Moonlight Squash Blossom & Pink Pretties

Not too long ago I was visiting Cat's blog and she posted a few items that she had just finished. All of the new pieces were stunning, but one just sang to me. For days I would go visit her Etsy shop just to drool (ok ... also hoping that nobody had purchased it, either) and finally last week I was in a position to treat myself to a prezzie ... drumroll, please ....

Tada!

My new necklace, Moonlight Squash Blossom, arrived in the mail on Monday:

here's a detail of the piece:

Pictures really don't do this stunning little work of wearable art the justice it deserves.

* sighs *

AND

This past weekend I also recieved my package of little pink pretties from

Amber Dawn's

Think Pink Charms Exchange:

Above is a group shot and the next four are close-ups.

(Feel free to click on any photo to see larger versions)

I can't begin to tell you how impressed I am with each of these amazing little pink creations and feel so lucky to have them. I will definitely wear them with PINK ARTIST PRIDE!

... and think about this ...

all of this came about thanks to a community of people answering

Monica's

call to artists for a very special project ... speaking of which, the drawing for

Love Squared

& other fabulous artful prizes is still happening ...
the drawing is open until October 15th, so go check it out.

Babies ... so Charming

Can't help it ... sometimes I think I'm so clever (humor me and nobody gets hurt) ... last night there was an amazing sunset. I thought I'd try to get some photo's when this little guy decided to steal the show:

With all the rain we've been having the frog mama's and the papa's have been behaving like bunnies - there are nearly a gazillion baby frogs around (most of them pretty good at hiding) ... this brave little one posed for the paparazzi. Unfortunately, I forget how humid it would be outside, so the first few shots are foggy with lens condensation ... ah well, at least this shot is a keeper. The sunset shots ... not so much.

In other news, Amber Dawn is hosting another Black & White Charm Exchange ... I was slow getting started. The first submission was weak in the creative sense, but I still think it ended up cute (but not original quality enough for the actual swap). Check it out (the photo is larger than actual size):

The ring is the small end of a closure. If you remember the charms that I did for the Think Pink Exchange, you'll recognize the inspiration ... this one is a tad boring in comparison. :)

Next I broke out one of my tiny crochet hooks (7/1.65mm) and some black #10 cotton thread and came up with (again, photo is larger than actual size):

It's sweet ... but still didn't rock my world. AD had some concerns about it possibly snagging and the durability ... I'm not so concerned about that (plus I was thinking that I could dip it in the setting agent that I used on the paper cranes and could actually shape it and be certain that it could stand up to some serious wear). I think I would like the nest idea better if I used a natural colored cotton thread with some metallic thread laced through it here and there ... not an option in a black and white challenge, eh.

Back to the drawing board ... tonight I have been playing around with another design. Materials: shrunk down Michelle originals (thanks for the suggestion AD), decorative clear glass beads (the round ones with one side flat), Sculpy and paint ... I think I might be on the right track ... I'll share photo's when good light and I are on the same schedule. If you are interested in participating in the swap, visit Amber Dawns Black and White Charm Exchange post and leave a comment to let her know that you are interested.

Hope all is well with you and yours ...

8/31 update:

I have been playing around with the glass/sculpy pieces and haven't quite got something I like. I haven't completely thrown in the towel as there are a couple of tricks up my sleeve ... will post when I'm a little happier with the outcome. In the meantime, I have been thinking knots ... I did a search for macrame owls and found a couple instruction sheets that look promising. Since I need a break from the other ones, I plan on giving it a shot tonight after dinner - fingers crossed!

Know What Tomorrow Is?!?

August 1st!

if you are completely clueless about what I am referring to then either

A) You are brand new to my blog & should click on a Think Pink image

B) You've been living under a rock & should click on a Think Pink image

OR

C) You are an alien visiting from another planet & should click on a Think Pink image

Every donation counts ... every penny makes a difference ... YOU can be part of that difference

... AND ...

there are some spectacular prizes being offered in the drawing

(please click the image below to be dircted to the "prizes" page)



Be part of the cure!

Please help us spread the word!!

Crane Charms

It's time to share a little mixed up progress on the crane charms (first mentioned HERE) ... this first image is the first batch of cranes post dipping into the Petal Porcelain Setting Agent. I had used decorative papers (rather than thin origami sheets), so the paper was a tad too thick for the size crane (1 1/4" square) I folded:

I was really happy to learn that the setting agent really fortified the cranes - they have hardened really nicely. With this first batch I followed the directions on the bottle and dipped the cranes in the goo and brushed the excess off. I set them on wax paper overnight to dry. Due to the amount of product on them, the bottoms "puddled" slightly which took away the crisp points ... since then, I have thought about how to improve on this and think that simply brushing the setting agent on (in stages) might work better ... that and using thinner origami papers ... so I have folded a bunch of little cranes (there are about 10 more than pictured ... if I'm going to fold one, it's just as likely I'll fold 10 or 20 or 100 ...) ... these are folded from 1" squares and 1 1/8" squares:

The papers are still very pretty and the cranes came out much more precise.

The picture below is a condensed version of the process. The papers in the background are (or were) 6" squares of origami papers - in pinksl, of course. The diamond shapes are cranes in progress, the two completed cranes on the left have not been dipped or brushed and two cranes on the right are two from the original test batch (dipped):

Below is another dipped crane from the first batch. I still like the decorative papers that I originally used, so will be trying to slavage some if possible. Here's one that I am hoping to save (it has also had a coat or two of diamond top coat polish applied):

Even though I have a feeling that this second batch is going to be better than the first (fingers crossed) I did want to do a prototype of the charm that I was picturing - the next two pictures are the first completed prototypes:

Amber Dawn let me know that she can only accept one set of 12 charms from the participants for the Very Special Think Pink Charm Exchange. Considering the whole idea is to provide Monica with additional raffle items, this totally makes sense. I already completed a set of twelve sparkly pink ones (see the previous post), so I'll be sending those out to Amber Dawn for the exchange ... BUT ... she has given me the go ahead to send two of the completed crane charms, too - if they are high enough quality, she will be use them on the raffle bracelet(s). Wouldn't that be cool?

Being involved in both of these projects has been more satisfying than I could possibly ever explain. I am humbled by the experience and grateful to have been exposed to such an inspiring, kind, creative community of generous hearts. My faith in the world & humanity has been restored ... tenfold.

Pink and Sparkly

Update 07/19: After I added the jump ring, I wanted to try one more thing ... I added two coats of my diamond top coat polish and voila ... Fini! This is a shot of the completed charm (charm is smaller than pictured - it's 1" -including the jump ring - X 5/4"):

Steps 2 and 3 of the "alternate" pink charms complete:

This was supposed to be the back up to the paper cranes charms that I wanted to do, but I'll be honest, I really, really like these a lot - they are super girly in their uber-sparkly pinkness. After the pink glitter dried/set, I put about 4 coats of high gloss varnish over the glitter. Once the last coat of varnish dried, I threaded the beads ... a pink (doesn't really look it in the photo) faceted glass bead between two tiny Swarovsky bicone crystals and made the loop for the jump ring. All I have to do to finish these is add the jump ring. Pretty cool.

The paper crane charms have me in a little bit of a snit ... I'm thrilled to report that the setting agent actually does work ... the only issue I am having is that I do lose just a touch of the crispness ... my anal retentive self might not be able to get past this - uber spouse thinks I need to ... there's a little bit more time, so I just might try another batch ... fingers (and toes) crossed, please.

fairy homes and pink charm progress

It's been a great Sunday ... and to think, it's just the first day of my weekend, too!

Sadie and I decided that today was a good day to try our hand at building a fairy house. Originally we thought we'd build it under a tree in the back yard, but due to a rain shower (and the fact that neither of us much like red ants) we chose the small ficus tree's pot:

Considering neither of us has any background in building (other than that of the Lego variety) we were utterly clueless. She thought we should just sink "walls" right into the dirt - brilliant plan! We made sure to use a few twigs that branched so we could rest twigs lengthwise across them and then layed smaller twigs across them to build a second level (there are two small rooms below the floor). The roofing is a combination of skinny dried vines and a little bit of hay. We're hopeful that one of these days we'll go out there to see that some little creature has claimed the home ... fingers crossed!

How about an update on the The Pink Charms Exchange? First, I have done a couple of tests using the Petal Porcelain Setting Agent that I purchased on Friday and am happy to report that I think it's really going to work! There are a few minor details that I need to work out, but I am hopeful.

I'm am still interested in trying Paverpol (Marilyn @ As Seen Through My Eyes recommended the product - she's been posting about her recent trip to France and it sounds like heaven!). I checked out there website and from everything that I have read about it, it sounds like some pretty amazing stuff. It's been added to the top of my Christmas wish list!

While I was shopping on Friday, I picked up a few "just in case" items ... I wanted to have a definite back up should the paper crane experiment end up a bust. This is what I bought:

The above is a little pack of metal links, some ultrafine pink glitter and some pink faceted glass beads ... bet you can tell where I am going with all this. I took Amber Dawn's comment, "make sure to have the pink stand out, make them pretty, sparkly if you can" totally to heart! So far I have only completed the first step ... I completely pink-glitterified the links (simple white glue) and am on to the second step of coating them in a high gloss varnish - one coat down, but at least one (if not two) more to go. Here they are drying in my fancy drying rack (those would be toothpicks for holding the links and masking tape over a small glass bowl for a rack).

Here's a closer view:

Once they have all been varnished, I'm going to use silver "pins" to sandwich a pink glass bead between two tiny clear Swarovski crystals and make the loop for a hanger and add a jump ring ... voila! Honestly, the photo's don't really do them justice - they are much prettier in hand (even at this stage) than photographed.

Ok, the cranes are calling me back to finish folding (folding 1 1/4 inch squares is a bit taxing, but tiny cranes look very sweet).

How's your weekend shaping up?

does anyone know how ...

... to make paper more durable/solid?

I have been working on a few ideas for the Think Pink Charm Exchange, but nothing is hitting the mark ... I really, really want to figure out how to make paper cranes that are sturdy ... they'd be perfect for the project (remember the Sadako Sasaki story?) - appropriate, don't you think?

I have these wonderful pink papers that would be perfect to use, some super fine glitter and pink Swarovsky bicone crystals that I could suspend from the center for an extra little sparkle ... I can totally see them and really think they could be terrific ... if anyone has any suggestions, I would be most grateful.

A Little of This and a Little of That

Amber Dawn is hosting another charm exchange, but this one is has an added bonus ... make 12 charms and get 10 back ... the remaining 2 will be part of charm bracelets that are being donated to the Pink Artists Drawing ... how cool is that?!? For more details click the button below:

And just in case you haven't yet heard about the Pink Artists Drawing, go here:

I imagine you just might be delighted.

(if you are interested in seeing the squares that I made, click HERE)

two more things ...

• As I type this, dates are still available for the 2009 Diary Project ... go check it out (artwork isn't due until 7/1/08).

AND

• to the lovlies that won my birthday give-a-way ... I am getting really, really close and am pretty confident that I'll be able to ship them by Monday. :)