It may only be February, but I'm already thinking ahead for Spring. Specifically, I'm planning for the two big markets I have coming up: the Ridgewood Night Bazaar on March 4 and the Readers Studio Tarot convention at the end of April.
Lately, I've been experimenting with more decals. I really like working with them because they're cute, but also target specific audiences. I'm hoping that an owl pendant will call to any bird lovers or that my fairy pieces will attract those who are interested in spiritual matters.
I've gone a little crazy in purchasing the decals because there are so many to choose from! Out of all, I think my favorite are the colorful butterflies. I first fired a red one onto a red pendant, but that didn't work so well because the reds were too similar. The butterfly kind of "sank" into the glass and you couldn't really see it.
Next, I tried firing them onto black pedants, thinking that the bright colors would pop against the dark background. They... didn't. You can see the butterflies, but they're dull. I added some other decals and crystals to brighten them, but they didn't turn out like I'd hoped.
I finally tried them against lighter backgrounds, gray and white. I LOVE them against the gray. That silvery color is one of my favorite dichros because it goes on so smoothly and looks good with every type of decal or crystal. It also works so well with the blue and orangey decals.
I like the white butterfly piece, but it was a bit plain, so I added that spiral on top.
The owl is interesting because it began as a pink-colored decal and fired white. I'd made that triple layer pendant without a decal in mind, but the green and black swirls reminded me of a forest. I thought the owl would fit right in and would look as if he were flying through the woods or maybe sitting on a branch.
What's great about these decals is you can mix and match sets to create new pieces. I love working with straight-up glass, but these add a fun and kitschy element to my work. We'll see if customers like them in a few weeks!
Check out my jewelry at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.
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