Thursday, December 22, 2011

New steampunk necklaces + Wire wrapped pendant | Go to post ➜

A couple of pretty little things - The brass one is a prayer box, an adorable hinged-egg-thing. The silver one is a vial full of watch parts. Both for sale: Steampunk Swallow Prayer Box Locket Necklace and Steampunk Swallow Watch Parts Vial Necklace.

I haven't actually done any wire-wrapping in a long time (3 months, to be exact) and when a customer commissioned 4 ear cuffs from me, I had to make 10 before I managed to produce 4 of an acceptable quality. Sore fingers and bruised ego aide, there was also the vague sense of horror that I'd completely lost the ability to wrap. So I sat down and poured 6 hours of desperation into this 1" pendant: Albion.

Albion was taken from BBC's series Merlin (which I've developed a thoroughly unhealthy obsession with) and is made of copper wire and a Swarovski fancy pear. It's also one of those things I'll never sell, simply because the amount of heart that went into this is priceless. Sometimes I consider the saying Find a Job You Love and You'll Never Work a Day in Your Life - but for me that isn't true at all. I'd rather get paid for a job that involves absolutely no creativity, so I never have to put a price on the things I really love.

This skewed perspective probably explains my completely idiosyncratic business model, which really needs to be whipped into shape. Holiday project, maybe ;)

But for now, Merry Christmas to everyone!

♥Jasmyn

Labels: available, filigree, necklace, ValkyrieCouture

7:51 AM

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Necklace 'Sketches' Choker Collar style | Go to post ➜

It's been a hectic week, and I sold one of my most precious pieces - Kalliope Filigree Choker by ValkyrieCouture.


This piece is so dear to me because it's the first collar-style necklace I made, and I think it's gorgeous. Now that it's off to a new home, I've been press-ganged into making another one because my sister wants to wear it to her prom ;)

Since that experiment with a new style was quite a success, I've been throwing together ideas for more necklaces like that. But since finals are in 3 weeks I have no idea if/when I will have the time to finish them, so here's some preview shots! No names yet, though suggestions would be welcome :)



I'm undecided with this butterfly piece- on one hand, it's very pretty and would look really nice finished with a choker of cream&champagne pearl strands. Then again, it has a bit of a steampunk feel and would look equally good with gears&chains...



This one actually curves elegantly round the neck :) The piece ended up with a vitrail crystal which I don't think suits it at all, only the nearest supplier that has the crystals I need is over an hour's journey away from my house. :( School gets in the way of creativity in the most infuriating way!



Last but not least - my favourite of the three! :) I think it captures everything I love about collars/choker style pieces - I love the curves and the way it flows over the collarbones, regal and mysterious at the same time ♥

Enough gushing for now though, and back to the books -sigh- I promise I'll work hard and get these pieces done as soon as exams are over!

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

♥Jasmyn

Labels: available, filigree, necklace, ValkyrieCouture, WIP

10:22 AM

Friday, October 21, 2011

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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

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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

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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