December Gardens

Gardens? Yes, I realize it's December, and winter has just officially begun. Happily, we've been having temperatures in the 50s and yesterday it reached 60. So it's feeling much like spring! Perhaps I've been affected by the weather, or just want spring to hurry up and get here. Whatever the reason, I've been making leaf and petal canes, and started to play with the slices. I'd been thinking of the porcelain and polymer beads I've made, and thought I'd do something like that in all polymer. Well, one thing led to another, and instead of outlining a bead with leaf and petal canes, I started creating complete, lush gardens. When foliage is this dense and thick, I always wonder what might be hiding underneath.... The two pieces above are pendants, with loops in the back for a chain or perhaps multiple strands of pretty ribbons.

The pieces on the left are backed with convertible pin/pendant findings. They're just a tad larger, and these findings provide more wearing options.

From these samples, you can see what my color-moods have been. Now I'm feeling the need to go back to the worktable and make some new canes in other colorways...

....Well, I did go back, right after I made this entry. Here are a couple of examples of the next things I did. First, I had to make some earrings.





And then I made a set in yellows and purple shades. These take a lot of time, both in creating the canes, and then slicing and assembling. I do love the three-dimensional look and feel. Since, they're out of polymer, they're light, too. So nice to know these flowers won't fade.