Clockwork Jewelry

Having seen some really amazing jewelry made out of clockwork, I decided to buy some -ebay!- and have a go at it myself. My first creations were a beetle and some kind of...penguin-owl-chick, thing. 

My conclusion? It's great fun, but super glue is near impossible to get off your fingers.Lots of warm water, a pumice stone, a scrubbing brush, soap and nail varnish remover was required.  Additionally, although I was quite pleased with the result, the pendants don't exactly feel smooth against your skin when you wear them. 

Today, I came up with a solution: Fimo. 

Essentially, it's plastecine you can bake in the oven. It comes in loads of different colours and it's really easy to work with. I guess the only downside is that it can be quite expensive! Still, using Fimo (as opposed to buying some plain pendants to customise) definitely has its advantages. 

1. I was able to make the pendant any shape I wanted. 
2. It's a super glue-free method! Just press the cogs onto the Fimo and whack it in the oven! 
3. No risk of tetanus. 
4. It's very lightweight. 
5. You can mix Fimo with glitter, to give it a bit of extra sparkle. 

And here's the finished product! (Yes..I know..Another dire wolf. I'll do something different next time. Promise!)

Winter Is Coming

Considering that Britain has just had its hottest ever (recorded) Halloween, the title of this post may seem pretty inappropriate. It should probably read: 'Winter is Coming...Sort of...Eventually...Really...We Promise!'
Regardless, the shorter, infinitely more catchy title is relevant to today's project: Project Tote Bag.


A few years ago, I discovered the joy that is customising canvas shoes. For some reason, I find shoes are much easier to draw on than paper. Anyway, not content with one variety of custom canvas accessory, I recently decided to branch out, and purchased some plain canvas tote bags from amazon (you can also get them pretty cheaply on e-bay).



1) Bags purchased, it was just a matter of deciding on the design. After a bit of 'hmming' and staring vacantly into space, I decided on the Stark sigil. However, I was also feeling pretty inspired by the use of patterns in a colouring book I'd recently seen: 'Millie Marotta's Animal Kingdom' (see opposite). So, I thought 'why not try fusing the two?'.






2) Now, when I'm working with canvas and I'm drawing something I've not tried before, I tend not to simply have at it with a pencil. (Although you can use erasers on canvas, if used excessively, the surface of the bag turns bobble-y and you get black smudges everywhere.) Instead, I sketched out my design on paper and, using a craft knife, made myself a template to trace round.





















3) After tracing my design onto the bag with pencil (I find mechanical pencils work best), it was time for the ink outline. I use DR pigment ink pilot drawing pens. Then it was just a matter of adding the details.
Don't forget to put a sheet of paper or two inside your bag to prevent any ink from bleeding through the canvas!







4) After finishing my design, I sprayed it with water-proofing spray (you can get it from most shoe shops) and voila! The finished product.