CREATIVE CORNER: Mini Decoupage on Wood

One of the exciting and challenging things about making "experimental jewelry" is that I get to experiment with lots of techniques on very small surfaces... I have these large unfinished wood buttons, and I decided I wanted to decoupage them as a basis for further decoration.

Rather then decoupage, I did a mix between decoupage and papier mache! I glued little scraps from a Greek magazine, using a generous layer of decoupage glue so as to drench the scraps and fix them well to the wood.

Stay tuned for the next steps!

CREATIVE CORNER: Sea-Inspired Pendant

Here's what I've been working on... a new pendant after so many rings! :)

I finished it with polymer clay free-hand formed to suggest a sea-inspired form... The turquoise polymer clay frames the beautiful glass bead I have set in the wooden disk, so the piece is again (as so often in my work) a mixed-media piece. I just need to add a little hole for the ring and voilà... here is my new pendant!
I finished both sides of the piece with polymer clay, so there is no "wrong" side.

And here it is after oven-hardening...

CREATIVE CORNER: a New Creation and a Sweet Kitty!

I've been working with copper sheet, copper wire, wood and jet stone. I love to combine materials, making such different natures meet... the softness of wood, the shimmer of copper, the hardness of stone. This is going to be a ring, inspired by a special island I've never been to yet... but this is still a surprise :)!

During today's photo session on my mom's windowsill (my favorite background for taking pictures of my jewelry, I love the look and feel of natural stone!) a special guest star joined me... maybe she thinks she's jewelry too :)! This is Lilli, my mom's 2-year-old kitty, she's a sweetheart! This lovely beauty was born with a little genetic problem, she cannot open her left eye completely, but she's a beauty all the same... and such a sweet little bijou!

CREATIVE CORNER

Do you remember my Shahrzad rings? I had used polymer clay rosettes as the focal piece, and I had created them with a mold obtained from an oriental rosette on a beautiful Tunisian bangle. You can see the work in progress here and the finished rings here.
Well, when I looked closely at the wonderful metal buttons on one of my mom's cardigans, I KNEW they would make great molds and... great Greek-island inspired rings!

I grabbed my mom's cardigan and some polymer clay, created a mold, and after baking this mold, I used it to create the focal piece for my new rings!

I added a white hand-shaped base, and after baking the pieces I painted the relief part in blue... and here's the result! A miniature Cycladic church! Welcome to the Greek Islands again :)!

CREATIVE CORNER

I have a beautiful bangle I bought in Tunisia years ago. The details are amazing and I especially love the dome-shaped rosette, it's so detailed and perfect for creating a mold for oriental-style jewelry!

So I created a mold with polymer clay. Polymer clay is great for creating molds, it takes up the texture in a very detailed way. Look at the details in the second picture!

After baking the mold, I used polymer clay to create oriental rosettes in light blue and turquoise. I'm going to use them for my next project! Surprise surprise... you'll see the results soon! :)