Things

This is what I saw from my window on Saturday morning.... reading the news, a lot of people in Europe and the East Coast of the US saw the white stuff too ... keep warm!

Don't you love when someone knows exactly what kind of surprise you'd love ?
This amazing fish bone ( a saw fish?) was given to me by a dear friend whose Uncle works in Brazil.

She also gave me this gorgeous seeds and feathers necklace.

And I also received this beautiful stone from another friend. It seems to be flint and the hole is natural.

This necklace is made of two watch chains ( from my grand fathers), a bronze "thing" from the Middle Age, a kind of magnifier ( found at the flea market last summer) . The crystal and the bullet case are from Sherry.

Always

Nickel silver, silver plated copper, vintage glass pearls.

Earrings

They're for a friend's birthday.

#1. sterling hooks, aluminum, wood beads

#2. sterling hooks, seed beads, cowries, silver plated copper wire

#3. copper, brass, turquoise

Have a great day and keep warm (or cool if you live on the other side!).

Another one

Polymer clay , glass and brass.

Thanks for the previous comments!

Busy, busy, busy !

I have been busy making jewelry and other stuff (I won't mention the other stuff, they are really not as fun as making jewelry!).

Polymer clay pendant, textured with handmade stamps, milagro charm, horn and glass beads.

Polymer clay pendant, glass, brass.

I made these in Sherry's studio. They really were fun to make. They are real stones.

The necklace below is from Sherry. She gave it to me just before I went back home. I have worn it almost every day since then...

She also gave me these fun earrings. They are so cool and so comfortable!

More polymer clay pendants soon and some other experiments!

Thanks for stopping by ! :)

Boost

Since my return I have been playing with polymer clay.

Working with Sherry gave me a boost, ideas are flowing, new experiments are on their way...

More jewelry to show soon plus the beautiful necklace and earrings Sherry gave me...

It's a kind of magic ...

Internet is ...
On March the 31st 2007, I noticed someone from Tennessee left a link to my blog on their blog.
So I visited this blog and left a comment.
More than two years later after many e-mails and mails and packages I finally met Sherry.
I have been blessed to meet her and her family. They are awsome and generous people.

During my stay we explored Middle Tennessee, met a lot of interesting people and had some kind of jewelry workshop at StillWaters studio! We made faux polymer clay turquoise, other kind of beads, Sherry made some glass beads ( I was to0 scared to try : glass and fire together sound a bit scary to me and also using both hands at the same time!), we etched some copper, carved some stones, made some soldered bezels and fused some glass ... It was so fun to work together and to get to see how each of us gets things done.

We also went to see The Georgia O'Keeffe exhibition in Nashville and I got to see the Bat Tower!

We went to some cool stores and galleries too.

I also got to meet Shawn from Silo Studio ( she makes cool signs and cool furniture).

Here some of the stuff I made

Sherry wrote on her blog that her life is richer now she has a new friend, it's the same for me.

I really hope she will visit my tiny country and stay at my tiny tiny home!

Once again, thank you so much for this wonderful week, Sherry. I am very fortunate to know you :)

I love the postman !

When he delivers beauties like these :

Lucie made this gorgeous necklace, I don't even want to know how she made it, I know I won't have the patience to try ! This truly is a labour of love ... I know, I'm spoiled !

And she also sent some cool beads ( already in a drawer) and this tusk, it's huge and perfect for some very savage neckpiece!

So go visit Lucie's blog, she really makes wonders with thread, a needle and seed beads !

Thank you so much Lucie, MERCI ( je vais me venger !).

Vote for Sherry !

Look at this eye looking at you! Don't you think it's a great pendant ? It's Sherry's entry for the Objects and Elements challenge "Put me in a bezel". So click on the link and vote!

I also wanted to thank you for all the previous comments, it's really nice of you to stop by and comment. :)

I will try to update my etsy shop next month...

totem

Brass, wood ( cherry tree), silk, bronze ( lost wax casting from 2 years ago).

Relics

1. Leather, fine silver, brass, old Tudor era bronze piece, stamped brass, salvaged ivory ( from an old broken statue).

2. Medieval bronze ring ( or older), fine silver, salvaged silver spoon handle, found bone piece.

3. Sterling chain from Syria, found bone piece, 9mm bullet case, horse hair, fine silver, salvaged ivory, Tudor era bronze pieces.

A note on the ivory : I know ivory is badddddddd ( well it's good on its owner), I had this broken statue I inherited from my grand mother... rather than throwing it I decided to use it in my jewelry...

A note on the inspiration : after posting this I realised than I might have been inspired by the work of Ramona Solberg, the grandmother of found art jewelry.

Setting stone

This one was inspired by Sherry's beautiful settings. It's my first attempt ... I still need some practice...

Ancient

Turquoise, coral, wood, brass, copper, amber, bone, polymer clay, stoneware, resin .

The focal is a very very old bronze ring ( middle age or older) and a stoneware pendant I made.

I'm quite pleased with it, it was fun to make and the colors make me happy!

Massaï

Bronze, glass beads and handmade brass pendant.

Painted Sky

Rock to Metal

The carnelian neolithic pendant on the left was the inspiration for the copper pendant on the right. The stone pendant is about 2" long (5cm).

Lucie, pour le collier de l'autre fois, il y a un trou dans la lèvre supérieure de la bête ( si tu agrandis la photo, tu pourras l'apercevoir).

Necklace

Bone, metal, coral, polymer clay turquoise

"May you live every day of your life".

Jonathan Swift

Being there

You will begin to touch heaven, Jonathan, in the moment that you touch perfect speed. And that isn't flying a thousand miles an hour, or a million, or flying at the speed of light. Because any number is a limit, and perfection doesn't have limits. Perfect speed, my son, is being there.


Richard Bach from Jonathan Livingston Seagull

The Winner !

The winner is Dorcas! She made this altered image to tell the story of Babba Yagga.
Thanks to all those who left a comment, don't be disappointed there will be another challenge next month!
Well done Dorcas!

Hidden Missives

A few weeks ago I traded some stuff with Jay from Hidden Missives.
He sent this "NeolithicCritter" and the other one who has no name...yet.
These are tiny ,a little bit less than one inch! But the details are amazing. I have been a fan of Jay's work for a few years now. Make sure to visit his blog.

I still don't know what name to give to the last one. One thing I know, it's a"she".

Could you help me find her name and maybe her biography?

The one I'll like best will win the "Teeth" earrings of the other day! So are you ready to play?

I'll choose the winner next friday, might even ask Jay to help me pick the winner !

The Heart of a Black Crow

Silver plated copper, resin beads, cotton fabric, polymer clay

Many many years ago, I rescued a black crow. I think it has been learning to fly and never made it back to the nest. It was all alone by the side of the road. I kept it for 6 months. It never learned to fly. It could use its wings to land but not to take off. Even landings were not that good because once it ripped the under of its wing on some wire. I do not think the vet ever stitched a crow wing before!

During the days it was free to wander around the house and then one day it disappeared. I wish the story had a happy ending, I loved this bird. Wish I could say it finally learned to fly and got back to its crow family. I don't think it did, more likely a buzzard got it. Its name was Bataki, it's the name of the Raven in the book "Nils Holgersson" , there are crows too in the story though but their names did not appeal to me and they were not as nice as the raven was !

Thank you all for stopping by my blog and thanks for your lovely comments!

Oh! I also want to share a link with you. This artist makes wonders with fabric and images : Les bijoux d'Odette. Go have a look, you won't be disappointed!

Back to metal

It's a commission for a colleague, I'll find out next week if he likes it... He asked me to make a simple silver bracelet for his wife.

Lucie's Beaded Beads

You might remember these beads. Lucie from Bijoux EclecTiQues made them for me.

Today while I was looking for some pendants I made and put away in a safe place, I saw them or should I say they saw me : " c'mon make something with us" they were shouting. I did. I made these earrings. Silver plated copper, Lucie's BB and sterling earwires.

I also found the pendants...much later and of course not where I thought they were!

Teeth

Polymer clay, pewter and sterling silver earwires.

Compass

Not the golden one... this one is lightweight : cotton, brass, resin , plastic beads. I was about to get rid of these plastic beads when I thought " wait a minute, these could be great in a rosary style chain"....

Lindsay has been using some of the buttons I made for her, check her store !

Hey Lindsay, the bag is gorgeous! Love its name ! haha!

Hoodoo

Playing aroud with a Canon EOSD60 ... still need to practice...

Buffalo tooth, brass, bone, coral, clay, wood and amber.

C.J.

Cotton, copper, brass, glass, resin and agate.

The Heart of an Ex-Punk Rocker !

Cotton, turquoise, shell, coin, coral, glass, wood, african trade bead, bone

Cotton, metal, wood, resin, safety pins.

Well I never got a mohawk hair cut but I used to wear tight jeans, dark shirts and combat shoes and listen to a lot of punk music like the Ramones, The Sex Pistols and the Clash ...

Edgar P.

Burlap, cotton, poly clay, an old rusty pen nib , crystal glass, shell, brass . The pen nib, crystal and shell pendants were given to me by Steph at Savage Salvage.
There are more to come... I'm a busy girl this summer !

In case anyone is wondering what it looked like...

I found this video...



It's just a part of the storm... Just before the hail stones we had very strong winds, some people said it even looked like a tornado...

Bead inspiration anyone?

And these "beauties" had melted a bit when I took the picture...

Yesterday evening I had the misfortune to witness the biggest thunderstorm I've ever seen.

The garden is ruined...

Jolly Roger

Brass, bone and copper necklace

Brass, glass , resin ,bone and niobium earwires.

13 parts of my world ...

To have a better look just click on the picture!

1. Hello !
2. Bench pin.
3. Skulls ( and Lucie's necklace)
4. I just painted the kitchen could'nt resist showing it!
5. Voodoo bead soup.
6. My model and her necklaces.
7. Prayer flags
8. Pliers ( and yes I need them all).
9. Beach glass soup ( a gift from a gifted friend... she has no blog yet).
10. Voodoo bead soup.
11. Beads,beads and more beads.
12. and more beads.
13. And ...

This was to answer Lindsay's post from last week !
Hope you're all enjoying the summer ( and the winter as well !)

C.I.F. and other things

These are the gifts I sent to Elsie. A necklace with a handmade stoneware pendant and earrings with old belgian coins. Check Elsie's blog and shop.

And Sherry spoiled me with this amazing necklace. She knows I love the settings she makes so she surprised me with this beauty ! Check her blog and shop !

I sent these "candy" buttons to Lindsay... one day they will adorn her beautiful purses. Check her shop and her blog!

I bought a jewelry stamp last month and here's something I made using it. Aluminium, silver,silver plated copper and vintage glass pearls.

I also have been busy gardening, hunting treasures at the flea market ( well they must be "treasures" when you see the prices asked ! I managed to get some cool religious medals to swap with Steph at Vision In Silver).

So what have you been up to ?