Feather Earrings

I realise that this is a little obscure and out of the blue, as I haven’t even opened blogger in months, let alone contemplated writing anything! However I promised a very lovely lady on the Talk Cockatiels forum that I would show her how I make earrings from Gertie’s feathers. This is not really a wire wrapping tutorial; I realise I am poo at it :( I’m just trying to show a quick and easy way to get jewellery from our lovely little feather friends :)

I will eventually try and put one in resin and see what happens, but resin too has been neglected in the past months and shall be until June when I (hopefully) graduate! I am very much looking forward to getting my weekends back and returning to crafting :)

Firstly, I pick a couple of matching feathers. I started out this tutorial trying to make them with the smaller, fluffier yellow feathers but I found the stems too weak. I don’t mind very dangly earrings, which is lucky because with my kidney ear wires they will be! But kidney wires means I can just slip the wire-wrapped loop on, and I don’t have to fuss about with jump rings or trying to add the earring hook before I finish wrapping.

I had all my feathers out, to select a good pair, and Gertie decided to help. It’s obviously as this stage, but late on, we start snipping wire, I keep her away (I mean, I bribe her with sunflower seeds…)

Start by holding the stem and the end of some wire. This wire I got at hobby craft, I think it’s for flowers? But not entirely sure; it’s live in my craft box (draw of crap…) for years. I hold the wire and the stem together with my thumb, like so. Please excuse the awful nail job. Nail painting, cuticle care, general hand moisturising all get neglected too. I’m going to be a scaly, wilted mess in June, but I’ll have bloody finished :D

Anyway! Feathers :)

Start working your ay back up and over the original starting point. I usually make them about this long.

Then cut the stem.

When you get to the end of the stem, back a small loop, and then start wrapping back on yourself to about halfway down the clump of wire. Just smoosh the end in, so it’s not all pokey out and sharp.

Do both feathers.

Get some earring hooks. Like I say, these kidney wires don’t need jump rings, hence I chose them.

Hook them on, and Bob’s your uncle! Earrings :)

(In the background another journey in to “crafts I’m pretty poo at”…Wet felted pebbles! :] )

This is another pair I made for Gertie’s previous owner.

Not perfect, but passable :) (Don’t worry Folksy Folks, I shall stick to resin ;) )

After all that long work, Gertie decided she was knackered and so settle down for a nap. She was less than pleased to be moved for me to write this! (Corrie time is nap time).

Grey and Yellow

In honour of our lovely cockatiel, Gertie, then I thought I could do a grey and yellow themed folsky friday :]

Below is a Gertie, having a wee shower with me, earlier this year when we were minding her. It's not that interesting, really, but I fear I have "proud pet owner" syndrome.

Read about how we got Gertie on the post before this one. Or here :]

Pemberley, Corfu and Gertie

Well, it feels like years since I wrote a blog last. As opposed to a month. But quite a lot has been going on in the Graham/Vincent household! Firstly, it was recently my 22nd birthday and to celebrate, amongst other things, we went to "Pemberley". Well, Lyme Park. But in my heart, Pembeley! :]

And secondly, after my birthday, we went off to Corfu. Which was lovely and hot! And I'm as tanned as I'll ever be (which is still not very tanned).

Last, and by no means least, is Gertie. Now, despite this sounding like the beginning of a good, old fashioned joke, it's not. A man was walking down the street. And this cockatiel (AKA Gertie) landed on his shoulder and refused to get off. So off he went to the vets and as she was such a sociable bird, they couldn't keep her there so she went to a neighbour and friend, Jill, who loved her very much for quite a while!


The only problem is she gets a little loud. Well, very loud to be precise. Especially when you come home and she's excited. This, unfortunately was too much for Jill. And as we'd looked after her a few times and really like her, she's now with us on a trial bases. A trial because Jill may want her back. And because, as we live in a flat, we may get maimed for having such a loud pet.


Anyway! Currently, it's all going well! And I love her very much indeed, and this is Gertie. She's currently sat on my shoulder, switching between preening herself, preening my hair and rubbing her face to my face for cuddles :]

And now it's back to life and reality and University,

Stripes

Well! Goodness me, it has been a long time! I am so snowed under at work, that I just don’t have time to sneak in a wee blog. And at home, well apart from being busy my office chair is now at a very strange angle and I fear that if I do sit on it, I may end up on the floor. And the floor, especially in my office, is not a safe place to be!

But I am having a wee tea break at work today to pop in a Folksy Friday.

Today’s theme is in honour of the chaos that is going on around us. Being from Manchester, it’s particularly sore. I chose stripes to represent classic prison uniforms…

(Also, I know it's Thursday. I'm just being prepared :] )

Black, White and Everything in Between

Sophisticated, underrated monochrome colours today.