Back to black!

Cuff bracelet, black with grey & white embroidery

Before when I lived in England I used to wear exclusively black clothes.  I suppose on the one hand it was almost a uniform among arty types.  But it also made deciding what to where extremely easy.  I lost the habit while living in Cyprus.  It didn't seem to suit the hot Mediterranean climate and in any case the village widows had pretty much cornered the market on black fashions, so I left them to it and the wardrobe became vastly more vivid.

Now I'm back in England black is making a return, but not exclusively.  White, cream, grey and beige are also part of the mix and today I made a new cuff bracelet to enhance my new look.  This one together with full details is now in my Etsy shop, so I'm going to have to make another one for myself.

Bonnie Boon is back!

To say I've been away longer than I imagined is putting it mildly!  But the move did happen and we're now happily established deep the heart of Shakespeare county and loving our life in England.  

My studio is smaller than I had in Cyprus, but perfectly functional and the daylight job as a painter is continuing as before.  In the evenings I'm in relaxed mode with thread, yarn, fabric, beads, needles and hooks again and I have early signs of a new wearable art collection to show.

I'm being inspired by my love of cuff bracelets.  On the left is an example of one I made way back.  It's quite wide and warm to wear which is why I think this style is most suited to colder weather.  

But I also feel I want a style of cuff bracelet I can wear any time of the year whatever the weather.  So I'm aiming for a lighter, leaner feel and a chic, cool look!  And hope you like what you see.

 

These new cuffs are hand stitched and embroidered using stranded cotton threads on even weave linen fabrics.  They will fit a variety of wrist sizes by means of a clasp which fastens at any place along the chain extension.  They have individual characteristics and embellishments which are fully shown with photos and descriptions in my Etsy shop.

Sea glass hand embroidered pendant necklace

Sea glass embroidered pendant

The sun is shining and the beach is calling me to go collect more seaglass.  Some people call them 'mermaids tears' and aptly the pendant necklace I've just made features a teardrop shaped sea glass gem. 

I've mounted the gem on some of my art canvas, which I've painted abstractly and embellished with red and green hand embroidery.  It is hand-stitched to a matching red felt backing and hangs from a leather thong with silvery accessories and fastenings.  Full details here in my Etsy shop.

Necklaces for American Girl dolls and other 18 inch dolls

Dark Red hand crocheted necklace pendant for American Girl doll and other 18 inch dolls.

I find crocheting so relaxing.  And my new passion for making tiny clothes and accessories to fit 18 inch dolls for my Etsy shop makes me feel really good, because they take much less time than adult items.  At the same time I just adore to pay just as much attention to the details as I do with larger pieces.  

 




 This pretty necklace in a deep burgundy red cotton thread is embellished with iridescent glass beads and a faceted crystal pendant.  It fastens with silvery clasps at the back.

My friend is about to make a gown in rich Royal Blue velvet for her doll, so I'm sending her this blue necklace embellished with stars and blue beads to add the finishing touch.

These necklaces are 6 inches long plus the fasteners and are perfect for the dolls to wear high to set off the necklines of most garments.  They are also perfectly sized to be worn as a bracelet by a child.

I shall be offering doll necklaces like these for purchase in my Etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/BonnieBoon If you would like one in a different colour or length, please contact me as I welcome custom orders.

Purple Blue Mulberry Seaglass wearable art brooch

Here's another painted canvas and embroidered wearable-art brooch featuring a piece of my sea glass collection.  This time I've used shades of purple and blue on a deep mulberry felt background to frame the piece.

I love these colours, and the different textures of the brushed paint on canvas, the delicateness of the stitching and soft richness of the felt. My favourite so far I think.

This particular brooch is now SOLD.  Each brooch I make is unique.  But if you would like me you something similar, please let me know.  

Blue & pink sea glass art brooch

I'm experimenting with different ways to make jewelry featuring the sea glass I collect from the beach.  It seems obvious now, but till now, I hadn't thought of combining painted artwork and hand-stitched embroidery.  So this is a first!

For this wearable art seaglass brooch I used acrylic paint on canvas, which I snipped to a random shape, then applied a cloudy white sea glass gem and embroidered in pink and blue cotton thread inspired by colours in the painting.  I hand-stitched pink felt to the reverse with a safety fastener.

Email me for more information, or see my Etsy Shop.

Sea glass pendant aqua green crochet necklace

Beach gem genuine sea glass pendant crochet necklace

Here's another piece of genuine sea glass from the beach. It has a lovely white frosted surface and reminds me of a slippery nugget of ice.  I decided to capture it in a cool aqua green crochet basket and added a necklace 20 ins long.  It fastens with a loop and bobble.   

Email me for more information, or see my Etsy Shop.

The weather today was absolutely gorgeous; sunny with a little breeze, so it wasn't too hot. H and I got stuck into some much needed pruning on the hill terrace.  George and Mr Tabs gave us a hand.

Sea glass necklace in blue

I've amassed quite a collection of sea glass from the beach, since I began this new fascination.  My eye is finely tuned now, and I can spot a glint of glass from quite a distance.  The dogs try to help me on our beachcombing expeditions, but so far, are less reliable;) 

I've been working on ways to transform my beach treasure into jewelry.  Here's a delicately pretty Beach Gem crochet pendant in Mediterannean foam blue.  I crocheted a protective basket to support the sea glass and fashioned a necklace, which fastens with a bobble and loop.

I find the white translucent colours are the most common, along with various shades of green, and very occasionally browns and gold.  Lots of lovely possibilities!

Email me for more information, or see my Etsy shop. 

Sea glass jewelry experiment

Recently I've become fascinated by the colourful objects I find on my beach walks.  I stroll along, occasionally stopping to winkle out small smooth stones from the sand, especially excited if I spy the green gleam of sea glass, which I swoop on as if it was an emerald.

I love the idea of up-cycling these naturally available objects, so have begun experiments to feature them in jewelry.  I began with this green hand crocheted ring to test methods of holding the 'gem' in place.  It worked, but I've ideas that should improve it.

Crochet Big Bead necklace

Time does fly! I've been so engrossed in making pictures with my painting hat on, that I clean forgot to post about my latest one-of-a-kind textile jewelry necklace. As you can see it features large chunky bead shapes, completely hand crocheted in bright Pink, Green, Turquoise, Yellow, Orange, Purple and cool Grey cotton yarns. I made a padded bobble to slip through a loop to fasten. It is light to wear and measures approx 22 inches.(56 cms).

I just love the process of making hand crochet or knitted jewelry in this way. I let it evolve with only the merest plan when I start, and give myself the freedom to let the colours and yarn take me in any direction...pretty much the same way my paintings take shape :)