Monday, May 1, 2017

UFOs :: Round 2

Karen announced another UFO hop, and like many of my bloggy friends we're all in. The motivation to work through all those half finished pieces on the bead table is strong. 

Many of us have stared down these UFOs for years shifting the piece this way and that trying to capture a glimpse of what the piece might look like finished. Myself included. I know I, for one, want to see these pieces come to life and move off my bead table once and for all!

The process is slow trying to work through my collection of UFOs, but I have finished another piece. This one actually includes two UFOs into one (score!). I paired a bezeled glass cab with a small bit of grey, beaded herringbone to create a 'bib fringe.' Not sure if a bib fringe is a real thing, but hey I'm in to fringe these days and I'm trying all kinds of variations. I liked how it looked together, so I went for it in this piece.

The problem was that I could tell that once I tried to include a backstrap it was going to twist and turn. So I mounted it (aka glued it) on a heavy gauge piece of silver that I had hammered. This created the perfect anchor for the focal and an easy way to attach some leather. Not sure why this final UFO was such a struggle with so many starts and stops, but it is finally in the finished pile. Now I'm trying to decide what might be next to tackle from this pile of UFOs.

Be sure to check out everyone else's finally finished UFOs: Karen, Francie, Christine, Therese, BobbieKim, Liz, Liz E, Amy, Hope, Christi and Margo

19 comments:

  1. Now there's a way to complete some UFOs. . .do two at once! Haha! Really though, I think it's beautiful! That cab looks like it was meant to be with those gray beads. And the touch of silver and fringe just adds to it. Awesome-sauce!

    Now you've got me wanting to look at my UFOs again to see if I can join them up in someway to reveal their superpowers too. Thanks for the inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice work with this UFO. This will be a perfect attention grabber with jeans and a t-shirt.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, a two-fer! I love the idea of the bib fringe, and it was a perfect pairing with the cab. Your solution with the silver backing was pretty genius, too. I'd love to see what the back looks like - did you glue the cab to the silver first and then back the area with leather?

    In any event, it's gorgeous in its details and as a whole. Congrats!

    ReplyDelete
  4. That turned out lovely! I uncovered a whole bag of UFOs yesterday and was less than enthused. I have a project to do a bracelet for a friend using a metal plate with a quote on it she bought awhile ago. I have zero idea what to do and it's causing me so much stress. Ugh!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I really like the end result.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love that you used TWO UFO's to create your piece for this hop!!! So clever!! And the piece is gorgeous too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. It took me a moment to figure out the two collage photos - I think I'm a little slow! :) Then I burst into a smile as I finally zeroed in on your circled UFOs.

    It really looks like your herringbone triangle was made specifically to go with your bezeled cab. The finished piece seems to flow so effortlessly - like you'd planned for it all together that way from the very start! Lovely.

    You've found such innovative ways of finishing off and redesigning your UFOs!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Bib fringe. You may start a trend. I love looking at your UFO pictures. So much beady goodness. Seeing the outcome of your struggle, I would have guessed it flowed effortlessly. It looks like it's meant to be. Absolutely. The wavy silver wire, the beautiful cab, and of course the bib fringe swingin and swayin. Harmony.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Cynthia
    You finished piece is beautiful and gluing the glass cab to the silver was perfect not only to keep it from twisting around on the leather strap, but it gives it a balance with the fringe. I'm looking forward to seeing which one you finish next.
    Therese

    ReplyDelete
  10. That looks incredible! I like that serpentine metal bit! It's so satisfying finishing off UFOs :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Ingenious! This turned out very well. And hooray for combining two ufos! I love the use of the metal bit. That really makes it stand out. And I think fringe is always in.

    I can't wait to play with the purple cab you sent, now that I have some free time. Maybe it will be ready for the next reveal. :)

    --Francie

    ReplyDelete
  12. Every stitch and turn and hammer and bead and dab-o-glue and fringe is so YOU with this UFO. Your uniqueness never ceases to amaze me. Your problem-solving skills are so sharp. And I am glad we are still Hopping along these days :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow, that is so wicked cool!! Love the design and the colours! Wow!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Very cool! I wonder if a similar type of bezeling with beads (is that even what it's called? Sorry, I'm not knowledgeable about the beading lingo!) would work with pottery/china shards, or if they are too irregular and sharp. I really want to turn some pieces of broken things into jewelry and I know I could learn how to solder a bezel, but it seems like beading would be a fun variation.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Yay for finished UFOs!
    How lovely it turned out!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Love all the elements and textures you incorporated into your creation: metal, leather and beads really give an organic feel. Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete

AntiquityTravelers on Etsy