Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Kiersten Giles Cone Challenge Reveal!

A few weeks ago I was selected to participate in a little blog challenge...and today's the big reveal day!  The centerpieces for the adventure are these handmade copper cones from Kiersten Giles of The Cerebral Dilettante blog fame.

Prolific inspirer and fellow blogger, Lorelei, picked five of us, plus herself, to push the limits of cone creativity.  They're a pretty standard component in jewelry, especially in multi-strand pieces.  So, it was time to think about cones differently...the gauntlet she threw at us was all about unique!!!!

Well...here's my take...

I immediately noticed the gently folded edge along the top of the etched copper and thought of rolled paper.  That led me to a cone reversal so that instead of something flowing out of the cone, I'd have something flow up...

ooooohhhh....like a farmer's market bouquet!  You can see some of my sketches at an earlier post here.
This first piece isn't so much jewelry as it is a little decorative ornament that could hang somewhere to liven up a space with sweet little copper and brass flowers and tendrils in a perfect copper "vase."

I have somehow managed to accumulate a massive stash of tiny flower pieces so I went to town with them and a variety of brass and copper headpins and created a bunch of different flowers by layering the little components along with some metal spacers.  I didn't want to create massive wire-wrapped stems, so I opted for some heavy duty glue to keep the flowers together at the ends of the headpins.  Just in case you try this...open some windows when you work with glue or you'll have a mysterious headache for two days...haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

I was digging through my "scrap" wire container looking for small pieces to make spirals and happened upon a bunch of copper and brass that I had used to practice "balling" with my microtorch.  Because I was going for a rustic mix of metals, the odd fired finish at the ends was perfect for more tendril-looking spirals.

My second cone was destined for a similar treatment but with a little bit of a different finish....it became a pendant:



I used a silver pendant "blank" and glued the cone in place.  I used some clear glue (less fumes, since I figured that drama out) to fill in and create a kind of resin background.

Then, I added the flower bouquet!  A few sets of leaves from my "metal component" stash drawer rounded out the little nosegay. 


With a simple little copper ball chain, it's a really pretty accent to a plain white t-shirt!  The flower stems are all attached to a base wrapped loop, so they can actually be rearranged within the cone/vase.



Here's a shot of the working stems as I tried to decide how many to use and create the varied heights that would make the bouquet look balanced and unique.


And, there you have it!  Cones on the up instead of the down!!!  

I was thinking as I made this that I should do a tutorial...if you think that's a good idea, let me know in the comments and I'll work on some pictures of the in-construction piece so you can see how it all came together.  :)

And, now to point you in the direction of my fellow cone-ites for today's challenge reveal:

The host:
Lorelei Eurto at her Blog

The Crazier Sister at Crazy Creative Corner

BeadBug at Copper Glass and Recycled Trash

Yay!Jewelry at the YaY! Jewelry blog

Lori Michaud at the Artfully Ornamental blog

Thanks for stopping by!  

34 comments:

  1. That is so creative and adorable and cute~! Love it. <3

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  2. Awesome!! Yes I'd love to see how you created these!! They turned out great! The metal flowers are perfect in the cone, and you made them look so fun and realistic! I love the way you transformed these into bouquets. Nicely done!

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  3. Holy Cow! This is so much fun! I absolutly love that "faux resin" treatment on the pendant - so extremely creative! You did a fantastic job and should be so proud! I love them both!

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  4. I second Patti and Lorelei. Absolutely amazing. I would love to see the creative process. A tutorial would be awesome. Can't wait!

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  5. Very creative and stunning. I would love to see the process.

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  6. These pieces are awesome. What a unique way to embellish your cones. I love what you did with them!

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  7. Very cool! I love it. Those metal flowers are amazing!!

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  8. Oh my gosh, you knocked it out of the park for both originality and beauty!!! I love how it became a little posy holder!! The first piece would be a fun pin too. Your little flowers are exquisite and they work so well with the cones! I like your mixed metals too. Now I want to make more cones...

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  9. I love, love, love this. Your metal flowers are awesome. I would be interested in a tutorial. I would love to mix metal and beaded flowers.

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  10. A tutorial is a wonderful idea, I love the piece and it would also make a beautiful pin.

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  11. What a winner! Genius, unique ... every little bit.

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  12. Magnificent!!! truly unique. A tutorial would be great. Thanx

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  13. This is REALLY awesome! There's a guy in our neck of the woods here in WI who makes metal garden art flowers. Your piece reminds me of that except only on a MUCH smaller scale.

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  14. Well, Jenn Judd Velasquez - YOU ROCK! They are both absolutely incredible. How fabulous!!

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  15. They MOVE? Now, see, yes! Right here I'm voting for the tutorial! They *move*! I like 'em both (I love seeing someone work with metal) but I really like the 2nd one a lot!

    (they MOVE)
    (cool!)

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  16. You are so very clever, Miss Jen. I love that little bouquet! Enjoy the day. Erin

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  17. Jen, you are such a clever gal!!! Love these little bouquets!!!!

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  18. Love your creations....they are just wonderful!...please do a tutorial!

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  19. Amazing! I totally love this, my gardener's heart feels so fulfilled by this! I would love to make one as well. I love pins, so that's my favorite.

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  20. What a unique and beautiful design!

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  21. Oh my god!!! This is SO pretty! NEVER, ever, ever seen anything quite like this! So very creative! Ok, am gushing :)

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  22. So lovely and inspirational. Love the metal flowers and all!!

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  23. What an 'outta the box' way to approach this challenge! Love what you did...

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  24. I love how 'out of the box' you went! Those bouquets are just adorable.

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  25. Oh wow!! That's super ingenious. Super job :)

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  26. OMG! Those are the coolest things I've ever seen! You really rocked this challenge!

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  27. WOW! This may be my all-time favorite Jen Judd creation....well, until the next one! I have a couple silver cones...this may be the kick I need to do something with them!

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Thanks for coming by...I would love to hear what you think!

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Bedford, PA, United States
I'm a retiree/artist/student who makes things. It's a nice kind of lifestyle!

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