deal breaker. So my plan to focus on gemstone strands crashed and burned. Speaking of Dakota stones, they had a new cut, called star cut, that I really liked. I thought about getting a few strands of this cut in some favorite stones. But then I saw a collar strand of rough cut labradorite beads. I’ve admired strands like this over the years in the Dakota Stones booth at various shows. I decided to treat myself to one great strand! It’s so beautiful.I also got a strand of pyrite nuggets. I always love these.
I got some fabulous new things from a couple of favorite shops. First, Allegory Gallery. I got to meet proprietors Andrew Thornton and William Jones in person! That was so nice after participating in their design challenges, reading club and destashes over the years. They are just as nice in person as they are online! I picked up some lovelies from the shop.
They had these great fiber cards each with four different kinds of fiber. I love them! I really wanted them all, but this is the one I picked. I can’t wait to incorporate these fibers into my designs. I’m hoping these fiber cards mights show up in the etsy shop. I also got multiple strands of these beautiful soft yellow vintage plastic beads. I have a couple, and they are a favorite. I’d like to make a whole necklace featuring these. I love yellow.
I also got a couple of Andrew’s pendants. I love the meaningful sayings he has been putting on pendants lately. Also, I never met an Andrew Thornton bronze pendant I didn’t love. In addition, Andrew and William gifted me with this charming podling ornament.
This magical creature was handmade by Andrew. It’s full of good vibes it will be spreading while hanging in my studio.
Andrew and William shared a booth with their family who own Green Girl Studios. I was hoping to be able to get a couple of their new designs, and I did.
The hands and house are new. Some of the new Green Girl beads are available in Allegory Gallery’s esty shop. If I could still wear earrings, I would totally make the hands into earrings. Even though I won’t use them that way, I bought two so I could have my bead and use it too. I also bought this gorgeous bangle. In fact, I was on a bit of a bangle binge. Here is the stack that ended up on my wrist on the ride home. LOVE!
In addition to the Green Girl bracelet, there are three glass bangles made from wine bottles from Trinket Foundry and a hand patinaed cuff from Vintaj. I had seen the Vintaj cuffs on their Facebook page just before the show and had fallen in love.
For a while I have wanted a bird from MAKU Studio. I thought I would check out her supply at the show, and if one seemed right I would get it. This one spoke to me right away. And this little heart wanted to come home with me too.
I got some more things, but I will save those for another post. I hope you enjoyed this show and tell.
Heather Powers of Humblebeads makes great polymer clay beads. She also makes beautiful jewelry, and recently shared some tips and design ideas on a Work Table Wednesday video on her Humblebeads VIP Party Facebook page. She has made a colorful innovation to her classic bird beads. In the video, she shows that she has also used the technique to make owls and offers some cute ideas to use each in pretty necklaces. I was inspired to use the bird I have.
I had so many ideas; this shows just a few of the beads I considered using. Heather showed a variety of leaves and birds together. I thought about using this beautiful black round by Karen Totten of Starry Road Studio because I love the black with the grey bird. But I couldn’t resist using a leaf. I don’t actually have a lot of leaves in my stash, but this one by Helen Backhouse of Helen’s Bat Cave went so well with the gold in the bird. I loved the idea of using a Vintaj acorn bead cap. I also loved this mottled brown ceramic bead by Mari Carmen Rodriguez Martinez of Majoyoal. But I decided I wanted a pop of the pink/purple in the bird. Some choices included dark and light purple ceramic beads by Gaea and a plastic bead. In the end, I used a polymer clay nugget by Andrew Thornton of Allegory Gallery. I used some beautiful patina ball chain in the Steampunk color from Supply Your Soul.
I couldn’t resist also using Heather’s idea to put a flower bead in a bead cap to make a little “crown” on top of the bird. This project was a lot of fun. It’s simple and easily customized to the beads you have available.
I have stopped wearing earrings because of sensitive ears, and I want to start cleaning out my jewelry stash because, well, space. And messiness. So I’ve decided to have a giveaway. Rather than give away the earrings, many of which are old and not styles I would make any more, I’ve decided to give away the bead pairs for your use! That has the added benefit of leaving me with lots of earwires so I can make earrings when I decide to do art abandonment.
Here is the group:
There are many nice things here including some paper beads by Gillian McMurray, some vintage crystals and glass (which I was too lazy to totally take apart) beaded beads by Malin de Koning, colorful mosaics by Scorched Earth on Etsy, ceramic leaf rounds by Kylie Parry, lovely metal rectangles by Sharyl McMillian-Nelson, flower chandelier drops from Vintaj and some nice non-art beads. Some of these others could be art beads, but I got them long ago and can’t remember or didn’t even know what art beads were.
Looking through my earring collection, I found some beads that I could envision repurposing in other designs. But these beads just seem so wonderful for earrings that I thought they should go to someone who might use them for that! Although that’s not a requirement.
This giveaway is open internationally. You can get two entries:
Leave a comment on this post telling me something about you as a beader – favorite bead artist or shop, favorite item to make, style, inspiration, etc.
Share this on social media (Facebook, Google +, Instagram, Twitter, whatever you use). Remember to come back and make a second comment that you’ve shared.
I will choose a random winner from all qualifying entries that have been left by Saturday, October 31, 2015 at 12:00 Noon CDT. Please have a way for me to contact you (either in your comment(s) or linked to your name) and I will also announce the winner on my blog.
Good luck, and thank you for participating to help find my earring pairs a good home!
I have two reveals today! If you are looking for the Art Jewelry Elements April Component of the Month reveal, click here.
Andrew Thornton does regular challenges with kits through his Allegory Gallery. Occasionally, he adds an additional special challenge like this Amethyst Aether kit. He had been wanting to do a steampunk challenge, and it finally came together. Here is my kit:
Andrew’s kits are always wonderful and generous, but this one, as you can see, was over the top chock full! It’s fun to have so many great beads and materials to work with. That’s not all. Andrew includes a Mystery Component he makes himself. It’s always an additional wow!
Although steampunk is not something I’ve got a lot of experience with, I have always thought of it as a mix of romantic and industrial. Before I even got the kit, I had two ideas that I wrote down. I was working on other things and didn’t look at those ideas again until I was ready to start. I was thrilled that I still thought they were good ideas! The necklace below is one of them.
The sari silk in the kit is gorgeous, and lately I just love tassels made of anything. So I decided to make a key based tassel and string it on the silk. I used a variety of keys from my stash along with some lovely purple/blue dangles (from one of Andrew’s destash lots!). Also from the kit I used the clasp, one of the quartz points, a few beads, and the bead cap (love it!!). In addition, I used the little frame bezel charm. I glued some newsprint in it and then covered it with tiny glue back crystals I have in my card making supplies. I am kind of proud of that piece because I’m not always good at thinking of using materials in a different way than they were intended. I absolutely love how this turned out.
I had several ideas for Andrew’s Mystery Component. I ultimately decided to suspend it from an old key with a bit of WoolyWire. I wire wrapped beads from the kit, including the little gear, and the two gorgeous amethyst English cut Czech glass beads to make a beaded chain. I added a Vintaj keyhole charm from my stash. I used a bit of the lovely butterscotch leather from the kit at the back so it would feel soft on my neck.
I tried to make several bracelets but in the end this is the one that worked. I used the large pyrite bead as a focal and the ribbon ends with sari silk from the kit braided with a coordinating piece of ribbon I had. I used beads from the kit to make dangles. The sari silk is so beautiful, it makes everything look good.
Please visit the links below to see what other participants have made with their kits. Have fun!
I’ve had a necklace made with a beautiful Ocean Serpent Egg Teal Tides bead by Genea for a while. Look at all the colors in this bead!
I put it on a patina chain by Miss Fickle Media and also used one of her toggle bars with a Vintaj ring.
I wasn’t satisfied with it, so after letting it lay around for a while, I rewrapped the bead and added some dangles, including a weenie ding also by Genea.
I wanted the necklace to be simple because I felt the bead and chain are so beautiful they speak for themselves, but sometimes I struggle with what is too simple. I think I’m satisfied now, but I wish I didn’t second guess everything!
