Love My Art Jewelry: fancifuldevices

Showing posts with label fancifuldevices. Show all posts

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Nails & Stitched Hearts

by Kimberly Rogers of NuminosityBeads

Quite a few of us that make components are always on the lookout for ubiquitous elements to use in our pieces. Things that are common to use in an uncommon way.

When I found a trove of rusty old nails on a scavenging foray I wondered how they would work with lampwork.

I had no idea how they would be received but it was some torch play I was looking forward to.

I was pleased with my results and even more please when I saw how someone creative like fancifuldevices would actually incorporate it into a necklace design!

By the way, fancifuldevices has a new tutorial on setting rough stones with epoxy putty!

Then I experimented with plunging little steel cut nails of the hardware store variety into the hot glass

I call it "Steampunkture"

This chunky piece might be a challenge in a design but I couldn't resist the allure of the numbered railroad nail that I had found near our desert property in Arizona

"Lampwonk" is another name for this style of beads.

Here is how Pipnmolly has used one of my lampwonk nails in this magnificent piece.

The beadmaking is a little different in how I have to apply the glass as normally I can simply spin a mandrel this is a little less graceful application resulting in a more freeform bead but I enjoy seeing what evolves from my clumsy application of the hot glass.

Listed in my shop on Etsy

I discovered this shop on y search for jewelry incorporating nails.

these are the creation of Beardyman in the UK.

These are horseshoe nails

Maybe we can convince him that it would be worthwhile to ship outside of the UK, what do

you say? I'm sure he'd love to hear from you. At least go favorite his shop.

Now here's another favorite component make of mine that uses nails in the most imaginative way.

MAKUstudio

whimsical, earthy and edgy in turn

I adore her use of the little hardware nails with amazing raku brilliance and creative shapes.

Which is a perfect segue to stitched hearts.

This crusty number by another one of my favorite ceramic component makers -

ScorchedEarthOnEtsy

and here's some polymer clay stitchery by the lovely Jana of HappyFishShop

and one of her stitched hearts which looks like a rusted patinated metal bit.

This brings me to our own Staci Louise of SLArtisanAccents who has been making these stitched metal hearts.

Can you see this sort of component being featured in your designs?

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Can't Get Enough Headpins

Headpins

I think most of us know what headpins are for in designing jewelry.

It seems to be a source of confusion when I'm trying to sell them to the general public, however.

Hatpins? Hairpins? What are these for? How do you stick them in your head?

I even show examples of how I use them in my own work but I still get blank looks at times.

I'm going to go with the assumption that you have an idea of how to use them "to stop the beads from falling off" but I'm not sure if anyone realizes the scope of how many wonderful handmade artisan headpins are being made and sold. If you are a designer or even a bead maker it seems that a little imagination and creativity can bring a new dynamic to your designing with this versatile component.

These are my crusty rustic line of headpins which are being used in any number of ways to accent earring designs

I think I could make these all day every day to meet the recent demand but of course a person gets a little weary of making the same thing all the time so I try different things like these crustified millefiore orbs.

Throw in a little crazy color once in awhile

Crubbly paddle shaped headpins which can serve as a dominant element.

Lightweight polymer clay leaf headpins by BeadyEyedBunny on Etsy

or more traditional copper balled headpins also by BeadyEyedBunny

Here are some headpins made by Jiorji out of Utee inspired by fancifuldevices' tutorial

orange rustic flowers out of polymer clay by BeadyEyedBunny

Here is a button shaped headpin that I have in my NuminosityBeads Etsy shop

I frequently make these long "oober" lampwork headpins which make quite a statement

You can see how Nikki from LoveRoot likes to incorporate them

And how Beatnheart has artfully wired them into her design.

You can find many other example of how my headpins have been incorporated on my Pinterest board

designers using numinositybeads

KristiBowmanDesigns makes some beautiful copper headpins out of metal clay

Here's what I did with a pair. These earrings "First Snow" just made their debut in this issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry!

Here's where you can purchase fancifuldevices Utee headpin tutorial.

You don't need a torch!

I like how fancifuldevices has used my mismatched paddle headpins to great effect on these earrings.

Some amazing artisan lampwork headpins by LoriLochner that could stand alone

(figuratively, that is)

These are only a few examples of the array of headpins you can find on Etsy. You only have to do a search for handmade headpins and you will find so many more to lend that extra something to your designs.

I almost forgot to include some of the headpins the headpins that inspired me to write this post. These are by Ginger Davis Allman from Blue Bottle Tree who also has a tutorial for making rustic beads and components out of polymer clay.