PRETTY PENDANT

 

“Wilderness” ~ there's a pretty side to it where flowers thrive.

 

That's what I hope to reflect in this pendant.

 

It was not made using a pattern.

 

I was guided by a picture in my mind ~ a trailing strand of leaves, flowers.

 

So this is a spontaneous make :-)

 

 

The key material here is the thin wire.

 

It's easy to thread beads onto it and

manually twist them into shape eg green beads to form leaves.

 

Also the thin wire can be manipulated eg a leaf moved behind a flower

so each element can be positioned to give dimension to the whole piece. 

 

Finally, the whole strand is shaped into gentle curves.

 

It's finished by adding a jump ring to the top leaf,

and threading through a black cord.

 

Gifted to a friend on her birthday!
 

I just realised it looks Christmas-y with the red/green beads.

It's not intentional.

I wonder if any of my friends would like
this pendant as an Xmas present!

 

~Ema N~

***
What I made for recent Le Challenges
epp star necklace: "Direction"
love token earrings: "Single"
 flower brooch : "Wood"

***

 See what others created for Le Challenge's "Wilderness" theme!
 

Linking up with

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EPP ~ STARRY NIGHT NECKLACE

The theme for Le Challenge this month is “direction”.
 

I recently read Dava Sobel's “Longitude”,

a book about astronomy, navigation and horology.

It's my inspiration for this month because

long before maps or GPS, people relied on stars for direction.

 

So I English Paper Pieced these stars to make a necklace.

 

They are 4cm across from point to point,
with fusible woven interfacing on the back.

 Faceted blue beads represent the sky.

 

It's whimsical.

It's patchwork I can wear.

I like it!

:-)

~Ema N~

***
What I made for recent Le Challenges
love token earrings: "Single"
 flower brooch : "Wood"

***

 

Linking up with

Photos and text belong to the author of this blog, unless otherwise stated.

Please do not use without permission.

 

LOVE TOKEN EARRINGS

I went to the park to gather a few seeds
from the Adenanthera pavonina tree.

They are perfect for this month's Le Challenge theme, "Single".

It's a practice here for single ladies
to collect enough of these to fill up a glass jar
then give them to the guy they like.

 

Why are these seeds used as tokens of love?

Perhaps it's their heart shape (squint your eyes) 

and vibrant red, the colour of passion.

 

 Love tokens made me think of old-fashioned courtship.

What came to mind was a vintage-looking pair of earrings,
something the heroine in a romance novel might wear.

"Something ornate, but not overly so, to frame the red seeds", I thought.
 

These leafy bead caps might work.

The points break up the expanse of red.
The texture on the metal contrasts with the smooth surface of the seed
and provide visual interest.

The caps were just the right size too and held the seeds in a warm embrace.

They were then glued to earring posts.

And I have a pair of vintage-y earrings I think will be worn often.

 

The red is striking, isn't it?

As a child, I was told this story about how the seed got its colour:

Once upon a time, there was a loving couple. One day, the husband was summoned by the king to go to war. The wife was sad to see him go. Every day, she climbed to the top of the hill in the hope of seeing him return. She did this for weeks, then months, and then years. He never came back. She cried and cried. One day, her tears turned into drops of blood. As they touched the ground, Adenanthera pavonina trees sprung up. When pods of the tree ripened, they burst open and threw out bright red seeds. Villagers said they were the tears of the heart-broken wife. 

***

See the brooch I made for last month's Le Challenge, "Wood".

***
 

~Ema N~

 

Linking up with Le Challenge.

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Please do not use without permission

 

 

 

MATCHSTICK FLOWER BROOCHES

The theme for Le Challenge this month is “Wood”.

 

I thought I'd give it a go but with self-imposed limits.

 

 No new purchases allowed, use existing materials and tools only.

 

And it must be done in three hours ---

the time it takes to boil the herbal chicken soup I'm making for lunch.

 

The soup pot went on the stove at 8am and I got started.

 

These were the only wood things in the house that could be used:

 

I sawed off the burnt end of the matchstick using a knife with a serrated edge.

 

Looking at the wooden stick, I immediately thought of a flower...

the kind little kids like to draw.

 

I have beads, crimp end cap and fine gauge wire to make stick flowers.

Here's where I got stuck. What is it going to be?

A hairpin? A pendant? What?!

I couldn't resolve it.

 

The clock was ticking away.......

 

I turned down the gas so the soup would cook on a very slooow simmer.

 

Then out of the blue, I got it!

 

A single flower bouquet.

 

 

Cream coloured ribbon as the “paper wrap”,

a green ribbon tie and a brooch pin sewn on the back.

 

Done!

 

Four hours and ten minutes.
 

It was a morning well spent.

 

:-)

 

~Ema N~

Linking up with Le Challenge.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Please do not use without permission.



SPRING NECKLACE

Many butterflies in the park these few days.
They are a delight to watch.
 

I had a strong feeling that I absolutely must have a spring necklace.

So went straight home to make one.

What I had in mind was something
with a butterfly flitting towards flowers.

 

And here it is...
wore it straight away, while still in my exercise t-shirt!

~Ema N~

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Please do not use without permission.

 

 M7.8

 

 I'm wearing this in solidarity

with the people of Nepal

 who lost loved ones, homes, villages

in the magnitude 7.8 earthquake on Saturday, 25 April.

 

To anyone who asks about this pair of earrings,

I'll tell them they are from Bhaktapur,

  a UNESCO world heritage site.

 

Its residents are among the over 4,000 dead in the country, so far.

Its old buildings, of terracotta and wood, destroyed.

 

One late afternoon, winters ago, I chose this pair of garnet earrings

to remember the town of wood carvers by.

 

This morning, I put these on,

 not for adornment but in sympathy with the Nepali people.

 

~Ema N~

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Please do not use without permission.