WCC: Night Elven Jewellery

   This week's crafting project was one of the harder pieces simply for the pressure I put on myself. And because of that pressure, it didn't work out too well.

   I make and sell my own jewellery for a living - and I am selling these. It's where most of my livelihood comes from, and so it had to be on the list, but because of that fact, I really felt like I had something to prove, so much so that it's the first project on the list that I made two attempts at.

   First of all I'll go over my more successful piece. I have to admit, I'm not 100% happy with it, but it isn't the sort of thing I've done before.

   I made it based on Night Elven culture. The silver coloured piece has purple gems in it, and is in a delicate shape and is covered in silver vines, flowers and leaves. It wasn't easy to make at all, but I'm not happy with them. But at the same time, it's not the kind of jewellery I usually do.

   I made it as a pair of earrings and a matching necklace, which, yes, is for sale. They took about two days to make because I was fretting for most of that time, worrying about their outcome and what people would think, but in the end, the money I've made from my jewellery speaks for itself, so I suppose this piece doesn't really matter. But that still doesn't make me feel much better about it.

   They're made from polymer clay, so they're strong enough, but they're not metal. Originally I was going to make them out of silver clay, but I can't get access to a kiln to finish them, plus silver clay alone is about £42 for about 10g. So I decided to go for far less valuable clay.

   The first pieces I made, I made a month or two ago, and are based on Gilnean culture. I'm not happy with them, mostly for the skulls. They're not clean enough - I know that skulls wouldn't necessarily be clean, but that's not what I'm talking about. I mean the skull itself seems a bit dirty and doesn't have a good finish, and it's for that reason, mostly, that I put them aside and decided to try again. I want to get rid of these pieces but I'm not really sure they're worth anyone parting any money for in my opinion. They're made from polymer clay too, but because they're not a solid mass like the Night Elven ones, and are mostly made up of thin pieces, they're a bit more delicate - not as delicate as they could be mind you, but they couldn't stand up to too much fiddling with. If they were simply going to hang somewhere sort of ornamentally, then I would be happier to sell them, but I'm not sure what they'd be like to wear, since the circular one especially is so vine-like.

   Either way, no, I'm not 100% happy with this week's piece, but it's the best I can do given what I'm used to making. If anyone is interested, the Night Elven pieces are for sale here, and if anyone is interested in taking the Gilnean ones - both or either - off of my hands, then let me know what you're willing to pay. As ever, I'm used to shipping worldwide, I know what it will cost to ship it wherever you are, so there are no restrictions like that for anything. First come first serve - I may decide to remake the Night Elven ones if I happen to get a small demand for them - such as, if 3 of you wanted them, I kept the templates so I could make them again if need be with little trouble. But there's only 1 set listed on Etsy for now.