I'm Jellin'...Are You Jellin'?

I often consider myself the "idea girl".  I have always had the gift of being able to spout off a storm of ideas until something sticks.  I actually pride myself on it - I think it comes from the same place in me that allows me to have a never-ending excitement about the next project. I am NEVER out of ideas for what to do next.  It is this ability that has my creative friends calling me when in crisis.  I may not give them the idea they run with but its a great springboard for other ideas and can be a lending hand to their "lightbulb" moment.  This is what happened when my lovely PIB, Lindsay Starr called to gather ideas for her Component of the Month Challenge for AE!  Whatever idea lead her to these beautiful cabs, I do not know...but she was kind enough to send one made especially for me as a thank you.

I have been a bit obsessed with jellyfish for quite a long time.  Early in my beadwork I made netted bead jellyfish with clear AB 15s and they have been an obsession since.  They are elegant, dangerous, and come in such astounding variations in shape, color and size that I can't help but be fascinated by them.

It had been a long time since I made those silly little beaded jellies - then, one afternoon while I was attending a Gem & Mineral show in North Carolina I came across a pricey dendritic agate that I could NOT stop thinking about.  It was PERFECT for a jellyfish and it was beautiful.  Since that necklace I have made several others - my jelly obsession complete.

My Jellyfish masterpiece & my favorite!

Jellyfish made from bowlerite
for a beady friend.

This is the story of my psychedelic/ aboriginal leather jellyfish.  (whoa....)

                                

This beautiful cab created by Lindsay is made of domed leather that has been painted and sealed.  The edges are thick and while the inside is hollow it is stiff enough to hold up and did not need to be filled in-between it and the backing.  I wasn't sure how all this was going to play out but I decided to use beads that matched the swaths of color to bezel the cab.

After completing the bezel I needed to add a round of beads at the outter rim of the cab.  I opted for opaque white 8s in order to add back more of the white that had been covered up by the bezel.  I ended up with this: So...I actually hate what I did with it.  *laugh*  This happens from time to time.  All I could do was hope that it was just in that "ugly duckling" phase and that once the tentacles are added that I would fall back in love with it.  Sometimes you have to bead beyond your dislike and you end up discovering it all came together in the end. My next challenge was that neither my stash nor my local bead store had the beads I wanted to use for the tentacles.  This became a bit frustrating because, as it turns out, they don't MAKE what I was hoping for.  I usually use peanuts to make curly lengths of tentacley goodness but nothing I could find was the right color.  I had to get creative (who woulda thought?!).  I finally decided to try opaque white drops and mix them with seed bead colors to get the effect I was looking for. While I didn't quite finish this necklace, all I need to add is the strap and I will have another jelly to add to my little smack of jellyfish.  (A group of jellyfish is called a smack. *giggle*)  Don't forget to check out the other artisan's take on their leather cab! Guests: Ann Renetha Patty Sherri Kelly --- You are here! Linda AE Writers: Lesley Laney Lindsay Caroline Cathy Cooky Claire Diana Jenny Susan Niky Update (2/7/17) I figured I would post the finished product.  I spend quite a lot of time stringing and restringing beads and trying different combos before I finally landed on the strap I thought best suited for my newest Jelly.  Interestingly enough, while working thru this I ended up realizing that the green beads I was trying to use in the strap originally were just NOT working.  I happened to be going to Asheville, NC the next day so I stopped in at the local bead store and found these awesome matte saucer beads.  I also found....*duh duh dum!* the beads I didn't think existed!  Those darn opaque white peanuts had just been elusive.  It was too late to use them in this project but I grabbed a tube for my stash.  All that to say...here she is!

Mother of Nothing Really - AE Dragon Challenge

Dragons.  Beast of fantasy and fire.  They have been central to popular fiction in novels, film and more recently, television (OMG...Game of Thrones!!!) and lets not forget mythology!  I have been fascinated by dragons since I read The Hobbit as a child.  Smaug, in all his sinister glory, is fantastic character.  And who could forget Dragolin?  Our fascination doesn't stop there...now we have everything from How to Train a Dragon, Eragon all the way to the upcoming Pete the Magic Dragon.  I was even given an AWESOME dragon bottle holder for Christmas!

For the month of December Art Elements blog challenged its members and readers to create a piece inspired by dragons.

Initially I had intended to use one of my 2 phenomenal dragon beads by Mary Lockwood, however, that is going to take me some serious time to create the perfect beady environment for them.  So, I opted to use one of my reptile-esque cabs by Jo Hoffacker.  I did not get before pics, of course, but I have a couple other cabs of hers so I have posted a picture of them below.

Mary Lockwood's Dragon Beads

Jo Hoffacker's Eye cabs

I recently purchased a really nice maroon blazer and have been thinking I needed a lapel pin so, I decided to make this cab into one.  This is the first time I have made one of my embroidery pieces into a pin but I figured it would be a perfect project during the holiday season.  This means I can sport my artwork, be quirky and freak people out during my “day-job”…all things I enjoy the thought of.  Even my macabre mother shuttered at the thought of an eyeball lapel pin.  *giggle*

The first thing was to bezel the cab.  I opted for a double bezel – an inner white bezel and an outer green bezel.  I actually haven't done this before either.  One thing to note - for whatever reason I could not tighten the thread enough at the rim on the outer bezel.  I am not sure if this is because I ended with a jagged edge or not.  More experimenting is needed here.

Double Bezel

 I played around with the idea of using jewel beetle wings for the scales, however, to get the look I would have wanted with those I would have ended up with one honkin’ big pin.  Big, in my book, is never an issue...UNLESS your lapel just won't hold it all up!  I opted to go with some long magnatamas instead.

While attaching the backing I nearly screwed completely up – I forgot to cut the holes and attach the pin!  Thankfully, I remembered in time to rescue it and get the pin back on appropriately.  Panic averted!  Unfortunately, I did end up getting a little bit of the glue onto the outside of the ultrasuede but I am hoping I will be able to get that off once it dries a bit.  I went ahead and finished the edges and tada!  I may end up adding something more to the scale aspect of the piece but for now it will rest on my lapel.  I may be a mother of nothing really...but I have a cool dragon eye!  #whatwhat!

Please don't forget to visit all the other artisan's blogs! Guests: Shai Williams Kathy Lindemer Anita Rao Kelly Rodgers  <-----you are here! Tammy Adams AJE Team: Susan Jenny Cathy Jen Niky Diana Laney Caroline Claire