Years ago I got a bag of these cute dog house charms in a variety of colors. I had no idea what I was going to do with them but they were just too cute to resist. Recently one of my jewelry students gave me this wonderful antique brass dog head. It's original function is a mystery, perhaps the end of a cane? The antique brass dog actually looked a bit like the dad of the puppy in the dog house, so I knew they were destined to be together!
I gave the 20 gauge wire a heat patina with a small butane torch and attached the leather neck cord with tiny eyelets. I always get a kick out of making and wearing jewelry that has a expresses my quirky sense of humor.
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I'm always looking for cool vintage images to add to my mixed media art & jewelry. I have a huge collection/archive. Huge. Really huge. But sometimes when I'm making jewelry I need a really small detailed image and Luna Girl has a great selection. I'm challenging myself in a new way by joining the Luna Girl Design Team. I'll be creating mixed media jewelry and art that will be featured on their blog. The theme for October is "gothic". I know I'm going to have fun with this one! To make this necklace I: 1) Found a photo I liked, glued it on cardboard and copped it off with ice resin. 2) Cut a rectangle slightly longer than my photo from a sheet of 24 gauge copper and wrapped it around the photo, overlapping the top and the bottom. 3) Punched two holes in the bottom and the top of the metal wrapped photo. I used tiny screw and nuts to attach the bottom. I used 16 gauge wire to attach the top. 4) Used Glue 6000 to glue on a the vintage rhinestones. 5) Attached the pendant to the necklace using a piece of 16 gauge copper wire. I've been teaching jewelry making classes for about 10 years. During my last class one of my students asked me why I never wore any of the jewelry I made to class. I was a little embarrassed and finally answered very honestly "The jewelry I make to sell doesn't express who I am. Next week I'll make something that does and wear it here". Because I am a mixed media artist it was clear that I needed to make some really quirky mixed media jewelry. I found these books really helpful in my journey to make unique pieces:
Semiprecious Salvage by Stephanie Lee Resin Alchemy by Susan Lenart Kazmer The Jewelry Maker's Design Book by Deryn Mentock Making Metal Jewelry by Jen Cushman |
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