Daily Creative Sessions - Take Ten

Recently, I set myself a goal  -  daily 10 minute creative sessions. 

and this is what my 10 minutes turned into the other day.

Okay - this took me way more than 10 minutes to create, 

but that is how it started.  

The pages in this little book are pockets....

and inside the pockets are mini blank books.

At the moment only the pockets are decorated

..... eventually the mini books in the pockets will have something on them as well.  

During my next 10 minute creative session I thought 

I should make these at the visual journaling group I host on Tuesday nights.

So I created a less time consuming version to share if they are interested.  

If you haven't anything to do on Tuesday night 

and are in my neighbourhood  

- feel free to join us in the art room of the local school.... :-)

Layers of Paper

Slowly but steadily I have been working on these small collages. 

They are made using the hand decorated paper I showed a few posts ago, 

and were inspired by the little collage book in my last post. 

I haven't had too much time to create, 

so these came together slowly over the last number of weeks. 

They are quite small pieces . . . . .

that are mounted on 3" X 4" wooden boxes

Little pieces of torn paper - distressed and wrinkled 

layered with other pieces of decorated paper

and eventually secured with glue. 

I really enjoyed making these little collages,

so much so that there are some larger ones in the works.

Houses Being Built

I am busy building houses out of the hand decorated paper I shared in my last post.  

My hope was to have the whole piece completed by now,

..... but I am not quite there yet.  

I also learned that painting/decorating parchment paper is not the best idea.  

The paint likes to peel off too easily and it is a bit of a challenge to work with.

  I seem to be unable to locate deli wrap either locally or online (without outrages shipping charges) - and so will continue my search for a thin and sturdy yet okay priced paper to decorate and use in my collages.  

Update - I found some deli paper that I can purchase and ship for a reasonable price and I am excited to get it and give it a try! 

I will share the finished piece as soon as I can.  

A Perfect Fit

Making jewelry out of antlers has been on my 

want to try list for a long time. 

Here are the 7 pieces that I managed to finish.

I have some more on my work table,

but need to get a new drill bit after breaking the one I was using. 

These ones are made from moose or caribou antler. 

 I really like that they are uneven and chunky.

I cut and shaped some reclaimed metal to make the bails, 

and connected them with a piece of brass wire that I hammered. 

I decided on using simple black cords to hang them on 

And then tried them on. 

I think they fit perfectly!
 (or just as I had imagined anyway) 

Rustic Look Earrings

Hammering metal and wrapping wire have kept me busy lately. 

I then put them all together to make these earrings. 

I decorated some of the hammered brass dangles 

with bits of letters and wrapped wire bits. 

Then I worked on this group

I call them the 'Rusted and Worn' group

They are made from old pieces of metal strapping. 

I collected the super rusted strip of metal from an old partially built structure

that was taken down a few years ago.  

I collected the partially rusted and worn piece of metal strapping

 from someone that was going to take it to the landfill.  

I guess some people would say I made these earrings out of garbage,

but I think of it as using reclaimed metal.

I cut the worn and rusted metal into various shapes and filed the edges smooth. 

I then added some wire wrapped squiggly bits to the top 

and an occasional bead or hammered metal to finish them off. 

I used the super rusted metal in a similar way, 

but removed the top layer of rust first. 

Both types of metals were sealed with Renaissance Wax Polish.

I hung all of these earrings on sterling silver ear wires. 

I do think it distracts from the look, but lots of people have sensitive ears 

and sterling silver was the only wire I knew of 

that would not bother people when they wore them. 

But then my blogging friend Norma told me about these ear wires

that she wears that would match the style of my earrings

and are comfortable for people with sensitive ears.
She even sent me a couple of pairs to try out!

How fortunate I am to have friends like Norma!

I will be placing an order for these and change out the sterling silver earring wires very soon!  

You can read about other earring creations here 

UPDATE - I have finally updated my etsy shop and included some of my earrings there.