Sometimes I take on too many projects (okay, not just sometimes!). I prefer to blog after I've finished a project, but since that could still be weeks or months away, I thought I would go ahead and show you what's on my work table right now:
Cement Jewelry
On a whim, I bought a small container of a cement mixture for use in jewelry. I've had fun making spooky Halloween jewelry like this Skeleton Hand Necklace, Skull Necklace, and Spiderweb Earrings. The cement has a nice, smooth texture when set. It does set up pretty fast, so it's best to have everything laid out on your worktable before you start. You can color it, although I haven't tried that yet. My biggest fear is getting the powder on my clothes, as it is activated by water and I don't want cement-encrusted clothes in the washing machine. (Pictured below are my Archaeology Necklace and Spare Parts Earrings.)
Vote Jewelry
If you live in the U.S. you're probably hyperaware that there's a presidential election on November 3. My Etsy shop got an unexpected boost in August when my vote ring was mentioned in the article, "Here are Affordable Lookalikes to Michelle Obama's "VOTE" Necklace." Several of my election and vote jewelry pieces were marked as "Etsy bestsellers" for a time. This is a mysterious designation that seems to correlate to a high number of sales in a short period of time, but not one knows exactly how it's awarded.
The silver glitter version of the Vote necklace has been the most popular so far.
Beaded Square
The new Museum of Beadwork in New York has a call for submissions to the Beaded Square Project. I've mapped out my square and made a few sample elements like the beaded book pictured here. After making two mini beaded books, I decided I wanted to make them in a different way.
(Incidentally, this is why my studio is always so messy. I'm not going to use this beaded book for what intended, so now what? I can't take it apart because the beads are glued in place. There's too much work in there for me to toss it, so it's going to sit around until I can figure out something else to do with it.)
With the deadline extended to March 2021, this project has been placed on the back burner. Ideally, I might work on parts of this in the evening while watching TV this fall and winter.
Springs
A dear customer sent me a package of random springs from her late husband's collection and I've had them on my worktable for months, trying to decide how best to use them. I've used springs before in my work such as in this Cycling Round necklace in this Upcycled Jewelry eBook and in a few mixed media pieces in the exhibit in Manitou Springs last year, including the Not Too Late piece mentioned in an interview.
Yesterday I did manage to make an ornament with a couple of springs. It's not quite finished; I'm having mixed feelings about the purple/pink watercolor background. I may repaint it again. And do I want to add glass leaves to the stem or would that be too fussy? Two tiny springs also appear in the Spare Parts Earrings mentioned earlier. I've made quite a few sketches for possible projects, so I'm sure there will be more to come.
Christmas Ornaments
Normally sales slow down a bit in the summer, giving me time to make one-of-a-kind Christmas ornaments for my shop. This year has not exactly been normal, so my regular schedule has been thrown for a loop. So far I've managed to complete only a few new ornaments such as this So Many Books Ornament and Chessboard Ornament. More ornaments are in various stages of completion on my worktable. We'll see how many I complete before Christmas shopping begins in earnest!
So that's what I've been up to lately. Hope your fall is off to a great start!