Flight of the Dragonfly Challenge

I love dragonflies, they are so amazing to watch and a little scary when they buzz by your head if you are not expecting it.  I decided to join in on the Dragonfly challenge presented by KraftyMax on the Bead Soup Cafe Facebook group I belong to.  Not one design is the same in this challenge.  I decided to paint up my dragonfly.  I have 2 paintings, one I actually was able to finish before the cut off date. So here are the examples of my creation..This is a Blog/No Blog Hop, so those who have a blog to share I have listed them below my images..

I found these awesome beads at Beads On Main, its one of our local bead stores and she has some amazing stuff there...I also got the square link/connector which is beautiful!

I started to make the bead-work on the sides and didn't like how it was turning out, maybe 3 times I had to tear up the pieces I started to make.  I ended up using the glass cylinder beads and just love how it finally fit into place.

Before I put the bead work on and tightened it all up to fit both sides nice and snug, I glued a nice peace of leather on the back side.

And finally the sari silk was the last thing I added.  I made the J hook clasp and beaded up a little band around the wire which is wrapped around the silk that is looped around the end of the hook. Phew...that was a mouthful!  Hehe

This is a better view of the pendent.  You can see now where the word DRAGON is written and FLY, and the heart.  Now, see if you can find my signature...LOL

Here is a close up of the clasp, simple and does a nice job!  Its quite comfortable too.  Its made with blackened steel wire and I sealed it with some really good spray..sorry, too lazy to go find the brand name...LOL  I will get it later.  :-)

Finally another cabochon I painted for this challenge but didnt have enough time to get it finished.  I think this one turned out quite lovely.  It is painted with watercolors and sealed with resin.  It is still in the works and hope to finish it soon.  I struggled a lot with this pendent.  I am not all that experience at beadwork, I consider myself a beginner/intermediate beader.  I wound up being a tad too loose once I got to beading the upper half, but I found a way to tighten it, and I am quite pleased with the finished work..

I am very happy to announce that I am FINISHED with the second dragonfly.  I need to start naming my pieces.  I think it would be great if I had the wits to come up with some fun names...but no..I just am not all that good at it...Hmmm...I think I need to call my BFF in NY.

Wow...are you feeling the love???  This dragonfly looks grumpy though, but when I had a nice close up picture, that is really what their faces look like...those frowns...  Its hard to see in this picture, but the yellow beads I bought to match the body of the dragonfly.  The yellow and black beads were mixed on the strand and I just knew they would match quite well.  And those huge lavender beads...wow..to see them in person they are beautiful and add some magic to the dragonfly.

I went shopping the other day at Michaels, and found these great dragonfly pendents.  I thought...hmmm..I might use this sometime, and they were on sale..which is always a benefit! I didnt know I was actually going to use the pendent in my design, but when I finished the beadwork, it looked a little naked still..so yea, the dragonfly looks really nice.  I added some patina to kind of match the dragonfly painting.

I struggled some with the clasp...wasnt really wanting to make the J hook, but I did.  I refused to go to the bead store one more time...cuz you know you cant just buy one thing there...  So after I wrapped the wire around the fabric and leather...it still needed something to tie into the design...it was just too plain for me.  Then, the flower spoke to me...and I put it all together and it was done.. Ahhhhh...   The fabric, just so you know, came all the way from Ireland.  When hubby and I went there several years ago, I saw this fabric in one of their side shops..  I love how it shimmers, and being that at the time I was making lots of mermaid dolls, I thought this would be a great piece to bring home.  Funny thing is, I never used it to make any of my dolls yet..and that was probably...hmm...10 years ago now...maybe 8.  It is a purple fabric with a blue shimmer, perfect match!

You can visit my flickr page to see all the photos I have taken of my designs

Flickr

Thank you very much for stopping by and please take a peek at some of the other participants...

http://www.jewelschoolfriends.com/2014/06/the-411-on-cool-community-events-design.html

http://www.paisleylizard.com/blog.html

http://www.peru-medesigns.com/

http://bytameraleah.com/

http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.com/

http://www.lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com/

My Painted Pendents...

I decided to write a blurp about my newest creations.  I started painting these fun little pendents about a month ago.  I keep getting more and more ideas from people I talk to.  I have also stopped by our local bead stores and shared some of the finished pieces.  Last week, I walked into the bead store to bring a pendent to one of the ladies that works there...she loves my stuff.  It was almost time for her to get off work so I hung out for a few while she was finishing up with a couple of customers and she told me to spread out the pendents on the counter.  There was probably 5 or 6 ladies there and they were all checking out the pendents...it was quite fun to hear all of the positive feedback.

This little fairy is a special order which I will be taking to her new owner next week...photos are better when they are taken before I coat them with resin

I want to share how I actually come up with the pendents...and how much work goes into them. I purchased a class online about creating zentangles on pendents.  After watching the videos, I started to play around a bit with the clay.  I have been wanting to paint up some of my photos I have taken over the years and thought...hmm...why dont I just paint on the clay pendents instead of doing the Zentangles...  So I painted up a couple of them...liked how they turned out...asked one of my FB groups what they thought...  One idea was to make them thicker..  the first batch was a bit thin I will admit.  Then another opinion was to seal them with resin...WOW..now that changed the whole way they looked.  The first batch I ruined...yea, sad..all that painting and poof...broken nasty pieces of clay.  The second batch I did was far better.  Then, I decided to make the circles into domes...  and that is where I am today...

I was asked to make a hammer head shark...what do you think on this one..very cool?  I had a fun time making this one...it has glitter one its belly..

So, the very first thing I do, is pick a photo I have either taken myself, of found on google..or better yet..Pinterest...  I basically will change up the image to what I like..  I dont have any examples of my drawn pendents... only the finished pieces... Let me start again.  I first sand them after baking.  I tried 3 different brands of clay and have found only one that doesn not resist the watercolors.  Trial an error is the only way to perfect things..and really my pieces are far from perfect..but its going good so far.  So...after they are sanded, I draw on them.  I do some shading with pencil to get a good idea of how they are going to look once I start adding the watercolors.  Next, I decide what I want to paint first.  Sometimes the background gets painted first and then the main object, or visa versa.  Either way, its a bit of a process.  Most of my pendents take me less than an hour.  But if you look at the mermaids..those take me more time.

These are also a special request, they are sisters to the first pendent I made like this..  You see how they are not exactly the same, but they look similar enough...so cute!

I usually paint one pendent at a time.  Recently though, I needed to paint 2 mermaid pendents the same design.  I prefer not do duplicate my creations but I will if requested.  I think mainly because I forget what I did with the first painting...LOL  I have posted a couple of pendents on Etsy, but have not had one purchased yet.  I have recieved an order though which is just as good.  I have since made about 10 special orders with the pendents which I truely appreciate.

This one is a rectangular pendent I made of a horse...I am not 100% sure I like the wire dangles with the beads on the ends...I like the idea of them, but I still am not quite sure.  I think there needs to be something to wrap around the pendent or infront like this...hmm...any suggestions?

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog.  Perhaps in the near future I will do a give away...Hmmm...what do you think?