New Window Bangles

My jewelry is selling well at Grace Cathedral and so I made a few new bangles this week.

They were made from the St Matthew Window in the Chapel of Grace.The window was created by Charles Connick and is the first window as you enter the chapel.

Connick's chapel of Grace window designs, like the chapel architecture, were inspired by the famed and still-surviving Sainte-Chapelle - a private chapel attached to the royal palace in Paris. This chapel is considered one of the highest achievements of Gothic architecture - and   is somewhere I would love to visit one day........

The new bangles feature both the full length St Matthew window and also just small vignettes. I like the one shown above on the left as it has bunches of grapes on it...merlot?

 I need to make some more necklaces too, so I'll show you those when I'm done.

Stained glass window bangle

I have been trying a different style in my color anodized aluminum today - looking for a more painterly effect.  My subject was a stained glass window:

So this is just a work in progress, trying a new technique and seeing how it works, what I need to change, etc, etc.

I was hoping for more vibrancy in the colors but I guess painting them on leaves them paler. Maybe I need to use more concentrated colors for a painterly effect?  Or maybe I need to try this not on a matt finish aluminum, but on polished aluminum...

Hmmm. I like the idea.... it encourages me to keep going with it.... What do you think? Soooo many possibilities!!!

Sunshiny days

We had a sunny day!!! Yippee!  Yes, it's been a little grey and rainy here in England but our final day was warm and sunny.  There we were, out in only shirt sleeves! No jackets or raincoats or sweaters....We had a lovely day in Broadway, doing a bit of shopping. Broadway is such a pretty Cotswold town - so picturesque.

But we fly back to California today after a busy couple of weeks. It's been a great trip and we've enjoyed all our visiting and catching up.

We're not sure whether we'll be flying back to sunshine as it's been drizzly in CA recently too!  Maybe my sunshiny bangle will help bring the sunshine out? What do you think? I showed you the pink and blue ones last week and this is the third in the summery series.

The three different colors make me think of a sweetie shop....quite mouth watering. What do you reckon?

In the pink

I'm feeling in the pink today!  After flying over to the UK from CA yesterday, although I was up in the night for a couple of hours, (reading my Google reader at 4am this morning), I've felt good today and not tired at all.  We went out with family last night for dinner and they were entertaining so we stayed up until 11pm, not even noticing what time it was!  Hopefully tonight will be a good night's rest too.

So to match my mood, I thought I'd show you my latest pink bangle! "In the pink" - a pink background with pink flowers.  I did a couple of other colors too so I'll post them later in the week.

Our friends from the US also arrived today - managing to get through the volcanic ash on the way! They didn't sleep at all on the flight over, so are having a nap now.  We'll have to work hard tonight to keep them up - and ourselves!!!

Hope you've had a day in the pink today too!

Anyone can make a daisy chain

"Anyone" has been complaining that she hasn't been on an aluminum bangle up until now....so today, all that changed!  We decided that "anyone can make a daisy chain".

Following on from Tuesday's "daisy chain" bangle blog post, I made another daisy chain bangle and attached a female "anyone" to it. I think she looks very happy and relaxed with her large hat, sitting in the sunshine, surrounded by her pretty daisy chain!

She is securely attached using a silver screw.  I think she could do with having a little picnic by her side too! 

Daisy Chain

What little girl hasn't sat on the grass and tried to make a daisy chain?

Picking daisies and trying to thread the stems is such a vivid childhood memory. Yet I have to say that daisy chains were a challenge for me as I used to bite my finger nails and so making that hole in the stem was not easy! But I would persevere to make a pretty little daisy chain necklace or bracelet. What about you? Do you remember making flower jewelry? I hope little kids still make them nowadays....

The image brings back such great emotions - often just of a quiet time, the sunny shining, sat on my own on the lawn, or chatting with a close friend and enjoying the summer.

Yet I wonder if any boys ever made daisy chains? I'm guessing not.  I just asked my husband and he said he never made any as a little boy, but he taught his boys how to do it when they were little and they would make really long chains - not to be worn or anything uncool like that!!!!. Ask your hubby or partner, see if he ever tried....

But adorning oneself with a little garland of flowers was such a perfect thing for a little girl. Your moment to feel special.

And so, that feeling comes into my latest color anodised aluminum bangle "daisy chain".  It's for the escapist....the person who wants to recapture those precious moments from childhood.  But maybe we shouldn't need a bangle to do that.  I'm going to make sure that this summer I find a lawn with daises and sit and make a daisy chain! Maybe I'll do it with my nephews when they come and visit - although they may not be too keen at their age :=D  I hope you'll give it a go too -and then let me know!  But if not, you can always wear a daisy chain bangle as a reminder of those simple pleasures in life.......

I have another version of this to show you on Thursday, so look out for Daisy Chain version II!

Little Bunny Foo Foo

I remember my sister Mary teaching me the song "little bunny foo foo" quite  few years ago - complete with hand actions.  As I recall, we weren't all that little...and she learnt it when we were on choir camp!!! Obviously the singing of it was superior then!!

Anyhow, when I made another bunny for a bangle today, he looked so small and cute as he hopped through the grass, that little bunny foo foo came to mind!

He looks much too sweet to bop field mice on the head however. What do you think?  And if you don't know what I'm talking about, check out the Youtube video below for a child safe version of the little song.  Yes, some Youtube videos for Little bunny foo foo contain warnings of blood and violence!




Rest assured, my sister and I sang it much better!!! and the actions just make it!!

See what a huge influence my sister has had on my life???

 

Maybe this could be the start of a new series of story/song illustrations as bangles! Any suggestions for a song from your childhood that you'd like to see on a bangle?

The bees knees!

Do you know the origin of the expression "The bees knees"?

The phrase was apparently first recorded in the late 18th century, when it was used to mean something very small and insignificant.  However, in the 1920's the phrase began to be used in the US meaning "an outstanding person or thing".....along with the "cats whiskers".

Some think this meaning came from the fact that bees carry pollen back to the hive in sacs on their legs and thus, just around the bees knees is all this great concentration of something good!!!  But others think this has nothing to do with it....and it is still a topic for debate. What do you think? Have you ever even see a bee's knees?

So here is my "bees knees" bangle with little bees printed on the bangle and then a silver bee perched on top!

Unfortunately you can't see his knees as he's sat on them - but if you could, I'm sure you'd be impressed :-D

Next time you see a bee - check out his knees!

Animal tracks bangle

My animal tracks and bird tracks silver bracelets have always been popular so I thought I'd try using tracks on an aluminum bangle.

I dyed the background a new color - it is called olive - but actually came out grey - but I quite like the smoky color effect. It's not very different from the aluminum color itself but does add a little something.  I know, I've been using a lot of color in my aluminum, so this one is a little different as it's just greys and black, but I like the subtle grey with the strong black. What do you think?  

And can you identify the animal tracks?  Go on, give it a go......

The perfect bangle for a hike in the woods.....

Overdyeing

This bracelet shows the technique of overdyeing, where first the aluminum is dyed one color - lemon yellow, then resists are added as the flowers and leaves and the bangle is dyed again with a quick dip in red dye.

The resist is removed and the result is yellow flowers and leaves on a peach colored background.  I've done a few using this technique but love the peach color created with the quick red dip on the yellow.

What do you think?

Adding texture to aluminum

I got a little package this past week from my mum.  No, it wasn't a food parcel - it was little bits and bobs of lace, fabric, paper cutouts etc.  I had been telling her about my rolling mill and how I wanted to try using it with the aluminum - so all her little strips of goodies were things to try running through the mill with the aluminum for my bangles to create texture on the metal.

I haven't tried them all yet, but here are a couple:

 This first one is a lovely rich orange color - as that was always my mum's favourite color.  Is it still I wonder????  Anyhow - a happy color.  I put the aluminum through with a piece of thick lace.  I hope you can see the texture that came from it in the photos.

The other was just a small piece of aluminum I colored but hadn't made anything with.  This went through the mill with an open weave ribbon.

It'll be interesting to add texture to some of my bangles and also other aluminum pieces I make. I'll be trying the other goodies later so will let you know how they work out.

Yes, the aluminum experiments continue!

Thanks mum!

More alphabet bangles

I've done a few more alphabet bangles in different fonts and different colors.  Some are still in progress but here are the latest:

You'd never guess I was enjoying this, would you!   :=D

Glint Bangles - Ray of light

Here are some more aluminum bangles to add to this week's creations.  They are like the green glint earrings and necklace from last week however, the glint in these cases, is dark rather than light.  

I wonder if there is a different word from glint meaning a "ray of dark" instead of a "ray of light"!!!

As you may be able to tell, I'm enjoying finding a little time to make progress on the color anodized aluminum.

What do you think?  What is your favorite color? I have a few more bangles to show you on Thursday too.... yes, now I've started, I can't stop!!!