Oh So Charming Swap - continued

Before mailing off my charms for the Oh So Charming Swap I took pics of the whole bunch of charms. They just seemso much cooler all together for some reason! Forgot to take a pic of the little tag I included with my "Fly Away Home" charms though. It was done in a similar fashion to the one shown with my "Blue Moon" charms. I've seen some wonderful charms in the postings for this swap so far and can't wait to get them all in my hands to ooh and aah over. It seems that a lot of charms are done using recycled or "found" items. Wish I had thought of that too, but we'll have a nice mix this way.

Wire-Worked Bracelets

Well now that I've made a bunch of charms and
will be getting a bunch in the swaps I'm in, I
figured I better have a bracelet on which to hang
them. Also, my group of close friends in the
"Radish Ladies" wanted me to demo how to make a wire bracelet for THEIR charm swap. So I set to work playing with copper wire to see what sort of linked bracelets I could find to make.

I admit to finding link designs all over the internet and I reproduced them to make my own bracelets. Some were harder than others. Two were free-formed using just chain nose and round nose pliers. The one with heart links and the one with a sort of "S" link were formed using a Thing a Ma Jig with little pegs to bend the wire around - and pliers too.

Oh So Charming Swap

I just had to try my hand at some of the very cool
hand made charms I've seen posted on the 'net. So
I joined the art-e-zine sponsored "Oh So Charming"
Charm Swap that is hosted by Dawn Sellers. What
fun! And of course, I can't ever seem to just do
something "a little bit" - I had to make TWO sets
of 25 charms! Now two of my other (face to face)
groups are also doing charm swaps within their
memberships.

My first charms - "Blue Moon" were made with
some little cobalt blue glass mosaic pieces I found
at the craft store - wrapped with 18 ga. copper wire.
I added a little dangly with more copper wire and
some extra beads and added an extra jump ring for
hanging on the bracelets.

The second batch of charms - "Fly Away Home"
were made with a purchased polymer clay,
flower-caned bead that I found in the 25 cents a
pack aisle - whoo-hoo! - at the craft store. I used
antiqued brass wire for this one and made two spirals
for the top and bottom of the bead, plus a loop at the
top and added a dangly with a ladybug and another
little antique brass bead, all hung off another big jump
ring.

If you get the chance to participate in a charm swap,
I highly recommend it. Even 25 charms don't take
huge investments of time or money and with a little
warning, you can even be on the lookout for "found"
objects to incorporate. Can't wait to get my swap
outs back and see everyone elses handiwork!

Bookbinding - another love....

This is a soft leather journal I created in a class with Lisa Ohmer at the recent Artiscape weekend. She is a superb teacher - very patient - and gives excellent directions. I think I'll be trekking south to Columbus whenever I can for more classes with her at European Papers.

Quilting

Speaking of returning to my roots - this is one of the quilted wallhangings I've done. I'll try to post more in the coming days. Once I figure out how to get decent shots of them. It is hard to get good detail in a flash picture I'm finding....

This piece is called "Quilting Friendships" and was a statement on how the shared love of quilting can help to bridge gaps - in race or otherwise - and provide a basis for some wonderful friendships at the same time.

You can also alter fabric...

This is my first attempt at doing anything altered with fabric. I started out my crafting life as a quilter, so this was a natural return to my roots. Many thanks to my friend, Linda Koch for showing us how to bead, embellish, etc. on fabric and for sharing the inspiration of her gorgeous pieces with our Art Gang Ohio group!

I am also an avid reader and a book - generally a good mystery is never far from hand. So making book covers with my embellished fabric was the perfect place for these fun techniques. The hardest thing for me was remembering that unlike regular hand quilting, in this case you WANT the stitches to be big and irregular!!!! I've got several more of these book covers in progress that I will be offering for sale on eBay in the next week or so.

More beeswax collage

I love beeswax! This piece was done on two 6" x 6" canvases, hinged together. I began by layering and collaging various papers, stamps, pigment inks (direct to paper), images and other ephemera - gluing it all down with a polymer medium. Then coated all with the beewax. It wasn't until weeks later that I learned you can actually apply the papers, etc. with the beeswax and leave off the polymer medium all together.

Beeswax Collage

This is my first try at beeswax collage, but oh, what fun! And the smell is heavenly. After creating the first two pieces one evening, I left them in the studio - and when I returned the next morning, it was like walking into a honeypot! Yum! The beeswax (I get it from a friend who raises bees) leaves a nice texture too - one that you can make thick or thin to suit yourself.

Another cigar box purse

This collaged cigar box purse really was right up my alley - besides being paper artsy, it is also of a historical nature. Did I mention my love for genealogy and history? But alas, it sold to a nice lady in Iowa in one of my recent eBay auctions....

Collaged Cigar Box Purses

Yet another of my obsessions - one never knows how these will look when starting out....at the end of the journey through inks and paints and ephemera you (hopefully) end up with something fun and interesting. I love using the beautiful wooden cigar boxes to create a very chic purse! And they're selling fairly well on eBay too!

More Secret Gardens

This black, silver, white and grey Secret Garden bracelet weighs a ton! I love how these bracelets showcase really special beads and you never know what you're going to find in there!

Beaded

Secret Garden bracelet - it is so much fun to wear! See what I mean about being stuck in a rut color-wise? At least, this one is for sale (I won't mention that I have a similar one already!) by me on eBay. See link below if you're interested in seeing my auctions. http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZladibugged

More beaded pieces

This is a spiral wrap (spring wire) bracelet I made and wear often. These are my favorite colors. I really am in a rut and must broaden my color palette....

This is a watch band I made after seeing one a friend bought at an art fair. My first foray into bead embroidery.

Beading, beading and more beading....

I've been in a beading frenzy lately....making pieces for fun, for family and a few to sell on eBay too...if you're interested in seeing my auctions my seller name is ladibugged....go figure! I really love doing bead embroidery and keep finding more things I can do with it, like this goddess pin.