Great find - fantastic Thai jewelry in Malaysia

For someone who makes stuff, I seldom buy things that I can make :) unless I really really lurve them. I am in Kuala Lumpur and luckily for me, I found a few pieces of jewelry in the shops yesterday, and I could not (would not) leave the shop without them.

The first one is the bracelet pictured below . It is made of leather and beads - I just love the naturalness (if there is such a word) of it. It will be great for my day-to-day casual wear. As someone who dwell in jewelry, - let me get technical - I also love the clasp which is such a neat little device that is functional, as well as smart.

Also made using the same material (leather), I just had to own the two pieces below. I think the hair-pin would be lovely with my black hair :) and the brooch would suit my demin jacket. Yay!

Although purchased in Malaysia, I am told that these pieces originated from Thailand. Yay for Thai crafts! I love them!

There are loads of great jewelry online, especially on etsy. But I love looking and shopping for jewelry while traveling. It's not surprising since I look for inspiration everywhere, and pieces of jewelry make great souvenirs, and are small and easy to take home. If I find other nice pieces, I'll be adding them here, but I'd love to hear from you if you find some great pieces!

To view my handmade jewelry, please visit my etsy shop: www.auzz.net

Having fun photographing my colourful pendants

Backgrounds for photos

I've been having fun with c o l o u r s again - I've made another 3 pendants. I've enjoyed painting, as well as photographing them!  When taking the photos, I've experimented with different backgrounds and textures, using fabrics, books, as well as my own artwork. The backgrounds in the photos below are:

• Top 2 photos and left one on the 2nd row: front and back of book covers
• 2nd row on the right: a page of my sketchbook, with an unfinished watercolour painting. I think the colours of the painting complement those of the pendant
• 3rd row on the left: another page of my sketchbook, showing a pencil portrait of a girl. A nice clean black and white theme...
• 3rd row on the right: another book cover with a lovely green textured fabric covering. I love this - a simple shot of solid colours...

• Photo below: the collection of 6 pendants (in the series) that I have made so far, photographed on a cover of a very old book. I love the colour and warmth of the patchy brown cover. At least this old book is being useful again, after sitting on our bookshelf untouched for a some time!

The new pendants

If you missed my earlier blogs on these lovely pendants, they are part of my "Colour My Day" series made of Tasmanian Oak, in abstract design. They are painted with acrylics, with woodstain and polish applied to exposed areas. The stain and polish bring out the beautiful grain of the hardwood, providing a nice warm character to the pieces.

The pendants will suit most outfits. All the wearer needs to do is to add a piece of string or even leather to the pendant. Easy!

Please click here or on any of the photos above, or visit my online shop  for more info.

 

Yay for colours!! New pendants...

Just completed these 3 gloriously c o l o u r f u l, fun and funky pendants. Yay for c o l o u r s !! These "Colour My Day" pendants are made with Tasmanian Oak, which is a beautiful hardwood.

Each pendant is painted with acrylics. Where the surface is not painted, a stain is applied which brings out the wonderful grain of the wood.

These pendants will look fantastic with most outfit. Use a piece of string or leather as the necklace for casual wear, or suede to glam it up a little. Or string a few pendants together!

If you'd like more info, just click on the images below.

 

Up to a bright orange funky piece?

This is my latest piece of jewelry. I love it -  it's modern, it's funky and it's fun. It's going to be a conversation starter, and it will work with most colours/outfit.

It was also such a joy to work on. It was like I was back in the art studio working with porcelain! This of course is not porcelain but the fantastic new material that I've just been experimenting with - polymer clay. Each layer of orange clay was cut then shaped by hand, ensuring each is a little different. When baked, they were strung together with a contrasting blue wire. A black suede-like necklace completes the piece with a knot around a loop of the blue wire on each side of the orange feature.

Want to know more? Just click here for my online shop.

New earrings made with polymer clay - love it!

This is my new upload to my online shop - this is hot hot hot - just out of the oven! Fabulous material!

Polymer clay comes in a soft plastic-like material - like blue tack. It can be formed by hand or in a mould.  Then it is baked in the oven (yes, at home!) for 15 minutes. Once baked, it is hard and can be drilled and sanded. I've even buffed these little "pebbles" to give it a matt sheen...

Click here for more info

The experience of working with this material has been fun, that I ordered another lot in 2 colours to play with :). Can't wait to get my hands on them and experiment!

Have been busy - new pendant and necklaces...

These were recently uploaded onto my online shop, still working with wires...

The pendant is protected with an acrylic disc on one side and is glazed with a glass-like finish on the other. This is a 2 sided pendant, so wearers get 2 designs in one.

My new necklaces are made from ribbons and wire, plus lots of soldering...

Twisted new ways... new jewellery style

Twisted wires that is. It was definitely hard on the hands (even though I did use pliers)! I started playing with wires and acrylic pieces recently.

It was fun using these acrylic pieces - it means that the pendant is double sided, and that I did not have to worry about varnishing the work.

These 2 images are the 2 sides of one pendant using standard jewellery wire...

... while I used enamelled copper wire for this piece.

In case you are interested in more details, just click on any of the images... go on...

I've got more materials today from the shops to experiment with! Yay, till then...

Mmip Mmip make way for Smart car!

My cute little smart car pendants just hot off the... err rotary tool. I love them!! Sooooo CUTE - if I can say so myself!

I've put these up onto www.madeit.com.au/EvelynHowardDesigns - an Australian site. I have only 2 listings so far but I don't think it's as good as the other one i.e. Etsy.com which is an American site. Anyway, the listings are for 4 months... and I may not continue with the Australian site.

Anyway, here is the other listing consisting of 2 designs of sneakers pendants:

Whimsical lamb brooches anyone?

A while back when we just got back from England, I was in "Sheep" mode. I drew and painted lots of sheep pieces. Here's one you might have seen before:

... and recently I picked up the theme again and had a little fun with wood, ink and acrylics, and a rotary tool!

Click on the images for more info and other pictures... enjoy!

Presenting more wooden jewellery pieces

Some weeks ago, we bought a Dremel/routing tool and I starting to think what I would do with such a device... so voila, may I present a pendant made recently (above).

The design is a digital drawing specially drawn and designed for the pendant. It had taken me a while to get used to the tool...

... and since then, there have been a few more...

The one below is not a digital piece but a drawing in pen. I love the grains of the wood showing through the face.

In case anyone is interested, all the above pieces are for sale. Just click on the image for more details. Enjoy!

Poppies pendant

More poppies paintings... Yesterday, I painted poppies on little pieces of wood to make myself a pendant - above. I cut the pieces of wood using a Dremel tool (still trying to get the hang of using it) and then sand them smooth by hand (I could use a Dremel tool but this time I used good old sandpaper). Each design is painted in acrylics, and my Chinese name is stamped on the surface behind. To protect the wood and design, I applied two layers of varnish.

To assembled the jewellery, I added a clasp and hung a little jade bead below the piece of wood, and used a necklace that I already own.

I painted 6 - 5 too many (see image on the right) since I only wanted one! I am not sure what to do with the rest so I put them up on the web for sale! Hopefully other people might like one too :).

Enough of poppies for now I think, I am moving on to other things...