Summer!

Hello there and happy summer!

I am sorry for being so infrequent lately, but I have been really really REALLY busy.

The stuff that I promised to post last time is still on hold, but rather replaced with a little summer celebration (most of it coming to the shop later today).

I hope you enjoy it and that you are having a smashing summer!

 Cheeep! Pendant

Summer in the City Pendant

Summer in the City Earrings

 Marine Burdies Earrings (private collection)

Simple Beach Life Earrings

 Ice-Cream Peacock Ring

Ice-Cream Garden Earrings (sold already)

The multiplying flock of burdies

Loads of burdies followed this one. Only a few will make it to the shop later today, since most are already chirruping away, and some I kept for myself. I think summer sun when I look at them. What do you think?

brooch

brooch (available)

brooch

brooch (available)

brooch

ring

pendant (available)

brooch

necklace

Images on polymer - and heeeeeeeeelp!

Hey there! I hope you are enjoying your spring. It's Koninginnedag here in the Netherlands, and the weather turned rainy last night and will apparently stay so next week, which spoils my plans a little, but oh well.

So, images in polymer - there are obviously a lot of ways that you can achieve them (caning, painting, transferring, carving, backfilling, etching) and I was experimenting a bit this past week with some of the techniques, mostly  carving and backfilling and transferring.

First, let me show you the carved pendants (they will be in the shop later today).

I love the flower one so much I almost kept it. The birdie one looks better in person than in the pic and was hard to photograph because of the varnish applied to it, but is not as pretty and vintagey looking to me as the first one. They are both carved and then antiqued with acrylic paints. But they were carved before baking though - I find it much easier (and obviously much more forgiving).

And now to transfers...

The only transfers I did before were on baking parchment with inkjet printer and those were good enough for what I wanted to achieve, but this time I wanted a proper clear transfer so I tried the toner one. I read up on it galore and then set forth to do what I thought would be a straightforward and quick process. Oh how mistaken I was! Seriously, I have no idea what I'm doing wrong and have been reading up on it afterwards as well to no avail. Let me show you my troubles:

1) Snakeskin ring

This transfer turned out the best of them all, but that is due to the fact that it's a busy pattern, so you can't really make out if there are mistakes. However, when I applied a layer of liquid FIMO and re-baked it, it bubbled up in tiny specks. In stuff that I wear I really don't mind little imperfections, but it is definitely a mistake and I can't figure out where I'm going wrong.

(I adore huge rings btw.)

  2) Fly ring

In this one you can clearly see two problems - first, there are still little hairs of paper that I couldn't get off for love nor money, and second, due to trying to @#Y^%% get rid of them I rubbed off a part of the fly's left wing. How do you get rid of all the paper!? I mean, if you leave it there, as soon as it dries it creates a milky film over the image, and if you rub more it smudges the image. Which leads me to

3) Japanese print ring

No picture since I screwed it up completely (and it was my favourite image!). Same thing as with the fly, I was trying to get rid of the paper from the black hair of the girl in the picture and at some point the black just smudged all over her porcelain face! And there was still a white paper film on the hair!

And finally

4) Liquid clay transfer (decal attempt)

Also no pic, since it was ruined.

I put Liquid Fimo onto a picture, baked it, soaked it in water, started rubbing paper off (it wouldn't peel in one go) and just straight rubbed off the whole image from the clay!

I really don't get it! Please do share your advice, if you have any, I am getting desperate!

In the meantime, I am itching to do some etching (hah!) but want to sort out this transfer rebus first! 

Jungle is massive!

After a long and hard battle with a man-flu type of cold (in other words - I am the worst whiner when I get sick), I am back to posting ;)

Despite my horrendous cold, I was actually quite busy, and apart from a few bits and pieces that I'll show you in one of the next posts, I have finished a new jewellery collection! Woohoo!

As you can see, it's called "Jungle is massive", which only means that I am still into that tribal groove and going towards my most beloved huge, enormous, oversized jewellery (I want it even bigger, believe you me). I am loving crochet for allowing me to go huge and stay light.

Most pieces are already in the shoppe, and now I let you browse and I hope you like what you see. (And, of course, I would love to hear what you think)

Cheers!

First the earrings:

This pic is to show you the size:

Then rings:

Bracelets/bangles:

And finally, my favourites of the collection - necklaces:

Happy Holidays! and.....tadah!....a GIVEAWAY!

Let's start with the giveaway!

Leave a comment on this blog post, or on the latest FB fan page status, and you will be participating in a draw for this lovely little ring. I will collect all the names and draw one from a hat (the old-fashion way) on 1 January 2010, and then announce the winner both here and on the FB Fan Page! The deadline is 31December 2009, at midnight!

In the meantime, I leave you with some of my holiday spirit and Mr. Heiny (the snowman of course).

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Flourishing away!

Something old, something new... Nope, no one is getting married, I just re-did some of the old pieces and posted them for sale on DaWanda. And then I did some new pieces, some of which already sold, or will be in the shop very soon.

So, here goes:

The following three pics are the re-done oldies, now available on DaWanda:

Perfume Boudoir brooch and ring

Simple Life ring

Spring in the forest necklace

The next three pics are the new pieces that already sold before they were even listed (yaay! - me very happy):

Secret Spring Garden earrings

Secret Spring Garden Necklace

Winter Paisley set

And, finally, these are the new pieces that will soon appear in the shop:

Secret Garden locket

I am very happy about this locket - it's made on a recycled Vaseline tin, and it opens just enough for you to put a little special something inside.

Court Garden earrings

Art Nouveau earrings

My head is full of ideas and projects, I need to pace myself and get organized. Anyways, hope you enjoy these and are looking forward to the holidays as I am :)

I will post some of my Christmas spirit in the next post, AND there is a New Year giveaway on its way as well!