FANG - on sale now at HMJ

Fang
[(făng)] 
–adjective

1. A long pointed tooth, especially of a fierce animal or Nosferatu.

2. [Middle English] Booty, spoils, something seized.

3. A wicked jewelry pendant characterized by a repurposed chandelier crystal, decoupaged with a vintage dictionary definition, encrusted with blood red Swarovski crystal chatons and a fang-shaped crystal in deep red. The chains attach to custom made wire-wrapped rings, and is finished off by more luscious gunmetal chain, with a gunmetal lobster clasp.

Wearing this piece, your neck will be irresistible to all manner of dark creatures….so be careful…

http://www.etsy.com/listing/50441031/fang

Happy Memorial Day!

Please take a moment to remember all the brave souls who have fought and died to protect us and our freedoms.

New Etsy Listings

At long last, fresh Etsy sales! This is a new friend of mine, Julia Flansburg, who is the lead singer for a local metal band. She and the band Angelical Tears are both HOT and lucky for me she agreed to model HMJ jewelry!

Teeny Tiny Tornado!

Our first major severe storm hit this afternoon during the drive home. We even got a teeny bitty cute little twister!

This pic is one I took just about 5 minutes before the tornado formed.


This photo my friend Ben took. Can you see the little tornado just above the horizon, almost parallel to the ground?


My friend Chris took this one. You can barely see the tornado just above the tree line.


In this picture, from my friend Eric, the little twister is right in the middle of the screen.

Huge, destructive tornadoes are really very rare. These little ones are much more common, and even those are pretty rare as well. And although this one looks close, it was pretty far away, and landed between two towns, thankfully, and I don't think it caused any major damage. Be that as it may, I prefer them to be waaaay out in the country.

Crystal Contest Entry

A few days ago I posted about the contest over at Junque Revival. Well, I finally had a minute to send them over to Jessica, and now I can post them here as well. I hope you like them, because I sure do!

Since I recently purchased an old chandelier with gorgeous teardrop shaped crystals, I was instantly inspired by Jessica’s article in the most recent Belle Armoire Jewelry. I loved the idea of using dark, descriptive words from a vintage dictionary as the feeling for each piece, then embellishing with filigree, crystal, wire, and even solder! All of the pieces I made seem to have the feeling of dark, mysterious echoing pasts…

Gothic

I had something else in mind when I started this piece. I had a large filigree sandwiching the crystal. But, I ended up trying to force it to work, and the filigree broke in half. I thought that would be the end of that, but using half the filigree actually worked wonderfully! After adhering and sealing the dictionary definition of “Gothic” with gel medium, I detailed the edge with a gold leaf pen. I wire-wrapped the filigree with some lovely gray Czech glass beads and made a bail using 24-gauge twisted gunmetal wire. I think it turned out very organic with a lot of texture.

Gypsy

I wanted to “house” each crystal in something different each time, so this time I chose to wrap the crystal in decorative copper tape and soldered it! I then hand-patinated the solder to make it look very oxidated and antiqued. The butterfly filigree just worked so beautifully for this piece. I wire-wrapped tiny freshwater pearls and Czech glass beads to the wings and as the body. After a horrible attempt to make antennae (cheesy!) I ended up with a little bit of wire left over from making the bail and it ended up as a spiral at the top which balanced out nicely. Beaded gunmetal chain finishes this necklace.

Graven

A little bit different look for this one. The crystal for this pendant is cradled in an ornate brass filigree. Then I attached eye-catching red Swarovski crystals dangles to another brass filigree and used it to create a unique bail . I think it turned out really dark and creepy. And the red and black Czech glass beads I used for the necklace were just perfect.

Digital Divas - an Etsy Treasury

I have two Etsy shops, one for my jewelry: Heavy Metal Jewelry(empty at the moment), and another shop that has all of three things posted, and is kind of a hobby project. It's called Courtly Love Collage and it is where I was thinking of dabbling in some digital downloads, like collage sheets, Photoshop brush sets, and other digital collage and scrapbooking stuff.

I was notified yesterday that one of my collage elements was featured in an Etsy Treasury - a new feature that allows people to show collections of their favorite Etsy products. I thought that was really cool! It's here if you want to check it out!

Digital Divas

May the Best Crystal Win

If you haven't picked up the latest issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry, you are missing out. Jessica Moreau Berry's chandelier crystal pendants are to die for. And so many people, including myself, have been so inspired to give them a try that Jessica is having a very nice contest on her blog Junque Revival.
Check this link for details: CONTEST

I'm going to enter hopefully this weekend. I've got three gorgeous pendants made, but I am waiting for my pal Diana to come photograph them for me. Stay tuned!