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

wire woes 'til the copper explosion~

sterling silver wire~oxidized of course as i love the black. i can no longer afford it though. even traded in my handmade silver ear wires for personally transformed surgical steel as a result of the prices.

steel wire~started using it back when a friend showed me some squiggles he made with bailing wire. never worried about it 'til i bought a pair of earrings made from various sizes of steel wire and they rusted just from a small amount of moisture while hanging out in my car overnight (not me, the earrings). i then pulled everything i had made with steel wire and sealed them real well with wax or took them apart. now i only use the very thin wire to hold my silk in place on earrings and seal reallll good.

copper wire~spools of it! i brought some home the other day and oxidized it. what a mess! i have to wipe down the wire to remove some of the tarnish or else it transfers, but i love the look once i get the excess off! i recently decided on copper as i noticed more and more of the women i admire have been using it and i love the look. then a friend mentioned how inexpensive it was, so i made the leap. i think i can use the copper to hold the silk in place and i won't have any worries about rust.

well, here are my new attempts at prettiness using the copper wire~

copper wreath earrings~

kim and i gifted each other yumminess. here are some of her lovelies on my new lovely wire.

Sara~

these are me favs. enameled copper roofing material with vintage roses and vintage dress makers accents all on copper wire.

Trade~

matte chevrons and sterling silver with numinosity head pins. copper wire.

Charming~

labradorite, painted porcelain doll arms, little rosary connections from robyn and copper wire. i have a tiny stash of stones. not many mind you and i pretty much used them up (save some moonstones from kim) on these next three pieces. i usually stay away from wire connections as the silver was too expensive and the stones are not recycled, but i went for it and made sure to put something recycled with the stones.

inspired by robyn~

old belt buckles from uncanny artists and faceted garnet. definitely french circus inspired. oops, see a little copper tail, gotta go fix that! <3

lipstick love~

50's era metal lipstick case for your little treasures! double strand of orphaned stone beads with some accents ~antique metal button from fagins daughter, an italian coin from my buddy trent, a small charm from an old earring and a small spade charm from laura at uncanny artists~.
so, i say orphaned stones 'cause some of them are slightly chipped around the holes and most people wouldn't use them. i found them at a thrift store during the summer months and with the holes being so teenie, i had no idea what to do with them until the recent copper wire explosion!

hahaha funny life~uncanny artists is actually owned by laura from the recycled art show i do every year. i hadn't seen her there in the last two years and wondered what had happened. i love her stuff! doll parts, odd toys, tons of ephemera...  well, kim knew what happened! laura opened an online shop. funny, it took someone from far away to tell me someone close by had their own shop now. small world! visit her shop, ask her for specifics if something your looking for is not listed as she has thousands of items and not all are up in the shop. she is amazing. watch out kim, a ton of collage goodies are on their way!

cheers and happy new year everyone!

~shadow box challenges

ah, the third shadow box arrived brimming with luscious goodies and the contents continue to challenge and delight. here, a knotted choker of color, color color from ~shipwreckdandy~ a serious departure from my norm i feel this piece is.

then some earrings made with criffles ~numinosity beads~ sporting polymer clay beads from the box.

more box beads. the red ones came along with the wire touch already added. so i paired them with yummy pink glass. it's nice that many of the gals who added to the box added in twos.

and finally a large turquoise bead from box number one found a home at the bottom of this necklace. eeee, this took me some time as i chain connected vintage glass beads. unusual mixture of texture. cool to the touch.