Hi!  It's been a while since I posted on craftster.  But here is my latest purse- complete with origami owl decoration.  I created the owl in true origami fashion- from a single square- but of course I had to stitch it together, because it is fabric!  Let me know what you think!

So I tried to make my own banner for Etsy.  Saved it as a JPEG file and tried to download (upload?) it on to my Etsy site.  It looks nice on the half size version, but it is kinda fuzzy for my full size banner.  Where did I go wrong?  (Click on the Etsy link in my signature to see it)

I've been a busy bee lately.  Some of these are knit and felted, but they are still jewelry so I put them here.
 
This one is a knit cuff from organic cotton yarn.  The toggle is real horn, but the supplier assured me that it was shed naturally.  I came up with the pattern myself and did it in seed stitch so it would lie flat.   

I've been in cuff mode lately because I have a tattoo on my wrist and would like a fashionable way to cover it up for work 

This one I call Pirate's cove.  I originally made it long with everything on it but the kitchen sink.  I later editted it down and like it much better this way.  Booty and Rum still not included.  te he he.


This bracelet I call sticks and stones because I think that the fresh water pearl beads are stick like and I used some semiprecious stones like rose quartz and tiger's eye. 


Finally, I present you with blue balls.  This necklace isn't painful though, I felted some blue pom poms and linked them together with antique brass chain as I did in the pirate's cove necklace.

Let me know what you think!

So a while ago my fiance did some business at an upholstery store that was going out of business.  Seeing that he is always looking out for me, he told the owner that I sewed and she said that she would give me a deal.  After meeting her, she gave me the best deal ever, about a garbage bags worth of material for $50 bucks.  Included in this lot were these two gems: 


The outside fabric is this awesome abstract leaf pattern that is now out of print (I researched it) and the inside was this neat denim that has a built in adhesive side.  So instead of interfacing (the denim is thick), you just iron.  And it has the smoothest results.  (No bumpiness like most interfacing that I've tried).  She also gave me lots of strap material for free.  She was a very nice old lady )

I made the pattern my self.  The detail on the straps are these two skeleton leaves sewed on very carefully.

Enjoy!

This is my fiance (as seen in my crafter ID) wearing a pirate hat.  I am trying to work on portraiture and this is one of my first few that I think looks (mostly) like the person I am attempting to draw.  Charcol percil and conte crayon on coloured paper.


This is a Master copy on Gustav Klimt's "Hope I"  Oil on canvas.

  My final still like for painting class.  My own set up (Finally!)  Oil on canvas.  3'x3'

So I decided to make Japanese dumplings today.  I had the dumpling wrappers and the little plastic dumpling former.  I whipped up a filling and formed my dumplings.  They came out perfect....until I tried to cook them.  I read somewhere that you are supposed to fry them then add water to the pan and let them boil.  I did this but somewhere after I added the water, they stuck to the bottom really bad and only about 1/4 of them came out of the process intact.  They are referred to as "pot stickers" but I was hoping for better odds than that! 

Has anyone ever made these before?  I could use some tips ;o)

I just finished my first semester of ceramics and here are some of my favourite projects:

Alice in Wonderland Tea party Box:

From the Top with the mushroom handle:


From the sides:




Some close ups of the sides that the glaze didn't run:





My Rapunzel Tower (a bit large to be functional):

(The handles are supposed to be her hair)





(The prince kinda resembles my fiance)


Bubble Machine sculpture:





Vase and wishing well/planter/zen garden area:
This is my fav and it is based off of a japanese print (ukiyo-e) of 2 kabuki actors.  The actor in the background forms the vase and the one in the forground is the other area...







The back:  I decided that he needed a pheniox on his kimono...

so I bought a kiln a while ago and I have yet to use it because I didn't have money to buy the neccessary supplies....

Now that I do have $, i've got a few questions:

Is a kiln sitter neccesary?  I've got a kiln that opens from the top and a believe has a peep hole.  It is manual electric with a pyrometer and infinate control switch.

Is a vent system necessary?  I was thinking of putting the kiln in my basement.  I have two cats and I was afraid the fumes would harm them (I would of course keep them away during firing....i'm worried about lingering fumes)  Also, we have a tread mill in our basement as well so at times people spend longer durations in the basement.

The other areas I was thinking was the garage (however this would be hard to keep the cats away here) or the screened in porch (but i was worried that the cold would affect the firing in the winter and also I wasn't sure if that would be safe because the deck is made of wood)

Please help if you can 

I made this a while ago but have yet to put it up.  It is just a garter stitch scarf in this pretty lilac wool.  However, I put a spin on it by making my own embroidery design and patches and sewing on some lace.

I just finished my first metals class and here are my projects:







This bracelet was my first project.  It is made from copper and silver, but the copper has green patina on it.  I had a lot of trouble soldering the vine on.  There was originally supposed to be two vines, but I gave up on the second one (it make a nice candle wreath  )







This is a brass ring that is supposed to resemble a lotus.  I think it does from the side    I used liver of sulfur on the top to kind of give it that oil in a puddle rainbow effect, however it didn't work so well.  i like the colour none the less.



Finally, this was a pendant that I made for my fiance for Christmas.  I used a simple frame bezel because stones and such that are irregular in the back are hard to set.  The metal is copper with a quick dip in a blackening solution.  i think that the beauty of the fossil itself is what makes this piece.  I plan on hanging it on some rawhide to keep with the earthy feel of the piece.