23 August 2017

The time has come


The walrus said .........

Well that's not true, really. It was BC3 who actually said it t'other day!! 

I was looking at my rather vast earring collection and thought how bored I was with it. It's a few years since I've made any new ones. I have a 'thing' about earrings which I've probably mentioned before. I like them to be 'lacy' but they HAVE to withstand being worn - a LOT!!!! 

If earwigs are too lacy then, even after stiffening, they do tend to bend and that's the end of life as far as I'm concerned. So, I always use a lot of beads!! A LOT of beads!!! This pair also uses the metal rings that I've got left too. 

The technique is one that I came up with some years ago shortly after I'd 'invented' the long beaded picot (that only happened because I'm mathematically challenged and hated adding beads to thread in the 'right' order of colour/size).  This is the way I did these earrings.

I'm definitely now in 'earring mode' so you'll probably see a few more pairs over the next few days!!!

12 comments:

Tim Kaylor said...

Lovely earrings. Pretty flower.

Unknown said...

Gorgeous!!!

Lace-lovin' Librarian ~ Diane said...

I love seeing your earrings! I agree... if they flop, they're useless. Bring on the beads!

Sherry aka Celtic Dream Weaver said...

Love them Jane

Madtatter80 said...

So very cute I love the flower stem!

muskaan said...

Nice !

Kathy Niklewicz said...

These are so colorful! And being made over a metal ring, they won't bend.

I almost hesitate to mention that I use a 'heat gun' to refresh my items that were stiffened with Aleene's fabric stiffener, I know that sounds weird, but it's quite amazing. Bent wings of angels (poor things) and squished bells (which I place back on their Styrofoam forms to get the original shape back) and earrings and floppy snowflakes - all come back to life very quickly. These heat guns are associated with card-making and powdered enamel. Of course, you must be careful using the heat gun and hold it just the right distance from the item - I put flat items on a piece of ceramic tile and don't hold them with my fingers!

Jane Eborall said...

Oh, Kathy, I wonder if that would work with a hair dryer? I don't have a heat gun. Actually when I'm fed up with my earrings I throw them away but not before rescuing any 'good' beads!!!

God's Kid said...

Those are awesome!!! :)

Jane McLellan said...

Oh those are lovely! Yes, I have several pairs of earrings that are languishing because they look saggy now. Hmm, the ring would solve that, perhaps I'd better find some rings.

Kathy Niklewicz said...

I'm back again - First of all, I should have said 'embossing powder' rather than 'powdered enamel' (that's another hobby from long, long ago, for making enameled jewelry, requiring a small kiln!)

I never tried a hair dryer because we had a powerful one and I was afraid it would blow the tatted pieces out of my hand or off the table! I was used to manipulating the 'embossing gun' safely. and it blows a more concentrated stream of air (although hot). A hair dryer with different settings might work, though!

I should add that the tatted items are dry when I am using it. The heat softens the fabric stiffener rather quickly (but it doesn't become sticky), and I am easily able to re-form the item back to its proper shape after turning off the heat. And it doesn't take long before the item stiffens up again. I no longer worry about my items getting out of shape!

I also used the heat gun to carefully 'melt' small areas where I had used 'hot glue' to attach ribbons or silk flowers to the tatting (such as the tops of bells), in case I wanted to refresh the embellishments - or change colors. Many items on my Christmas tree are more than 20 years old, and I like to change things out now and then!

.

Jane Eborall said...

Thanks, Kathy. I see your point about a hairdryer blowing the tatting away!!! IF I can find our hairdryer I may give it a try!!! Don't hold your breath, though!!!

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