Legacy of the Nameless Queens

Well beyond our cultural memory, there was a long line of queens--warriors and scholars, from "proper" and learned to rough and feral--who abandoned their names to take on their country; and with it, a symbol of their status. The Legacy jewels have been stolen, bartered, hidden and, if the stories are true, were once melted down only to miraculously re-form in the hands of a True Queen. Clearly the legends differ from region to region, becoming more grandiose as time passes. The fact remains, however, the Legacy jewels do remain intact, perhaps waiting for their next queen...

As is usually the case, I didn't mean this project to be quite so... extensive. I'd gotten these gorgeous little "slightly imperfect" seraphinite beads a long while back with the intent to do a necklace of some sort, and it seemed like the right time to finally get around to doing that. And that seemed pretty simple, really... then I decided to add just a little bit of extra dimension by making it "not quite flat", which wasn't really a problem. Of course I followed that up by electing to develop a method with would make relatively thin beaded pieces extremely strong while maintaining flexibility and a bit of "stretch", which was more time-consuming than I wanted it to be... then came the thought, "Hey, you know what this needs? Earrings." And. Um. Well. This.

I learned. I learned a lot. As a result, the necklace is flexible and comfortable worn either as a choker or a double-wrap bracelet, and the ear cuffs are surprisingly comfortable even while I was trying them on with glasses. Weird. I'm also quite fond of using the non-pierced rings as the "actual earring portion", because it gives more flexibility to exactly where on the ear they get worn.

(For Sale)

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)

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)

Jude

"Hey Jude, don't make it bad/ Take a sad song and make it better..." - "Hey Jude", The Beatles

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)

Vel and Rox

Vel and Rox are from a species of swamp dragon that science has yet to  name.  The term "swamp dragon" isn't particularly descriptive, either,  though "jewel-headed swamp dragons" sounded vaguely insulting, so that  was vetoed.  Regardless, Vel (blue) and Rox (pink) are a pair of relatively young siblings who seemed interested in traveling outside of the swamp, so they really didn't mind hitching a ride out of there.

I hadn't meant to make them so big.  And I hadn't meant to make two.  So I guess I haven't learned my lesson about not bothering to plan quite yet.  It was really a project to use up some old yarn and play with various colors, and then... well, everything I do snowballs.  I must simply accept that.  Both lovelies are comprised of acrylic yarn, fully wired along the spine, tail, legs and feet.  Their eyes are brilliant red dyed jade, forehead jewels are "cat's eye" glass, and the super sparkly accents are permanently painted on thanks to fabric paint and iridescent pigments.  They both measure approximately 14.5 inches from nose to tail tip, and when their back legs are fully extended perpendicular to their bodies, they span approximately 10 inches from foot tip to foot tip.

(For Sale)

Akanksha

Akanksha isn't quite one of those magical fish who grants wishes.  If a cruel person catches her, then what she whispers in their ear is the truth of their cruelty, and how the rest of the world is pained by such actions.  If a kind person catches her, she will whisper to them of the good things that they have done, and encourage them about the good things that are still left to do.

Fitting, then, that Akanksha would be a barrette. I'd just been looking at images of koi and fighting fish and... decided to try something different?  I have no other explanation.  And I finally found a use for beading thread, at long last!  Ahem.  Those larger beads are mostly gemstone (and argh, I can only identify the quartz with any certainty; the rest is "dyed something") and therefore heavy.  Her pectoral fins are wired beads, and her dorsal fin is comprised of only beads a thread, reinforced with iridescent paint so that it's flexible.

(For Sale)

Martian Sunrise

Maybe I've been reading too much classic hard science fiction lately.  Nah, that's not possible.

I just wanted to do something a little different for a bracelet.  Hand sewn, hand beaded super soft fabric managed to get a little "stiffened" and reinforced in the process, sort of turning it into a soft bangle.  The centerpiece is a gorgeous 12mm "red tiger eye" bead that really flares in direct light, giving off a fiber optic type of glow.  I'm rather fond of the semi-rustic look of it, myself.  I'll have to play with this style/method more.

(For Sale)