A Necklace Ten Years in the Making

This is a project that was inspired by a mixed-media necklace Mom and I saw in Michaels (?) maybe 20 years ago (no really, it's been at least that long!), and started 10 years ago when I made the little needle felted monsters.

I finished the felted beads around the time I bought the book Making Mixed-Media Art Charms and Jewelry by Peggy Krzyzewski and Christine Hansen (©2010). I thought I'd done a blog post about those, and the other charms I made for this necklace... apparently I did not (oops). Anyway, I seriously love the book and highly recommend it if you like quirky little charm beads in a variety of media and levels of difficulty, with easy to follow photo instruction. (Looks like it's out of print, which means you'll have to find it used, or at your library.) The charms, all 31 of them (one for each day of October, naturally!), have been decorating this weird little wire tree and just sort of existing in limbo waiting for me to DO something with them. So today, that is my plan.

Getting started

Background inspiration while I work.

It's a cute little tree. I might have to make more charms when I'm done...

I have been amassing supplies for this project for awhile. This morning, when I went to the basement to gather everything together, I kept adding more to my pile. I may make my Fitbit steps today running up and down the stairs, because I forgot something else. [I did not.]

Sept. 14th

Since it was indecision that kept me from this project for so long, it's not a surprise that I didn't complete it in one go.

I got the foundation completed. It consists of a long braided main piece with recycled sari silk ribbon in deep orange and black, and orange ombré cotton floss, itself braided and worked with glass beads. I had a short piece of Hallowe'en lace that I stitched to the bottom of the sari braid. A thick, fuzzy I-cord of bright orange eyelash yarn and black ombré feather yarn join the sides as a central drape. Finally, a beaded upper drape consisting mainly of plastic beads (to keep the weight down) spelling out "JOYFUL SAMHAIN" on one side. The two drapes, plus the bottom arc of the necklace and sides, will give more anchoring points for the 31 charms without crowding them to the point they can't be seen individually. At least, that's the plan...

Before I had to stop work because mom and wife caught up with me, I had worked my way through five of the eight movies in the box set, and only attached six charms.

Just a few charms in place. Not much to show for hours of work.

Sept. 15th

Saturday mornings are when we have our comic discussion group. I got up early with the intention of getting a little done but got derailed with other things and lost most of the morning. ::shrug:: I'm not getting paid by the hour... or at all... on this personal project, so it's not like I can't take an easy morning.

This afternoon, I got them placed where I wanted them, after a great deal of fiddling. One of the bead-charms needed a little more work, so it has some fabric glue drying on it, anchoring the half-hitch knots of floss in place. As I to a photo of the placement/work-in-progress, it occurred to me that I should have a photo of each of the bead charms and how they were made (and from whom the beads were purchased, where applicable), but unfortunately some are already attached, and I don't want to mess up my placement. I'll finish the necklace, and then take photos of the charms in situ, as a separate post, an addendum, to this one.

Other than the ones I attached yesterday,
everything is just sitting on the table waiting to be attached.

I did spend a lot of time with the placement, because I wanted to consider the balance, color, physical and visual weight of the charms on the necklace. I didn't want two ghost charms right next to one another, or two orange ones. Freeform and random placement is something that I can admire when other artists do it, but it's something I can't quite make myself do.

After a little more rearranging, I started attaching the charms, and that went pretty quickly. Everything attached, it looks like this, laying flat on the table: 

And here's what it looks like worn:

Sept. 16th

After some consideration, I decided that the large metal cage ball and the chandelier drop charms need to switch places (see the finished photo above, the middle and bottom tiers, center charms). The metal ball is just too heavy for that I-cord and it sags too much. While that does make the chandelier charm hang down much lower than I would prefer, it is still an improvement, physical weight-wise.

Overall, I am satisfied with this. I accomplished what I intended to, but I'm not sure I fulfilled my vision, since my vision was never quite clear enough to begin with. I think I'd like to do another necklace like this (not Hallowe'en, necessarily) and give it another go.

It doesn't look anything like the thing I sketched so long ago, but designs evolve, just like people do. Frankly, I'm just happy that I was able to finish this thing that's been in my head for so very long!

Another Completed Project!

Yaaaaaaaaayyyy!

At the same Bead & Button show I bought materials to make a Hallowe'en necklace, I bought some other things. One of them was this pretty little raku pendant with some gorgeous purple and blues in it. The back is stamped "Rama" but I can't find the cards I grabbed from the vendors so I'm not sure if it's the same Rama that's from Olympia, Washington or not, if Rama is even the name of the business, or if they're still in business...

ANYway, back in August/September when I attacked the basement, I bought a bunch of little storage containers to keep pieces bought for specific projects together. Yesterday, I decided I was going to finish one of them.

I had originally made loops in the necklace that the ribbon fed through, but decided I didn't like the way it looked, so I restrung it, and left the ribbon mostly loose. It's attached at two points at the top, and goes through the beaded loop that I used to attach the pendant.

I'm pleased with the colors, loving purple as I do, but I suppose that the beads of the necklace could be a bit smaller so they don't overwhelm the pendant. I'm going to live with it as-is for now, and if it truly bugs me then I can do something that will draw more attention to the pendant. But considering that this project has gone unfinished for probably close to a decade, I'm quite happy with the fact that I have something that's wearable after all this time.

This also gives me validation for the work I put into organization. I was able to go straight to where the bits were, grab the little container and get to work, and finish a UFO once and for all. If I could consistently do that once a week, I'd have a lot less stress about the whole thing... Now, I should add, one of the reasons for some of these UFOs is because they stalled in the process. Somewhere I got derailed -- I couldn't find the "something" it needed, I wasn't happy with the direction it was heading, I didn't have the skill set to do what I wanted... For this necklace, it was as simple as restringing it to remove the loops that I just wasn't satisfied with. With a little luck, I'll be able to finish some more this way.

What Is Old Can Be New Again

When I was in high school, a summer vacation trip to see family in Mississippi usually also meant a shopping trip for school clothes. One year I got a tie-dyed t-shirt and matching leggings. The leggings were ok, but the t-shirt... oversized with really bright, rich colors, a saturated rainbow with black on white cotton. In spite of many washings, the colors have stayed bright, though the black isn't as dense as it once was. That t-shirt went to college with me, it moved to Chicago with me when I got married, it moved to the 'burbs when my baby was born, and moved again when we needed to find bigger digs. That t-shirt is older than my daughter, older than my marriage! The collar was stretched and fraying, there was a small hole in the front that my previous dog put in it with a toenail, and the seams in the underarms were giving way. Its condition wasn't good enough for donation to charity, but I had seen a way to recycle t-shirts that I wanted to try. Today, I cut up my beloved t-shirt, using a tutorial I found at Polka Dot Pineapple.

Top left, cut and stretched "yarn;" top right, cut but unstretched t-shirt;
bottom, the rolled up skein.

I also saved the sleeves and the shoulders. The pieces are too small to make yarn from, but too big to toss. I have an idea for some of it, but that will only use a small rectangle. It won't be wasted.

My plan is to make a necklace with it, something along these lines but in reverse (multicolored necklace with white embellishments), and not as full; more like this:

I think I want plastic or wood for the beads. It needs to be lightweight, and glass beads would be too heavy. Too, the holes are going to need to be sizable, and I'm more likely to find what I need in wood or plastic. I'll need to browse to see, and if I can't find what I want, I'll just make my own! I might make a bracelet to match, and earrings? Hmm..

I am a terrible diarist/blogger.

That said, the new house is awesome, I've been able to personalize most of it with paint and/or accessories, and I have more than adequate space to store my supplies. Life's pretty good, even if we're not 100% unpacked yet, but we're getting there.

Shattered Photos now lives at Wise Women Gallery & Gifts in Lake Zurich, IL, where I'm getting exposure I'd never have had otherwise, even if I'm not getting rich -- yet! The woman who owns and runs the place is experienced with both shop ownership and with artistry (she's one herself), and is a nice, creative, and business-minded woman. I respect her a lot.

So many things have been on hold for so long. Before, it was that I didn't have space to create much of anything, now I've been busy getting the house in order, unpacking, painting, decorating, enrolling the child in school, more unpacking/painting, then the holidays... We've been here 6 months now, and I hope this is the year I finally finish the Hallowe'en necklace I've been imagining since June 2008.

Belle Armoire Jewelry accepts submissions to their fall issue until April 15th. If I don't make that deadline, there's always next year. Thing is, I still don't know for sure what I want to do, so there it all sits, and I try to find the inspiration I need to make it happen.

A friend posted a Facebook invitation - 1 free handmade item to the first 5 commenters who also repost the invitation - I accepted the invitation. Yesterday I finished the first of my 5 handmade items: a needle felted pirate cat, complete with eyepatch, pegleg and sword. I mailed it today. I hope she loves it as much as I do. (And this is another bit of aggravation -- the inspiration for Calico Jack, pirate cat, came quickly and clearly. Why won't this necklace come to me?!) I'll post a photo or 2 after the recipient gets it. Three of the remaining 4 I have planned, and the last will require a bit more thought.

Hallowe'en Necklace-to-Be

A few years ago, my mom, a friend of ours, and I went to the Bead & Button show up in Milwaukee. As we wandered, I picked up some gorgeous raku ceramics, some dyed mother of pearl, and some Hallowe'en-themed lampwork. On the ride back home, I started describing an idea I had for a mixed media necklace for Hallowe'en. Wool beads, wooden beads, felt, fabric, Shrinky Dink, paper, polymer clay... I sketched quickly (and crudely - I'm useless with drawing) and Mom and Melinda added their 2¢ as well.

I have made a few pieces from that original idea (the mini needle-felted sculptures, an experiment with mokume gane, and some of my first felted beads), and Melinda had made some lampwork ghosts for me, plus the little ceramic hat-wearing ghostie from her as well. Most of this, like the idea that spawned it, moulders in a box, waiting for me to finish it. I want to work on it, I can't wait to see my creation completed, but... like many of my projects, it has stalled. Too many ideas! I stare at them when my eyes close and it's so overwhelming!

Maybe if I leave The Box out where I have to look at it all the time, perhaps then I will complete my masterpiece and have something to show off this Hallowe'en.

Needle Felted Monsters

Working on my Hallowe'en necklace project, I came up with these guys:

The jack o'lantern on the bottom is about the same size as the monsters above. In the top 3, Frankie needs some silver bead "bolts" and black bead pupils. The red/white is supposed to look bloodshot. I need to do something to the witch's hat because it's not substantial enough, I may just have to add more roving to it. Drac needs white fangs, even though they won't show up well against his pasty skin, and I need to add fangs to the bat as well.

The pumpkin is about 3/4" tall and wide. The bat is 2 1/2" wide and about 1 1/4" tall. The ghost is just shy of 2" tall. Drac and Frankie are about about 1/2" tall. The witch is about 1 3/4". I need to do a black cat (of course!) and maybe a skull. And I need better lighting to get a better picture of these guys...

I was going to post a link to an article I read in a magazine about a woman who has done some much larger needle felted monsters - really wonderful! Unfortunately, you can't see any of the article online, because Art Doll Quarterly only has a barely-visible image of the table of contents and nothing else. (Personally, I think the Stampington family of magazines have very sucky sites.) However, it's the fall 08 issue, "Judy Bielec's Needle Felted Halloween" if you want to see it. Her website is Moseynme.com, and the monsters are pictured here.

Making Felted Beads

I have drawn first blood with the felting needles, trying to fuse a fold in one of my experimental beads. (Yep, they're sharp all right!) I'm finding the trickiest part is getting a uniform size, more than perfect smoothness, but the instructions couldn't be simpler.

(In case you're curious, I was thinking "pumpkin" when I made these, hence the colors.)

Eventually, this and mixed-media beads is going to become a wild Hallowe'en necklace. I have quite a collection built up of various components, and plan to make more. Right now, it's just a concept in my head, but it something I've had in there for a few years now, waiting to be born. Some of my favorite beads were actually made for me by a talented friend (Melinda Willis) working with lampwork techniques. She's a genius with ceramics, and her glasswork is exciting.

I have made and plan to do more shrink plastic pumpkins inspired by 1950s graphics. I'd like to experiment with paper/paper maché and fabric, as well. What got me thinking about the idea was this necklace I made from one of Melinda's ghosts:

This choker is just okay... The little ghost is darling and the lampwork beads are nice, but it's boo-o-ring! Then we (Melinda, Mom and I) went to the big bead show up in Milwaukee and I found lots more Hallowe'en colored stuff. On the way back home, I sketched furiously in the back seat (dunno what I did with those...) and the necklace just kind of exploded in my brain. *snort* Likely, when it's finished, it will look like it exploded, as well!