pencil urchin spine pendants

i've only recently discovered sea urchin spine jewelry-am i out of the loop?  where have these things been all my life??  i love the subtle color changes, and how varied the colors and textures can be on these spines.  you can do a simple google image search for some inspiration.

i thought one might be too lonely so i made three...the shape is fairly simple to achieve-mine are roughly pinkie finger sized.  texture is always a plus but the main focus is how you paint them.  i think these could be really cool with a more modern paint job (taped off lines with bright colors and such) but i tried to go for a more natural look, which was actually somewhat difficult.  i'm not even sure i achieved the look i was going for:/

i think the colors i used were a little too bright compared to real urchin spines and i wish i hadn't left a white band on all three but they still make for an interesting necklace.


be sure to view the whole mini series for more ideas on clay jewelry!!

diy dip-dyed feather pendant

this is part one of my mini series on making jewelry from one pack of sculpey-you can find the original post here.

 

start by deciding on what shape you want your feather to be.  trace/draw your pattern onto a piece of parchment paper and cut it out.  roll your clay into a flat thin rectangle slightly larger than your pattern.  place your parchment paper cutout on top of your clay and use it as a guide to cut out your feather.

Tip:  for large flat pieces such as this, it's helpful to keep the parchment paper cut out on the back of your piece to keep it from sticking.  it makes it much easier to handle while you're working on it; it's easier to pick up (you won't have to worry about distortion when a piece gets stuck), and you can just peel it off before you bake.

next, roll a thin clay snake for the quill of the feather and attach to the top of the main piece.  using a toothpick or needle tool, make lines outward away from the quill.  then drill a small hole so you have something to hang your pendant by.

bake or dry your clay.  you can either leave your feather white or you can paint it for a pop of color.  i went for a dip-dyed look with mine.

be sure to view the whole mini series for more ideas on clay jewelry!!

diy clay feathers

i don't know about everyone else but i'm still totally in love with feathers.  well technically i had a fascination with them since i was small child before they were cool and adults were telling me that they were infested with germs and parasites...  but anyway, when i saw these ceramic feathers i knew i wanted some!!  these feathers are $42 for the set of 5 ceramic ornaments-pretty steep but you can make them less...waaay less.

i made mine out of some cheap-o air dry clay but i was really wishing i had shelled out for some more sculpey.  air dry clay has a tendency to get all crackly if you don't finish fast enough and it doesn't hold texture nearly as well as sculpey does.  plus it warped when it dried *sigh*.  that'll teach me to try and save some money lol.  but i think the warping makes it look somewhat more featherish?  i think it'll still make a nice pendant or some other accessory.  now i'm just wondering i should add some color to it...maybe a soft blue or gray?  i will def be making more of these with some better quality clay.  

if you want to make your own all you need is some clay and a toothpick (one of those metal ceramic probe thingies would probably work better but i think i left mine in storage...).  start by taking a small piece of clay and flatten it in the shape you want your feather to be in.  i started by tracing where i wanted the center quill of the feather to be and pressed down everywhere else so that the quill was the only raised area.  then just use your toothpick and make lines down on either side of the quill.  it'll probably look weird at first but the more lines you add the better it looks, and don't worry about making every line perfectly parallel no one will be able to tell when you're done.  drill a hole, cure the clay and now you have a new feather pendant!!

on a side note...can anyone guess what i had for dinner last night, breakfast and lunch today?  and will probably have again later as a snack?  smores...that's right i had smores for 3 meals in a row...  it did lack some authenticity since i was making it over my gas burner in the kitchen but hey it was still deliciously sweet and toasted.