Archive for the ‘Finished Pieces’ Category

So life here is busy. Running three businesses tends to keep me on my toes.  Sadly that means I don’t get to update this blog as much as I like.  It’s in the back of my mind, but there is always something that must come first.

Well, enough of that.  I have so much to tell you about what I’ve been doing!

Firstly, I am crafting like mad.  Much of it isn’t jewelry but costuming for the live action role play I am a part of.  If there is interested I might post pictures of the sewing I’ve been doing.  Sewing takes more time than it should because I’m not really very good at it, so I spend much of my crafting time fixing the errors I’ve made.  Eventually I should be able to cut down on the mistakes, but I’m still waiting on that part!  I know all you lovely people come here to see sparklies so I’ll share what I’ve been doing on the jewelry side first.

I have multiple sets of earrings I have put together.  Earrings are quick and easy and always make me feel like I’m all dolled up.  On those days when I am feeling like a mess and a half I toss on some eyeliner and a pair of wild earrings and I actually feel pretty.  Feeling good about yourself is half of what makes the day go well!

From left to right: These gold chain earrings are made from a necklace I found at a goodwill.  I had enough of the necklace to refashion it into a matching necklace.  I made them for one of my characters that misses the sunshine of her home.  The gold was perfect for her.  The silver axes are for another of my characters.  Her name is Alice Cooper and she takes after her namesake fairly heavily.  These earrings are so metal they were perfect for her.  The third pair is a pair I made because I love the look of them.  The last pair was a beautiful find.  I found the drops at a local craft store and fell in love.  Gold and black with iridescent sparkles.  So yummie!

Secondly I’ve been working on a steampunk/dieselpunk themed section of jewelry.  I bought these cogs and gears in a bundle and have no supplier to replace them, so all of these are limited edition unless I can find a regular supplier.  They are put together with a strong adhesive so there shouldn’t be any issue of them falling apart in the heat like there would be if I had used hot glue, but seeing as how they are metal they WILL get hot if exposed to direct sunlight.  Talking from experience here.

I love the steampunk genre, even as it’s picking up in popularity.  I’ve had my eye on the scene for years now, watching the creativity that comes out of it.  I figured it was about time I dip my toes into the style and express my beauty.  These pieces were prototypes of pieces for a more military look but I think they would work for any engineer or tinker that wanted some flair to spice up their costume.  Of course, I am perfectly happy to wear these things on a daily basis.  They are just so much fun!

There will be more of these coming as I still have quite a few gears to play with. Bwahahaha!

I am planning on making these pins and necklaces, and I have a few ideas for bracelets too.  I found a pin back that can turn into a necklace so I might just grab a few of those to give folks options if they want to switch between pin and necklace.  I admit I loved the winged one so much I expanded on the idea to make something much more ornate that kept the wings.

How much fun is that?  The more I play with these gears the more ornate they get, which really shouldn’t be a surprise given how I love my little details.

As always, if you see something you like, I take commissions.  I’ve not been able to take decent pictures to get all of these up on the store, but rest assured, I have plans to get them there soon!  I have earrings and some new bracelets and necklaces that need to go up soon as well.  I will be setting aside time to do all of this later this week, so hopefully things will get updated very soon.  Thanks for your patience and I can’t wait to see what you think about all the new pieces!

Needless to say life has been keeping me busy and I love it!  I am at my most creative when my life is filled with things to do, I just have to makes sure I take the time to actually create and not let that aspect of my life fall to the wayside in favor of all the other things that I need to get done in all the other areas of my life.

Life is short, make stuff!

I have been working on a rather large project for the past few weeks and haven’t been able to give as much time to my beads as I would like to.  I really need to make sure to set aside time each week to work on creating and designing jewelry, it really relaxes me and boy, oh boy, can I use some relaxation now.  Jewelry creation has been a passion of mine for years, and it keeps getting interrupted by all the other things I need to do in life!  Luckily, I am blessed by a supportive husband who loves me and wants to see me succeed, so that helps.  He helps me overcome my anxiety and frustration and for that I can’t thank him enough.

Even with life exploding all over my creative time, I have been able to create a new piece for stock and wanted to share them with you lovely folks.  In the next few days I am hoping to have this bracelet and all the other new pieces in the store so folks can purchase them if they like them.

The first piece is a lovely bracelet that would be perfect for someone with slightly smaller wrists.  I can fit it on my wrists but it’s a wee bit tight.  Swarovski crystal makes this bracelet sparkle!  It was created by me, the pattern is by Ellad2.

 

I have a bracelet on the workbench now too!  I should have it finished in the next few days.  Here is a sneak peek.  I’m working it in purples as that is my second favorite color!

 

I have so many ideas for my own patterns, and I am thinking of uploading a few of my own patterns for download here on the blog, what do you think?  Would you like some simple patterns to download?  I have a few I made for several classes I taught last year.  Might be fun to see what you guys can make out of them!

Last but not least, something totally not bead related!

For years I have wanted to add a bit of color to my hair.  I used to dye it bright red.  But I’m already a bit red in the face so it wasn’t exactly flattering.  I wanted something that would take the rosy cheeks and tone them down a bit.  So I found a lovely hair stylist and she gave me a few streaks of blue!  It’s such a great color of blue too, I absolutely love it.  She also added a lighter patch in front, where all my grey is because I love the stripe of white!  If it wasn’t such a pain to grow out I would leave that part natural and wear it with pride!  Since I have no patience to let the color grow out, I figured this was the next best thing.

Take a look!

How has winter been for you?  We have had a massive amount of snow here and I for one will be glad when it gets warm enough that I can open up the windows and air out the house.  Not to mention seeing the grass again!  I am so used to spending at least one weekend a month out in nature, camping or hiking.  Something where we can get out and stretch our legs a bit.  Sadly we have been so sick the last two months that we have had to skip our nature weekends!  I miss it terribly!  I would love to get back out into the wilds and breathe deep.  It’s so relaxing.

Despite the wave of illness that has kept me from heading outside, I have been able to work on several crafty things lately. If I can’t get outside, I might as well make the most of the time I spend inside!  I figured I would share a few of the projects with you to let you know I am still alive and kicking.  Life has been super busy here at The Jeweled Heron and once the sun returns I will take pictures of my new creations and post them in the store!  As always if you see something you like, let me know.

Seeing as how I love lists, (Big shock coming from the girl who likes to organize her beads eh?) I am going to organize my thoughts into a nice list for you all.

I finished organizing my beads!  It was great!  Then I found another hidden stash of beads that has yet to be organized by the new organizational system I am using.  I’m not sad about this.  I’m actually looking forward to trying to fit them in.  Does that make me weird? I have finished another pendant.  When I was working on this one I was certain I wouldn’t like it.  However, now that it is done, I’m actually liking it quite a bit.  I am going to do it in another color to see if I _actually_ like it or if it was just a fluke.  Till then, here is a picture of it. I tried my hands at another pendant pattern and realized I actually DO hate it.  I won’t be posting a picture of that one.  Seriously, it’s terrible.  I’m trying to figure out how to save it.  The more I think about it, the more I want to tear it apart and use the beads for something else.  Ugh. I finished a necklace and matching earrings!  They were super fun, and made up for the last pendant’s disappointment.  Every failure deserves a win.  This duo is my win.  I found a fun blog post about jewelry inspired by books.  It was cute!  You should check it out too. This blog is just one aspect of the Jeweled Heron’s public face.  Don’t forget you can find me on Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook too!  They are a great way to keep up to date with what I am working on as I am working on them!  You don’t have to wait for me to write up a formal blog post like you do here.  Likes and comments remind me that I am not alone with my beady obsessions.  *laughs* Just in case you missed it on the Facebook page.  I love skulls.  My little jewelry loving heart loves gemstones.  You put the two together and I can’t help but want them all!  Check out these amazing gemstone skulls!  So realistic and so beautiful!  I need to start a collection.  *drools*

 

Welp!  That is everything for now!  I hope you folks have a great and crafty weekend!

Because I make everything by hand you can order any of the pendants in my store in any color combination you choose! If you have a particular outfit that needs that perfect embellishment I can make sure that the colors are perfect!  Feel free to drop me a line if you are interesting in discussing one to match your wardrobe!

 

Also, because I love you guys, here is a sneak peek at the new pendant style that is coming soon!

 

Finally finished EllaD2’s Morning Glory Pattern.  The petals were a little unstable when completed so I added a few crystals to keep it from wobbling when worn.  I love the extra sparkle!

This pattern was definitely easier the second time around but it still takes a whole lot of time to complete.  This piece can be made into a necklace or if you prefer, a brooch or hairpin!  I should have it up on the webpage soon!