Friday, August 26, 2016

Stained glass window ornament




My show schedule has been wearing me out lately, and I decided to take a bit of time off to regroup and recuperate.

In addition to reorganization of my work studio, which slowly took over most of the lower level of our house and ended up being also a storage space for every craft imaginable, as well as a dumping ground for random odds and ends; I decided to take some classes which can be crossed off my “bucket list”.

Stained glass class is one of them. My main goal, in addition to trying something new and harnessing a new to me medium, was to learn how to apply stained glass techniques in my vintage glass button jewelry.

Some of the buttons in my stash are transparent, reverse painted or antiques made of fragile glass, and I had to find a different way to use them without risking damage and properly showing off their beauty.

I believe, that applying stained glass techniques with help me with achieving this goal.

The class I took at the Art League of Long Island was so much fun. I found glass much easier to work with than I anticipated. The truly hard part for me turned out to be soldering, which I figured initially would come naturally, since I have some experience with metalsmithing. I imagine, it will take a lot of practice and patience, but even though I can see every mistake I made while creating this lovely tulip suncatcher, I think, I did a pretty good job for my very first try;O)

I’m planning to take another class in the fall, which concentrates of applying stained glass techniques as well as fused glass techniques in jewelry making.






I’m planning to take another class in fall, which concentrates of applying stained glass techniques as well as fused glass techniques in jewelry making. 

Can't wait!



Thursday, March 10, 2016

Glass button bangle bracelets

My obsession with buttons got a bit out of control. I might be at a point, where weekly meetings might be beneficial, but I know, I'm not the only one in need of them;O)

In a meantime, I keep coming up with new ways to use them, which springs on a need to get more of them, because I might need a different size or a specific shape. It's a vicious cycle, I tell you, and I love every minute of it.

Last year, bangle bracelets became one of my favorite items to create, and there is quite a bit of them in my stash which will grace my show table as well as Etsy shop.

Blue Sunflower

Gilded Fern

Red Leaf

Gilded Midnight Blue Gerbera Daisy

Saturday, March 5, 2016

What's new at Jantar Handcrafted Jewelry?

I might have gone nuts for the expandable charm bracelets;O) I have introduced a couple of designs at shows last year and they became an instant hit. Every single one is "a story" as one of my customers mentioned, every piece carefully selected and added just in the right spot. 

Best thing about them? They are so much fun to make! and the possibilities are endless...

Afternoon Tea
Seaside Escapes
Let The Music Flow