Celtic Cross

I love the design of this Celtic cross.

The never-ending knots that are woven into the ends create a very elegant and simple beauty.

Pictures really cannot do justice, since the clay has a gorgeous iridescent shimmer that catches the light just right from certain angles.  I tried to capture it in this photo; it gives an almost inner glow.

You can see this pendant at The Gamer's Armory, along with so many more great gaming products, as well as items made by local artists!

Dragons & Gaming

After the appearance of the unicorn, it seems appropriate to bring in another mythical creature...in this case, an eastern style dragon.

This picture features a golden eastern dragon pendant, as well as my first attempt at sculpting a D10.

(For those wondering what a D10 is, it is a die that has 10 sides.  It is not the typical shape of a die that you see in common board games, but one that has a conical type shape.  They are a lot of fun to play with and come in every color/pattern you could possibly imagine!)

I also was playing with a different style and this dragon developed into a magnet.  

I love the contrast of blue on silver!

Both of these dragons can now be found at The Gamer's Armory in Cary, North Carolina!

You can also find all sorts of gorgeous dice sets at their store, so you can start your own collection!

Unicorns!

At least, that is always what I hear when I am working with one of my favorite mythical creatures.  I am a huge fan of Peter Beagle's The Last Unicorn and had the honor to meet him last summer.  It also doesn't help that a dear friend of mine cries out "UNICORN!" in King Haggard's voice every time a unicorn makes an appearance. 

So, with all of those awesome memories of past and present, I have to bring unicorns into my craft at some point or another.  Enter, the unicorn pendants!

At least these will hopefully not release a harpy onto you.  (If you do not get that reference, please do me a favor and either pick up a copy of The Last Unicorn, book or animation.  I promise you won't be disappointed).

The brilliant purple unicorn pendant is available now at The Gamer's Armory, located in Cary, North Carolina!  You can also find my Itty Bitty Cthulhu, Cthulhu pendants, earrings and more in the store!

Give Gamer's Armory a "Like" on Facebook to see all of the awesome items they carry and the amazing events they host!

Creativity Strikes Again...

It has been a busy couple of weeks!  I am trying to get back into the swing of blogging, as well as finishing up projects and starting new ones!

Despite fighting a severe migraine this weekend, I have put the final touches on a few pieces and have started laying out the materials for the next project.

Two new pairs of peacock earrings, complete with Swarovski crystals!

I have also worked on more of my Cthulhu pendants...

Which of course, have to be accessorized with Cthulhu earrings:

These are just a few of the projects that I have been working on!  

Check out my Facebook Page for more!

Work Table Wednesday

Remember the miniature koi pond that I made last fall for the state fair?

With the tiny koi, all three of which fit on a single dime?

Well, I couldn't stop just there...I had to expand...or...well, miniaturize!

Three little koi, swimming on a dime...

Three little koi, swimming in their pendant pond...

 

Three little koi, having such a fun time!

This is only the first of a few koi pond pendants that I plan to make...I am testing out some techniques and finding what looks just right.  I also have a few other ideas, but one project at a time! ;)

Work Table Wednesday

Here is the commissioned piece that I was working on for most of the weekend.

It's the Triforce from Zelda.  My friend wanted to give it to her daughter as a gift.  I'm so excited for her daughter, who will be starting pottery class this spring.  :)

A belated holiday gift

So, after promising to finish a piece for a couple of months, I finally did and got it mailed...just in time to arrive the day after Christmas.

At least it arrived before the new year... ;)

Here is the little hermit crab...

And here he is with his little friend...

The tiny betta was a bit of a challenge to make...he is the second one that I have done, the first is currently a prisoner in resin and shattered glass.

And, I also sent my friend a surprise necklace, in honor of her gorgeous and whimsical snails.

Day after Christmas Shopping!

Even though I am writing this post ahead of time, I am going to hazard a guess that we will be partaking in the day after Christmas shopping.  Last year, my mom and I raided Michaels for leftover Christmas trees...I ended up with two great small ones.

This year, I really don't have anything on my list for after Christmas shopping, but I'm sure I'll find some clay or paint that I "cannot live without." :P

Here is a summary of all the necklaces I made for holiday gifts.  I still have a few holiday gifts to show you, but those will be next time.

Holiday Gifts, Part 3

Ok, technically Christmas is not for two more days, but, I am going to take a gamble and guess that my Mom will be so busy entertaining us, that she will not be reading my blog, LOL!

Obviously, this necklace is for her.  I actually used the same pattern when I created my pendant back in the summer time.  I thought it would be nice to both have the same flower, even when we are so far apart.

Holiday Gifts, Part 2

I am so excited for this evening!  A friend and I are going to see the Nutcracker Ballet!  I have always wanted to see a live production of it and have watched it for years on the public broadcasting stations while usually wrapping gifts.

I am giving her this as a surprise for her holiday gift.  She has made me three beautiful mugs in her pottery studio and she loves cats, having two of her own, so I thought she would like this design.

Surprisingly, it was very hard to get a good picture of this piece.  There are so many colors incorporated, but pictures definitely do not do it justice.  I used multiple watercolors and mica powders to add color to the scene of this cat looking out over the sunrise (or perhaps sunset)? 

Work Table Weekend

Now that I have given some of our holiday gifts out, I feel like I can share the final pictures with you all.  :)

First, the Santa Cthulhu's on their snowy drifts....though, I have to admit, this isn't the final picture.  I added snowballs to each Cthulhu and they were hilarious!  They actually looked like they were having a snowball fight with each other and I regret not getting a picture of that! :) 

I bet you can guess where the snowballs went though ;)  So, just use your imagination.

The finished unicorn went to another friend, who absolutely loves and collects various unicorns.  I used roving wool for the mane, tail and feathering around the hooves.  It was a pretty white, but when I think of mythical creatures, I think of glitter, etc.  After some pondering, I tried out some beautiful violet mica powder that I had and was able to actually "paint" it onto the wool to create an iridescent and glittery appearance.

To commemorate the engagement of two friends, I thought of what better way than interwoven rings.  I used another color of mica powder to create an antique silver finish.

Finally, a friend of ours just recently bought a farm and has been raising beautiful fancy chickens for some time now.  I thought a bird's nest pendant with colorful green eggs (textured glass beads) would be something she could enjoy.

I have several more projects I am going to be working on in the coming weeks before Christmas, so check back to see what is meandering across my work table!

Belated Work Table Weekend

So, I've had an interesting weekend to the say the least.  My "smartphone" is now an expensive paperweight.  Thank goodness for DropBox, because otherwise, I would have lost over 1100 pictures  on my phone.

I have now downgraded to an older phone to get me through until I can renew my plan with AT&T.  The huge downside to having an HTC phone that suddenly has a hardware malfunction and is one month out of warranty with the manufacturer and two months away until I can renew my commitment plan. 

But, I digress!  The weekend was full of Halloween decorating, candy making planning and lots and lots of creating!  Yet, I failed to get any really good pictures.  Here are some older ones that I took as pieces were in progress...please forgive the poor quality and lighting.

 

A necklace that is composed of zebra stones, snowflake obsidian and assorted cut glass beads.  I actually changed this a few more times before I was really finished with it...I extended it by adding a few more detailed beads into the design and I added a magnetic clasp, rather than the barrel clasp.

A couple of pairs of earrings that I designed. One utilizing freshwater pearls and purple amethyst, along with a iridescent glass bead, while the other draws attention to the small charm with the black cut glass bead and red coral beads.

 I also had another fabulous mail day as my latest shipment arrived from Deb at CrysallisGEMS!

My betta also got a new home over the weekend.  I picked up some live plants and set up a larger, 5 gallon aquarium for him.  He would barely hold still long enough to snap a picture.

 The first apple pies of the season!  The apples were courtesy of someone from work and I could not wait to turn them into tasty pies. :)  

What did you do this weekend?

Also, for my readers along the Eastern Coast, please be safe as Sandy heads inland and do not take unnecessary risks.  I think we have lucked out here, except for showers and wind, but I wish you all a safe week and Happy Halloween!