Week 52- 1 WHOLE YEAR!!!

That's right, I did it- 1 entire year of weekly projects!!! woot woot! So without further ado, these are the final projects for Year 1 of The Xarata Project:

I went to Hobby Lobby this week. It's kind of like my candy store, and I bought some of my favorite things: flowers and fabric!

New Hair Flowers!!!

 

I take pride in choosing silk flowers that look like real flowers; it the difference between my hair flowers and the ones you can get at claire's. I like that people ask me if they're real.

Look at these silk dogwood flowers- so pretty!!!

Little red lillies with perfect yellow stamen

A pink orchid like my other orchids

And some wonderfully adorable daisy hairpins!!! so cute!


New Headbands!!!

I haven't made a new headband in awhile, so it was fun buying headband fabric again.
 The green peacock isn't usually my taste, but I saw it and just knew I needed it for some of the gals that buy my headbands.



Try Try Again...

Remember that glass from last week? This week, I took all the things I learned the first go round, and made one better!

I soldered the wires to the ring instead of just twisting them on so this time they didn't break and they didn't slide around. I also added a silver colored glass bead at every junction...cuz it's pretty...lol. At the bottom, I twisted and turned the ends so they were finished instead of sharp and pointy.


And there you have the end of Year 1 of The Xarata Project.

See the link at the top of the page for what to expect in Year 2!!!

Weeks 46 & 47

You may have noticed that I didn't make anything/post last week...because I was on VACATION!!! (woot woot!!!)- you can read a little ditty about my vacation with a few pretty pictures in the archives on the right side of the screen.

I decided to do a little extra this week to make up for last week and keep The Xarata Project on schedule.

First, a photo of Honey's final collar- which I finished the day before we left for vacation (so... January 22nd)


She didn't want to sit still for me to take a picture, so pretty much all of them ended up blurry...



Also, some new hair flowers, because there's nothing like a tropical island to get you in the mood for flowers :)



Fall leaves, lily hairpins, a sunflower, peruvian lillies




Calla lily and an orchid
I'm not really sure how I feel about this orchid, it's a little too fake looking for me and we know i prefer for most of my hair flowers to look like the real deal- I get asked all the time if the flowers in my hair are real and I'd hate for them to be so blatantly fake.




I've had these (expensive) silk calla lillies for at least 6 months, they're really difficult to get onto a clip and it's still not perfect, but I think they'd make for really cute wedding hair (of course most weddings just use real flowers, but this way it doesn't wilt. lol)




I think leaves or fun, and there is probably a very narrow target group that would love this hair clip. I bobby-pinned these leaves into my hair and clothes for my wood nymph halloween costume last year and it would have been a million times easier if they had been on clips like this one. I'm just kooky enough to wear this not for halloween though :)




Peruvian lillies, deep from my stash of silk flowers i used to bobby-pin into my hair
Again, a little too fake-looking for my tastes anymore.




I've been wanting to make this sunflower since September, but I ran out of hairclips for making hairflowers and then i did the glass project and then I felt like nobody wanted to see more hairflowers- but darn it, I wanted to do more hairflowers. lol




These are my first set of permanently attached hairpins and I'm pretty happy with them. This particular set of lillies I like to stick into a french-braided crown hairstyle.




Too bad i don't really have any tropical silk flowers. I don't think I've ever seen silk hibiscus or plumeria flowers. I may have seen birds of paradise but i think they'd be kind of awkward... I have orchids...


I also made a sort of belt/mock cincher out of some of that fabric i originally chose for the coat and then didn't have enough of. I think it adds a cute pop of color to the Little Black Dress.

I love the paisley henna pattern and the black on wine color combo. Really, a belt like this probably needs interfacing, but I don't have any so c'est la vie.

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Also, I wanted to share a belated xmas present that I received right before I went on vacation- a photo stage!!! I don't have any pictures of it because I accidentally left it at my mom's house and have not gone to retrieve it yet. Basically, a photo stage works the same way that those umbrella things in photo studios work but on a smaller scale- they diffuse the light and shadows to keep everything looking professional. Basically, it does this:



Candle holder that I made in college for a wire armiture assignment- my professor photographed it on a slightly larger photo stage than the one I received for jewelry, but the effect should be the same. Cool, huh? In college, a lot of art prof.s made temporary ones out of poster board and foam core board- they'd be set up for a single day of photo-taking and then stowed away- mine is more permanent- less assembly required.



Week 41

It's Xmas eve, and I honestly considered taking a week off for xmas, but...you know...i have RULES and all ;p so I threw together a quick simple piece for the week. It's a hair comb, made of soldered nickel and silver, swarovski beads, and a feather.

As you can see, it's pink. Umm...that was unintentional...and could be fixed...if i wanted to fix it. In college, I worked with nickel a lot (which is what the comb I bought is made of) because it's silver in color and relatively cheap. Nickel really isn't recommended for jewelry, because a lot of people have sensitivities to it. Anywhoooooo, there are a few things about nickel that i forgot in our time apart (since i switched to silver). The first is that it gives off a really horrible smelling fume when you heat it for soldering- the kind that makes you think TOXIC...the second, and more important- is that every piece I have ever made containing both nickel and silver has resulted in the whole thing plating pink in the pickle pot (pickle is a citric acid used for removing the tarnish/heat patina created during soldering or heat forming). A similar thing happens with steel, but i don't work with steel...

Just for fun, here's a picture of our xmas tree:

There are only 4 indigo flourescent bulbs on the whole tree, but boy do they stand out in this picture...

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Week 24

Update on the pewter front: We're fighting. Will continue to fight with it. That is all...

So...naturally I went to a tried and true project that I love- hair accessories. I did a few more hair flowers, this time I started wrapping the bases so they look a little less like i just yanked them off of a wire stem (since that's exactly what i do) You've seen the yellow, but i made another and the picture was just so cute I couldn't help myself.

After flowers, I decided to fiddle with feathers. It could have gone more smoothly- i won't be selling this one as it's messier than i would like (though part of that had to with the fact that i thought a part of the accessories was actual grass/twig/plant material when it was really plastic which meant some accidental melting was involved.) I think it's pretty. I'll probably make another. I only had the one comb to play with though so i will have to buy more.

Since I was playing with glue, I decided to make some marble magnets- you've seen them, they're everywhere- i have several from different places. I was playing with glue and silk flowers so...naturally i backed mine in silk flower- it's a cream and green marbled leaf pattern that kiiiiiinda looks like a watermelon rind:

On a side note, I obviously didn't do this (seeing as i don't have the equipment, etc.), but I had a ring plated last week. My dad gave me (and my sisters) a lot of beautiful jewelry growing up, most specifically a diamond ring when each of us turned 13. I treasure all the jewelry I have from my father, but I don't wear it very often because it's ALL yellow gold (which i just don't happen to love with my skintone, i prefer white gold). I mentioned to my sisters i was thinking of having it reset and one them told me I could just get it dipped/plated to be white gold (which had never occurred to me seeing as i don't think a whole lot people plate over gold) I got it back on my anniversary and it is BEAUTIFUL! See?!?!?See?!?!?

Also note that I am clearly taking pictures with my kodak camera- so much better aren't they?

Also- just to throw it out there- it's wallflowers season again in our house (at the first sign of fall, my house smells like cinnamon, lol) and I realized last winter that i could refill my wallflowers. I only buy cinnamon stick fragrance oil, but if people would be interested in having me refill their wallflower bulbs at $1/pop(as opposed to the $5 minimum a new refill bulb costs with the added benefit of recycling/not tossing all that glass), I'd be happy to. Obviously, it'd be best if you save your caps if you decide you'd like to start refilling them. I kept almost a dozen from last year, and bought a few this year, but wallflowers need replaced so much quicker in the wintertime with the heat and everything.

Week 23

Among other birthday fun, Bob took me to JoAnn Fabrics last week (it's probably a good thing that it's kind of far away, because i always spend way too much money there). I bought some really fun beads and some pretty clasps, but naturally i also bought flowers: Can you tell from the colors that I'm ready for Halloween? (It IS my favorite day of the year).

This is a silver bracelet for my niece, Lily. Her parents bought her a souveneir bracelet on vacation and it broke, so I took the seashell/stone out and made her a new bracelet. It's not perfect, but I hope she'll like it.

My foray into pewter casting began today, but i haven't really been happy with any of the results so far so no pictures. All I have been truly successful at with it so far is to melt down a 1lb ingot and pour it into much smaller blobs to make it easier to cast smaller things. I made a sculpey mold with a leaf imprint- worked just ok. Poured ontop of a leaf, the prints aren't very deep and it's hard to get the metal to spread out, it likes to pool. Will be making molds tonight and later this week for more fun experimentation. we shall see.

Week 17

Keeping it short and sweet, because I'm about to leave for a 12+ hour workday and wanted to get the post up while it was still this week.

At the very beginning of this week- possibly last week- I decided I wanted to start making pendants again. I made this one and then let it sit in pickle (acid) for several days by accident. It was okay but i had completely forgotten about it. It's the kind of stuff I used to do all the time and evolve into bigger more complicated pieces. Thinking I should return to the bigger more complicated pieces again...

I also went to the new Hobby Lobby and Lebanon this week and of course was instantly engulfed in their silk flower section. I know silk flowers aren't super creative because they're pre-made, but it is the type of thing i like to wear and make for myself often. I added rhinestones to the feathers, I'm actually thinking about sewing the feather piece into a fabric headband. Not sure how well it will work yet...

And out the door I go...Til next week!

Week 16

I really have no idea why i stopped doodling. Life got busy or something? So...here's a doodle, which subsequently became my business card. I also designed a thank you card with the same image, but i didn't order any because it's not cost effective unless they're on sale.





i also duplicated one of my hair pieces and added it to my etsy site:



You know, I titled it "Phoenix" based on the feathers and flame-colors...but the irony of photographing orange discs ontop of pumpkin leaves has just hit me...


So, Friday has rolled around and I have the day off and felt oddly obligated to make something else this week. I went for a silver hair accessory and added some dangled beading:

Week 13

I'm getting sicker everyday- obviously not enjoying it. I kept it simple this week: a hair piece and a pendant.

The hair piece is made out of feather, silk flowers, and silver thread. I quite like it.

The design for the pendant was inspired by coral:

...and of course would look like coral if bobby pinned into hair which i have currently decided is the best/easiest method of transition. However, when worn as a pendant, it looks like silver lightning, which is the title of the piece:

It also kind of reminds me of tree roots...

Etsy: naturally, I have an etsy store that I have let go dormant over time. My current project is to relaunch my etsy site with headbands (i've begun the process of making close to 100 this week. I cut one day, ironed another, still need to sew and photograph and list)

On my days off this week, Bob helped me with yardwork and we planted a garden where there was previously a weed patch at the front door, put white lattice up over the rusty metal railing that protects people from falling down the basement stairs, and weeded the concrete in front of it and added about 6 inches of dirt for a narrow shallow garden. I'm planning on filling it with impatiens. On the veggie front- I have 1 little tiny tomato a little bigger than a quarter and 3 teeny little peppers about an inch long. How very exciting! I'll have homegrown salsa in no time.

Housewise, we went on a massive cleaning spree and in order to free up cupboard space, i started hanging kitchen supplies (cookie sheets, cooling racks, etc) on the stairway walls of the basement (access door in the kitchen). Oddly enough, i find it makes the basement more inviting, which is something i desperately need to accomplish since my studio is down there. Mainly my dislike of the basement is that it's a preferred home of house centipedes which completely and utterly creep me out. I need a lot of incentive to WANT to spend time near those things...

Week 12

This week I worked 28 hours on the weekend, enjoyed artsfest during memorial day, worked that night-hopped in the car and spend 4 days in the Smokey Mountains with the in-laws (entertaining to be sure). I worked this morning, so tonight's all i've got for week 12, and i felt like doing something a little different so...

behold: POLYMER CREATIONS!!!

It's been a long time since I've played with clay and even longer since I've played with polymer. In some ways, polymer is a little more fun to work with than stoneware clay because it's less brittle in its molding state- less fun because it isn't as carve-able. I eased into playtime with my very first fae door (approx. 2" x 3"):



Isn't it CUTE- see the tiny mushrooms? which naturally led to bigger mushrooms:


It doesn't really have a function, paperweight, garden decor- i prefer to think of it as an escape to the fairytale inside my head- kind of like a snowglobe (except you don't have to shake it for it to be cool). I did promptly break it when i took it out of the oven by trying to fix a slumped mushroom (which obviously cannot be done, i was just being stubborn) so the one on the right is the do-over.


So then i decided to make a hair piece, because -let's face it- i really enjoy hair decoration. So i stuck a hair pin in a clay piece and away we go:

I also took my first foray into treating clay like metal (ok that's not entirely true, i once made a stoneware teapot with a filigree handle, but it was purely decorative). I've never really liked polymer jewelry, i always think it looks cliche or art-fair, but since i was had the polymer and hairpins out and felt like playing, i chose some black (least tacky looking) and went to town on another hair piece. Then it occurred to me that polymer- being a low fire clay, can be used to set stones, so i added a stone for the fun of it. (i have no idea what the stone is. It's a dark colored rectangular cabochon.):


And since I was treating clay like metal, i decided it might be fun to try embossing- a technique i've done in wax (cast in silver) as well as stoneware with leaves. I feel like nothing makes a better leaf pattern than a leaf- i have yet to see this theory disproven. So i rolled out a few sheets of clay, thieved some leaves out of the yard and this was the result:


yes i did make an acorn and no the leaf i paired it with is not oak.



I've decided I'm going fabric shopping this week and launching my headbands on etsy for around $3.75 with package options (3 for $9 kinda thing). I need to expand my color base however (i have no real brights nor solids) so a trip to joann fabrics is in order.


Gardening: Happily, my garden survived without me, though i did have to weed it today. It SHOULD yield me pumpkins, cucumbers, zucchini, cayenne peppers, jalapenos, and tomatos, radishes, turnips, and carrots, and 5 kinds of lettuce. The herb garden is overflowing with mint and lemonbalm as well as basil, cilantro, parsley, thyme, chives, and a little bitty oregano plant i transferred from my aerogarden. Flower-wise, my summer lillies are shooting up and my columbine is done. My wysteria looks pretty sad but i have hope that it's a necessary side effect of rebuilding an entire root-system (i dug it up at my mom's house- i had similar problems with other dug up plants and they all recovered- this is just the worst)and that it will look beautiful come late summer and next spring.

Week 10

I was inspired this week by the columbine I have in my garden (the photo is not one of mine). I originally started by drawing one. Then i drew in a person behind it and annoyed myself by giving her too much muscle tone and decided i was done drawing. So I got thinking about this thin copper sheeting I bought in a roll maybe 2 years ago and have not done anything with. I decided to make the flower out of metal. I just cut the shapes out with scissors. I did end up curling the back petals too much and i think proportionately they could have been shorter/closer together, but the general idea behind columbine is there. When i finished the flower, gave it a center of metal beads and wired it to a hairpin, it was totally missing something which i decided was a big black feather. I don't have any big black feathers, so i made a big black feather out of the same copper sheeting to complete the look. It's not my favorite piece ever but i do love it as a hair piece- i think it's striking, goes well with brunette hair, and would accent a headband well.
I'm more intrigued by the feather- it's the first time i've ever attempted to make a feather in this manner (scissor cutting thin sheet metal). I think the feather turned out really well and will definitely be making more feathers. I foresee a pen...

On a side note, i maintain now more than ever that this blog is definitely crucial in completing my goal. I really did not want to make anything this week. I've been working a lot and only have off one day this week and i didn't have time to brainstorm. Last week i wanted to make headbands- and it just so happened that we went out to eat (we had giftcards to olive garden) right next to a joann fabrics store and i could go in and buy fabric and make my 20 headbands. Headbands are so simple though that they kind of feel like a copout- i made 20 of them and with the intention of selling them when i make a store, but they're more just a fun thing that i happen to wear and at around $.75 each, why not make some extra and see if other people need headbands that they can custom fit too? But this week...nothing. no ideas- no desire to play. I made myself go draw because of the blog. I was unhappy with the finished drawing and made a piece, because i wasn't posting the drawing to the blog and in turn, learned a new technique that I WANT to explore. I don't know if people actually read my blog (well besides my family), but it doesn't really seem to matter in the long run. The blog is here and I have to post to it. 42 weeks to go...