Camera Necklace

Anyone who knows me will know that photography is one of my passions. If your jewellery and accessories can say something about who you are, then even better. I managed to find some camera charms on eBay and tuned one into a necklace. As well as the camera, the necklace is comprised of a long, antique gold-coloured chain and the camera charm is attached with some old clock cogs, to add an interesting detail.

There's something very therapeutic about playing around with some small parts and seeing if you can make something interesting.



Knotted Choker and Camera Withdrawal

I bought a couple of shell pendants in a sale and knotted some green cord to hang it form.

I've always really liked chokers and now my head is spinning with ideas for other choker ideas. Pay day was a week or so back so I bought a few things on eBay. It's amazing how vast the range of items for sale on eBay is.
I bought some antique gold coloured camera charms which I'm very excited about receiving. I think you can get a charm in just about every imaginable style so I'm tempted to put some themed bracelets together, even if they're already been done.

My camera battery has died on me. I miss it a lot but am grateful for my iPhone which is capable of producing some high quality and very interesting images.

This was taken in some woodland nearby. It doesn't look like it was taken in a heavily residential area, and it's a good reminder that there are photos to be had everywhere if you look closely enough.

A little blurred admittedly. Still, I like the whiteness and how it 'glows' in the grass.

With my camera out of action (hopefully temporarily) I will have lots of opportunities to exploit my iPhone and its potential.

Pink Rose Necklace

Hardly a day goes past when I can keep my hands away from the clay. Granted I haven't made anything particularly exciting yet but I still enjoy making basic shapes and using them for something.

Today I cut a scalloped frame and made a hole. I have hung a rose charm from the hole. I think the rose would have better suited a deep red frame instead but I have only pink clay at the moment so I might as well use it.

The frame is on a pink suede cord. It is admittedly quite pink but I have a feeling it might brighten up a white top-and I wear a lot of white in the summer.

Not that summer feels anywhere close at the moment. Cold and changeable weather and lots of rain have made it feel more like February. I'm not fond of the damp and the cold so I'm checking the weather forecast every day and waiting for an end to this low pressure.

Hanging Key Necklace

It seemed a shame to let my opened block of Fimo clay sit idle...so I got my tray and biscuit cutter out and came up with this necklace.

The frame is made from the granite Fimo I used for my bird necklace, also polished.

This open pendant has a key which hangs free in the centre (I feel like I've 'sold out' a little using the key motif. However I like them. And as long as I steer clear of butterflies I'll be ok). The chain is a broken necklace reused. Oh the joy of using opened/used/broken things to make something new  :)

The old postcard depicts Titania and Bottom from A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is my absolute favourite of Shakepeare's plays. I found it in a small antique shop in Maidstone yesterday and didn't hesitate to exchange a few coins for it. The shop has a whole box of old postcards so I think it'll be hard to keep away from there. I can't remember the name of it but will find out in case anybody is interested in old postacrds-they were probably a few hundred there!

The cutaway centre is currently awaiting its own transformation-hopefully by the end of the week.

Having grappled with jump rings for the last couple of hours I think it's now time sit still and watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I don't usually enjoy romantic films but this one I love.

Bird Necklace: a Late Night Date with Fimo

I used to love Fimo/Prima when I was younger but forgot about it for years until I found an aisle of it in Hobbycraft a few weeks ago. It's very cheap so I picked up a couple of blocks in case inspiration struck.

Last night I had an idea to make a pendant and ink the images of birds onto it.

The clay is called granite and is grey with little black iridiscent grains (which don't show up in the photos!). I cut the shape, added a stringing hole and baked it.

I used a bird ink stamp for the bird shapes. I had to go over them with a Sharpie as the ink wasn't drying. I finished the pendant with a coat of clear polish.

I was going to string it on a metal chain but decided it'd look better on a cord so reused some black waxed cord instead.

I love images of birds but most bird jewellery I've looked at on Etsy favours cute/cartoon images of birds which I'm not so fond of, so I'm glad I've now got a bird necklace with the images of birds I actually love :)

C'est tout and I have fallen in love with Fimo all over again, at 30 years old!

Handmade Rose Stitched Necklace

I've been browsing on Etsy a lot in the last few days and have been disappointed by much of the jewellery on there. There are some amazing pieces but there is also a lot of single cheap charms, just hanging from a plain chain-and charging £15 for something that cost less than £1 and had very little thought put into it. Well, enough whining. My sister got me some pliers for Christmas and I have lots of random jewellery hanging around- a few bought findings and also some old necklaces I didn't mind ripping apart for a greater good :) It was time for action...

I'm very into cross stitch at the moment and envisaged a cross stitched rose in the centre of this pendant. I couldn't find any cross stitch motifs small enough to fit in the pendant so I had an attempt at doing my own rose bud. I hope it's a passable attempt-it's difficult to get enough detail into a few stitches to attempt to create what you see!

I think next time I will try to stitch/embroider onto another fabric, such as linen, as the aida holes are a little distracting. Next time...yes there will definitely be a next time. I loved making this necklace, which is very much my style.

I added some red glass beads to bring out the red of the rose. I think some bead caps (I only realised what they were today, even though I've seen them a million times before!) would have worked better than the spacer beads but my supplies are very limited-I'm sure eBay can rectify that. Jewellery making seems very popular s a hobby and it's not hard to see why. There are nearly endless beads, findings and charms and so forth available very cheaply on eBay. I hadn't realised jewellery making could be such an affordable hobby.

Charity shops will probably be a good bet for cheap inspiration and resources. Not that I need inspiration at the moment, it seems I've had a million and one ideas for jewellery today. If only my hands could work faster!