Crafty Manolo

A new flea market started up recently in my town. Mr. Twistie has been going with his friend the Drummer. Last week, he asked me to come along so I could try out the schnitzel at one of the food trucks. I gotta say, that was the best darn schnitzel I’ve ever had. Light, crisp, flavorful, and the housemade horseradish sauce was out of this world!

But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. Great schnitzel is a wonderful thing, but this blog is about crafts. Schnitzel, however, got me to the flea market where I found a surprising pair of craft artists whose work delighted me.

Smiling Dog Studio is the brainchild of craft artists Jane Brooks and Val Yandell. Val takes the photographs. Jane works in assemblage. Together they create fabulous jewelry like the piece shown above, as well as ornaments to hang around your house like this fun antique camera image:

You can find Smiling Dog Studio at various craft events around the Bay Area, or you can contact them online for custom work

So poke around their site, ask them a question… they won’t bite. And neither did their dogs, Wasabi and Fig, who I also met at the flea market. Nice doggies!

Sometimes something comes along that induces such HUH?!? in me that I can’t quite decide whether it’s a complete travesty or an odd kind of genius.

For instance, take these earrings for sale from thecraftartykid on Etsy. There’s no denying the tacky of them, made as they are of press on fingernails, bits of magazine, and PVA glue. Press on nails are kind of tacky to begin with, and this is such a weird use of them, and then the words from magazines don’t help much… and yet they’re so darn colorful and nobody will guess in the first glance quite what they are, and when they do figure it out they’ll probably freak out which is fun to observe.

And then there’s the fact that someone has figured out how to separate people from five British pounds sterling a pop for something this tacky and potentially offensive.

I think I’m having a LOVE/HATE relationship with these horrible things. In the end, HATE is winning out by a narrow margin. Perhaps when I have more caffeine in me I’ll see things more clearly and HATE them all the more… but I’ll still be curious about the possibilities of a partnership in craft crime with thecraftartykid.

I admit it. I’ve always had a bit of a thing for badgers. When  I was two, my parents took me to the toy store to choose my own teddy bear. I ignored them all, but refused to leave the store without the Steiff badger. I still have him. He was the constant companion of my childhood, but Diggy is still in beautiful shape.

This little fellow may not be Steiff, but he’s absolutely adorable. He’s a felted badger head brooch by UK Etsy crafter lizzieneedles. And right now he’s just $55.00. He’s regularly $78.00.

But wait! There’s more! Right now you can get 10% off of lizzieneedles’ incredible needlefelted  jewelry if you use sale code FELTOFF2011.

Now, do I want this badger, or do I want the white rabbit ring…..

I remember well when I first discovered polymer clays. I was busily trying to find the perfect craft for me and thought beading looked fun. I got myself a couple catalogues to check out supplies and educational resources. Lo and behold, there was this amazing new product called FIMO, a colorful clay from which you could make your own beads in the oven. What a cool idea! I ordered some and made a few beads. It was fun. I enjoyed it. I did it a few times… and then I lost interest in actually making the beads. All the same, I really enjoyed seeing what people did with this intriguing new product.

I’d moved on to tossing bobbins, but I still admired a good FIMO or Sculpy bead artist.

So imagine my delight when I recently discovered the Polymer Art Archive. It’s a fabulous site dedicated to polymer clays, their history, uses, and dedicated artists. On the site, you’ll see many lovely pieces like the ones above… but you’ll also see more ambitious uses of this versatile material, like this bracelet at a recent show of polymer jewelry artists in San Diego:

Who knows? With inspiration like that, I might just give polymer another try!

One idea to make use of all that leftover gift wrap is to make a bracelet out of paper beads. This one was actually made from pages of Rolling Stone magazine, but I think gift wrap would work just as well and give a prettier result.

Find full instructions here at Craftster!

One a more… mechanical end of the scale, I found instructions for making a curiously strong ‘personal massager’ out of an empty Altoids tin and a battery operated toothbrush. Oh, and while the illustrations for this particular project are probably reasonably safe for work, the rest of the site really isn’t.

I love it when people combine jewelry making with fiber techniques. Etsy artist lauren, who runs the shop lapisbeach, does just that.

I’m loving this knitted ring, enhanced with a cluster of colorful beads. And at just $40.00, it makes a statement without stating that you’re going to go broke wearing it! Each ring is custom knitted to the required size (include sizing information with your order), so each one is unique.

Oh, and if rings aren’t your thing, be sure to check out her beaded, wire knitted chokers, bracelets, and pendants,  too. Now, what do I need knitted up for me?

Steampunk is one of those styles that just seems born to inspire crafters. After all, a  big part of the aesthetic is interesting juxtapositions of materials. Gears, rivets, leather, and Victoriana  meld into a fun and funky style that often includes goggles. Who couldn’t love something that calls for goggles not as protective safety gear, but as an artistic statement? Okay, I know somebody out there can’t, but I have something of a fondness, and I know I’m far from alone.

So let’s take a look at what can be done with a few basic crafting tools and materials, a bit of imagination, and another reading of Jules Verne’s novels.

I love this clockwork dragon. It’s made of polymer clay festooned with steampunk gears and such. Just look at how the tail looks like articulated copper! Whether you’re looking for instructions for a craft project, materials to bring your own vision to life, or to purchase a finished product to wear on your Mad Victorian Scientist outfit, CF Originals is a great place to go. That’s where I found this adorable guy. Oh, and if you have an idea you don’t feel up to making yourself, she does commissions, too.  I’m just saying.

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I’m loving this tie clip. If you’re looking for a last-minute Father’s Day gift, or something to give the groomsmen for standing up for you at your wedding, this is a great idea (also comes in earrings!). And the motif? Is onion skins. Cool, and appropriate for an event where someone might need an excuse for tears.

At $28.00, they’re affordable, too.

They’re the work of jerseymaids. She takes polaroid images and mounts them in jewelry findings. Lockets, pendants, cuff links, watches, earrings, brooches, and yes, tie clips, all get the special treatment. There are even lamps and other home decoration items, if jewelry isn’t what you need. And if you’re not fond of onions, there are plenty of other images to choose from.

All in all, I think it’s a pretty cool use of photography.

I love macaws.

Even if they aren’t Norweigian Blues, they still have beautiful plumage.

And now one enterprising artist has started using their (the macaws, not Monty Python) lovely feathers to make rather stunning jewelry.

You see, this unidentified artist from Minnesota (What? The site has not given us a name to work with; just a location) did some work with Habitat for Humanity down in Central America (Again, the site does not specify any further as to location or other identifying details) and became fascinated with the feathers of the macaws in the area.

Now this artist creates beautiful jewelry using macaw feathers supplied by a bird sanctuary in New Mexico, which sends the feathers their macaws molt on their own, as nature intended.

The necklace is made by sandwiching a single feather between two pieces of glass, soldered together by hand with lead-free silver. Then the adjustable chain (14″ – 22″, so it will fit most throats nicely with room to spare) and wire-wrapped beads are added. Oh, and since the macaw feather is yellow-green on one side and a deep blue on the other, this piece is fully reversible, so it goes with a wide variety of clothes.

All that for just $139.99 from Modern Artisans.

Best of all, no parrots were harmed in the making of this necklace.

I’ve been a fan for a while of Etsy artist Handsolo. Take a look at these printed plastic earrings to know why. They’re attractive and subtle, but they speak to my geeky little heart.

Unfortunately, you won’t have long to act if you want a pair, because Handsolo is closing up shop. That means that there’s great jewelry like the above earrings on sale for ridiculous prices. In fact, those earrings are just six dollars right now!

Not a Trekkie? Fear not. There are plenty of other images to choose from, like these elegant hot air balloons:

Or you can let Handsolo make the choice with this selection of eight random pairs for just $25.00.

I’ll miss your shop, Handsolo… but expect an order from me before you go!