Mhoti Studio

"We interrupt our challenge schedule to try something new for the month of August....a headpin challenge. But not just any kind of run of the mill headpin.  We're talking fancy schmancy art headpins. What is an art headpin?  Well...it's a headpin that is handcrafted by an artisan, has been manipulated in a manner that is more than just a ball end, and has the potential to be the centerpiece of a creation rather than just playing a supporting roll."   (the above statements are courtesy of    Art Jewelry Elements blog ) Well I checked my stash and rats, I don't own any art headpins.  How did that happen? I love art headpins.  So I'll just have to make my own.  Take some wire -20 gauge; cut two pieces 6 inches long Now I could just make swirly coiled headpins but that's so meh.  Lets try  soldering. So I make some bends on one end of each wire to create triangles.  Make a  bend in the...

Over on the Allegory Gallery Facebook page there is a challenge (or several) going on. One of them is the Luna Moth Challenge . We were required to purchase the kit from the Allegory Gallery website and then had quite a few weeks to create something with those beads. We had the option of adding from our own stash or not. I chose to NOT add in other bits this time. I decided I wanted the one -holed focal LUNA MOTH pendant to be a non- pendant so I added another hole opposite the first one, thank goodness for my Dremel Micro. It's become a real workhorse in my studio. I have not used waxed linen before in my jewellery making, (only for handmade book bindings.) It was an interesting material to work with. It is self needling cause it's sticky and does fit through quite a few bead holes, even the small e-beads we were given as part of the kit. It does create a less flexible finished piece than is usual with other fibres, but it holds KNOTS really well. Bonus!!! This being ...

Holy cow. where has the time gone?  I have been remiss in updating my poor blog. I had a very busy fall craft and art show season so I'll blame that on my lack of posting here.  I have been working on some new jewellery designs and  once I get them photographed I'll pop them up here for a show and tell.  Hope you all are surviving winter . Its a weird one for sure. In the meantime here is a photo of my very first art journal page.  A new venture for me this year. 

Today is Friday the 13th.  Tammy Adams from Paisley Lizard set this blog hop up, made a whole slew of polymer clay pendants and shared them with a group of jewellery artists.  What a sweetie. It is now our mission to make something in keeping with superstitions and to share it on our own blogs as part of this Superstition  Hop Now a lot of people fear the number 13, and especially as a date when it lands on a Friday.  I'm NOT one of them . I have always had very LUCKY Friday 13th's.  In fact it's often one of my luckiest days, a day when things always seem to go right. Some folks don't like black cats. Again I'm NOT one of them, I LOVE black cats, and have shared my home(s) with them since childhood. Ladders ? Don't walk under them something bad will befall you! Mirrors ? Don't break one or 7 years of bad luck will come to you! Spill salt ? throw some more over your shoulder! Step on a crack ? you'll break your mothers back.! superstitions ...

Holy smokes where has the year gone? It's halfway through October already.  That means it's time for the DANSE MACABRE blog hop.  It's hosted by Lee Koopman of   Strega Jewellry She has put together a group of artists that are making something to do with  The Dance of Death (danse macabre) I chose to interpret this in a friendly way not a dark and dangerous way  as I am a chicken shit when it comes to scary things.  I made some earrings for a monthly challenge and while designing them I decided to carry it a step further and make a co-ordinating necklace.  But how to take a dark garnet swirl and make it macabre?  I added a leather bat to it.   I just love my leather scraps stash .  After sketching a bat I then had to transfer it onto the black leather.   I cut out the pattern placed it on the reverse side and traced around it with a silver marker. (It was the only thing that would show on ...

I got time to play along this month . I somehow seem to miss the deadline for participation , so hopefully I can play along this month. Here is the inspiration photo that I used for my starting point.  Aren't these outfits stunning? love the colours!  I have always been a fan of the plums, purples and garnets.  I was working on designs for another blog hop and was playing around with some items I had removed from a sew-on beaded trim used for halloween costumes and it reminded me of these outfits.    So I decided to complete them and play along with this months challenge.  I kept them very simple as the outfits shown are quite busy, with the textures and patterns used. These earrings would be best with the first row of outfits as the colours are more plummy than purply. I just could not get my camera to pick up the real colour of these and the hint of sparkle in the large motifs. These are quite lightweight as well as the large swirls ...

to paraphrase Bugs Bunny "It's here, it's HERE Let the bells ring out and the banners fly feast your eyes on me, It's too good to be true. But it's here , it's HERE." do you remember that episode of the Bugs Bunny cartoon? OK I guess I am dating myself here. well, all that preamble just to say welcome to my blog and THE VERY FIRST  Leather Feather Blog Hop. Our hostess and creator of the wonderful leather feathers is Rachel Mallis  http://www.mintmonarch.com/blog She made 11 sets of feathers and sent ten of them to us (keeping one set for herself of course) so that we could participate in this hop. I asked for funky colours and I got them . gorgeous purple feathers with an iridescent shimmer  that is green in some angles. and black in other angles, however they don't seem to photograph that way. so what did I make with these  2 inch long pretties?  I made earrings of course.  I first tried using bronze-coloured wire for...