Leo Handpainted Wireworked Pendant

This is the first post in a bit for me, lots to do and not enough time to get things done, just like the majority of folks out there I assume.. :) This pendant I have been working at on and for some time. The lion is painted in acrylics on a flattish stone.. I did this way back in 2003, had it on a necklace with a glued bail and one day I noticed the bail was loose. So I carefully pried it off and then kept looking at the loose stone for months.. started a Toodles wire weave wrap on it and made some mistakes in measurement so had to start it over again not once but twice!

Everyone I am sure has heard The Lion, King of the Jungle! well lions are really animals of the savannas.. preferring flat grasslands to jungles in most cases... but the term has been so ingrained that I thought a good way to display Leo was to have him peeking through some foliage ... A friend of mine saw this yesterday and did get the concept,,, "Oh it's like he is coming through jungle vines!" YES!!!!! I did manage to convey my concept... HURRAH!!! Whew!

Leo, or The Lion is now available for purchase in my Etsy shop at www.atabbycatarts.com
I will have him listed for 100.00 dollars, he is wearable art and the combined time to create not just the painting but the pendant setting was over 12 hours. The Lion can also be displayed as a small miniature painting or is of a good size to display in a vintage pocket watch stand. An interesting gift idea for a loved one who may be a Leo. :)

Moms Birthday Present

On Sunday, we went to be with my Mom, who turned... well... I don't think she would like her age known.. so I am over 50 and she was close to 30 when I was adopted, hehehe do some math. (octogenarian) I had thought and thought about what to get, procure and or make her as she has in my view way to much stuff anyway, and as I make jewelry... it kind of follows that that is what she got, .. I wasn't sure she was going to like what I finally came up with as she is a Platinum, Gold and Diamonds type lady, very traditional in her jewelry wardrobe while I am a little Hippieish, Goth, maybe Bohemian in my style. But she genuinely loved both the bracelet and the pendant I made for her,,, and my mother does not say she likes something just because I am her daughter, nnnooooooo.. LOL.. so I was pleased and so was she.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I called this piece, The Living Heart. Copper wire formed into a heart with a baroque pearl and a turquoise rondell in a spiral vining pattern.

OOOOpsy Corrected!

Ahhh... the mistake corrected!


Beads in the right places and all shined up..


I took out 2 brass nut beads to snug up the fit a little.

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Green Steel

Ah yes another "noodle coil" bracelet, I love making them.. there is something so satisfying about taking wire and making a bracelet.. I love all jewelry but bracelets other than earrings are probably what I wear the most... which is kind of odd as I hardly ever go out.. I wear my jewelry for my enjoyment only I guess... Today I found an old bracelet that I had bought years and years ago,, it was hand made in Inda of brass but was sterling silver plated, I wore it so much that almost all of the silver was worn off, so I used steel wool and took all the remaining silver off and really loved the brass finish... I found it discolored and forgotten upstairs in my daughters room in a box of odds and ends that I was going thru to find stuff for our local freecycle. I almost cried when I saw it, it was like seeing the face of an old friend... I cleaned and polished it and now am wondering what to do with it... even though I love it, it is kind of clunky and large for everyday wear. But I was thinking of somehow making it into a focal point of a necklace with some additions and decorative wire work... I don't know I will get a picture and post it, it should be a good challenge to recycle it into something new... but I have gotten off the topic. the bracelet here is a large sagey green potato pearl , gosh it is a lovely color.. with 4 golden rondell pearls and copper spacer beads the coils are mild steel twisted tubes and the copper S clasp has a steel swirly doo hicky decoration... this is a larger bracelet easily fitting an 8" wrist, I love how this one turned out and I am going to make one for me, I have another Sage green pearl all picked out to redrill just for me! I like the look of steel and copper together .. if you are interested in this one email me ccase491@msn.com 25.00

Wire Sculpted Copper and Shell Button Cameo

I did this one several years ago, I mounted a small resin fashion cameo on an old antique shell button and then worked a copper 20 ga wire sculpted setting for it. She has been sitting in a drawer for a very long time... but I just recently oxidized the wire, I like the way it came out, softly polishing the wire took off some of the darker color and gave this pendant a nice antique feel to it.

Twisted Steel Coil Bracelet

This is one of my favorite twisted coil "noodle" bracelets that I have made, it is mild steel or black wire as I call it, with copper accents and dark green and orange glass beads, hand hammered S clasp with a copper doo hickey decoration on the clasp.. this wire gets Hard with working it... but I do love the steel wire, coils have been buffed to remove some of the dark layer and expose the wire color underneath. It looks very much like a Hematite sheen, Very Goth looking... and as I am kinda Goth I really like it! This fits perfectly on my 6.5" wrist and might fit a 7" if you would like it, 20.00 plus 2.50 shipping (bubble mailer) and insurance is you want it.

Ginger Cat

This is one of my newer pieces, the cat picture was painted on a flattish river rock in 2003, but I didn't use it as I didn't like the way the cat ears came out, but I like the eyes so I just stuffed it in a drawer and found it a few weeks ago, I usually will scratch the "offending" painting off and reuse the rock. But this one was perfect for what I wanted to practice which is a style of woven bezel, taught by a cool Lady, Sherry Dancingfether... the woven bezel style called the Toodles Weave which was published in a Step by Step wire jewelry magazine last year.. the technique can be time consuming to do but it is wonderful for fragile stones or items that need a little more protection versus regular wire wrapping.

A pair of faceted Tiger Eye bead earrings with copper coiled seed bead wheels. An Eni Oken inspired design. Tiger Eye is one of my favorite gem materials, this pair has a lovely greenish layer of color at the bottom of each bead that is not noticeable in this picture, Irving my lovely modeling assistant was in a snit and threatened to bite me if I tried to press him into any more modeling. Gargoyles can be so moody and disagreeable! Irving can be found hiding in the older posts Irvings SRP, 15.00

Irvings Earrings

Irving modeling a pair of Eni Oken style earrings. And again he is not amused... Three gorgeous golden color button shape freshwater pearls with copper spacer beads. The round dangles are made of copper and gold colored non tarnish wire with little root beer glass seed beads as embelishment.

Three Bracelets

A trio, one which has already been posted by itself. The one with the white, blue and green beads was the first bangle of this kind I had made. The Chainmaille and pearl bracelet is one I enjoy making though all the pearls have to be re drilled to accommodate the 20 to 18 gauge wire I use to "dangle" them.. time consuming and a bit dangerous as I use a dremel and hold the wet little pearls in my fingers as I expand the holes! So far NO mishaps! Wooo Hoo!

In this picture the color of the pearls looks rather "mustardy" They aren't they really are a lovely goldenish color. These are fun to wear and make a distinctive clicking noise that at least to me is rather soothing.

China Blue

Three older vintage porcelain beads with hand formed copper coil tube beads and copper donut beads. The S clasp has a large dyed (but still gorgeous!) freshwater pearl and simulated "moonstone" glass beads. I textured the s arms on the clasp to a light hammered effect though this doesn't show up well in the picture.. the "moonstone" beads are just so pretty in good light. Copper is very malleable and this bracelet can be gently formed fitted to the wrist.

Demeters Flower Bracelet

This bangle style is copper coiled tube beads with green aventurine quartz beads and hand hammered copper disks. A lovely freshwater pearl was set and then small Chechz glass druks and more green aventurine beads were added to the handcrafted S clasp. A Spring inspired creation!