Reversible Boho Necklace - for the Artist Tribe

A reversible boho necklace to wear with more things than you would at first imagine. I've always wanted a statement piece like this one. What a surprise to me that it was easy and well within my reach to make myself. 

I know you can make one too. If you do, send me a note to let me know where you are sharing it so I can check you out. 

I knew before I started to assemble this necklace that I wanted a variety of paper with the images of Gwen's stencils. I print on reclaimed paper from gifts, packing and shopping. Most of this batch was printed on pharmacy bag paper.

I could have prepared them in a variety of ways - using a spray ink, pouncing paint upon the stencil or using artist marker. I chose the inexact and very flowy look of gelli plate printing. I simply love the process. So much loveliness to work with.

As you can see, I only use a tiny bit of it, so I have plenty left for other projects!!! 

Making the tag

These are the products needed to make the tag: 

The wooden tag - I purchased mine at Michael's.

A piece of gelli printed paper for each side. Using a separate print for each side makes it reversible. 

A piece of mirrored trim from Gwen's shop. 

A handprinted sliver of mulberry paper saved from other projects. This came in one of Gwen's paper packages. 

Gel medium to adhere the pieces.

Ranger liquid pearls - dimensional pearlescent paint -Orchid and Gold Pearl

Pink Side

1. Adhere the gelli print to the tag with gel medium.

2. Adhere the sliver of mulberry paper with gel medium.

3. Adhere the trim with gel medium.

4. Flip and do the other side. 

5. Coat the sides with the liquid pearls. Coat 3/4 of the way around. Let dry. Turn and coat the rest of the edge.

Turquoise Side

1. Adhere turquoise and white stenciled paper. 

2. Cut a piece of trim two flourishes long. Trim off the bottom section for this piece and put the flourishes aside for later. 

3. Using Ranger's Liquid Pearls add embellishment to the tag. 

Wooden Wheel Beads

I found these wooden wheels in a box I had filled fifteen years ago. Immediately using them in a necklace seemed imperative. I chose some of the gelli printed paper that used

Gwen's Ornamental Screen stencil. 

After priming them with gesso, they were painted with aqua acrylic paint. The stencils were trimmed to fit the wooden wheels. 

Adhere with gel medium. Cover with a layer of gel medium. Love these colors together.

The beads were flipped over and the glue gun was heated up. Sari yarn was glued to the indentation in the wheels.

They still looked a bit bare, so dots of Ranger Liquid Pearls were added.

Sari Yarn Wrapped Beads

1. Cover wooden bead with gesso and then paint the desired color. 

2. Thread a needle with like-colored thread. Take a stitch at the end of the sari yarn. Pull the needle through the bead. 

3. Pull sari yarn up to the opening and stitch through. Pull the needle back down through the hole. 

4. Pull the sari yarn back down to the bottom and take a stitch through. Continue this process until the bead is covered with sari thread. Leaving some space for the color to peek through adds vivacity. When the bead is covered to your liking take several stitches through the end of the sari yarn and trim. 

Eventually, you will use a jewelry wire to thread through the bead to attach to the chain. 

Spool beads

1. Cover spool with gesso. (Optional)
2. Cut the paper the width of the spool. 
3. Adhere paper to spool with gel medium. 
4. Add one flourish from the trim (left from a previous step) to each spool to cover the seam. 
5. Add embellishment using Ranger's Liquid Pearls - Gold  Pearl. 

Putting it all together

An old piece of sari fabric was the perfect color, so that became the hanger for the tag. A piece of sari yarn was used as the back of the neck.  The rest of the components were put together with traditional jewelry materials including some chunky chain pieces that had been looking for a purpose for many years. 

Materials used to make the necklace:
Gwen Lafleur Studios

Decorative 6 petal flower screen stencil 

Irresistible India Embellished Trims by the yard - Mirrored Gold Embellished Trim 

Gwen's Essentials - Sari Ribbon from Darn Good Yarn - twisted sister silk yarn

Ornamental Petals Screen stencil - (Ornamental collection)

Papers from Themed Collage Embellishment 

Gelli Arts
Gelli Printing Plate

Ranger
Ranger liquid pearls - dimensional pearlescent paint -Orchid and Gold Pearl

Golden
Regular Gel (Matte)

Hot Glue

Odds and ends from my stash (I'm so curious to hear what you find in your stash to use on a project like this!)


Credits:

Hair and makeup and portraits by the lovely Madeleine Ooka. You can find her blog, Because We Fall in Life at www.becausewefallinlife.blogspot.com and on instagram @becausewefall

All other photos by Lynda Shoup

Kuchi Koo - Artist Tribe Challenge October 2017

One of the many fun things about being part of Gwen Lafleur's Artist Tribe is the monthly challenges. Gwen's shop is so jam-packed full of great stuff it's hard to choose what to work on. These challenges help me to focus. I'm liable to stop and chase shiny objects midway through a project, so this structure works well for me.

Well, it's not just great for me, but it's also great for people who have a bit of hesitation because they can't think of how to use a particular shiny item. Peruse the Tribe's offerings of the month and you will get inspiration and the itch to create. Like bonuses? (Who doesn't?) There's a discount coupon at the end of the post.

This month the challenge was to use her kuchis from Afganistan. Here is my project and some information about my process. I got so wrapped up in the process I forgot to take pictures at each step. 

Who wouldn't make the connection between this piece of silk that's been in my stash for near 10 years and this beautiful kuchi? 

This gold trim from the Irresistible India Happy Pack in Gwen's shop and I love the way it works with the gold thread.

Then there is this - beautiful sari yarn from Darn Good Yarn. 

The colors! So luscious! Knew that this sari yarn would have to be stitched around the edge of the kuchi. 

But before I used that great Twisted Sister sari yarn, I thought the green sari ribbon that was in my welcome pack would be a great background. A running stitch along the edge, a pulled to make a ruffle and roughly stitched to the back of the kuchi made for a strong base. 

Next, the Twisted Sister sari yarn was stitched into the green sari yarn along the edge of the kuchi. 

Later I found it disappeared into the fabric, so I ended up stitching it again to upper edge of the kuchi. It was much more visible this way. 

Next the gold trim was gathered and sewn to the green sari yarn.

Next I wrapped some of that Twisted Sister sari yarn around my hand and tacked it together with thread. By cutting the bottom I made tassels of sorts. 

Remember that silk fabric? I cut some and tied it in a knot at the end of each strand. Beads were added and the whole was stitched to the back of the kuchi. 

Cutting a strip of silk for one more round of ruffle made it very apparent that silk frays. A quick zigzag around the edge helped to stop the strands from flying away. Then the two edges were sewn together, drawn into a ruffle and sewn to the backside of the kuchi. 

Finally, a circle of felt was sewn to the back to cover all the stitching and errant threads and a pin backing was tacked in place. Viola! A pin to wear to cheer up dreary days. 

I hope I have tickled your fancy with my Kuchi-Koo. Find yourself thirsting for a kuchi? Well, my friend, you have come to the right place. Gwen is having a sale. 

https://www.gwenlafleur.com/store/c8/patches-appliques-mixed-media

Paint on My Fingers Again!

See the paint on my fingers? It was great to see it there and even more thrilling to see the design of the stencil printed on my fingers. 

It's been a busy month for so many reasons, not the least of which is preparation and the beginning of a new school year in tandem with taking a 5 week course for Professional Development. 

After submitting my last assignment today I decided to fling some paint around in my art journal. Remember that journal? 

Not my usual color scheme, but this page started when I spread excess paint on it from another project some time ago. I don't even remember what project that would have been, but it's fun to go with it and see what happens.

Here in New England we are starting to see trees changing colors. The serious business of fall foliage season is still a ways off, but we are heading towards Autumn in small increments. This color scheme reflects that, despite my resistance. 

I included this picture to show where I used a mesh vegetable bag and some spray color. It created a really subtle mesh pattern. I wanted something more. You can see lines created by the stitched end of the mesh bag dipped in paint. (below) I am looking forward to seeing where this piece takes me. 

Wearing Joy - Seeing Joy - Feeling Joy

There's been a lapse in my regular posting schedule over the past two weeks. 

Once I got back in the swing of blogging and making the rounds of blogs I wanted to get involved in everything. Some of that is good. Some of that is too much. So I'm reevaluating what I should be involved with. 

Not only that, but the Wear Your Joy course with Kelly Rae Roberts has inspired me in so many ways that I realize that I may want to change how I post. I'll be doing a whole lot of thinking in the weeks ahead. 

Meanwhile, I'm going through my closet and letting go of items that no longer serve me. You can see what is left in the photo above, though it is double exposed with a nature picture. The filter used is Sparkle Mama, which I thought was appropriate. 

I am filling my days wearing joy, seeing joy and feeling joy. This is the kind of thing I want to share with you. 

Pile on the glitter - Fashion Fridays

Last week I discovered that somewhere along the line I stopped wearing jewelry. What may have started as a decision not to wear jewelry that could be damaged when doing a messy project with students or when kneading dough or simply out of laziness, became a habit. It became my regular operating system. 

This week I rekindled my love of the glittery and found that it gave me a lift of my spirits. I somehow sat taller in my seat and am sure that there was a gleam in my eyes as I moved through the day. 

The photo below is a double exposure of several pieces of jewelry I love. I would never have realized it, but I have found that I love glass! Glass beads on my Troll Beads bracelet and this beautiful glass necklace made by a friend. 

What kinds of jewelry do you love? When you look at the jewelry you have, does any of it surprise you? What if you wore them in surprising combinations? 

Hope you have a sparkle-ful week. 

Wear Your Joy Course with Kelly Rae Roberts - Fashion Friday

When I saw the course by Kelly Rae Roberts called Wear Your Joy I just knew I had to take it. It resonated so well with this art journal. She provided a forum for exploring some of the very things I thought I'd put in this journal. So today's Fashion Friday is dedicated to Kelly. I started a few days late, so I'm still working on day two, but already I've identified one big thing that will make a difference in my style - actually wearing the beautiful accessories I have! 

You can see that my page features a blank spot - an unfinished area on the page. This is where I traced two beautiful pieces I wore today - both made of glass. 

Below you see the necklace I wore today - a beautiful piece of art made my a friend. 

The other item I wore today is my Troll Bead bracelet. (I do mix in beads from Camilla and Pandora.) I love the glass pieces especially.  These pieces of joy made me smile all day. Accessorize. That's the word this week. 

 Want more information about the course? Here's a link to the course description:
http://kellyraeroberts.com/wear-your-joy


I can't wait to see what's next!