Thursday, April 25, 2013
Animal Crossing - New Leaf - Can't Wait for New Charms!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Alice in Wonderland: Movie and Jewelry
With the new Alice in Wonderland Movie only a week away, I figured I should break my long blogging dry spell with a quick post about my excitement over the opportunity to see a new rendition of the story, and show my creations devoted to the tale. My favorites are of course my Eat Me & Drink Me Bottle Charm Earrings because you know how I love my bottles! The Drink Me Charm is filled with my lightly blue tinted goo, with matching shrinking glitter, and the Eat Me Charm has a super tiny mushroom charm inside the bottle, suspended in goo with magical bubbles surrounding it. Both are topped off with hand written notes identifying each item, in case there was any confusion.
You may think there was no competition, but there is also my love of hats, which is why my Mad Hatter Charm is almost tied as far as my love goes. This little guy was actually a commissioned piece I was hired to make for one of my best customers, but one I instantly fell in love with, and plan on making more soon! It's less than an inch tall, but has all the madness of a hatter trapped inside!I hope everyone that goes to see the new movie, opening March 5th, has an excellent time!
Monday, March 23, 2009
The Charm of Charm Bracelets
Lately I've been getting a lot of custom order requests for multiple charmed Charm Bracelets. Bracelets are a jewelry piece I've never just made on my own because I don't wear bracelets myself, and neither does my partner; I don't sell them regularly in my shop because they tend to give people sticker shock. Even when charms are only priced at five dollars each, when you put ten of them on a bracelet, the price racks up quite quickly, and I don't want people to think I charge over fifty dollars for items regularly. I try to keep my charms and jewelry extremely affordable for their quality, while still charging enough so that's it's worth all the time that's invested in their construction.
The first different charmed bracelet I was commissioned to make was this lovely little Kingdom Hearts Charm Bracelet. It had me regular Sea Salt Ice Cream, Paopu Fruit, and Crown charms, as well as two new ones, made especially for this project. One was the little heart logo, normally it would be hollow, but that just was not practical for a bracelet, it would have been too fragile for my taste, so I decided to make it have a lowered, white inside. That way it would contrast the other custom charm better, the little Heartless Symbol. That is a charm that looks fairly simple, but was actually rather difficult, mostly the painting because my red is very weak, and it was hard to do multiple coats on the tiny thorns and keep them looking nice. This photo was taken before I put the shiny gloss coating on the charms, because I am not very skilled at taking photos, and I can't get around my glare problem when taking photos of anything shiny.
After that project was completed, I got another order for a charm bracelet, but this one was a tad more challenging. The Legend of Zelda Charm Bracelet called for two charms that are really too big to appropriate for a bracelet, the Heart Container Charm and the Bottled Fairy Charm. I made a special scaled down version of the heart container without too much trouble, but the fairy is already so small, I had to put my tiny making magic to full strength in order to make one small enough to fit into my tinier bottles. With the Ocarina Charm, the Triforce Charm, and another new addition, the Bomb Charm to fill it out, this is probably my favorite bracelet so far. I like all the differently shaped elements, the alternating colors, and the other all magical theme of the bracelet. Plus the fact that I'd just finished playing Twilight Princess before I made it probably didn't hurt this little guy in my decision for my favorite.
Of course I save the best for last, or at least the most impressive, my 15 Charm Pokeball Bracelet. As I am probably most well known for, I've made charms of all 24 official Pokeballs, and even many of the ones that just make special appearances in the anime, but this little bracelet topped them all. Not only did it include many of the most challenging Pokeballs to make, but I had to make them each smaller than a dime, that's about one centimeter in diameter, and they all had to match each other with all their tiny details! It took many hours and there were several reject charms disposed of in the process, but the finished product was well worth all the struggle. This is one of the custom orders that I'd want to make again, just so I have a copy for myself, but was so much work, I'm not really eager to spend all that time doing something once I know I already can.
Now that my portfolio of charm bracelets is growing, I expect to keep making more, hopefully ones from other series or games, so I can keep making new, unique items. For all the work they entail, they've all really impressed me in the end, and I can't wait to see what's next for me!
The first different charmed bracelet I was commissioned to make was this lovely little Kingdom Hearts Charm Bracelet. It had me regular Sea Salt Ice Cream, Paopu Fruit, and Crown charms, as well as two new ones, made especially for this project. One was the little heart logo, normally it would be hollow, but that just was not practical for a bracelet, it would have been too fragile for my taste, so I decided to make it have a lowered, white inside. That way it would contrast the other custom charm better, the little Heartless Symbol. That is a charm that looks fairly simple, but was actually rather difficult, mostly the painting because my red is very weak, and it was hard to do multiple coats on the tiny thorns and keep them looking nice. This photo was taken before I put the shiny gloss coating on the charms, because I am not very skilled at taking photos, and I can't get around my glare problem when taking photos of anything shiny.
After that project was completed, I got another order for a charm bracelet, but this one was a tad more challenging. The Legend of Zelda Charm Bracelet called for two charms that are really too big to appropriate for a bracelet, the Heart Container Charm and the Bottled Fairy Charm. I made a special scaled down version of the heart container without too much trouble, but the fairy is already so small, I had to put my tiny making magic to full strength in order to make one small enough to fit into my tinier bottles. With the Ocarina Charm, the Triforce Charm, and another new addition, the Bomb Charm to fill it out, this is probably my favorite bracelet so far. I like all the differently shaped elements, the alternating colors, and the other all magical theme of the bracelet. Plus the fact that I'd just finished playing Twilight Princess before I made it probably didn't hurt this little guy in my decision for my favorite.
Of course I save the best for last, or at least the most impressive, my 15 Charm Pokeball Bracelet. As I am probably most well known for, I've made charms of all 24 official Pokeballs, and even many of the ones that just make special appearances in the anime, but this little bracelet topped them all. Not only did it include many of the most challenging Pokeballs to make, but I had to make them each smaller than a dime, that's about one centimeter in diameter, and they all had to match each other with all their tiny details! It took many hours and there were several reject charms disposed of in the process, but the finished product was well worth all the struggle. This is one of the custom orders that I'd want to make again, just so I have a copy for myself, but was so much work, I'm not really eager to spend all that time doing something once I know I already can.Now that my portfolio of charm bracelets is growing, I expect to keep making more, hopefully ones from other series or games, so I can keep making new, unique items. For all the work they entail, they've all really impressed me in the end, and I can't wait to see what's next for me!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Valentine's Day Around the Corner
The first day of February usually triggers subconscious reminders that Valentine's Day is only 2 weeks away, and for me the wake-up call did not come soon enough. This is the holiday I tend to procrastinate getting prepared for the most, and it really shows with my lack of love filled items this year.
This Bottled Butterfly Heart was the first love inspired item I made this season, and I really cannot take too much credit for it because it was a special request, someone else's design that I simply brought to life. I was a bit disappointed with how this turned out, I originally wanted the heart to be more three dimensional, but I ended up sacrificing some of its shape, so the over-all size could be bigger. With the larger butterfly style wings, compared to my usually fairy wings, I had a lot more surface area to try to squeeze into a tiny bottle, and to help keep the heart an identifiable symbol, I had to shave it down a bit. I still think it turned out rather nice though, and I hope whoever receives it as a gift this year enjoys it as much as I do.
An item I actually did design for this holiday season is my new Heart Container Necklace. I had originally made it as a gift for my partner, but I just loved it so much, I felt bad keeping it to myself, and decided to make another one to list in my Etsy Shop. This is one of those items that look really simple, but was extremely difficult to get exactly right, the primary reason I am only making the one extra, and once it's gone, that's it. One of the many "one of a kind" items I've experimented with other the years. Getting the domed shape to the heart and keeping it super smooth, almost like glass, is just too time consuming to make on a regular basis.
I wish I could say the same for my every day love filled charms, which are of course my Friendship Paopu Fruit Necklaces. By far the most difficult regular in-stock item I make, but it's a design I am very proud of, and the compliments I get about it gives me the motivation to sculpt them every time. Another one of those charms that looks a bit plain, not very difficult, but sculpting star shapes is the bane of my existence! Luckily I can tweak them extensively in the final stages, otherwise they would be monstrous, lopsided fruit that no one would want to share with the one that they love. I really feel the passion with many of the orders I get for this pair of necklaces, I've had several requests to customize them with anniversary dates, or personal messages. It really takes me back to those infatuated days of young love I had so many years ago, and inspires me to keep that same intensity for love all these years later.
I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day, because no matter your relationship status, everyone can appreciate the joys of heart shaped chocolate truffles! (even better when they're half-priced Feb. 15th!)
This Bottled Butterfly Heart was the first love inspired item I made this season, and I really cannot take too much credit for it because it was a special request, someone else's design that I simply brought to life. I was a bit disappointed with how this turned out, I originally wanted the heart to be more three dimensional, but I ended up sacrificing some of its shape, so the over-all size could be bigger. With the larger butterfly style wings, compared to my usually fairy wings, I had a lot more surface area to try to squeeze into a tiny bottle, and to help keep the heart an identifiable symbol, I had to shave it down a bit. I still think it turned out rather nice though, and I hope whoever receives it as a gift this year enjoys it as much as I do.
An item I actually did design for this holiday season is my new Heart Container Necklace. I had originally made it as a gift for my partner, but I just loved it so much, I felt bad keeping it to myself, and decided to make another one to list in my Etsy Shop. This is one of those items that look really simple, but was extremely difficult to get exactly right, the primary reason I am only making the one extra, and once it's gone, that's it. One of the many "one of a kind" items I've experimented with other the years. Getting the domed shape to the heart and keeping it super smooth, almost like glass, is just too time consuming to make on a regular basis.
I wish I could say the same for my every day love filled charms, which are of course my Friendship Paopu Fruit Necklaces. By far the most difficult regular in-stock item I make, but it's a design I am very proud of, and the compliments I get about it gives me the motivation to sculpt them every time. Another one of those charms that looks a bit plain, not very difficult, but sculpting star shapes is the bane of my existence! Luckily I can tweak them extensively in the final stages, otherwise they would be monstrous, lopsided fruit that no one would want to share with the one that they love. I really feel the passion with many of the orders I get for this pair of necklaces, I've had several requests to customize them with anniversary dates, or personal messages. It really takes me back to those infatuated days of young love I had so many years ago, and inspires me to keep that same intensity for love all these years later.I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day, because no matter your relationship status, everyone can appreciate the joys of heart shaped chocolate truffles! (even better when they're half-priced Feb. 15th!)
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