Beads Neez Belly Dancing Earrings

I completed this project for HA Kidd and co. a while back and they have graciously allowed me to share it with you.
I really enjoyed this one, it's fun and fast to complete and looks stunning on, plus the Beads Neez line of beads is priced VERY reasonably allowing me to be able to purchase all the colours I want to match everything in my wardrobe.
Great gift idea!

Beads Neez Belly Dancing Earrings:

Wire frame construction:

1. Cut two pieces of Beads Neez 0.06mm coloured wire to 14 cm lengths.

2. Using the middle of the round section of your three in one pliers, turn a circle int the middle of each 14 cm wire length.

3. Hold wire 1 cm from center circle and turn another circle leaving the tail end of the wire at a 45 degree angle.


4. Repeat step 3 for the other side of the center circle.

5. Hold the center circle with the tip of the three in one pliers and gently pull loop down. Bend one cm from ends of wire to a 40 degree angle.

6. Using the middle of the round part of the three in one pliers grab the very end of the wire and turn a circle. Repeat on the other end of the wire.

7. Over lap the circles (eyes) you have just made on the ends of the wire.

Making Short Drops:

8. Load your choice of beads Neez beads onto head pins, largest bead to smallest. You will need four pins with three beads and two pins with four beads

9. Bend wire sharply at last bead to a 45 degree angle and clip wire off to one cm long.

10. Using the middle part of your three in one pliers, grab the very end of the wire and turn a circle to create an eye.

Making Long Center Drops:

11. Follow steps 8 through 10 leaving one cm between the last bead and the bend point to lengthen the drop. Make two drops with three beads each.

Assembling the earrings:

12. Using the tip of the round part of your three in one pliers, gently twist open the eyes on your fish hook earrings and all of the dangles. Assemble as shown.

Enjoy!

Purses

My Mom taught me how to sew. I must have been about four when she made this doll dress for me. Still have the sewing machine and it still works.

Need to make myself a new purse soon. Looking at some of the ones I've made might help me decide what style I want this time.
I liked this one. It was done using fabric paint on white cotton and beading some parts with seed beads. I liked the bright flowers and the gingham.

I made these as prototypes for my best girl friend's wedding. We made others in gold for the bridesmaids and one in white silk for her. We kept these two for ourselves. I loved the huge brooches we used for the clasps.

This is the magical expandable zipper purse I completed for HA Kidd and co. It is all folded and zipped up in the first pic.

This is the zipper purse unzipped. It becomes about 2x more spacious. Great shopping or traveling bag with lots of hiding spots.

The velvet skull purse also for HA Kidd and co. We used a dye remover to take the colour out of the velvet through a stencil.

They have loads of fun findings and clasps at HA Kidd. So easy to be inspired with their product.

Slightly Altered

I took off the sugar skulls and daisies, and added roses and rhinestones. I seem to be getting more comfortable at doing the 3D art with my left hand. It's getting easier every time I do it. I ran out of monomer.... so I couldn't change the colour. I wanted black with embedded roses. No time. never enough time.

They are still Martha Stewart sparkles in turquoise and pink. The white is nail polish dots. The roses are powder and liquid sculpture and the rhinestones are Swarofski.

3D Daisy Skull Nails and a Cat.

This is what happens when you're cat begins to feel neglected.

Changed my nails and tried to take pics but the cat kept getting in the way. He wanted to be cuddled RIGHT NOW!!!
So I stopped taking pics and cuddled.
:)

Here is a post cuddling pic. He fell asleep so I could continue.
I took off the orange dots on the smile line and added giant daisies. For a while my ring finger looked like a skull bunny. They're silly but I like 'em. The 3D flowers don't ever seem to fall off.

Polymer Clay, Forgotten Fairy Sculpt.

Did this sculpt forever ago as a teaching aide. It was smashed in the trunk of my car and I never finished it but there are some pretty good details in these pics so I thought I would share them with you.

Started taking pics after the head was almost completed. It was about two inches from tip of the head to her chin. I built her on a knitting needle.

There is still quite a bit of finishing to do. Here I have added a neck and blended the clay up into the head so there is no seam.

A pretty good shot of how I start my ears. Again there needs to be some more refining but it gives you the idea of where I'm going and hopefully how I get there.

I added some wire armature to support the arms. Wrapped the wire around the knitting needle to secure it somewhat. Then I added clay over the wire and started adding the torso pieces.

This is the rough in. I usually make it pretty high up. Things tend to soften and fall a bit while you sculpt and it's better to start high then have to figure out how to squish it back up if it gets too long in the body.

There, she's starting to come together here. I added some definition and curves to her arms (no hands yet) and smoothed out the whole thing a bit.

She 's looking better, almost ready to be posed before her first short bake to firm everything up a bit. The hands are added after I get most of her smoothed out and detailed after the first bake.

You can see that there are still finger prints in her back. I used FIMO classic so she would retain detail better while I was sculpting, but even it will warm up a bit too much if you're hot handed like me. You can let your pieces rest in the fridge while you take a break. it helps to stop the distortion made while you handle the piece.

Wish I had finished her. She would have been a cutie.

Día de la calavera de azúcar muertos uñas. (or... Day of the Dead sugar skull nails.)

My apologies to the entire Spanish speaking population of the world. I used babblefish to translate. I've always had a secret desire to speak Spanish. I love the sound of the words. One day (when I win the lotto) I'm gonna hire America Garcia to teach me everything she knows, and I'm pretty sure I'd get more out of it if I could understand what she was saying. Right now all I can understand is angry spanish. I used to have the sweetest neighbors who would argue in Spanish. They would always translate for me as the went so as not to be rude.
I miss those guys

Still working away. But I did once again manage to find time to do my nails.
:D

These ones are pink and turquoise Martha Stewart glitter mixed into the clear acrylic powder with my own Day of the Dead sugar skulls made from FIMO polymer clay.

I really like this cane and want to do it using different colours.
I added some orange nail polish dots to the smile line then clear coated the works. I'll see if I can find time to do some traditional flowers on there too using the acrylic powder mixed with eyeshadow colours.