Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Fingure Loop Braiding

According to wikipedia the Kumihimo cord was first created by a form of finger-loop braiding. So then I was wondering what fingger braiding was...
Fingerloop braiding is a technique of making sturdy, and decorative, cords from threads. 
The braid is made from loops of thread, attached at a central point, and the loops placed over the fingers and interlaced in different ways.
It originated in theMiddle Ages, in London they used silk from the12th century.
 


Weaving Prototypes

These are the differant materials I have tried for the Kumihimo weave.
I personally like the Embrodary thread the best.


Wool (normal) - I found this maybe just abit too thick and it also has a haze of fluff around it.




Builders Wire - This was very unsuccesful, the wire didn't have enough give to bend in the way the weave needs.
Embrrodary Thread - I feel that this was a great success.

Kumihimo Loom

This is the cardboard loom i make according to the tutorial below, but the problem i found with this is that it gets buckled and bent and becomes difficult to work with. So i decided to make a perspex loom. I made the slits in the sides different sizes so that it could hold different sizes of thread.

Cardboard loom
Perspex loom

Design Book

I have finally got a design Book even though i have been fighting it. I just don't like drawing because i don't feel that I'm very good at it, and no one wants to do something they not good at. When my lecturer was giving a speech at the Anglo gold seminar he was saying how he can track back his designs to past sketches which he has done in his design book. I feel the same with the necklace which i was trying to figure out for my platinum project. If i had this in my design Book i could show other people how i have got to my designs in future projects like Thuthuka.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Anglo Gold

These are just a few sketches i did during the Anglo Gold seminar. The theme is celestial origins so i was thinking i could do something with the planets but we will see.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Facebook Url

Finally figured out how to change my url for my Facebook page so people can now find it more easily. If you want to go check it out it is http://www.facebook.com/lilrosejewellery

Friday, July 26, 2013

Africa Bead

When i was thinking about how to join the two halves. I was going to do it so that the two pieces meet up but then when i asked my lecturer what he thought and he was playing around and put them together offset. I really love it because it feels like it gives another dimension to the piece which wasn't there before.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Phansi Museum

I love the weaving which we saw it the Phansi Museum. I would really like to use this for my Thuthuka project.

Pom Poms

These were Pom Poms made from cotton. 
I just find them fun.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Filigree Africa Flower

This is one half of my bead completed with filigree. I really am happy with the way the Filigree came out.

Red flux

When i was soldering my filigree to make sure sure sure it was all completely set in place the flux turned this beautiful reddish colour. I really like the effect it has given. Maybe for another project i can do enamel like this.

 

Thuthuka Bead Project

I have chosen to create a flower bead out of my Africa shapes. My inspiration is the cosmo flower which is indigenous to south Africa. I am trying to create the feeling of the petals by using filigree as the "veins"

Wavescape

The DIFF beach movie was amazing. Hundreds of people sitting and picnicing on battery beach at night.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Woven Friendship Bracelet



i love the summer friendship bracelet trend that i keep seeing in blog land,
so i thought it would be fun to share with you another way to weave a friendship bracelet.
one of the parents at work showed me this technique of using a circular cardboard loom
and i love how quick it goes, you can easily finish a bracelet in one sitting.



SUPPLIES

- cardboard
- something small and circular (like a teacup or ramekin)
- scissors, ruler, pen
- embroidery thread in pretty colors, thin yarn, or ribbon



trace a circle onto your cardboard, and use a ruler to draw 8 lines



cut a small ways into each line, between 1/2 an inch to an inch
and make a hole in the middle of the circle where all the lines intersect.



cut 7 strands of embroidery floss, about 24 inches long and tie them together with a slip knot.
pull your thread bundle through the hole in your cardboard
with the knot right up next to the hole
and use a little piece of tape to hold it in place while you start.



now for the fun part!
arrange each of your 7 strands, tucking them into the slits you made in the cardboard.
there should be one slit left open.
*hold your loom so the open slit is in front of you,
*and count one, two, three strings clockwise
*take that third string out of its slit,
*and place it in the empty slit.
turn the loom so that the empty slit is in front of you once again,
and repeat the *starred* steps until your bracelet is long enough to wear!



once your bracelet gets going, you can remove the tape
holding the bracelet against the loom as you go if you want to keep it tight while you weave.



and that's really all there is to it!
i love how they look like little woven  ropes,
and how the colors look so fun and jumbled.
happy weaving!




Going to try this tomorrow. Maybe I can use it for the forged Africa neclace I wanted to do for the Platinum project but I didn't have time or the correct materials.

Woven Bracelet

 Sabrina Dehoff at Première Classe autumn/winter 2013/14
This another woven bracelet. I really dislike the centre pieces but I love the pattern created in the plat work.

Viva La Carnival

One of the Trends this season is called Viva La Carnival.
The playfulness and joie de vivre of carnival season brings spring/summer 2014 jewellery to life. Taking inspiration from artisan craft workers and the adaptable spirit of carnival costume, designers use mixed materials, coloured gems and folk arts.
The line between precious and non-precious or fine and costume jewellery has been blurred with vibrant, energising results. There is a naive, DIY feel to this look, with unexpected material combinations including feathers, pompoms and raffia channelling a high-summer Latin mood.
 By Anna Loucah & Claire Foster, WGSN, 26 June 2013

Carnival illustration
Woven Crafts

State Necklace

 

This is a necklace that I found on Baublebar. I have seen necklaces like this alot on Pinterest and it is under the catagory of best sellers Thinking of doing countries like this instead of the continent of Africa.

BaubleBar Pop up Shop

This is a pop up store in New York by a online accessories website. It is awesome to see a shop where the jewellery is the main attraction instead of being in a corner. What I like about this store is the simple lay out done mainly in white but with pops of colour.

Taara Jewelry

I found this necklace on wgsn. I love the red cord. Going to try learn how to weave a cord like that.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Rookie Mistake

This is what happens when you don't pierce for a month. The last time i cut myself like this was 1st year. Feel so dumb!

Africa Bead

We have a project where we have to make a bead.
Im still playing around with my Africa shape. I drew out the Africa shape on rhino. I want to try start trying to incorporate filigree into to bead which is why i am piercing out the middle. I want my bead to have the function of a bead but not be like a typical bead.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Cirqls

Just opened a new online store on Cirqls. I dont know much about it, but for this term my aim is to just try and get my name out into the world.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Hydrangea Brooch

Sterling silver and aluminum printed with maps by Lynn Kelly
Avid Gallery 

Procrastination

“My advice is to never do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time.”

After 2nd term and the platinum project I think my entire body and brain shut down, so I have been putting everything off and off and off, and now it's panic stations to do everything. My new term resolution is to do things as soon as they can possibly be done. Hope I can stick to it.


Aim for 3rd Term

I need my commercial jewellery to be more interesting for me to make, because I am starting to find it boring. I would like to explore introducing more filigree in my work. To start I want to focus on making art jewellery with the filigree to get my creative juices flowing again, because I feel like last term I got stuck in a rut with my commercial jewellery. I hopefully will be able to integrate my filigree work into my commercial work. On the commercial side I would like to get my jewellery into shops to increase the number of people who recognize my work with the aim to get people to know who I am and what type of jewellery I make.