Monday, January 21, 2013

Wire Wrapped Pendants + Labradorite | Go to post ➜

Hello! ♥

School has started and I'm really busy, kind of sorting things out but wanting to go home and make things all the time - it's very ironic that during the holidays I waste my life rotting in front of the computer, and only when I actually have work to do does the jewelry-making bug bite. Ahh well. Made this one for my sister -

(I don't think it's so nice but she likes it.) And I made several terrible mistakes with this, decided to solder the frame after setting the stones and wasn't careful, so the smoky quartz briolette cracked and went clear, and the labradorite probably got more brittle because when I dropped it later it chipped. I get really angsty whenever a stone breaks, especially when it's a labradorite like this lovely one -

And I hadn't even started working/designing yet, it just arrived in the mail yesterday and I was just polishing the oil off it and it came apart in my fingers OTL Probably the internal fracture was already at breaking point. Because they have so much individuality you can't just find another one to replace it - and I'm so attached to the bright blue flash of this one, I'll probably try and design something asymmetrical just for it. It is a sad fact that I design many many things and never get round to making them, though. This is one of the few that was actually completed -

I really, really love this stone ♥ It's even more lovely in real life, with a darker gold flash and some tiny bits of bright blue and green near the cloudlike inclusion on the left. And here are some progress shots -

It was made more with soldering practise in mind, so the base frames are more complex - maybe ~20 solder joins, all done with the same solder (unlike silver, copper solder only comes in one melting temp.) The labradorite was set in an open backed bezel, which was the simultaneous source of much pride and frustration - these stones usually have amazing flash across the flat surface of the cabochon back, and this one in particular had a gold-green-blue flash ♥ So the open-back design allows you to see the stone from behind -

One day I will design something meant to show the flat side of the cabochon instead of always hiding it behind. And I'm sorry this post has been 90% rambling about labradorite, but while we're on the subject, the new batch I ordered arrived yesterday and just looking at them makes me to happy ♥

Hopefully I have time to make more things (instead of just doodling designs in class all the time and throwing them away) :D

♥Jasmyn

Labels: handmade, labradorite, necklace, pendant, sodacrush, wire wrapped

11:56 PM

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Merry Christmas + Happy New Year! | Go to post ➜

Hello!

I hope everyone has been having a lovely holiday! :D I have been so so busy, catching up on the backlog of commissions and stuff from the school term (and school starts again in a couple of weeks, gosh.)

 Here are some christmas things - macaroon tree, handmade gift tags, presents, nails ♥

And this is a darling little thing I made for myself during the stressful exam weeks, I really really wish I could make more of this style, but it's really time-consuming and I have so much work to finish before school starts. It's really beautiful and fulfilling (to me). But it's not really something that I can make to sell, and although it's a bit selfish sometimes I just want to make things only for myself. So it stresses me out when people want them because they are too precious to me, aha.Or, I feel like I should be working instead of indulging in selfish things and wasting money and time making things when I don't intend to sell them.

The loveliest thing so far this holidays was actually going to the aquarium (S.E.A Aquarium in Sentosa) although I live here and it's a terribly touristy place but oh, the aquarium was so utterly amazing, I was in there for hours mesmerized by the animals. Manta rays + jellyfish ♥ Planning to visit again this month ^_^

I hope 2013 brings everyone much love and happiness! ♥

♥Jasmyn

Labels: DIY, handmade, wire wrapped

7:05 PM

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

| Go to post ➜

Hello,

Some shots of simple watercolour + typewritten lyrics in my journal, and pretty little packages to be sent..

This typewriter is my precious baby, it's one of the last Remington models to be produced with glass keys. I like the look of the two-colour ribbon although it doesn't have a colour switch, and I love the feel of typing with it. ♥

Also, I'm on instagram, @sodacrush so you can follow me there as well, I mostly snap shots of my journal pages and class doodles :)

♥Jasmyn

2:02 AM

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Updates! | Go to post ➜

Hullo!

So all the pictures today are of old things, I just dug some of the interesting shots out of my phone. Skipped yet another week, because I've been sick (again). There's a bit of a trend going here.. I think flu meds no longer work on me, and becasue of this week-long flu I've also got a tear duct infection that'll have to be cut and drained if the swelling doesn't subside D: (Sometimes I feel like this blog has become a chronicle of illnesses) And since I can't wear my glasses (which put pressure on the swelling), I've been reduced to crawling through readings for class at an absymal rate... And stressing myself out over not getting schoolwork done. Mmhmm, so all these pictures are mostly things that got done before school started - stickers, painted with watercolours and stamped. A happy little felt...thing, with one leg unstuffed. Polymer clay owl charms. And stamps. I love stamps, both the rubber and postage sort, and I think postage stamps are much more charming than labels...I love these huge pretty stamps that were released when the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore opened. I haven't been, though I'd love to go, for now I'll be content with watching the kingfisher that lives near my dorm :D

Mmhmm :) If I do update (sporadically) it'll likely be of random things like this, mostly because looking through them makes me feel better when I'm stressed, aha.

♥Jasmyn

Labels: packaging, stickers

3:28 AM

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Stickers + Packaging | Go to post ➜

Hello!

Missed a week, and I'm still really busy with schoolwork ): Caught Avenue Q over the weekend, it was hilarious, and the singers unexpectedly impressive. And here's some pictures of what's been happening anyway. The coloured stickers were painted with watercolours and stamped. The hedgehog stickers were made with a stamp carved by my sister :D (Assorted stickers come free with every purchase.) Usually she does huge sprawling lino carvings of bonsai and landscapes, but (like me) school has forced her to downsize her hobbies so she makes these tiny adorable animal stamps ♥ And on the way home from school I found these mini paper doilies, so I've been playing around with packaging a bit.

♥ Jasmyn

Labels: packaging, stickers

5:05 AM

Thursday, September 20, 2012

| Go to post ➜

Hullo! ♥

Just a few quick pictures to share - Here's some shots of the things I was talking about in the last post, finally got around to oxidising them. hopefully I'll also get around to taking proper pictures ;)

Fine Silver (metal clay) and Cubic Zirconia - Left, Oxidised. Right, Polished.

Fine Silver (metal clay) hinged castle box

I'm really happy with the bright blue/pink/gold oxidation on the inside of the box, it's an absolutely lovely splash of colour that greets you when you open it :D


And besides those, I've been working on a couple of rings, really small and fun to work on. I made one every other night just to take some time off schoolwork. They're twig rings, these are just shots I took while working. Hopefully I'll get some shots that show off the texture better! (After putting all that effort into carving...) They look gorgeous when stacked, especially with bright colours. This is the first time I've been quite so in love with that particular shade of yellow ♥

Fine silver (metal clay) and Cubic Zirconia - Stacking Twig Rings

And, one last note on commissions - Still closed, although I will take custom orders for changes in stone colour for existing designs. Waiting time for such orders is ~2 weeks (probably less, but I make no promises). I'm also going to retire quite a few designs from ValkyrieCouture, so I'll be posting the last available piece of each design up on FB. The last one I posted sold within a couple of hours, so do keep an eye out :)

♥Jasmyn

Labels: metal clay, WIP

4:41 AM

Saturday, September 8, 2012

metal clay adventures | Go to post ➜

Hullo!

 Just wanted to share some WIP shots of the metal clay pieces I've done over the last few weeks :) This first one was done with the syringe + paste type clay.. Honestly, I hate the syringe. Up til now I can't help but feel that anything that can be done with the syringe can be done more easily  using other types of clay.. I'm still working on finding something that doesn't end up as an exercise in frustration (and futility). On the bright side, I have gotten a lot of practise at reconstituting dried-up broken rejects back into usable clay.

Pendant - Fine silver and Cubic Zirconia (L-before firing, R-just after firing)

It's really, really bright straight out of the kiln, and in any case I've never really liked the shiny look of silver, I think it obscures a lot of the detail - much prefer the matte/brushed and oxidised finish. So that's how I'll finish this..

The next set are pictures I took while making a hinged box, which I've always wanted to do :) I love anything that can move, so hinges, lockets, and kinetic jewelry are the kinds of things I want to try making.

Hinged castle box - unfired metal clay

I didn't really plan this one out, actually. It started out as a hollow formed castle turret meant to be a pendant, but I wasn't happy with how it was turning out so I chopped the bottom half of it off, and decided to save the top to use on a box lid. And when I started cutting out the box pieces, I intended for it to be a two-piece box, not a hinged one... The hinge was a huge pain to make, and I broke the whole thing so many times (the entire piece fell off my table once) it's quite a miracle it's still intact and functioning :D Very pleased with how it's turning out though, I spent several minutes opening and closing it and grinning to myself once the hinge was complete. I'm not sure if I should keep working on this and add a catch, or just fire it already.

So having made a working hinge, I started thinking about other types of movable parts, and came up with my next project. Based on the idea of a spinner ring, and incorporating some of my more science-geek sort of interests :D Really excited to make it but I don't think I'll be able to for quite some time yet (not least because preliminary trials on how to make a spinner ring with metal clay have ended in spectacular failure, probably because I was stupid enough to try it with a syringe.) 

Anyhow. I'll try to get some work done on that, although I really should be focusing on my midterms D:

♥ Jasmyn

Labels: metal clay, WIP

5:54 AM