Ratlings

 

 

 

 

 

© Sybille Sterk 

Do not copy or publish this in any way, shape or form without my written permission.

All these were made for a friend's daughter for her final art show, to go with her theme of rats Infesting Norwich. The earrings are made from Fimo and chain. The rat at the beginning is just under 3 inches long and designed by me (pattern available soon). The rat in the necklace is also crocheted but only about 2 inches long with a very long tail that is part of the necklace. I went with the idea that rats often build nests of things they find, so it includes, leather, rattail silk cord, bits of organza and silk ribbon, beads, lace and feathers. 

The designs are © Sybille Sterk

Book Cover: Foretell Part II of the Wanderlove Series

Here's the cover I worked on at the beginning of the year. The book is coming out in June. Read more about it on Belle's blog and see a write up on the book hookup.

The cover is based on one of my original mock covers - Pure Love available as a print or iPhone case on Redbubble.

I am available for customised book cover designs for Blurb, Create Space, Lulu, Kindle etc. Please contact me for details.

Teal Deliciousness - Knitting

 

A while back I bought some Malabrigo Silky Merino Lace yarn in Azul Profundo. I made a shrug from it (which I can't show you just yet because I've worn it so often it needs washing.... LOL Yes, I love it!) I bought 3 skeins to make sure I'd have enough, however, I had enough to make a pair of wrist warmers and a hat as well... and there's still yarn left over so I might make a little scarflette just to finish off the yarn... :-) Teal loveliness. My favourite colour. All mine.

However, I have some more of the Malabrigo Baby Lace in other colours, so if you want to order some utterly soft and light wrist warmers with or without a hat, let me know and I'll see what I can do. :-)

Green Wire Octopus

Here's another of the commissions I've been given for an octopus. This time all in green with a matching green ribbon to hang him up:

This one is larger than the one from the complete mobile (about 30cm tall from top to the end of his tentacles). I've used green beads instead of clear beads and in the light they shimmer like green gold. Totally magic.

If you'd like one for yourself, just send me an e-mail or leave a comment. :-) Go on, treat yourself. ;-)

Penny's Wrist Warmers

Penny from Natural Attrill commissioned me to make her a pair of wrist warmers. We decided on the most wonderful Habu silk mohair (60% and 40% mohair) which I knitted to specification.



The design is very simple with purl on the front and back with a single cable keeping the wrist warmers tight around the wrist. There are a few rows of ribbing at the top and a single row of crochet at the bottom to keep the wrist warmers tight around the top and bottom.


You can see how light and fluffy the wrist warmers are! In fact, they weigh less than 25g and are as soft as eider down.


They are intended for use all year round inside the house and out and they can be worn with the cable on the front or back and even inside out.


You can commission wrist warmers too. Prices vary depending on design and yarn but are around £20 plus P&P.

Commissions from Jewellery Party

Pear Blossom Earrings

To match the original Pear Blossom Set.

I've used slightly less verdigris and more acrylic varnish on the earrings as I was worried about the verdigris touching the sensitive skin round the neck, however, they're still a good match and will darken over time.





Willow Earrings V 2

See the originals here. The Willow earrings were a great hit at the charity event at Caroline's house. I sold the originals and got a commission to make another pair.


These are slightly different as I changed the flower for a different one and the leaves are handmade (cut from copper, hammered and bashed and scraped and scratched for texture and then filed and sanded to avoid sharp edges).




Warrior Princess Set

The earrings were commissioned to match the bracelet I made a while ago. I was sure I'd posted here before and then couldn't find it anywhere. Odd!


The earrings are more delicate than the bracelet as they would have been too heavy. I used new lovely faceted cathedral beads with copper detail to match the original emerald green bead in the bracelet.

Here's the original bracelet which I had to make slightly smaller. It has always reminded me of something I'd imagine a warrior princess to wear. It's bold and it's strong and it's lovely. The oxidised copper works really well with most skin tones as there's a lot of variation in the colour.

The beads used in this are both vintage and each has it's own charm. One is similar to a tigereye bead with darker and lighter striations and the other one is a deep dark emerald green with gorgeous facets.

Movie Magic

I've been busy with presents and a commission.

I was asked to make a pair of earrings like the ones the lamia witch wears in Stardust. There are some pictures of the whole costume here. I love the film, it's one of my favourites, so I agreed and here's my take on them:


It was quite difficult to find all the different materials for them as everything was slightly unusual and certainly not 'off the peg'.

I ended up with a lot of improvising and I think - although the feel of the earrings is similar - they look lovely and different in their own right. I hope to get some images of the finished costume as the earrings are to go with a whole outfit for a big party.

Alongside this commission I've also finished the purple polka dot wrist warmers and the silk flower (see previous post) and I've been working on a silk scarf with an intricate leaf lace pattern. However, this scarf keeps being put aside as other projects come up.

Currently I am working on a special secret project for my baby sister. She's going to come next week and stay with us for Easter. I CAN'T wait. It'll be lovely to have her here.

Latest commissions

I've had some more commissions recently. They are for designs from my website that had been sold already.

I don't make the same piece twice, but I create new designs based on a particular design. It's very important to me that each design is unique. There is so much mass produced stuff around and it just has no soul. It's okay for every day things, but with jewellery I feel it's important that it is an extension of yourself. Quite often it's not possible to create the same design again because I either use things like seaglass in my designs where each piece is unique anyway, and also because I only buy small quantities of beads, so often don't have more than just a few of the same bead (especially feature beads, rather than seed beads) to make the same design again.

White Charm Ring

The original ring design can be see on my website.

This is lovely charm ring. I've hung up little glass flower beads (three different types) from one loop, then added a tiny dragonfly charm and wrapped a double ivy leaf around the loop for texture. This looks lovely on. I am very pleased with it.


Lizard Mobile Phone Charm

This little charm is based on another charm with a lizard on my website.

I like the natural feel of it with the lizard charm at the end and the leaves and star flower.

Here's a close-up of the charms:


Rainbow Daisy Chain Necklace

I love the idea of daisy chains. I remember making them when I was a kid. Using all the colours of the rainbow in this necklace makes it even more fun though, than if I'd used just white flowers. AND it goes with everything. All of the flowers are glass and I used good quality seed beads, frosted glass leaves and little lustred Miyuki drops in pale green to make the chain. Everything is threaded on pale green tiger tail and the findings (clasp, jump rings, cord ends) are all silver plated.

Here's a view of the necklace hanging down, so you get an idea how it would look like when worn.


Please feel free to contact me for commissions. Either through my website or my Etsy Shop.

Note: I am just in the process of uploading new designs to my Etsy shop. However, I will showcase all the items here.