Here we are! The "We're All Ears :: 5th Annual Use Your Leftovers Challenge!"

I haven't participated in a challenge for some time now. Two separate jobs in the education field, in conjunction with my amazing family, has kept me busy! But here goes...

My table. I work in an old bedroom that was my daughter's. Still a bed and some other stuff in there, but mostly mine. I keep my table nice and tidy, for the most part, as I also do school work in there.

I looked at what was there to offer, and starting compiling.

So I grabbed the bead board and started arranging components I thought would go well together. The bottle cap was one of many that I eventually I transformed!

First up sold right away. Coral beads, turquoise drops by HappyFishThings, and little faceted soldered jade bits from CrowCacheSupplies.

Next up was a lovely pair made from dangles by ScorchedEarthonEtsy and poly clay beads by ShipWreckDandySupplies. 

Here we have a lovely facial expression pair made from the clay beads of FoxPaws, drops of faceted stones and  a little metal bead cap.

Bottle caps! Random shells, pearl and glass beads capped with metal.

More bottle caps adorned with faceted stones beads and poly clay beads by ShipWreckDandySupplies.

This was definitely a fun way to crank out some earrings. I made them swiftly, and with lots of enthusiasm. I hope you enjoyed and don't forget, darlicioushouse is where I reside on etsy. Come visit! xoxo

And enjoy the blog hop from earrings every day.

Cheers!

~playing with recycled copper and enamels

i've been playing around with a new type of gas ~propane~ and throwing in all of the enamels. i like how it's going but such a departure from the bottle caps. no longer limited by shape. 

poly by shipwreckdandy, clay by donnaperlinplim here

i gave away all of my jewelers equipment years ago, so now i need to get a sawing block again as right now i just snipsnipsnip and pound. sawing could liven things up a bit. but i like the organic nature of the snips.

clay by happyfishthings here

today i play with drill bits and letting the light shine through.

bowie here

almost out of my enamel sample shipment from two years ago and would like some new colors not found in the sample kit. i'm really liking the look of layering over the white. i recently purchased etching solution and i've etched a pair. ~scream~ is etched. if i etch the lighter colors, i could get out my crayon and draw!

poly by shipwreckdandy up for grabs

sooo, i've got the powder, liquid and crayon to play with. such fun. who'd a thunk i'd love this but recycling is key. i must retain a recycled element to continue in the shows i love to participate in. i dig that i live near a junk yard where i can get my copper. scored a ton of flashing and wire. it'll keep me going for a long time!

clay by scorchedearthonetsy ~my don't pinch me pin for St. Patricks Day ~sold

i have two shows coming up soon. a festival in Albuquerque at La Parada Farm to Table called the Kenny Chavez Tenth Annual Cinco de Mayo Festival. and then Reuse-apalooza in Santa Fe. a carnival!

clay by scorchedearthonetsy here

i'd like to find some lovely summer shows, but golly, the prices are so high and i need a booth shot, so, i sketched up how i could gussy up the booth, went through all my cloths and display items then settled on white and black with turquoise tulle as a trim. then i can get that shot i need at one of the shows. hope it looks good! so much fun peeps!

leaf by pipnmolly here

i love that my husband supports me. he made weights for my canopy, a really nice one we scored at half price from a canopy shop. it has worked so well in the elements since we bought it years ago.

poly by shipwreckdandy up for grabs

he loads the vehicle, unloads it with me, helps me set up then it's off on an all day bike ride while i sellsellsell. winwin all around.

clay by donnaperlinplim here

in the end, it's about community and spirited fun. have a happy creative day all! xoxo

~unusual decadence

torch enameled beer bottle caps. scorchearthonetsy clay accents. faceted amethyst. love.

~a fire like morning and a thank you

i torched enameled and built a fire just to create for you!

the green sticks are double green overlay with gilding on the fold. 

i think i'll make more of these in different colors.way cool if i must say.

the pit fired clay beads are a surprise! 

this time they made it through the fire. 

sometimes they don't fare so well as this is not a science but a journey 

from wet clay to pit fired components.

the fire is never the same and the combustibles change making for an 

ashy color sometimes and jet black at others. like on these kitty cats who got both.

variables i cannot control. 

what a gas! see my shop at right if ya just gotta have some for yerself. xoxo

and a big thanks to fanci for having a give away as i won an amazing pair of earrings! 

yummy! more xoxo all over the place!

~more parts

been creating components for you to get busy with. some pit fired clay dangles and beads. some enameled beer bottle caps. all in my artistic rejuvenation shop. some new jewelry too. xoxo

pit fired clay beads~

i started making my own clay beads. i saw some kiln fired beads that went into a pit for effect and thought, wow! i live by and work at a pueblo known for pit firing without the kiln and had seen it done with beautiful pottery. amazing work. i thought. i wonder if i could pit fire, just pit fire, clay beads? so i went to santa fe clay and purchased 25 pounds of white clay. away I went.

making, making, making, experimenting with the clay. here is a small selection of the 100 i made at first. it is soothing working with clay. carving, decorating, making holes to create beads for adornment...and i did some research. not too many hits on beads, but read a lot about pit firing pots. i love an experiment!

and then starting fires! i pit fired them in my charcoal grill as digging a pit in my yard is out of the question. i have an all edible yard full of gardens, in the city, with no place for a pit. the first day, my daughter came out and thought i was burning paperwork as a cleansing ritual and asked if she could throw in some school work. she's too cute!

a sampling of the first round. i had the fire too BIG the first go around, so i doused  it and re-fired these babies. they came out pretty cool me thinks. i must admit. it was hard finding the beads in the ash. so my son dug around and found them all! he's very helpful and i am very grateful.

again. another view of the beads.

and a little house because we are the house family. i married into a fun name. we make so many things into houses.

enameled beer bottle caps with beads from the second firing. i wear them all the time! they are a conversation starter for sure.

today i started the third firing. this time i made bobbles with wires for hanging. i traded the lunch folks at school a few of my beads for this can. they opened it specially for me to use, so i thought i'd give in return. i put grass in the can, laid in the bobbles and set the can on a bed of grass, paper and oak.

i built up the sides with wood as i went. sheesh! i hadn't even had my coffee yet but here i was, starting fires at 6 a.m. gotta do it before the winds pick up. it's so peaceful in the back yard so early in the morn anyway, so i truly didn't mind.

after the fire died down, i pushed all the coals up around the can and put the lid on on the grill and waited.

two hours later i pulled the can from the ash and uncovered it. lookie! i made bobbles! and i can see them! no digging around in the ashes this time.

cooling on a tray. they were already pretty cooled down as it was and i only lost three out of 26 to fractures while they were in the fire itself. the first and second time around i lost about 6. not bad.

i dropped a couple as i transferred then. yup. solid! this is a low fire technique and unglazed so they should not be submerged in water just like any other unglazed clay. but they are strong and fit.

another view all dangling.

i made a couple of pendants with my enamels and the beads and bobbles. i love how they compliment each other. whew! what fun i am having.

my husband, mr. house, is getting a kick out me playing with fire as usually i shy away from it. now to make some more for next weekend! xoxo