Susan Sto-helit. Because in this world, after everyone panics,

I had some extra energy and time today for pottering around with jewelry. ( Read more... )

I put together a couple things in the last week: ( Clicky. )

On Mother’s Day, I got dressed up with all my Medusa jewelry, the necklace and earrings I made and the Medusa ring I got from the Peculiarity Shop. It was then that I realized that I needed a bracelet. Then I remembered the Czech glass snake bead sets I’d bought years ago. Today I made time to play with beads. ( Snek! )

I recently bought these plated lava star beads at Michaels because they were pretty and I had a reward. This morning I had an idea. The ear threads are about 3” long and they’re from my jewelry supply hoard. The holes in the beads are big enough that they slid easily onto the threads, and the gold balls at the ends keep the beads in place. Fast, shiny, and fun.

Two more Books by Hand Box kits. The one on top is, obviously, a different style with a tray insert. The one underneath is the paper and bookcloth from a box-with-lid kit and bookboard I cut myself. So it’s a little wonky because I’m not good at bookboard cutting yet.

They’re done. Top three are noble binding, bottom three are hemp leaf binding. I made the blue journal top left for me, the paper is tigers and spirals. The top right one was claimed by Kitty. The rest are for gifts because I wanted a little something to add to this year’s gift cards, and, yes, I needed an excuse to play with bookbinding. The leftover ones I’ll stash for next time I need a little gift or next time Kitty needs another small sketchbook. I think I’ll just spend the rest of November working through my hoard of bookbinding and fancy box kits. I’ve chosen the next one, but I’m going to need more black bookcloth. Woe is me, I have to visit an art supply shop soon.

I had enough of one type of paper for six journals, with some extra. Which I needed after I miscut a stack of pages. I cut out all 6x34 4x6” pages, drilled and tied the page blocks, chose and cut out the various cover papers and bookcloth for all the journals, and cleaned up those supplies.

I have errands to run tomorrow morning, but after that it’s time to set up for glueing.

I sewed the skirt to the bodice. That took all morning, what with pinning with my very long very sharp Japanese pins, adjusting gathers, wrangling all that fabric around on the sewing machine, ripping out and restitching where the bodice got caught in the seam, and so on and so forth.

But that’s finished. Tomorrow I’ll put it on, see if I need to adjust anywhere, and start hemming. I also want to put two rows of the same ribbon I used on the sleeves around the hem. Maybe I’ll have it finished by, say, Monday next? Onward, Excelsior, All That Jazz.

The front door, anyway. I put this festive holiday wreath together this morning. Dollar Store spiderweb wreath with glow in the dark spider, I wrapped wired orange leaf print around the outside edge, added small Halloween ornaments, a bow, and some little plastic spider rings with the backs cut off here and there. The ornaments and spiders came from Michaels, the ribbon from my hoard. I used black craft wire, hot glue, and needle and thread. It’s lightyears away from professional, but it’s the best I could do and I’m pretty pleased with it.

This pendant and earring were Aged Mum’s. She got them at the So Cal Ren Faire, maybe 50 years ago from Bindu, so they’re old. Somewhere in there, she lost one of the earrings. I brought them home when we cleaned out her house. I’ve played off and on with ideas for a second earring, not matching, but coordinating. So this week I had an idea, and today I put it together. I think it works.

Bindu bronze and silver pendant and earring. The earring is set with a small garnet. For the mate, I put Czech firepolished beads, two clear with a/b silver plating and one larger garnet colored, and two gold spacers onto a gold hoop. Also I replaced the wire on the Bindu earring because it was all bent out of shape. Yes, all from my hoard.