Friday, October 21, 2011

| Go to post ➜

The lovely Michelle from misanthropycreations did a blog feature for me which you can see here: Featured artist Sodacrush. I'm returning the favour, so here's the first ever featured artist on my blog.

Michelle makes lovely earrings and other jewelry, and takes gorgeous pictures of nature, too!

Shop Name: misanthropycreations
What you like to go by: Michelle, Michellian
When did you start your shop? Just recently! I had an etsy shop before under a different name but I decided I wanted to start fresh and with a new angle. I was selling hand crafted polymer clay gauged earrings before. I still make them for friends per request.
Is this your only job? Nope, I work full time as Assistant Manager at a small sports bar at two locations.
When did you realize you had this talent? I've always used crafts as a way to keep my hands busy, otherwise I'll bite my nails till there's nothing left! I'm not a big fan of social situations either so it keeps me where I love to be, home! I have always dabbled in a little bit of everything so I'm still trying to figure out what I'm really good at!
Where do you find your inspiration? When I go shopping for supplies is when ideas probably strike me the most. Probably because I am surrounded by so many different things, my mind just runs on overload thinking of all the different things I could make if I had the entire store to myself. So much potential inspiration in craft stores and the like.
Who has been the most supportive of your work? Probably my boyfriend, since he is really the only person who has seen the majority of my work. Also a friend of mine who comes with me when I supply hunt. I'm hard to put up with while I shop because I'm formulating a hundred different plans in my head at once.
What is one thing you would like to accomplish that you haven't yet? I would love to have a great following on my blog. misanthropycreations.blogspot.com Everyday I post an interview just like this one show casing one artists work. I would also love to make my first Etsy sale! But I'm sure that will come with time, but the first sale is the most anticipated!
What are your words to live by or favorite quote? "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." Ghandi

Check out her awesome jewelry here.


♥Jasmyn

12:03 PM

Friday, October 7, 2011

more previews, cuff, handmade necklaces and earrings | Go to post ➜

Mid-terms are over so I had a little time off to play with jewelry :D I've been working on a new cuff, lots and lots of layers and details - picture below. It's got a gorgeous silver Fleur-de-lis centrepiece, and layers of rococo style filigree for an utterly decadent feel.

I'll probably change the background piece for this - silver feels a bit too cold, what with autumn coming and all the luxury of amber days and hot cocoa ♥


To compensate for all that intricate layering, I threw together a few small, light pieces - much smaller than what I'm used to, but it's a relief since these were a lot less time-consuming and still very pretty :)


Lila; Named after the girl in Lila: An Inquiry Into Morals. It has such a pretty, delicate feel - not at all like the character, but I love the name ;) I'm used to very strong, vibrant colours in my jewelry so a crystal this pale is rare! Click to view more details on handmade necklace Lila on Etsy.



Illyriel; Named after the city of Illyria and a picture my sister drew: Illyriel by effthree on DA. This pendant actually came about because someone asked me if I ever made jewelry specifically for guys, and I realised I never started out with that intention. ...I don't think this piece is particularly masculine, but it's a start! :) Click to view more details on handmade necklace Illyriel on Etsy.



Winter Heart; Because I realised also that I have very little earrings, cuffs and rings in my shop. I'm trying to diversify - out of habit, I usually create necklaces but I think this attempt at earrings went quite well :) They dangle like lovely little drops of winter frost, alluring and deliciously icy ♥ Click to view more details on handmade earrings Winter Heart on Etsy.

All in all I'm very pleased with how these smaller pieces turned out, might consider doing more of them because I'm starting to fall for the delicate, flirty style instead of my usual one.

That's all I've got for now :) Questions, comments &etc. can be sent to valkyriecouture@gmail.com :)

♥Jasmyn

Labels: available, filigree, necklace, ValkyrieCouture, WIP

11:22 AM

Monday, September 5, 2011

Heart Key wire wrapped Pendant Steampunk jewelry video tutorial | Go to post ➜

A new time lapse video! :) This design is actually pretty old, but I only threw the video together recently. Full tutorial is available here.

I've never posted my first time lapse video here, so here you go:



Full tutorial available here.

I have a huge thing for heart motifs in wirework - this is the next piece I'm planning to make a tutorial for:




Although that one will probably have to wait til i get my first break ^^; I've actually started making a new one and have pictures of the first half, but I got stuck working out some of the details. (Bad habit - when doing things for the first time, I don't keep track of wire lengths, and the mechanics of hinges/clasps etc.) So the next time round it's trial and error all over again x)

That aside, the only wire work I've done recently is a remake of an old design - my Ice princess ear cuff, which to date has been the most popular. I've received several requests for that specific design, and so here's a comparison of the latest rework (left) next to the original (right).



That's all I've got for now :) Questions, comments &etc. can be sent to valkyriecouture@gmail.com :)

♥Jasmyn

Labels: available, filigree, necklace, ValkyrieCouture

1:39 AM

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

| Go to post ➜

The first in a new collection of steampunk/wire-wrapped pieces I'll be doing... For sale: http://www.etsy.com/listing/80409812/steampunk-honey-wire-wrapped-aged-brass

Despite having dabbled in so many different crafts, I find myself returning to wire again and again. Somehow just doing freeform wirework always makes me feel better. Although I really envy artists who can design and create intricate, perfectly symmetrical wire jewelry, I really don't have the time for that kind of work now.

My style of wire-wrapping is the swirling, pretty kind, and I love the way it contrasts with the industrial look of steampunk. I'll be making more of these as soon as my supplies arrive - I've got watch faces, gears, clock hands and all sorts of other hardware :D

Questions, comments &etc. can be sent to valkyriecouture@gmail.com :)

♥Jasmyn

Labels: available, filigree, necklace, ValkyrieCouture

11:41 AM

Sunday, August 21, 2011

| Go to post ➜

I know I don't really update this blog often, I'm really sorry to anyone who actually reads this ^^; In between school and making jewelry, I barely have time to maintain anything else - but recently I got a bit of time to make something for myself, so I made this motif for my school bag.


It's a Steampunk Alice theme, I was actually trying for a long time to make a pendant with this theme, but no luck :( I have a gorgeous stone the colour of Alice's dress, and adorable rabbits and playing card charms.. I'll keep working on it :P

1. Before
2. After
3. During
4. Closeup

Bigger motifs like these are actually easier to do because they don't involve stones - which are tricky at best :P I was thinking of making small jewelry boxes or cigarette cases with decorations like this for sale..


That aside, I've been busy making jewelry whenever I have time - but I have less time to take pictures and upload them (or maybe I'm just lazy.) So here's a mass preview of things I've made but not yet uploaded to FB/DA/Etsy -



Eden - "Summer reminds Aziraphale of Eden, when it was still young and pure, and seduction didn’t have a name." - s o m e w h e r e : a drabble collection, m-erechyn

Inspired by the brilliance of Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman♥. Crowley's such a flash bastard, I can imagine him as a snake with a diamond-studded collar.



All are new designs, with the exception of the two scarab necklaces at the bottom - I've sold a couple of the silver version already, and wanted to try it in gold too :) Snapped a pic of the scarabs with their respective stones - love the colour, as always, and I think the multicoloured one has a much more Egyptian feel. Somehow it reminds me of Arabian Nights From Aladdin :D



Questions, comments &etc. can be sent to valkyriecouture@gmail.com :)

♥Jasmyn

Labels: available, necklace, WIP

1:20 AM

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Handmade business card tutorial | Go to post ➜

Business cards a one of the must-have things to remind customers who you are, yet oftentimes people simply pounce on the goodies and toss out the card. I confess I'm one of those unappreciative customers, mostly because I find most business cards tacky/plain/mass-produced/badly-designed. I'll only hang onto a card if it's exceptionally well-designed or handmade - I'm a sucker for thoughtful things like that.

So when I whipped up my new batch of Sodacrush business cards, handmade was definitely the way to go. I don't have time spend creating miniature works of art, but stamping is easy and fast, and makes for a unique handmade card your customers might just hang on to.

My cards:

Materials:
1. Self-arrangeable stamp - Get the biggest one you can, so you can include as much as possible. Mine came with two different sizes of letters, and I arranged it to include my shop name and URL.
2. Accent stamp - Can be anything you want, really - birds on a branch, a pretty floral motif, etc. I went for a lip print because I wanted something bold and simple.
3. Blank business cards and ink - Again, any colour you like.


Arrange the words on your stamp and test it to check alignment etc. My accent stamp is actually a hand-carved kiddy eraser, you can definitely make your own logo if you like.

Stamp on text.



Stamp on accent.



Use corner punch to round off corners - not exactly necessary, but I think it's a nice finishing touch :)




And there you have it - lovely handmade cards, handstamped and far more thoughtful than monochromatic mass-printed cards.


♥Jasmyn

Labels: business cards, DIY, sodacrush, tutorial

8:57 AM

Friday, April 1, 2011

Motivational inspirational matchbox handmade diy gift | Go to post ➜

MOTIVATIONAL MATCHBOXES.
(in 10 easy steps!)

Pretty, no? :D This is a really quick walk through of how to make these simple matchbox gifts for a friend! All you need is some imagination, and lots of love ♥


1. Start with a plain matchbox. (I made my own using this template)

2. Take a sheet of decorative paper. You can use scrapbook paper, but I decided to go simple and use a grid lined paper from a notebook.

3. Trace out the shape of your matchbox tray.

4. For this, I decided I wanted a pop-up 'STAR' to be part of the quote, so I cut two small pieces of craft foam, smaller than my sticker.

5. Mark out the placement of the quote with pencil.

6. Ink with pen, let dry. Erase pencil marks.

7. Double-sided tape, stack up and stick foam cut-outs.

8. Place sticker to complete 3D effect!

9. Cut out quote.

10. Trim to fit matchbox tray. Glue into tray.

For the cover, I just glued a strip of grid paper around the cover and put a matching star sticker on it :)

And there you have it! Quick, simple, and something meaningful that will definitely brighten up anyone's day. You can put in quotes that mean something to you and your loved one, or even tiny trinkets or mementos of a special trip.

♥Jasmyn

Labels: DIY, handmade, matchbox, motivational, tutorial

9:21 AM