28/52 Bird a week challenge - Perched

At my recent farmer's market in Glen Ellen, a lady asked me to make her some owl earrings.  So they became my 'bird a week' - "Perched". Two cute little owls perched on a branch - or your ears!!

I'll see her on Sunday and hopefully she'll like them.

To see the other birds that have been made in the bird a week challenge, please see the links below:

Garden seat

Earlier in the year when I first started working with aluminum, I made some "garden seat" earrings as part of my "month of earrings challenge".  The "seat" is small branches, where little birds can alight and rest or eat a while....

I tried the same design again this week, as I got a lot of comments back then, but this time used different techniques and two new dyes. I particularly like the gold color - maybe because I never get to work in gold! 

What do you think?

Look who's heading into the kiln!

OK! Get in line....time to get going:

 Good little birdies - all quite orderly - except for one!!!  And off we go:

Don't worry, it'll be nice and cozy:

And when you come out, you'll be so precious!

Choose my next animal

So you've met :

• Humphrey and Trisha
• Claude and Claudia
• Dog-eared
• Waddle and Toboggan
• Break out of your shell
• Baby birds
• Rupert the bird
• Pastures new
• Birds with attitude

Now what animal/bird should I create next?  I've set up a poll on the sidebar so you can vote for a few I've selected or else choose A.N. Other and leave a message here with the animal of your choice!

Using a different style I'll already made sheep, cows, pigs, mice, lions.... so am looking for something new.....

The ones on my list are hippopotamus, elephant, rhinoceros, water buffalo, octopus...or your choice. If you choose one yourself, I hope you'll bear in mind the general shape of these pieces and how their legs dangle underneath etc....

Whichever one gets the most votes, I'll make!

So far, other suggestions I've had are ferrets and yaks! Hmm Can you do better?

Birds with attitude

My latest bird earrings look like the birds have strong characters!  I think they are best worn often so that a human head comes between them, rather then letting them get too close to each other.

I made them with prometheus bronze clay - a new metal clay from Turkey.  It colors a rosy bronze color after firing without the use of charcoal - as opposed to the more usual yellowy color.

I find that most of my animals/birds develop their character and "come to life" when I add their eyes, but with these, it was the beaks!

Don't you think they looks just a bit annoyed with each other? Fed up of hanging around together and need a break?

The one on the right here looks like he's about to storm off!

Now the one on the left is feeling guilty.... I wonder what they have been arguing about...what do you think? Did they both want to hang in the left ear???

Waddle and Toboggan - new penguin friends

Two more introductions today - here are Waddle and Toboggan - cute little penguins:

You can call them Wad and Tob - as I know you'll make friends with them quickly enough.....They love to snuggle up together when it gets really cold....

Other times, they keep a watchful eye out....looking this way....

and then that way.....

making sure there are no predators around.....Phew - it's all clear, so they can just hang out for a while!

Don't you just love their little webbed feet that move as they hang out - yes - like they are waddling!!!

(Month of earrings # 15)

A garden seat

Earrings # 8 and # 9 of my Month of Earrings challenge - a blue garden seat and a green garden seat.

Sweet little bird silhouettes, nestled in the garden plants...taking a seat.  Different birds on each one.

The earrings are very slightly domed.  They are made from colored anodized aluminum.  In this process, the color becomes part of the metal surface layer so can't be scratched off.

Which color do you prefer?

Love Birds - Humphrey and Trisha

Thought you'd like to meet my two new birdie friends - Humphrey and Trisha.


They are very much in love as you can tell....

So you know they will be looking forward to Valentine's Day......They are so much in love that you frequently hear them calling each other "my darling" and "my love"...forgoing "Humphrey" and "Trisha". They are just two darlings....

But surely, now and again they must get a little annoyed with each other and fall out and....maybe that's when the "Humphrey" and "Trisha" can be heard:


But I guess they always like to hang out together, regardless....

OK. I confess. These two little birdies are named after some friends of ours! 5 years ago when we were travelling to the Galapagos Island, we met two British couples on the boat. One couple were called Humphrey and Trisha! They are quintessentially British! It's just wonderful......and that's right, Humphrey always refers to Trisha as " darling" or "my love"!!!

We had a wonderful time with them while travelling and I sort of wondered whether these terms of affection would rub off on John...but no! However Humphrey generously extended the terms to include me too - and I did the same for him!!

And we still do! We meet up once a year with the darlings when we go back to England and catch up on what we've all been doing and where we've been travelling!!

Here's to good friends!

Humphrey and Trisha

Bird perch earrings

Poor Harold. I mentioned him yesterday - my pet parrot - and showed his photo to go with my "birdcage necklace".....well late last night I was on my computer reading other peoples blogs at around 11.30pm when I heard a big crash. I thought it was my husband falling over but then I heard a squalk.

I ran into the kitchen where Harold had been put to bed a couple of hours previously and he was flapping and making lots of noise inside his cage, under his bedtime blanket. I put the light on and tried to talk calmly to him as he was puffing and panting, his little chest heaving! I asked him to tell me what was the matter - but he just clung on to the side of his cage.....


I still not really sure what happened to .... I stayed talking to him for a while and tried to settle him down until eventually he stood back on his perch. I think what had happened was that he fell off his perch while he was asleep and got very upset about it :-( Poor little Harold.

Anyhow - in a way it was timely as I was going to show you my birds on a perch earrings. These birds are firmly attached to their perches so can't fall off when they doze off to sleep.......


Tough life being a parrot! Maybe I should call the earrings "hang on to your perch!"