Bo Everlasting

A little while back I lost my Bo, who was, really, the backbone of this little enterprise. He was such a special friend that I had a really hard time dealing with his passing.

It was fortunate that I managed to pick up and save one of the baby tooth he spat out when he was a puppy. It was also inevitable that I turn to the only woman in the world I trust to fashion a little piece of Bo into wearable art.

Alix Bluh of Modern Relics creates some of the most interesting jewelry you’ll ever see. She’s made the Hubs’ and my wedding bands as well as my engagement ring. They were so unique that you can most definitely pick them out of a lineup. Since she’s already made me the most important jewelry of my life, I needed her to create a wearable memento of my Bo.

I’ve asked her to include a piece of Herkimer Diamond as it quietly exudes powerful energies. She also threw in some floating topaz, whose properties are thus enhanced by the Herkimer. I know, hippy dippy, but who’s to say it doesn’t sync up one’s chakra?

Thank you, Alix, for finding a beautiful way of allowing me to keep a little part of my best friend with me for always.

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Fun Fun Fun!

Once again, I’m coming at cha with some more Russian doll shaped key chains.

 

Here’s Batman and Robin

 

Wonder Woman and Darth Vader

 

Mr. Spock and Uhura

 

Frida Kahlo and a Luchador.

Steampunk Faeries

One of the hardest things I had to do when I was helping my parents pack up their house for the Big Move was to throw away my fairy wings. It’s silly, and I have no reason to own them since I rarely attend Renaissance festivals, but I loved it. I’d wear it once a year on Halloween and amused my students as a tooth fairy (along with my wand with a gigantic molar on it), but other than that, it’s not something to bring back to Oz with me. Imagine trying to explain it to customs.

This Steampunk set didn’t have to be all about the fairies, but it is now because it gave me the excuse to build a miniature version of the wings I had to throw away.

Here’s my jolly gang of Steampunk characters…but of course I didn’t stop there…

These aren’t your delicate little floofy fay things! I was so tempted to empty the entire box of watch parts on these guys, but I restrained myself.

I’ve built a box and wings out of a miniature general store crate, wire and panty hose. It’s amazing what you can create after raiding your closet.

This gal’s got an antique Blackberry strapped to her arm.

For this set all the faeries have their own little steampunk mascots. Probably got that idea from those “His Dark Materials” books. Or that I just wanted to paint a bulldog.

…or a helper monkey.

How cool is this guy? His accessories consists of an owl and a tricked out guitar!

I had a bit of a flashback painting his wing pack…reminded me a bit of the Ghostbusters proton pack.

Gears!

This faery with the Bjork buns has a little mechanical bee for a pet and a blunderbuss instead of a wand. I don’t know about you, but I’m not keen on receiving a pair of glass slippers from the end of a gun.

Her faery wings are just bones, but that’s all right, she’s got a blunderbuss so what does it matter?

This guy is awesome because not only does he carry a steampunk sword, but his wing pack has a small television built in and…

…his mascot is a bulldog! Bulldogs, I’ll have you know, is as Victorian as they come since this breed was perfected in that era by an English gentleman who chose to keep them as pets instead of letting them engage in a horrific sport of bullbaiting.

Last but not least we have a little steampunk baby:

He’s got himself a little pet octopus with a mechanical eye.

So there you have it, a gang of faeries ready to blast their way into our realm.

What To Do When Nothing’s Good On TV Part II

I’m coming at cha today with yet another series of neck wear…yes, TV at this time of year in Australia is pretty dismal…especially when you don’t have cable.

This one is so silly I don’t even want to tell you how I came up with the idea. But clearly, it’s all about the three little pigs and the Big Bad Wolf.

I’m sure there are pig shaped beads out there somewhere, but I had a blast making these guys that I didn’t bother looking for them.

I thought I kick it up a notch by adding a supplementary necklace into the mix. The tool charms have this Bob the Builder feel to it so I had to throw it in there somehow.

I made a wonkier version of this one years ago for my brother’s wedding banquet to go with this fabulous Betsey Johnson dress. A trip last year to my favorite bead shop in in NY had me salivating over the pearls even though I am so not a pearl girl. But I need to grow up some time, right? I mean, I can’t wear necklaces made out of Fruit Loops forever.

These two buttons are hand painted with mermaids on them—along with a boat they’re attacking and their lagoon on the flip side. The problems with some beads that it gets turned over while you’re wearing them and that just drives me absolutely batty.

One of the extra thing I worked in here is this amazing seashell locket. Lockets are awesome because it can conceal not only photographs and a be-ribboned tress of hair of someone you’re stalking. It can also be the best accessory someone with chemical dependencies ever have! Haha! Sorry. I’ve accidentally watched “Cruel Intentions” again.

What To Do When Nothing’s Good On TV

That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? Well, I’ve been spending my usual evening television time sculpting and beading and trying to cool down because it’s been so hot  these days. It’s so hot now that my beer needs a beer.

I used to do some beading because I could never find the kind of customized necklaces that suits my taste. Sure, there are a lot of them over at Anthropologie but they cost an absolute fortune. Since I was too lazy to read about how to finish a necklace off properly, my attempts usually committed suicide before the day is out. Luckily, my mother-in-law is an avid beader and she took the time to show me how to finish off a necklace or two and now I can’t get enough!

The original version of this was made years ago for a friend’s Hawaiian-themed bridal shower.

I took that London tube stop name literally with this piece: Elephant and Circus. The original one was made years ago after I adopted an elephant online.

Remember my gingerbread house from last Christmas? This is the beaded version of it.

 

These are the Cinderella Necklaces…inspired by a little girl with a princess fetish.

It wouldn’t be called a Cinderella Necklace if it didn’t have a little glass slipper charm hanging off it, right? It wasn’t easy tracking down the right charm (or the right size) for these shiny things, but I have the knack of finding the most obscure items so I wasn’t fazed by this task…although I am still looking for that old game “Build a Better Burger” from my childhood.

I mean, the only thing it teaches you is how not to mess up an order while you’re working at a fast food joint, but I believed with all my heart that this was the game that spawned my lifelong obsession with miniatures.

A Real Faux Fox Stole

I am very jealous of my friends in the States. Their Facebook stats are all Snow This, Ski That. In the meanwhile, I’m sweating up a storm here in Oz, thinking longingly of flannel PJs and hot cocoa and mittens on kittens and wooly scarves. Heat’ll do that to you—make you unreasonably delirious.

I can risk a heatstroke by putting on my woolen goods, but that’s just not a smart move, especially when your partner is of the sarcastic and unsympathetic variety. So I made a hot weather wintertime accessory.

It’s a needle-felted fox stole necklace! And one that won’t get me in trouble with the anti-fur people!

The best thing about this is I can wear it both during a heat wave AND a cold spell!

BoBo Babushka Key Chain

Did everyone have a good holiday break? I certainly hope so! I ended the old year with a whole slew of new projects and I hope to share them as soon as I’ve tweaked it up a bit.

In the meanwhile, I got my hands on a huge batch of unpainted key chains. They’re a treat-and-a-half for someone who’s forever looking to liven up their hardware. I personally adore my key caps (in the shape of menacing-looking cupcakes), but I have no fun little things to go with them.

Here are a couple I’m trying out:

This one is Sybil from Downton Abbey for a gal whose taste in television is far superior than my own.

Does this guy look familiar? I’m a little wary of attaching anything onto objects that gets banged around. But the hat is needle felted and I’ve stolen the Hubs’ super duper adhesive for this one so maybe it won’t fall off. Cross fingers!

Little Suzy Bishop from Moonrise Kingdom.

Steve Zissou key chain. So going to be using this one for myself!

…Or this one. This is Vicki the Robot from the 80’s comedy “Small Wonder.” Remember that one? Or am I as old as I think I am?

 

Last but not least, my first (and possibly only) ever Boba Fett key chain for a gal pal whose Star Wars set is not going to include the bounty hunter. When I suggested this alternative to her, all is forgiven.

Now, this one has nothing to do with anything I’ve got going on in my sweat shop at the moment, but my brother has a habit of forwarding me bizarro objet d’art links when things are dull at his office. I think this is by far my favorite matryoshka EVER—and that’s including the one with Michael Jackson’s gradual transformation from an ordinary-looking human to some sort of lab experiment.

This one’s called The Chernobyl Matryoshka. If they’d pop these dolls in “The Chernobyl Diaries,” maybe the movie would’ve done better in theaters!