Purple Iris Dragon

It's rare for a person to actually see an iris dragon, or at least to recognize one. They're quite good at hiding, folding up their wings in such a way as to trick the eye into thinking they're just another fancy iris. By the time there's any realization that a second look is needed, they've fluttered off to some more flowers. More fascination comes in the fact that they don't even need eyes to "see" their environment; the "teardrops" that hang down from their tail are more advanced and sensitive than any insect's antennae. If by some chance you do manage to see one that isn't hiding, they tend to like gentle rubs on their backs, right between the wings. They're very soft and fuzzy there.

I'd had a very vague idea of this lovely creature somewhere around the time when I started working on the first Desert Bus 2014 chocobo. I even started the body and basic wire structure between chocobos. After I'd finished all of my Desert Bus work, I came back to this and had intended it to be simple. Yes, I should have known better. But I really love the result. The body is real silk velvet in a rich purple, with the purple beads being dark amethyst and the white ones being opalite. Then just so many glass beads, so much wire and finally a decent use for that plastic-feeling beading thread. And they're a pin/brooch! Because I don't do practical unless I'm paid in advance. (For Sale)

Miss Diana

Miss Diana is all gussied up and ready for a long drive. A long, long, long drive. Well hey, it's for charity!

My first completed Desert Bus for Hope 2014 chocobo! And wow did that take... some time. In extremely massive hindsight, maybe I should have waited until Desert Bus 10 before making a Desert Bus-themed chocobo, but... Desert Bus 8, ∞, infinity and beyond... uh, there was a reason in there somewhere. Not important.

My initial thought had been another armored chocobo, which I was perfectly prepared to do, and then... well. I wanted to change up the legs a little. Changing up the legs kind of required changing up the body type a touch, which I was perfectly okay with since I'd wanted to incorporate various chocobo types. But then that meant changing up the tail and the head/face a little too, and... well, the body became more advanced, so I thought instead of armor (and accidentally making her look far too much like another chocobo I'd already made; they're each individuals) I would just go ahead and make her a little hat. Which was a production in itself, but the Desert Bus for Hope symbol came out decently (and unfortunately looks much better in person) and the hat worked out. I knew that I wanted her to have a sash of some kind, so I just decided to bead one so that I could add an optional expanding section to turn it into either a choker or a double-wrap bracelet for whoever's lucky enough to wind up with this little lady for a companion. Then came the little tail decoration. Because... I'm me and she needed more sparkly.

The result: a fully poseable bus driving chocobo! Her bottom jaw, crest, head, neck, legs, toes, wings and each individual tail feather are all individually wired. And she's just so stylish, too.

She was ultimately sold for $1,300. I'm still recovering.

Baby Jewel Dragon Pendant and Bracelet Set 2/10

Preferred element: earth
Current favorite food: flowers (violets in particular)
Sex: male
Size: 2 inches long, 1.5 inch wingspan

Jewel dragon mothers are the most notorious for gathering a pile of shiny stones with which to circle their nest. Once their clutch starts to hatch, the babies naturally gravitate toward one stone in particular, partially "feeding" from it for the next several months. Here you'll find all you need to care for a baby jewel dragon, should you choose to take one into your home.

Accidentally made an EVA dragon.  2/10 completed.  I sure don't want to say this little guy was any easier than the last one, but at least I've kind of developed a little muscle memory for them now.  Enough.

Funny/tragic: while I was coating the stone with clear enamel, some green dye started to come off on my brush.  (That hadn't happened with the previous stone.)  I was close to being enormously frustrated until I realized that the dye was mixing beautifully with the enamel and of course the effect is impossible to properly photograph, but the green is so very, very GREEN everywhere rather than in just certain places.  It worked out beautifully.  And thanks to the fully cured enamel, there's no worry about the dye running ever again.

(For Sale)

Baby Jewel Dragon Pendant and Bracelet Set 1/10

Preferred element: water
Current favorite food: fruit (all of it)
Sex: female
Size: 2 inches long, 1.5 inch wingspan

Jewel dragon mothers are the most notorious for gathering a pile of shiny stones with which to circle their nest.  Once their clutch starts to hatch, the babies naturally gravitate toward one stone in particular, partially "feeding" from it for the next several months.  Here you'll find all you need to care for a baby jewel dragon, should you choose to take one into your home.

Baby Jewel Dragon Pendant and Bracelet Set 1/10.  Yup, 10.  Ten.  First.  Of ten.  What am I doing.

I had this idea in my mind for a very long time, picking up an intensely gorgeous set of "fancy onyx" (brilliantly heated and dyed onyx to make the most spectacular color combinations).  It was a spiral of inspiration and insanity from there, I suppose.  I enjoy the result: a reversible, adjustable bracelet and a little dragon pendant which can also be converted into a bracelet.  Full disclosure: the baby dragon pendant is so comfortable with the satin cord that I forgot I was wearing it while I was dumping and editing the pictures right up until I went to scratch my neck and had a "WHAT THE HELL IS--oh" moment.

(For Sale)

Across the Great Divide

Across the Great Divide.  A reminder of where you’ve come from, and where you’re going to. Now you can focus on the journey.

Everyone who has ever teased me about my dragon-like hoard of shinies, or my general inability to leave a craft store without getting at least one little interesting thing, take note: when I’m looking for a random “palette cleansing project”, all I have to do is run my hands through my shiny pile and I’ve got everything I need.

(For Sale)

Beaded Mask Commission

Coming off a little rest period from the Materia Cuff commission, some very lovely and magnificent person actually asked me if I could do a fantasy beaded mask blending elements of both my (DFMW) Beaded Chainmaile Mask and Submerging.  I could not say “YES” quickly enough.

The basic idea behind the beaded curtain was to hide the eyes while still allowing vision.  To my surprise, it worked!  I mean, er, to my absolute expertise in these matters.  Yes.  Ahem.  Every hanging strand ends in either a single gold delica bead and a crimson-burgundy freshwater pearl drop, or a light gold Swarovski crystal with a red glass drop.  While the front is notably more heavy that the rest, the way the diamond pattern rests against and around the head actually distributes the weight in a way that doesn’t make it feel like your neck is always fighting with it.

All in all, I’m extremely happy with how this came out.  Thank you so much to the commissioner for the opportunity!

Jude

I'd waited quite a long time to get around to using this epically gorgeous seraphinite cabochon.  So it was with dismay that I'd decided all it really needed was a simple sterling silver wire wrap, only to find... it snapped in half as I was setting it.  Solution?  Make it better, of course.  I "glued" the broken pieces back together and then coated the entire pendant with clear enamel, waited until it was cured rock-hard (harder than the stone itself, it would appear), then beaded and built around it with an additional tiny seraphinite bead.  "Hey Jude" was playing in my head pretty much the whole time I was working on this project, hence the name.

Could I have hidden the break altogether?  Yes.  I could have.  I did not.

(For Sale)

Ren

Ren is really quite fond of showing off.  He's got a bit of a habit of overdoing it sometimes, so what he really needs is a companion who can balance him out with a little "common sense".  Of course, this doesn't mean there can't be some mutual showing off.  I bet he could out-perform any human on Dance Dance Revolution--if only they made a chocobo-compatible version.

So I was trying something.  I wanted the look of my "classic" chocobos with a little more internal structure and... here you have Ren.  His legs and toes are wired as usual, but there's extra poseability in his neck/head, tail and wings.  He is a touch "bejeweled" as well, with a number of secure glass beads for a touch of sparkle.

Of course the "way more than a touch" of sparkle comes from that parade ensemble he's got there, a beautifully deep midnight blue real silk velvet hand-sewn with an assortment of glass beads and 98 real Swarovski crystals.  Ninety-eight.  I really wish I hadn't figured that out.  Luckily I lost track of how many weeks this took altogether, but my hands are currently trying to scream the answer at me.

Ahem, point being.  This guy will be off to Desert Bus for Hope headquarters very soon.  More details as the date approaches.