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I found some nifty plain white birdhouses at HobLob on clearance, and bought the remaining three. I figured I'd paint them or decorate them somehow, but I ended up just stuffing the bag under my crafting table. While pondering crafty gifts to make, I remembered the forgotten houses and decided to give them to my mom as a xmas gift. I gathered supplies: paint, brushes, sandpaper, decoupage medium, paper scraps, ribbon, inspirational transfers, and more. Spread out on the cold concrete floor of my craft room, I started painting the first one and just waited for the colors and personality of the house to reveal.

Feeling quite proud of the first one, with its denim-look paint job and bronze-y accents (including a filigree under the eaves), pleasant glittery yellow roof and chipper bird, I forged on to the next:This second house turned out to be quite merry, with its patchwork-look 'wallpaper', a cheery green roof with flourishes, real cedar siding (from a tree in my yard), a touch of gold paint, and another filigree accent. Second merry birdhouse complete, I turned to the third. I was a bit stumped, I confess, not sure of how I could outdo myself on this one! But I think I did:I painted it yellow, then smeared a tiny rag dabbed on a black ink pad all over it, then went over that with green paint. It came out quite natural looking, lots of depth in the various layered colors. I tried crackle paint on the roof, but it didn't work (too cold?), so I sanded it down and ended up with a gorgeous weather-beaten, aged effect. I didn't want to decorate this one too much so I just used some more cedar bark and lichen-covered branches from my yard. The bird is sitting on a small chunk of ball moss, which covers the lower branches of my oak trees.

I poured a lot of creative effort into this project. But I have to say that I was thrilled with the outcome, and I just wish I could find more of those little houses!

A new piece... I have been collecting quite a few vintage stones, and now that I've recently purchased some filigree wraps, I can make use of them! I love the color of this stone... it seems to sparkle, doesn't it?



I've also been playing around with different backdrops for my photos. Do you like the words?

You can now follow me on twitter!

http://twitter.com/TheLadyJ

We'll see how well I can keep up with it... heck, we'll see if I can even figure it out! I have to plead ignorance when it comes to social networking sites. But I'm trying!

I have found a home for this lovely necklace:


It is one of my favorite pieces. And I love antique brass. The dragonfly has been hand-patinaed to a lovely blue-green color, and it is clasped by an ornate vintage brass bail. The agate slice further enhances the patina of the dragonfly.

Antique brass oval-shaped links on either side of the pendant for a bit more decorative look than chain alone, and there is an antique brass filigree toggle (not pictured).


I have found it rather difficult to find more agate slices in a similar shape. I guess this one, which just happened to be the perfect backdrop for the dragonfly, was a truly lucky find! I know its new owner will enjoy it!

simple yet sparkly:

these filigree cones remind me of a Victorian 'tussy mussy'


The labradorite stones have an iridescent shimmer, hard to see in these photos...

A smokey grey quartz disc, a highly protective stone, with two gunmetal chains:

I love making necklaces with microscope slides and frames! So much fun and I get to play with paper scraps and glue! I love getting all glue-y.

Chocolate butterfly -- I love the multi-colored 'chocolate' pearls on this one:


I like this gray-blue and white bird and the patterned paper border:


Reversible necklaces - I had fun playing with all my paper scraps to find *the perfect one* for each bird (or butterfly) image:

Here is a sampling of what I've been making recently:

Mixed metals and lots of different charms and trinkets -- one of a kind! And one of my favorites!

Some deco charm necklaces that I've made with collage scraps, glaze, antique brass links, and beads. On some of these I have even used vintage beads!



Another one of my favorites, with antique brass filigree and links, two different white and gold beads, and these really pretty red porcelain beads that just make me think of ripe red cherries!



This necklace is another one-of-a-kind featuring white glass beads and 2 Tibetan silver beads, along with Tibetan silver flowered spacers!


I'll be posting more over the next few days. Am just getting the hang of the photography and lighting, and then there's also photoshop to consider! I'll get there eventually (I hope!).

Welcome to the new blog for Cormorant Studios! I will be posting new items here and hopefully, if I can keep up with blogging, updates on what's going on in my little studio! Thanks for checking it out!