Today we have brought back the five pieces I had in exhibition in Ravenstein (NL). Three of them, Ocell, TBC II and Givrer, are now available on Etsy:

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade medvssa.etsy.com

With my sketches in hand, I am preparing a big order of beads from Fire Mountain Gems. It takes a loooong time and planning to find the right beads, but it is also fun. All the possibilities, it is exciting actually.
I prefer to order my beads before I make my enamels, so that I can match the tones more exactly. As I cannot see them in person, the other way around is dissapointing. Or impossible. I may also be too picky, but that is how I like it ;P

I will order next week, but as I had my containers already full, I went to get more. I came back with something else, that I think is superior than my previous containers:




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I just read in pitufina's journal that she is actually taking orders for corsets, with a very short queue. I am extremely happy with the corset she made for me, and with her as well! a pleasure to work with.
My first corset maker recommendation goes to her. This is the amazing corded corset she made for me:


Click to enlarge.

And this is her website: Morúa Designs

The enamels are from 2005 :P (2, 3, 4) but I have finally finished the setting today. I am so lazy when it comes to jewellery...



( One progress picture and some other views. )

http://blog.fidmmuseum.org/museum/2009/09/emile-pingat.html

I would like to make something similar, without the beading, for regular wear.

For a set of earrings, ring and necklace. Further exploring this idea. Now the previous piece seems so primitive :p

The candidate stones are grey moonstones and blue lace agates (not dyed). And black glass.

Transparent grey enamels over opal enamel over copper.
Alternating layers of grey opal, white opal and black vitrifiable pigment (on glaze paints).



( Progress )

This weekend, I have been working on this set:



It is a sort of mix between cloissonné and plique-à-jour. I made the frames... around 1996. I think they are a bit Rococó looking :)

I've only finished this pendant. Not sure I like the finishing.





The tips of the petals are actually dark grey, so the light does go through.

I've also been making more palettes... boring, but necessary.



Note to self: I have changed the base enamel for opal, to Soyer 101, since Blythe T-8... if I remember well was discontinued, or my shop didn't have stock... better to keep it for better use anyway.
I also forgot all about being careful with the gold foil... who did very well anyway.
And I am not grinding all the colours because I am lazy. All blues are done now.

Here come the day pictures. It is a bit cloudy though (like usual). There are a lot of them ;P and some videos...

I took the cover off the old "terrarium" and it fits almost perfectly in the new one.



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For those who haven't noticed, we are back, since Monday. We still have the rest of the week of vacation.

The mini fogger I bought before the holidays has done its job well while we were away, but the "terrarium" itself, which is very inadequate, is falling apart.
Yesterday we bought an aquarium of similar proportions (I would have liked bigger, but we were unsure where to place it), plus plants, gravel, driftwood etc.
Today I made another trip, by bike, to the garden center and got more gravel, plants and other substrates, and a couple of aquatic plants.
I also paid a visit to almost all decoration shops in the city and one of the second-hand/flea-market-places and bought several glass containers to make other small terrariums. Basically only the big one is for the snails. I don't have that much moss at the moment, but just as I was biking back I rescued some roof moss that had fallen to the street. The stuff is everywhere here. Hopefully tomorrow we will make a trip to the forest-park in Heverlee.

I have worked on the big terrarium (30x25x50 cm) and one of the little containers, and I have been taking pictures, but it is quite dark so they are less than ideal. I will just post a few (ok, it turned out to be more than a few ;P) and hopefully tomorrow some better ones.

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In case I don't get the chance to take better pictures before I leave, here a quickie picture of the 30's dress, and the UFO capelet (2) with detachable fake furn collar & muff/handbag I have been working on, and almost finished (some hemming to do). Oh and the belt, I changed my mind about that one, at least for now.



The mannequin is too thin and hipless for this... and the belt looks all wonky because it is too big for Dolores too. Sorry about the blurriness.