FROM THIS TO THIS AND A FUN BIRTHDAY LUNCH

I've always loved cameos. This pendant is probably 70 years old.  It's missing the stone in the necklace.  It belonged to a dear friend who left it to me when she died about 30 years ago.

I bought some 2 part mold making silicone from Terry Morris at http://epoxyjewelry.com/ so I thought I would try it with this cameo.

This is the mold.  They don't need a release agent.  I need to clean up the top of the pendant with a blade.  The clay pendant came out a little distorted on the top.  Kind of like me. LOL

I have to make 18 pendants for my clay guilds swap but I don't think this is going to be it.

I used some black clay to make the pendant.  Sanded and Buffed it.  Not sure where the gold highlights are coming from.  I antiqued it in white and didn't like that result so I redid with burnt umber and a copper mix.

The paint in the outside holes isn't dry yet.  Might take a tooth brush to it when it's dry to make it less obvious.

Yesterday we took our friend Evelyn out for her birthday.  We went to the Borgata in Scottsdale (very phuphu).  We ate at an organic restaurant.  The food was very good but the place was kind of empty.  I gave Evelyn some fancy measuring spoons and a Michael's gift certificate.  Rose and Judy made her handmade gifts (I feel bad but she liked the Michael's card).

This is the beautiful necklace Judy made for her.  Don't you love my use of the dish for the picture?

This is the gorgeous bracelet Rose made for her.

I have an excuse, I've been sick for 2 weeks with a cold.  These girls sure do awesome work.

Hope my muse comes back so I can figure out what I'm going to do and do it 18 times.  LOL

TH EARTHY INFLUENCE NECKLACE

THE TORY HUGHES EARTHY INFLUENCE NECKLACE.

This is the necklace I've been working on since I took the Tory Hughes class two weeks ago.  I wasn't able to finish it right away because I had to finish the buttons for our clay guild's exchange this Saturday.

We took two classes from Tory.  One was called mixed media and the other one was hinges.  This necklace was made with mostly Premo clay.  I textured the front and back and then antiqued it with acrylic paint after it baked.  The necklace is made of deep brown chips and small pieces of turquoise.  The toggle is a beautiful antique copper piece that I found at a bead store.  The top hinge was made from 20 gauge copper wire that I bought from A Beaded Affair http://www.abeadedaffair.com/.  She sells beautiful copper wire and has an Etsy page also http://www.etsy.com/shop/abeadedaffair.  I love this wire and won't use any other copper wire.  I got spoiled.  The bottom pieces are 18 gauge copper wire (also from A Beaded Affair).

This is the back of necklace.  I guess I could wear it either way.

As you can see on the top, it leans down to an angle.  I wasn't sure how I was going to do this so it would hang straight so I used the 16 gauge copper wire and made eye pins and attached them to the piece and put the chips going between the eye pins.  The single turquoise piece on the bottoms swings freely which I really like.

I'm still working in my dining room because of the flood in my studio and the new window won't be in till the 24th of February so, I guess I'll be here at least another two weeks by the time everything is done.  I guess I should be thankful.  It could have been a lot worse, at least I can still do clay and my 18 year old cat Booboo is sleeping right here next to me.  He got a blanket in the mail from Humane Society of the United States and he loves it.  He sure snores loud though.