Wednesday 18 December 2013

Tribal Steampunk ~ Cold Connections

I was reading the Love My Art Jewelry blog and found their post on "cold connections". That sparked my interest because I hadn't heard the term before. Lo and behold it's something I do almost all the time!

Cold connections, so I read, are a number of different techniques varying from using rivets, to screws, wire wrapping, and prongs/tabs. The idea is that you don't have to use heat, torches, etc. to secure your metalwork.

I immediately started to look for something I've made that fit Love My Art Jewelry's challenge.

Tribal Steampunk is a mixed media necklace I made. It has a bit of a "cyber" feel with the electric blue lampwork, and an enchanting vintage feel. The focal piece is what made me choose it for this challenge.




The focal is a tiny copper book that I made with copper sheet and bound by sewing the pieces together with copper wire. I drilled a hole into a vintage Irish coin and used wire to attach a vintage Swarovski crystal and a tiny LED light to the front. The coin is secured in place by fastening it with the same wire to the cover of the book.

The book is also sewn to a scrap of vintage velvet and more copper wire work in the background.





The cold connection techniques I used all revolved around wire wrapping. I used simple wire wrapping, weaving or sewing to bind the book, and wire to secure the layers of metal to the coin.

You can check out the Love My Art Jewelry blog for links to the Flickr group with photos of what other artists have created.



Monday 16 December 2013

Christmas Sale!

Hello there! Christmas is almost here, and I've decided to have a special sale. It'll be the last one of the year and expires on December 26th.

You can use the coupon code SALE25 to get 25% off in my Etsy shop from now until December 26th. There's no minimum purchase on orders either! 

International orders (outside the UK) might not arrive before Christmas, but it's a great chance to stock up. Enjoy!


www.etsy.com/shop/beadyeyedbunny

Sunday 1 December 2013

Christmas Special: The Beading Glass

I'm very happy to announce the latest issue of The Beading Glass. It's an extra special Christmas edition for December, and it's packed! If you enjoy the usual issues, you'll love the extra interviews with artists and the extended Bead and Jewelry Galleries filled with Winter and Christmas inspiration.

You can view The Beading Glass on the embed below, or in your browser.

Enjoy!