Gold Leaf for the Holidays

I got out my gold leaf the other day for a little bit of holiday flash. I'm pretty pleased with the results on these opalescent headpins.

Winners!

Extra long brass wires on these blingy transparent leaf headpins

Goldstone latticino limpet bead caps with metallic edges.

see how they match my prop shell

I was experimenting with layered headpins. The second one just didn't behave so I flattened and twisted it. Makes even a more interesting set and I know you guys aren't afraid of mismatched!

I might have shown these before but they are merchandise now.

In my Etsy shop

I decided to finally list some of these Numi- Petra combos

( that's ScorchedEarthOnEtsy who makes these ceramic spikes)

Butter criffles 'n' spikes

Blueberry, Cranberry - Alaskan inspired criffles

Mmmm, lookit that pale green!

Orphan assortments in the shop. lots of them!

"Whorlpools"

asymmetrical crusty large whorls

( rust not included. I find such great things on my walks around this high desert town)

A great focal. If you don't want this, I do!

It's been a great year in ye olde numinositye shoppe and many thanks to you all that keep me going.

I know I've fallen off on blogging and following partly because I've been so dang busy in the studio keeping my shop stocked. Also I became a guest blogger over on LoveMyArtJewelry Blog twice a month and I guess I don't have so many blog blathers in me to overflow into my own.

So if you want to see what I've written there you just need to head over on the first and last Thursday of every month. There are new posts there every day from many talented artists with a wealth of skills to share.

I just did a post this week about murrini and millefiore  cane.

Check it out here.

And now for some potatoes that my son illustrated to send you on your way.

Summertime and the Living is Beady

These scrumptious crusty and ridged beads emerged from the kiln as quite a surprise. The clear base took on the color of the enamel and permeated in a most delightful way.

sometimes it's hard to tell just what the baking soda treatment will do to the colors of the glass. I have had some beautiful colors of purple turn out like this. I'll be listed more of these since they got snatched up by the first person I showed them to.

Yes, the outside ones were all beautiful shades of violet  and purple and now they are crusty cocoa

Some take it on much better.

I just did a post about headpins over at Love My Art Jewelry

You can see how many have been utilized and find a couple of tutorials on how to make your own from different materials not involving a torch as mine are.

I've been designing a lot of necklaces lately and selling them at our local farmer's market!

A BHClaysmith scarab with a bit of gold leaf added by me

A wee little Petra nest took wing almost immediately

I've decided not to sell this one with this amazing bead that actually has three faces. I had been hoarding it in my collection for over a dozen years since my first visit to the Tucson Gem Show.

I had forgotten the name of the artist and was reminded by a friend and found that she is 91 years old now and still making beads!

her name is Mary Tompkins and now I've decided (with the help of some facebook friends) that I should keep the necklace for myself.

I'm awfully fond of incorporating ceramic focals these days and they seem to help  the sales.

The large green one is by NKPdesigns. 

I throw in a few of my own beads so they won't get jealous.

These had their debut in Belle Armoire Jewelry this month.

They are called  "First Snow"

Those are my limpet bead caps and Kristi Bowman Designs wonderful copper paisley headpins.

It's my first time being published in that fine mag.

If you want to read something really funny try out this transizzle translator with any blog on Gizoogle.

You can read my blog with a totally different spin.

transizzled blog

You will be guaranteed to cry or pee your pants.

Reverse Procrastination

I was going to do a blog post about my WIP's that I had left behind before I went on my trip.

Somehow I was feeling guilty that rather than blog about the unfinished pieces I would go ahead and finish them. Weird psychology I know but that's what we do to ourselves, especially us self employed artist types. Skewed priorities sometimes!

Speaking of guilt/gilt, I picked up some gilders paste at the gem show and had a little gilt fest.

The organic looking pod thingy in this necklace was dyed turquoise blue but had some nice raised vein texture so I rubbed a onto that to bring bring it up a notch ( or tone it down depending on your point of view) That's a really lightweight iridescent shell bead encased which is perfect because I'm afraid those beautiful beads may be a bit fragile.

Just about everything in this piece has a bit of silver guilders paste on it.

The ceramic takes it on so well.

That's a bullet casing in the center adorned with one of my headpins/

This is a bit of a departure for me style-wise. Sorry I have no mannequin down here with me.

I had to make do with an antique rusted bicycle seat.

A little hard to get a good shot with this marvelous long focal pendant piece by Petra.

Making square shots of necklaces for Etsy is a continual challenge

Ukrainian artifact piece and some of my torch fired enamel.

No, I didn't make the lampwork bead. It's always a little funny using other's lampwork in my work. No problem with ceramic and otherwise but people automatically assume I made it and that can be confusing.

Outdoor shot of the ScorchedEarthonEtsy piece. I forget what she calls them...mystic sandstorm?

Let me tell you these oober headpins are fun to design with (lots in the shop today)

and you know what? ... those are gilded limpets that floundered in my shop because you all thought they looked dull and lifeless ( I'm assuming you did because I thought so too and they never sold)

They take the gilt quite well.

(Talk about a gilt trip!)

You've seen some similar to these before. Made with Petra's elephant hide ceramic beads.

There's a pair in the shop today. Different colors, tho.

Crublimpet earrings

Afghani silver components, coral and lava beads

These were made with those double headpins that I promised to make more of but never did.

Now I feel guilty again.

Some Afghani components and my torch fired enamel matchsticks

Let's have a better look at those headpins.

There are a few new things in my shop this week.

not listed yet

woooo!

mmmmm.....springy

and now for some textures and color from South America

Possibly the worst public art sculpture I have seen.

This was in Puerto Montt. So kitschy that it's cool, actually

how about them feet!

You would buy something from this guy wouldn't you. His name is Julio and he's a Guarani Indian from Paraguay.  Which reminds me I was going to do a post about the new stuff I bought, crafts and the like. Oh well, maybe next time.