Posts Tagged ‘craft’

Apr

The Process of Making an Orisha Inspired Wearable Art

Posted by: olubunmi in Life's Nuances

Tonight I wanted to work on making some jewelry. And… the unevitable happened, I was frozen with all of my supplies in front of me, and didn’t know where to start first. (Maybe it’s because I wasn’t watching American Idol, LOL) The challenge however was no laughing matter. I looked at my bin of beads and I just didn’t know where to start first. I learned a wonderful technique of bending wire, and wanted to do a pair of hot earrings, but they didn’t happen. (I should have taken a picture of this… maybe next time.)

I tried a few things, until I began wrapping beads around two cowrie shells.

Then I decided that I would make a Shango inspired necklace with a pair of matching earrings. I brought out my board and began working. This went a lot better.

I still haven’t finished it, as the finished product I wasn’t thrilled with, but you know what? I learned a lot on this necklace.

Don’t take it so seriously
Add your beads carefully – If I rush, then I can make mistakes, and I will have to redo a lot of my work which is not only time consuming, but frustrating.
Do not seal the piece – This I learned with a necklace of times past. I finished it, and held it against my neck. I wasn’t quite sure about it, and decided to shift some parts of the necklace (as it will be double stranded). I am taking a break, and I will be able to shift things around and put them together.

All in all, I am very happy that I have begun this set, and I cannot wait to show you, the outcome.

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Mar

March Flowers bring Spring Joy

Posted by: olubunmi in Life's Nuances, The Handmade Art

I think that my creativity is really affected by the weather. We have had a few sparks of warm weather here and there, and I decided that flowers would be ideal again. And so they started until I had made one flower.

Then I was wondering what to do with that flower, and the idea kicked in that a pin would be IDEAL. It is perfect to put into a hat, bag, or any other accessory. Also, you can cluster them with different colors and re-arrange them differently if need be.

Funny, when I first picked up the flowers without the cowrie shells, they felt as though I was picking up a bouquet of yarn flowers. It was a great feeling. Then seeing them in the basket as I was setting them up for the pictures, I noticed, that the sky is the limit on what you can do with flower pins.

I know that I love knit hats, but do not always like a hat with a flower. (Sometimes I feel like a flower, and sometimes I don’t.) I think that these pin flowers can add that flexibility to any wardrobe.