Wednesday 30 October 2019

Zipper Pulls

Before I get started, just a note that the Twisted Copper Top store has migrated, has a brand new look and I'm getting good at web page management.  Quite the learning curve but awesome for the little grey cells. https://twistedcoppertop.com . Please have a look and any comments would be appreciated.

Once again it was time to get out all the beads and the lobster claws to make Zipper Pulls.
All the shiny beads

I love making these little bundles of bling.  It is the perfect thing to do on a stormy day.  Turn up the tunes and have fun mixing and matching beads and charms.

I picked up 50 gold mixed charms and 100 silver charms with a ocean theme.  After making 40 earring sets for the market it was a natural (and like I said, fun) thing to use the remainder for pulls.
Earrings for the market
When making multiples of any thing, spread out and make a mess.  It helps my creative flow to be able to see everything at a glance.  The only problem with that theory is that your work space seems to shrink with time.
Spreading out

My solution is to work on a tray with my note book set as the 'work zone'.  The tray catches all the little bits and pieces that get cut off or beads that run away.
Matching pairs







Once everything is spread out, the fun begins.

Oh I have to tell you about the great recycled container I discovered.  The trays of Sushi that you buy at the market, shaped like a boat, make the best little bead holder.  Then when you are all done just pour the beads back into their containers from the pointy end.
The top of a Sushi container.
Ok on to zipper pulls.

Lined up and read to mount on the display tags.














The combinations are endless and oh so pretty.

Beads that look like rock bubblegum, remember?



The earring display tags took a bit of thinking about to mount the pulls but with all the extra bits of wire from making the tree of life pendants, it was a waste not want not situation.
They look great.

All ready for market

Wednesday 23 October 2019

Jewelry Totes for the Market

This past week out came the sewing machine and 20 pretty fat quarters to make 10 jewelry totes for the Christmas market at the Cedarcrest Gardens December 7 & 8. https://cedarcrestgardens.com/seasons/

Little jewel bags.
 I love these little jewel bags that are fun to make.  I find it easy to set up and do a production line of 10 or more at a time.  Cutting out and pressing, marking the button holes and if most of the fabric is on the same tone you do not even have to change threads all that often.

Stack of cut fabric with the home made cardboard templates.







Then I discovered a need trick, instead of marking all the inner circles for stitching, just place a few pieces of painters tape in the desired locations on your sewing machine to use as a guide.  It saved quite a bit of time and you don"t have to worry about the iron removing all your guide lines.


A few guild lines
The only lines you really have to worry about are the pocket lines,  Thank goodness for templates.  Just center then with a ruler, mark your lines, sew, add the cord and 10 hours later 10 beautiful and very practical little gems.

Marking the center pocket lines.










All finished







Here is the final tree of life pendant from last week.  It turned out beautiful and is for sale for $51.55 if anyone is interested.  Please note that Tyler is in the process of migrating the Twisted Copper Top Store..... to somewhere....... so it will be down and being updated over the next few days.  Kinda like the geese migrating south, you know they go, just not sure where. lol

Thought I would leave you with a look of Saint John in the fall.
Kings Square 


Wednesday 16 October 2019

Tree of Life Pendants

It has been a busy crafty week this past week.  I have been trying to have a few tree of life pendants made for the up coming Christmas sale in December.

Front
 They always look like such a mess when you are making the tree.  Wires everywhere, tangled and always in the way.  The beautiful pink stone is a resin cabochon made when I was experimenting with resin and alcohol paint.  The alcohol stains are made from immersing the felts from inside Sharpie felt pens in alcohol for a few days and then adding a few drops to the resin pour.  The results can be very cool with an almost sky (you should see the blue ones) translucence to them. A nice thing about using resin cabochons is they are very light compared to stone or glass.


the back


This tree of life pendant is the first that I have tried with beads added to the branches.  It went much better than I had originally thought it would. Using the crackle seed beads in a light green gives then the look of leaves just breaking out in spring.

Almost finished front

















The tree managed to get finished but when I went to complete the clasp..... out of 28 gage silver wire.  Darn so my order should be in tomorrow and I will be able to finish and make another in blue.
I'll post the finished pendant next blog so you can see the final piece.

A few others.
Here are a few other pieces completed in the past weeks.  The dark blue is on resin colored with mica dust, the dark blue tree on beach rock, a brass on agate and a wire captured gold on red glass.  Now here is hoping that they sell.  lol. If not I'm going to have a lot of choices to wear.

Sammy getting ready to come to market with me
Not going to be left behind!

Wednesday 9 October 2019

Moved to Saint John

It is hard to believe that it has been over a year since updating this blog.  Many things have happened but the best is the move to Saint John.
Over the past year we finished the house on Cape Sable Island and how wonderful to see the old girl with a face lift. A lot of hard work but well worth the effort (even though my back did not think so on some days).
Fun stenciling the floors.

Bright and shiny new cedar shakes.

Quite an improvement.















But as with everything time moves on as did my son Tyler and I.  We ended up spending way more on the house than expected and reality set in.  Time to get a job and like Tyler said " I am so looking forward to being able to order in a pizza delivery". 
One of the first things we did once we moved to Saint John. lol

We bought a nice smaller home in great shape and although there are things that need to be updated nothing required is immediately.  It has a beautiful back yard and lots of garden potential.  Wait until spring!

Our new house on Manawagonish Rd,
In the past month of unpacking, Hanging pictures and opening boxes that have not been open since we left Vancouver in the motor-home, I have managed to set up my craft corner and am back to having fun making things again. 
Organized chaos.
So I'm back!!  Yeah.  Get ready for regular updates.  Posts on quilting (joined the local quilt guild - Marco Polo Quilt Guild), jewelry making (have a table at the Cedar Crest Gardens Christmas Market Dec 7 & 8), and gardening once spring rolls around.

It is lovely to be home and back to being creative, I've missed it.



Mom's Little Monsters.

 I've been having a ball making Mom's Little Monsters on days that we are not renovating Tyler's shop.   Lurch Lurch in his butl...