Autumn Art Shrine Necklace

Mixed media art shrine necklace: dried flower, vintage button, vintage gear, paper, epoxy, tin, paint, eye bolt, metal

This one is a bit more conceptual than some of the other ones. I started to just make something pretty and, as it developed, it started more and more to remind me of Autumn, a season with which I have very little experience living as I do in Florida, the land of eternal summer.

The chain on this one is rather longer, but I think it is still very much in keeping with the modern Baroque locket feel that I am going for. I may add some words, if I can find some suitable ones, around the outside of the tin, on the sides (definitely not the front).

And a question! I’ve been working on a locket that I have taken to calling Grandfather Was An Airship Captain. I have even posted preview images here. I originally had some large faceted prismatic beads hanging on the right but it just wasn’t coming together. I replaced that with the red velvet curtain pictured below. Now, though, I worry that the left side is feeling a bit disconnect. Is that problematic for you as a viewer or does it make sense still?

Sparklies!

First, a preview of an unfinished locket:

And then I made a small tin meant for medications or mints, coins or other tiny treasures.

The other box, the one that I posted previously that looks similar to this, is actually part of a locket - the locket above that is nearly complete! But I really liked the idea of just making very fancy little tins, too. You can see it for sale here.

Cat Scratch Fever

The cats have done a serious number on our little scratching post, but only on the top portion of it. We didn’t want to invest in a whole new scratching post - even smaller numbers like ours can be kind of expensive. So, we did a little handiwork. (Well, I took pictures and Ed did the actual handiwork.)

First, remove the staples that are holding the carpet to the post. A pair of pliers comes in useful for this.

Use your scrap to measure out a new piece of carpet.

We got our carpet at Home Depot - we got a roll that measures 12ft by 1ft for under five dollars and now we have more carpet for creating a cat wonderland - if we can ever decide where to put something like that.

Use a box cutter to cut the new piece of carpet. It is a lot easier to cut most carpets from the backside, just as if you were cutting monster fur. Remember to have something sturdy, like a scrap of wood, under your carpet when you are cutting or you might wind up having to repair your floor. That would be bad.

Make sure your piece of new carpet fits. Use a heavy duty staple gun to attach the new carpet. Staple vertically along the new seam. Try to sink the staples into the pile of the carpet.

Then, if your cats roll that way, rub the carpet with catnip and sit back to let them explore it.

If you don’t have a scratching post, consider getting a 4×4 post from Home Depot and covering it with carpet. You don’t need to make a stand but even that isn’t difficult.

Providing your cats with a scratching surface will help prevent them from scratching up your furniture of carpets, and will keep them a lot happier. Both of which are good things.

In conclusion, Puck is having a REALLY good time with the newly repaired scratching post.

This Little Piggy Went to Market

I finished this:

It’s a This Little Piggy Went to Market art shrine necklace. Obviously. I mean, what else could it be?

This is, also obviously, another mixed media piece using reclaimed and recycled materials. Well, the little plastic pig I cut apart was new. But still!

Oink!

Originally this was going to be a completely different pig-themed necklace. But it just wasn’t working so I took it (and its components - not easy, thanks to two-part epoxy) and took another stab at it.

Pearls before swine, y’all.

*laugh*

This necklace cracks me up in so many ways.

1, 2, 3

1. I’m making a 3 Little Pigs shrine. It’s going to be so rad. I have the pigs, I just need a seriously good wolf.

2. A This Little Piggy Went To Market mini shrine necklace. I’m really pleased with how it is coming along as well. It’s missing something so I’m going to play with some elements while I wait for the epoxy that is cementing the eyebolts to dry.

3. And then there is this:

I love the overblown, over-adorned ornamentation of Baroque jewelry. My goal is to create lockets that are sort of a modern Baroque style. The inside of this is still in progress, but the outside is wonderfully sparkly like whoa.