Inside Of My Studio Soldering Jewelry Outside and my hydrangeas

Okay so the the title might be a little misleading...I suppose it should instead read, 
Outside Of My Studio...

I love summer and Ive got to say Im kind of sad to see it come to a close, so I am sucking up

any tiny last opportunity to do things outside in the sunshine before the cooler months roll 

around. With my gardens last bouquet of hydrangeas on my backyard table (and check 

these out, Im so proud of my three hydrangea bushes - one pink, one blue, and one 

purple!) I set up shop in the beautiful outdoors to solder up some pretty new pieces of

broken china jewelry. Soon Ill be flying out to Colorado to shoot two brand new jewelry 

instruction videos, and I can already feel a few work deadlines fast approaching, so Im 

trying to stay mindful and move from task to task to get finished with what work needs

to get finished, while still finding time to do what I enjoy most, to just sit and create.

 I hope you enjoy the rest of your summer too. :)  -laura

Soldering a piece of broken china jewelry outdoors. I love this vintage grapevine china.

Working on a china heart pendant outside.

The last of my summer hydrangeas...so sad to see them go.

The wooden rim of my workboard keeps my projects from landing up in my lap. Hey,

thats one of my favorite skirts!

The colors are so pretty that they almost seem unreal! 

I planted these three bushes one, two, and three years ago. 

Early morning. 

Beautiful pink hydrangeas

What do you think?

Check out my new DIY jewelry instruction books and DVDs!

   

Learn how to solder and make unique jewelry!


My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Read More..

DIY Painted Leaves Tutorial

I published this blog post so late in the season last fall, that I wanted to share it again 

so that everyone has a chance to start collecting those leaves while theyre falling! I think 

that you get the best painted leaf results when you press your leaves for at least a few weeks 

before painting them, if not longer. This gives the leaves time to press completely flat, 

and gives the moisture a chance to escape, so look for freshly fallen leaves and press those.

Here is the original post:

After painting acorns a few weeks ago, we were ready to move on to painting leaves! 
This is a simple project that has beautiful results, is a lot of fun, and everyone in the family can participate. I think the variety of shapes of leaves combined with the different paint 
colors is what was so appealing to me about this project. Check it out and let me know what
you think!

First we collected fallen leaves that were mostly brown, but not too dried out. Our leaves
were still a bit pliable but not crumbly. After we collected a nice variety of leaves, I 
placed them between a stack of heavy books for over a week to completely flatten them out. 
The longer you leave them between the books, the better your end result. I recommend 
leaving them between books for at least a week. I flattened a few for three days, and later 
found that after we painted those that they curled up a bit once the paint dried. If your 
leaves are still green, you will want to press them in between sheets of newspaper in between
the books. This will help absorb some of the moisture from the leaves as they dry out. 

Next we gathered our supplies: a variety of acrylic paints (I used whatever I already had at 
home), some newspaper to protect our table top, a few plates to serve as palettes, a variety 
of craft paint brushes, a cup of water to clean our brushes with, some wax paper to place
our leaves on while they dried, and a few paper towels.

 We used a variety of acrylic craft paints

A few fine-tipped brushes were great for painting thin lines and detailed designs

 I started with this leaf. Nice and dry and flat and ready to paint!

I began by painting a thin line just inside the edge of the leaf. I loved the way this 

metallic gold craft paint contrasted with the rust and brown colored leaf. 

Simple lines and dots

I love the vibrant autumn colors

Beautiful end result

I loved seeing everyones unique, individual style come out when they painted their leaves

fancy leaf by duane 

I think our leaves would look fantastic framed behind glass in a picture frame and hung 

on a wall...

What do you think?
Which is your favorite?

Check out my new DIY jewelry instruction books and DVDs!

   

Learn how to solder and make unique jewelry!


My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Read More..