Fish!

I've had a bit of a blahh week,my back has been very achy and my lungs have been complaining about the cold so I've mainly stayed in and fermented on the couch.. hopefully i'm not brewing anything, i'll just have to wait and wrap up extra warm when I do venture out. It's a bit of a vicious circle really, I feel rough so I stay in, I stay in too long and get miserable which makes me feel worse..and repeat.. still, I treated myself to some silver clay and had a bit of a play.

My mum (who is a  Pisces) has just got a new aquarium for the front room so  I took this as a sign... my first piece I made just had to be fish related...

This is in no way a tutorial, more a  "what I did"

I rolled out some silver clay onto a plastic wallet. I had put a drop of olive oil onto it and my hands to stop the clay from sticking.

I placed a (badly drawn!) picture of the fish shape I wanted onto the silver clay and traced around it lightly.

The impression of the fish shape.

Starting to cut the shape out...

The fish with added detail and a gem eye ( I made sure it was one that could be fired in the kiln)
I left it to dry over night. You can see the rough bits all ready for sanding.

Ahhhh! The tail snapped off while I was sanding.I didn't swear.. honest! (fingers crossed!)

Fixed with lots of silver paste. I think it looks better this way, it has more dimension (ooo go me getting all technical!) It's funny how an improvement can come from a mess up!
 I added a brooch back with paste.

A bit of time in the kiln, sanded and polished to a mirror shine,  here is the finished piece.

I'm really pleased with my first try with PMC and my mum loves her brooch. :)

I'm off to have a look what everyone else taking part in Handmade Monday have been making.

LH
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Drill press

Putting together a drill press seems to require the same amount of brain power to split the atom.

Or I'm just thick...

Shiny!

It's Handmade Monday time again and I thought it was about time that I took part again. I am going to show you the glass that I talked about in my last post and how they turned out....

Aren't they shiny? The photo really doesn't show them at the best but they are really lovely and I am so pleased with them :) A definite success I think. I have orderd some tiny drill bits and am going to turn them into a bracelet for myself.  A Big Thank You to Jan at Handcrafted by Picto for the tips on drilling glass, they will make things a bit easier!

I have been reading a silver art clay book and will be ordering some when I get some spare money. I was a bit :O when I saw how much it is for such a small amount and that isn't adding tools and stuff I will need... ouch!

I'm thinking about selling my jewellery again as a way of funding my hobby, either at Etsy or (and this I may need help with) on my own website. I've always loved the idea of having my own site, the no listing and selling fees would be a plus and also having complete freedom to make what I want.Can I pick your brains? If you have your own website how did you go about it? I am a total novice when it comes to that sort of thing but think I'll figure it out.. I'm unsure about web hosting and who to go with... I've been told about Mr Site and that it's fairly easy to use but I read some reviews that its not great for getting noticed on Google... it's all a bit confusing! So any advice and points in the right direction would be very welcome! I feel a bit cheeky for asking!


Have a great, creative week everyone!

LH
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Hole!

Have had a bit of a try with my new dremel this weekend, I thought I would practice on a black and white pendent I made when I was trying to learn how to make a hole running through the top edge using rolled up thinfire paper.. it didn't quite work that time so I decided it would be my test subject... I'm really pleased with how it turned out, apart from the scratches around the edge of the hole where the drill skittered a bit at the start (I'm putting that down to nerves!) it looks really neat :D I'm going to have to get some different sized drill bits so I can make a variety of different things.

Kind of embarrassing, but it took me a while to figure out how to change the drill bits, I tried reading the instructions but .. well its either me or they aren't that clear. Saying that, I was a bit over excited about playing with my new toy and rushed a bit.

Have spent an hour or two this afternoon cutting glass. I have used dichoric (ooo pretty!) and want to make some smallish squares that I can drill and hang from a chain.. that's the plan anyway! I haven't used dichoric before but have always wanted to as it looks so gorgeous.
This pic was taken a few hours ago, right now they are being fired and tomorrow morning I'll know if it has gone ok or turned out a bit of a disaster.

Have a great week!

LH
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Windy

 I hope everyone is ok after the stormy weather we have had here in the UK, it has been very windy here on the Fylde Coast but I thought I would take advantage of the sunny weather to take a few photos around the garden and in the greenhouse.

I am really surprised that some of the hanging baskets I planted last summer still have flowers growing in them, I'm not sure what the blue ones are called but I do recognise the fuchsias.. I wonder if they will last until this Summer.

The sweet peas I planted a while ago are coming on and I have just pinched them out, I don't know why but I feel a bit guilty doing it. Still, I can't wait until I have a little vase of sweet peas on the kitchen table, freshly cut that morning, they are one of my favourite flowers because of that gorgeous scent.








I have just treated myself to a Dremel  so I can drill holes in the glass pendants I make, I hope my fingers stay safe and unholey! I've also ordered a book all about silver art clay which is something I'd really like to have a go at, especially if I can incorporate my glass work. I've had a look at some tutorials on the internet and already I am full of ideas, I really should get a sketch book to write and draw them all down.
Looks like a busy few months ahead!

LH
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I've had a lovely few days at my boyfriends and now I'm on ky way back home. I'm watching the scenery fly by and both wishing to still be with my fella and looking forward to getting home (and back to playing with my beads, glass and fabric!)

LH
X

Happy New Year!

Happy new year to everyone reading this (and to those who aren't too :D)

I had a quiet new years eve at my boyfriends place, well it was quiet until about 11.55 then it was non stop fireworks, shouting and someone with an air horn.There were a lot of those orange lantern set loose and at one point there must of been about 25 in the sky, I grabbed my camera and took some pictures (first of the year!) I think taking a decent, non blurry photo in the dark requires a tripod, needless to say holding my camera as still as I can while leaning against the window didn't really work!

I have thought of a few new years resolutions and some goals for this year.. I'm not sure how likely I am to stick to them but I like the idea of having something to aim for...

1. Get some weight on. Yep, for most people this is the opposite of what they want to do. I am going to aim for a lb a month. So more food, calorie leaden supplements and ng feeding (nice!) for me.

2. Exercise more often. I was enjoying going to the gym but noticed I seemed to pick up any bug going when I went ( I blame the recirculated air/ air conditioner type thingy) so from now on I will make use of our stairs at home and go up and down and up and down and up and down...

3. Blog more. I would like to post everyday though I suppose this is a bit too much to promise to myself. So three times a week at least with photos!

4. Stop putting things off. I am a bugger for saying  'I'll  do it in a minute/tomorrow/next week.' resulting in the important stuff getting rushed at the last second.

5. Make more lists. This ties in with #4. I need to get more organised.

That's about it for my resolutions. I have some sketchy goals for 2012 involving silver clay, glass and beads... it's all a bit exciting!

I'm going to put my feet up now and make plans.

Have a great 2012!

LH
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