Hello, Green Craft!

Ok - you folks saw it here first, back in 2008, with my series of DEMOs on making jewelry from bicycle inner tubes, and now it's seeing print in Somerset Studios' Green Craft Magazine:

The photographer - and I couldn't find the photo credits - did a wonderful job!



The directions aren't terribly detailed, but the whole magazine is filled with some great inspiration! And in the article, I'm teamed up with Shirley Goff, who creates wonderful handbags from tires, along with a lot of other wonderful recycled adornments!


Check out the magazine and see articles on turning a men's dress shirt into a halter top and making earrings from pop tabs along with a lot of other crafty recycled wonderfulness.

Bottle Cap Art Round-Up!

Installations

Last week, my dear friend Leslie pointed me to another Portland, OR artist who's working with plastic bottle caps - and doing installations to boot. His name is Steven Beatty and you should check out his and Laurel Kurtz's installation at PSU - here's the entire Flickr stream.

Of course, it got me thinking about all the other bottle cap coolness that must be out there. A Google search yielded all kinds of coolness!

LIke this guy, Bryant Holsenbeck, who does temporary, mandala-type installations with community help . . . all out of bottle caps and lids.
There's also cool sculptures from Janet Nolan, and Michelle Stitzlein has some great interactive work with kids. Then, there's this clear bottle cap installation planned by Christine Destrempes called "13,699" which, according to her web site, is the number of people who die every day from diseases related to a lack of clean water.

Jewelry

My explorations with bottle caps started out with jewelry making,
like this little skull and tassel pendant . . .

And this blue bead and feather necklace.

So, of course, I did a quick search on Etsy, and
found some other great folks doing bottle cap jewelry:

gjarvisjewelryetc on Etsy has alot of awesome jewelry made from bottlecaps
and old Barbie and doll parts.

StarsDreamsandJewels on Etsy also has some bottle cap pendants with doll parts.

And check out this lovely pin cushion ring made from a recycled bottle cap from BarbaraLousBoutique on Etsy.


With all of these cool ideas, how can you (or I) ever waste another bottlecap?!

The Crafting Frenzy . . .

Most of the week has been spent making jewelry for Crafty Wonderland on Sunday . . .


Like these memory jewelry pendants with bird collages . . . I still need to add beads on some of them.


And these recycled rubber bicycle inner tube bracelets . . . a few of them are printed with my own designs like an octopus . . . and another with a tree . . . I've been doing some of my own drawings and getting rubber stamps made of them. I'm also using a few stamps from angel companies - those that allow you to hand-stamp items using their images and sell them. I think a few of these may need some metal studs to finish them out.

I'm excited to see what kind of response I get - it's been a long time since I've done a big craft show! Cross your fingers for me!

DEMO! 3D Fabric Butterfly Ring

I started making some 3D butterflies to add to the No-Sew Soduko quilt for my mom, inspired by the ones Martha made for one of her quilts. And while I was playing with the printed butterfly fabric, I thought "Wow! This would make a great ring! Or a pin!" And the project would probably work with just about any fabric that has an image or pattern between 1" and 3" in size. Sadly, I don't have the link to the exact fabric I used, but here's some that might be fun. And I thought it would be fun to share the DEMO with you . . . no matter what fabric you choose. So, here's my 3D Butterfly Ring Demo!

DEMO!! 3D Butterfly Ring

What you'll need:

Butterfly fabric
Sharp scissors
Lite Steam-a-Seam 2 fusible webbing
8" of 22 guage copper wire (or other thin wire)
Thin cotton batting
Flat top ring blank
E6000 glue
Iron
Parchment paper or press cloth

1. I started off with some fusible webbing - I like the Lite Steam-a-Seam 2 brand because the thin layer of fusible webbing is slightly sticky on both sides, and comes with a removable wax paper on both sides. This makes it easy to position your fabric on the webbing and to cut it out. Prep the fabric by ironing it and roughly cutting the shapes out - don't try to cut them out precisely at this point - it'll be difficult and there's no need to do it at this point. Then start by pulling the protective wax paper off of one side of the fusible webbing.

2. Position the fabric on the webbing. It'll stick to the surface.

3. The butterflies will be easier to cut out once they are gently stuck to the sticky surface of the webbing - it helps stabilize them, as does the fact that the backing is still on the webbing. So now's your chance to cut them out in excruciating detail.

4. Now cut out two butterflies for each ring, one for the front and one for the back.

5. Cut two pieces of thin guage copper wire (I used 22 guage wire here, and I cut each one about 4" inches long - I eyeballed it, based on the size of the butterfly). Then, leaving about an inch and a half for the antennae, twist the two pieces of wire firmly together. This will form the body.

6. Take the other ends of the wire and form them into wing shapes. This wire will make the wings moldable.

7. Now that the wire's ready, and your butterfly is cut out, peel away the backing. Now, you should just be left with the fabric butterfly and a thin layer of sticky fusible webbing.

8. Now, lay the wire down on the sticky surface and position it.

9. Now cut out two little pieces of batting slightly smaller than the wings - you want to be sure that there's still room around the edge for the fabric to fuse.

10. Now, add the batting to what is rapidly becoming a butterfly sandwich. This will give it a little more dimension.

11. Now peel the backing off a second butterfly, and add it to the stack. I chose two butterlies that were exactly the same for the front and the back, though you could use plain fabric for the back. Squeeze it all together so it sticks.

12. Heat up the iron. Place the completed butterfly sandwich between two sheets of parchment paper or a press cloth (to protect your iron from the wire and any sticky reside from the fusible webbing), and . . .

13. And iron, pressing firmly on each side.

14. Let it cool (the antennae will get hot!) and trim any edges that aren't lined up right.

15. Use a pair of round-nose pliers and shape the antennae into curly shapes. At this point, you could also whipstitch around the edges, maybe in a pretty metallic thread. Mine felt pretty sturdy, though, so I decided not to.

16. Bend the wire to shape the wings. Take a dollop of E600 glue and place it on a clean, dry flat top ring mount. Place the shaped butterfly on the ring and press it into the glue. Use a toothpick to clean up any excess glue. Of course, you could also attach the butterflies to a magnet, or a push-pin, or a pin-back, or you could even attach them to earrings!

17. Let it dry for 24 hours, and wear!

I made a few extras, too, and pinned them to the no-sew quilt.

Art & Soul: Day Three

I had the chance to take another jewelry-making class, this one working with Precious Metal Clay . . . it's a clay-like binder mixed with fine silver . . . you can shape it, stamp it, texture it, mold it, do all kinds of loveliness with it . . . then fire it and polish it, and you have jewelry that's 99% pure silver. Quite lovely, and more pure than even sterling silver. Our instructor, Lisa M. Call, was delightfully enthusiastic, and you can see some of what's possible with PMC by checking out her website, or by reading the book The Art of Metal Clay by Sherri Haab. If you're local to Portland, you can also pick up PMC and supplies for working with it at Simon Golub and Sons jewelry supply at 2820 SE 8th just north of Powell.

Here are the pieces I made . . . I still need to drill the one on the left so that I can make it a pendant . . .the one on the right I just need to hook into some chain . . .


And speaking of chain . . . this particular class included making Byzantine chain with Scott David Plumlee. Now, making chain is not exactly my cup of tea . . . I find it a bit tea-di-ous. But the class was fun, and I actually succeeded in finishing this bracelet! Scott's even got a full tutorial on making the chain on his website, here.

Shiny!!

Art & Soul: Day Two

I have loved Susan Lenart Kazmer's work for a long time, and I finally got to take a class with her - we were building containers, and it took me back to jewelry making skills I haven't used in years! I had to pull out the jewelry saw and the hammers . . .


And I got a refresher in using the torch . . . Here's Susan drawing a bead on wire. I actually annealed metal again - something I haven't done for close to 20 years. Fortunately, it's kind of like riding a bike . . .

Of course, this also means purchasing a bunch of tools so that I can make things at home (two big boxes arrived yesterday). I don't want to make things exactly like this (we made things that are very much in her style, and I really want to be yammering and hammering with my own voice) - but I do want to make things that use a lot of more traditional metal working techniques. I do like this container pendant I made, though:


There's a little bit of map tucked inside . . . and it hangs quite low. It's not supposed to be an earring, but it was the best way I had of displaying it - considering that I haven't actually constructed any kind of necklace for it!


I also made this little lentil pendant. The game spinner/clock hand/compass hand on the back actually moves and spins! I really need to redo the bail, though - that mangled wire wrap job just doesn't quite cut it! But see the little map inside?!

How cool is that!?

Pay it Forward: Comment, and You Could Be Next!

The lawn is mowed, and the ballot is in. My most critical community duties done, I moved on to something a little bit more fun, but still in the category of "community good," at least in my book.

Ella Rose works the main checkout desk at the Rebuilding Center. It's an awe-inspiring place, full of serviceable and salvaged windows, doors, cabinets, lighting fixtures, toilets, tiles, drawers, and even switchplate covers. It's usually the drawers that I drop by for - they make a great base for the shrines and shadowboxes that my students and I make as a part of Artmaking as Playful Prayer. Well, I dropped by a few months ago to load up on drawers, and Ella Rose was cheerful and chatty as usual, offering random discounts and even complimenting me on my earrings.

"Those are cool! Where'd you get those?"

"I made them - see, this is recycled bicycle inner tube."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and look - this is just a rubber band from produce!"

"REALLY? That is so cool - hey, wait a minute," and she paused to dig through a drawer. "I've been saving these - do you think you could do something with them?" She held out a pair of curved blue glass tiles, small, but still thick and heavy.

"They might be a little heavy for earrings . . ."

"Oh, that won't bother me!"

"Yeah, I can do something with these . . . It may be a while, but I'll make you some earrings - do you want inner tube on them?"

"Yeah, and rubber bands, too!"

I played with the glass over the weekend, and finally got a design I liked. Today, I delivered on my promise.

And she loved them! She gave me a hug, and a promised 10% off . . . but, you know, Ella Rose always gives me a good deal, so I'm not too worried about it! (and no, that's not Ella Rose wearing the earrings, just in case you were concerned for her health . . . )

She always treats me well, always has a smile, and sometimes, it's just nice to do something nice for someone else.

In a similar vein, Geek+Nerd did a "Pay it Forward" post about a month ago (ok, I checked, it was on April 9th, though I can't seem to get a permalink going to it!) After getting the tag from another blogger, she promised to send out a random handmade gift to the first three people who posted a comment with the understanding that they would do the same on their blogs . . . and I was chosen! So, I'm finally getting around to making my own "Pay it Forward" post. Be one of the first three to post, and I'll send you a handmade crafty item - all I ask is that you share the love on your own blog . . .

Jewelry-o-Rama!

I've been making jewelry off-and-on for almost 20 years now - though I've almost always stuck with pretty straight-forward techniques (not a lot of metal-smithing for me, and never any casting - heck, I've even kept my wire-wrapping to a minimum). But old dogs can learn new tricks - or be reminded of the old ones in new, exciting ways! And the book to do it (at least for this old dog) is Bead Simple by local crafty luminary and West Coast Crafty Blogger Susan Beal.

In my quest to become an ever-better low-tech jewelry maker, it's become a reminder handbook and inspiration guide all in one. All of the projects are simple and beginner friendly, and the basic jewelry-making instructions are easy-to-follow and well-illustrated. And I love this project by Art School Dropout Jessee Malone that uses black o-rings from the hardware store!


And speaking of Art School Dropout, check out this Juxtapose Necklace from her site I just bought:


In a similar vein, I'm also working on this necklace using rubber grapes and little birds cut from a plastic lid and lightly sanded . . . and I can get it to hang well on the model, but not on my neck, so it needs a little more work, but I'm really liking the effect.

I finished teaching my Junk Drawer Jewels class this week, and actually took a soldering class from Jennifer Wells over the weekend! It was great fun, and I highly recommend it! Of course, even with all this jewelry madness, there's still room for other stuff - like the Images on Fabric class I started teaching this week! ooo . . . the sun is finally out and I am feelin' HOT!!

More Junk Drawer Jewels

Here's the necklace I've been working on this weekend:



It's got snaps, bingo pieces, dice, a monopoly house, washers . . . and a lot of other fun stuff!

I love how you can mix all of these things together, almost literally bits of junk, and come away with something that actually looks pretty and kind of quirky, fun.

It's Been Awhile.

Ok, rather a long while. During which time I have been working hard with the other side of my brain, working in the yard, having new lights and a vent installed in the studio, prepping for upcoming shows, and getting ready to teach two new classes.


One of the new classes is Junk Drawer Jewels - it started last week, and as usual, teaching the class left me totally inspired to made some new stuff! Like this necklace - I used bits of rubber tubing from the hardware store, rolled up scraps of paper, and endcaps to make the beads on this necklace!

I love the way it just reads as a simple necklace from a distance, and that you don't notice its "junk" elements until you closer . . . unlike the other necklace I'm working on (you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see that one!)

As usual, my students are blowing me away with their creativity - Pamela even posted about the class on her blog - and you've got to check out the pendant she's making from hardware store finds and old watch parts!

More than one way to get beads . . .

So, I never did make it to the Bead Expo this weekend - which is probably all for the best! I had a wonderful time at the SWAN event making collages and encouraging other people to make collages . . . it's so interesting to me how people will encourage their children to take the time for art, but don't feel like they have enough time to stop and make art . . . here's an adult collager at work - she found last year's PIX Patisserie calendar . . .


And here's one made by a woman who said she'd always wanted to a be textile designer:
Well, I gotta tell ya - I'd love to buy fabric with Hindu goddesses and William Blake quotes on it . . .

And here's one of mine done while staffing the table (how could I resist all those collage supplies laid out?!):



Ok, so I didn't make it to the Bead Expo. But, friends, the Bead Expo isn't the only way to get beads . . . I made this necklace almost entirely from beads that I collected in Nepal. (Ok, going to Nepal isn't the only way to get beads either, but it sure is fun!)


I got the large center turquoise bead when I was trekking in the Annapurnas above Jomosom. I only had "large" bills (each bill worth less than $20). Now, carrying cash was weird enough - I'm the kind of gal who uses a credit card to pay for everything, but most folks in remote Himalayan mountain villages don't take Visa, so, hey, I had cash - and the idea that my bills might be too large never even occurred to me! At a small teahouse where my guide Mana and I had stopped for a break, the owner didn't have enough change to break the bill I handed her to pay for our tea. The owner seemed a bit panicked, but my guide brokered a solution - perhaps I might like to look at some of the beads that the proprietress had, and take one as part of my change? Heck yeah! I selected that beautiful turquoise bead, and everyone was happy!

And here is my lovely guide Mana, pausing for a photo op in the little village of Marpha, Nepal.
(PS - and that photo actually isn't a composite - she's just backlit funny!)