Opera Fan Keepsake

     This is another experimental piece. I made the oriental fan and hand painted it. But I couldn't decide what to do with it. I put some sheet music behind it, added a tiny, hand painted vintage looking button in the corner, and put it between thin pieces of glass. The cornucopia bowl of fruit at the bottom is hand cast in pewter. 

     It looks like a metal shadow box, with several loops at the bottom where shiny crystals could be hung. 
     Or, if I can figure out the setting for the orange-red fused glass faux gem, it would look great with the japanese fan's color!
     The other shadowboxes I made earlier didn't have glass on the top, they were open. This one is glassed in on both front and back. 
     I like combining the resin, pewter, glass and solder to make something that looks really ancient.

Bling Soldered Setting

     This is another one of the beveled and fire polished faux gemstones from Monday's session at the studio. I made a wire setting and soldered it to the glass, with lots of loops so it can be hung various ways or have dangle attached. 
     I love being able to create my own faux gemstones. This one has a white glass backing, so the dichroic glass has a pink tinge to it, not luminous the way it is with black behind it.

     It's really hard to capture it in photographs, but when you tilt the dichroic a different direction and capture a reflective light hitting another part of the stone, it changes color. Here, it turns from the pink to a light blue-green color. So neat! I love dichroic glass!
     I wanted the wire wrapped setting to have an organic look, sort of like vines wrapping the glass. It's kind of hard to get it set just right, when the glass is hot, the soldering iron is hot, and all you want to do it grab it with your fingers and hold it, but you can't!
     Thank goodness for pliers and soldering aids! And my heat-resistant fingers.

Mother of Pearl or Not

I made a few more button charms.

And actually got them photographed and listed in the Etsy shop.

I was hanging onto them, thinking I'd make something out of them.

But I decided to go ahead and let go of these three.

I'm still doing a lot of sewing these days. Maybe I'll find a good time to shoot some pictures of the outfits.

In the meantime, if you like these button charms, they're out there in Etsy-land for you, if you want to play with them.

Bark and Leaf Buttons

Another button. This one's color reminds me of mahogany.

Or Autumn leaves.

This one has a wood grain to it.

I made it a two-loop connector.

All the buttons are in the Etsy shop.

In case you'd like to play with them.

Baby Blue Button

I picked up a jar of old buttons at a flea market.

I couldn't decide how to use them.

To start off, I made some of them into little charms, with a loop at the top.

And a dark metal finish.

This one is very quaint, with its baby blue color.

Reminds me of spring.

Time Bottle

Remember the post around the holidays, when I showed my polymer clay snowmen bottles?

I have a box of bottles like that, and I was thinking about how they could be hung like a pendant.

On Saturday I took some time in the studio and started to play with one of them.

I made a collar out of wire around the empty glass bottle, and used my solder to solidify it around the neck of the bottle.

Then I made some loops, trying to make it look very old like an antique tonic bottle from long ago, so that chain or a wire wrap can be added to the loops to make it wearable.

With the extra wire, I made two very small loops and joined them to each other on the back side, like a linked chain.

It reminds me of a patent medicine bottle, or something from an herbalists shop or apothecary.

I don't know what might go inside. A snippet of a map, a love letter? Some dyed costume pearls, or gold flakes in resin? Sand from a special beach, with a seashell?

I think I'll list this one in the Etsy shop. Maybe one of you would like to play with it., and make it part of a special story you're telling in jewelry.

Dark Heart

This heart started out to be ornate, ruddy, and a little spooky looking.

I fashioned it and added the color, then buffed and polished it.

Then I added some rough-hewn loops at the top. To attach a special wire wrapped bead chain, or some dark, heavy cording. 

I guess I have the dark holiday on my mind. Spooky! A little bit sweet, a little bit gothic.

Gazing and Wondering

I thought it might be fun this month to make up some little gazing balls, for dangles or to use on a charm bracelet. I want to use one as a dangle on a necklace, so I made up several last weekend.

Two are clear, and two are black. I'm thinking of looking for some red glass balls to encase. That would be interesting, for October designs. I put some in the Etsy shop, if you want to play with them.

You'd be surprised how hard it is to work with these round forms. They want to roll around. And it's hard to hang onto them, they slip through the pliers or grippers, and want to get loose. It's tricky too, getting the round loop on the top to be straight, when you're working with a little sphere.

But they're worth it once they're done.

Ivory Blue

Here's another of the components I created last week, this one to resemble carved ivory or old glazed porcelain.

It's one of the designs from the buttons that Deryn Mentock sent me, but instead of using the design in pewter it's made in polymer clay this time. I wanted them to look very old and worn, like ceramic tiles from an antique salvage yard or something.

Here is is again, but with a blue-tinted faux glaze this time.

And both of them with the faux filigree in wire. Each one is slightly different, I'm trying out various combinations in the wire.

I enjoy finding different ways to use the pattern from the antique button.

To give it new life and let it live again, in a new way.

Both of these are in the Etsy shop, if you want to try designing with this faux filigree.
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Tulips in Filigree

I made some faux handpainted porcelain components, and then sat back to think about what I wanted to do with them.

I didn't think I wanted to put them into pewter settings. I wanted something airy and open.

I looked at my collection of brass filigree, but I didn't have any that were large enough for the handpainted component, to wrap around it.

So I got out some wire, cut some lengths and decided to see if I could create a filigree look myself.

I started bending and curling the wire, making different shapes.

Then decided how they might combine with each other and with the little oval shape, to create a frame for it.

This is how it turned out. I like the yellow highlighted background, and the yellow-green leaves. With just a touch of red in the tulips. Like a handpainted tulip portrait.

I plan to keep playing with this combination, the faux porcelain centerpieces with the wire faux filigree.

It reminds me of a very old, handpainted antique. 

Round and Round

I snagged a few hours for creativity, and decided to create some more of these soldered glass connectors.

I like them, especially the ones with things about Paris and very vintage images in them. Snippets from love letters. Old writing.





They have two loops for using in a chain, or I guess as a focal with a dangle.

I could see a bracelet with them, maybe with buttons in between as connector links.

I need to make more of these, they're fun.

Phases and Notations

I only got a couple more of the small round glass soldered charms made last weekend.

One has musical notation on both sides.


The other one has markings of the phases of the moon from an old almanac. New moon, full moon, first phase. All in notations.


I love the way the markings are on paper, for both.

Both are symbols for something higher and inexpressible.

The lovely sounds of music.

The beautiful phases of the moon.

Keep This Coupon, Admit One

Remember in grade school when you went to the carnival, or to the State Fair, and they gave you a ticket?

On one side it would say "ADMIT ONE" and on the other, if there was a raffle or door prizes, it would say "KEEP THIS COUPON" and maybe you'd get lucky and win something, if your number was drawn.


This small round connector has the image of those tickets in it. One side is blue, one side is orange.


I'm going to make more of the smaller round connector glass charms. I take them with me in front of the TV when I watch the news and wrap the round glass with copper foil tape. It's not too messy, I can do it upstairs instead of in the studio.

And it makes me feel like I'm doing something creative and useful while I'm watching TV.

I have a whole stack of the small round ones to do. And later I'm going to make more with dictionary definitions on them, long skinny rectangular ones.

This is the first one I finished up. ADMIT ONE. Good to know, while I'm watching a movie or something.

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PS - Don't forget to jump over to the Art Bead Scene Blog if you want to post a comment to have a shot to win the "MAKE ART" bracelet ... look for my Studio Saturday post!

Times and Places, Two Kinds of Faces

Did you know that I create the round glass for enclosing the images for these glass soldered charms?

It's a messy deal, I take the thin glass and with a circle template I draw the circular shapes on it with a permanent marker, then coat it with a thin film of Vasoline.

That's to keep the permanent marker from washing off while I'm shaping the circle on the grinder. The grinder bit has to have a flow of water on it, so there's lot of splashing and glass particles flying around when I do it.

And inevitably I grind my forefinger nails - they're a mess.

I get completely covered with glass dust, so I make sure I'm wearing my leather apron, eye protection and a dust mask over my face.


These I made last night, but I didn't make a late night of it. I do feel better now that I'm on my prescriptions, but I didn't want to push it. That's the thing about walking pneumonia - you start to feel better so you get up and start running around and then you relapse. So I'm being more careful.

These are vintage french bistro clock faces. On the backs of some I put an image of fancy brocade cloth in a matching color, and on others I put a portrait, very old-fashioned looking. Clock faces, people faces.


I made some of them very simple, and some with a few little fancy flourishes.


One of the circle pendants is a portrait of two hugging children in a very old photograph. Very sweet.

If it warms up a bit today, which seems unlikely, I want to pour some resin. I haven't been able to do that for weeks.

I got the news yesterday by email that my resin article for Belle Armoire Jewelry will be in the Summer Issue instead of the next one, for Spring. That's okay, I'm happy to have confirmation that it's being published - I'll just have to wait a few months more, that's all.

Asian Right Side UP Hoping So

I love the look of asian characters, but I'm always wondering if I have them going the right way around. And I also worry that in their native language they say something silly like "buy dog food" instead of something meaningful about life or the cosmos.


I put this asian writing pendant together, and put the Pagoda style pewter charm next to it. My hands are itching to put together some jewelry with these glass pendants but so far I've been good and listed them, so if you want to play with them you can get to them.

I always know I can make more for myself later. The problem seems to be getting later to actually happen.

I'm thinking of setting Friday nights aside for play time in the studio. And setting a time limit, no more all-nighters!

Cuts into my Saturday morning time too much when I stay up so late.

But it was FUN!!

Paper Path, Scissors Surf

Does it count as sleeping in when you stay up until 2:00 am making things and don't get up until 8:00 the next morning?

On the weekends I usually jump up and run to the studio by 6:00 am. Not this morning, though.

So if you've been anxiously waiting to find out about the giveaway, that's why I'm just now on the scene again this morning. I'm a lazybones!

I had an itch last night to use some glass and paper to create some connectors and pendants. After dinner I went down to the studio, and the rest is just being engrossed in what I was doing.

I had a stack of broken china crockery and I wanted to turn some pieces of it into little connectors also. Right in the middle of things when I was handling it I nicked my knuckle and the silly thing wouldn't stop bleeding - I applied a bandaid onto it and soldiered on. Who says making jewelry isn't dangerous sometimes. Especially when I'm tired, I get clumsy.


These are the results of that late night work. Old paper ephemera with lovely antique images, between glass and surrounded by swirls and loops of wire. I got started making the round ones and then decided to make some other shapes.

Here are the fronts of some of them.


And here are the backs of them. They're reversible!



I had decided to let myself play on Friday night, even though I had orders and requests to work on, I let myself do anything I wanted, just to play around at will. Apparently I wanted to do a lot, and I didn't want to quit.

Today I'll get myself focused back on orders and things I need to send out. But it was sure fun playing last night ... and early, early this morning. Happy Saturday!


Do you think these little glass soldered connectors are fun?

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I really appreciate all the feedback about the way ahead in 2010. Some folks make New Year resolutions, I make decisions about the focus and energy, and you helped. There was a lot of great feedback about the pewter. I'm so happy you like it! Especially because I love-love-love making it. I know it won't be the only thing I make, I like to have things to use with the pewter and sometimes I want some color, too.


Anyway, the winner of the Pea Leaf Giveaway is Sue at Suebeads, thanks so much for your feedback. Click on the icon with "EMAIL THE RINGLEADER OF LLYYNN" and send me the shipping information and I'll get it out to you. I hope you like it!

And as I sometimes do, if you posted a comment on the Giveaway post on Monday, you get a 10% discount on anything in either Etsy shop - just put "PEA LEAF" in the comments to the seller and I'll send you the savings!

There's a lot of pewter in the Etsy shop right now, and some of the glass connectors, so you can hopefully find something you like there.

Words and Pictures

This past weekend I pulled out some of the resin pieces I made earlier in the fall, when the weather was milder, and started working on bezels for them.

I like adding the resin to the pewter for the color and the texture. And the resin is lightweight, it keeps the pieces lighter when I use them.

These three turned out really well, I thought.

I was concerned I might have to re-learn how to set them, but it was no problem, the hands and eyes remembered.



This one has the word "BREATHE" in old fashioned typewriter style lettering, over a light background. The pewter setting has loops at the top and one hole at the bottom, maybe for a dangle or pretty stones.


I made this one with the word "JOY" in the center and an old photo in the background. It's a lady and gentleman riding in an old fashioned automobile, the type with an open top. It reminds me of the flickering movie shows you see sometimes, in black and white, of the turn of the last century.


And this one has a lovely lady's portrait, she looks so serious, surrounded by flowers in the pewter setting.

All three are translucent, the light shines through when you hold them up to a window or lamp.


I like making them that way. Like a tiny, secret picture show.

Charlotte Angel Was Worth It

Well, the hands are cleaner today. However, I did manage to burn myself -- twice.

A while back, you may remember, when I got a new soldering iron, I burned my left hand middle finger by accidently touching the business part of the soldering iron. It healed up, I just have a little scar. Hurt like crazy, though.

Yesterday, while melting some pewter, I accidently touched the hot metal at that same place on the same hand. It didn't blister, maybe because I put ice on it right away.

Then later in the day, I did it again with the other hand.

So I have matching middle fingers.

I leave burns open, no bandaid or bandage on them, so they can heal cleanly.



So what was I doing to earn all this damage to my hands? I was putting the finishing touches on this Angel Charlotte.

After all, if Charlotte froze as it says in the story, surely she became a celestial angel?

This one is going in a special goodie package to a friend, I hope she goes over well.

She has holes in her legs for jump rings or wire wrapping. And long wires out of her angel wings, to be used for beads or wire wrapping for connectors.



She may be too large for jewelry, she is quite a good sized angel, but I can see her as a holiday ornament or used in some way around the house.

Myself, I'd make a giant pendant and wear her as jewelry, but that's just me being my usual silly self.

So off I go to the regular routine, I need to find time to make holiday greeting cards soon.

And Angel Charlotte is going to her new home.

Adieu, Charlotte, Angel!

Treasure Trove and Freckled Faces

I go back and forth between media. Sometimes I'm working with polymer clay, and I get on a roll with that.

The next time I'm in the studio I might be casting pewter, making up some components to have ready. Or working on the resin to make some colorful additions for the pewter.

Every so often I get the urge to work with glass and make tiny collages. On one of those sessions I made this focal, with the words "tiny fleeting freckled face" inside.

I sent it to Erin Prais-HintzTesori and she made this lovely piece by combining it with some other colorful and interesting components.

Erin is a lovely Artfriend and very talented. I can't wait to see the next thing she make using some of my components.

It's like sending them out into the world and into the talented hands of jewelry designers, to reach their completion and become something BEAUTIFUL.

Tuesday Tips and Helping Hands and Eyes

I got my new DELPHI GLASS catalog.



Remember when you were a kid and the holiday Sears catalog would arrive? I'd spend hours looking it over, thinking about all the cool stuff.

When the Delphi Glass catalog comes, it's just like that. I think anyone who reads this blog knows, I'm a tool loving fool.


I have soldering stands. Two sizes, to fit my two sizes of soldering irons.

And I have magnifying lights. But I don't have a third hand. What's that?


It's something that holds things in place while you use a torch or soldering iron, so you don't get burned while you work. But your items stay still, and you can clamp things together. This one has a spotlight built into it. And two little helping hands.

Helpful for things like making glass birdhouses. Or adding tiny loops to pewter. It's so tempting sometimes to just reach down and hold onto things, but I can't. Burn warning!

I've been cheating and using wooden clothes pins. So far nothing has ignited. Don't you think this would be much safer, yes?


I saw this cool tool. It has the magnifier. And a lamp. Plus a soldering stand for the soldering iron. And best of all, it has a double third hand built right in. SWEET!

I think I must have this. Maybe I'll get a coupon for Delphi with a discount. I'm really sure I need this. And it's not expensive, as tools go.

Tools! Wonderful Tools!
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Well, the lightning strike fun never ends.
I went to do a load of laundry on Monday, and the washing machine wouldn't turn on.
OH NO!
I opened the dryer, and the light came on. HMMMMM.
I got a wooden chopstick from the kitchen and poked the Ground Fault Plug Reset Button. The light came back on in the electric plug.

WHEW - I thought - The washing maching isn't fried!
Then I remembered.
The DEEP FREEZER CHEST is plugged into that same Ground Fault outlet.
And it's been TWO WEEKS now since the lightning strike.

I leave the rest to your imagination. I will just say that I wish, REALLY wish, I had tried to do laundry and found out about this a long, long time ago.

Just picture a fairly full chest deep freezer that's been unplugged and warming up for two weeks.

I need say NO more!