Sunday, August 18, 2013

My Other Creations: Carnival Necklace

When I was little, I remember that my parents told me we were going to a home improvement show on my birthday.  I was so bummed, but tried my best to keep a stiff upper lip.  We walked to the convention center and SURPRISE!  It was not a home improvement show, but was in fact the Ice Capades!  Coolest birthday EVER!

Whether it be the ice capades or circuses or renaissance festivals or musicals, there's something awesome about being a spectator when people are putting on a show.  And so to pay homage to the feeling of the theatrical and over-the-top aspects of such shows, I made this big, bold, funky, fun necklace for this week's carnival theme for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. (Personally, I think there's no such thing as a necklace that's too big and bold!)

 

I tried to capture the sense of whimsicality and excess that surrounds the carnival/circus setting in particular.  I'm a major fan of mixed media/metal artist Susan Lenart Kazmer and used several of her pieces for my necklace (the "at" circle, the dice charm, the bear on the ball and the glitter-filled light bulb are all her masterpieces).

I also used several products from Simon Says Stamp to complete the piece.  I used Glossy Accents and patterned paper to liven up this bird charm and my husband helped me drill a hole through a plastic zebra (sorry, zebra, but you do look fab!)


I added a Tim Holtz lightbulb and some Tim Holtz swivel clasps to connect everything.  I used a Tim Holtz pocket watch and decorated it with a picture from one of my favorite artists ever: Richard Scarry (the adorable bunny balloon seller) and threw in a Tim Holtz bingo piece.


To complete the project, I made a Circus bottle cap charm using both a bottle cap and picture from Bottle Caps, Inc.


I love how crafting supplies can be used for more than just paper projects.  Here's a complete list of the Simon Says Stamp supplies that did double-duty for me even in the jewelry world:





As always, if you have a fantastic idea for one of the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenges (and I know you do), just upload your project and enter yourself to win $50 of shopping goodness at the store that has it all!

  50dollar_voucher_600px