Clockwork Owl Trapped in a Pocket Watch

I haven't posted anything about actually making jewelry in quiet some time and, since I have gotten better at it and, spend a great deal of time doing it, I thought I would talk about something I just made that I'm very proud of.

I've heard that people who design jewelry go through all sorts of processes, they make sketches, plan things out, think a lot, that's not me. First, I never throw anything away, at least nothing that I feel could at some point turn into a component in jewelry or a sculpture, no matter how unlikely it seems.

I end up with lots of odds and ends this way. I go through my various containers once in awhile and pull out things that look interesting to me and leave them on my desk. I have had the above pocket watch case for months, could never figure out what to do with it. I made the little clockwork owl probably five months ago, it is very delicate and was broken by someone who is not delicate, I was discouraged and let it sit for a long time before I finally fixed it. I decided it was too delicate just to hang on a chain so I let it sit on my desk waiting for an idea.

I've been fascinated by resin jewelry and have been experimenting with it and an idea came to me. Why not put something inside the pocket watch and add resin? I still didn't know what to put in there so it sat for awhile longer. Then while tinkering I looked at the owl and the pocket watch and viola, an idea was born.

I sat down, put on my safety gear and got working. I had a stone leaf charm that someone had given me that was sitting on my desk and thought it might go well with my project so I added it. I then decided to add in some bead caps I had saved off an old necklace I had taken apart. This is the result:

I'm really proud of it. It actually looks even better in person. That's how my creative process works. I also come up with a lot of ideas while laying in bed or taking a shower. That's actually how I came up with this and several other blog posts. I think it would be interesting to find out how other people come up with their ideas for what they create. Feel free to share in the comment section.

Steampunk, Neo-Victorian Necklace, Brooch and Earring Set

My first set of jewelry. These are the result of a mistake, I got the brass filigree pieces for something else that didn't work out. I decided to practice and see what heat would do to the brass and was very pleased with the results, I then sealed it and started putting together the necklace. I had some old lapel pins of my mother's I was going to try and sell on Ebay but they matched the look I was trying to achieve so I added them along with some beads and some silver hearts from an old bracelet. I had one more piece of brass filigree so I decided to make a brooch, I added a watch face and some brass chain. I then used some of the same charms that are on the necklace and added some hearts I found in an old sewing kit and made the earrings. The necklace has a copper hook closure. This is a new direction I'm going in trying to go for quality rather than quantity. I am very happy with the results. If you decide to experiment with heat make sure you use the proper safety gear, something to cover your nose and mouth and something to keep from burning your hands.