I've been working on several new designs over the last few weeks!

These designs were created specifically to hang from the necklace as if wearing a harness, as opposed to hanging from a clunky jewelry finding. 

Each design has been carefully hand-sculpted in polymer clay. 

Every hair was painstakingly created by hand to give the most realistic appearance possible. 

Each design is carefully cast in a durable white resin. This resin is much stronger than polymer clay, and more resistant to damage.

All designs are available for order in this unpainted white resin form. You can leave them as-is, or paint and decorate them however you'd like! Unpainted pieces can be supplied with a length of black waxed-cotton cord and instructions for tying adjustable knots so that you can hang them yourself.

After casting, each pendant is individually painted. This process can take hours depending on the complexity of the design.

Because each is created by hand from start to finish, no two are exactly the same! 

All designs can be custom-ordered and painted to look however you'd like! For example, the wolf sculpt could be painted to look like your pet husky, or the big cat sculpt could be painted to look like a jaguar or golden tabby tiger. 

Here are some examples of finished pieces! These are all cast in the same big cat mold, but individually painted to look like different species. 

If you don't see your favourite big cat species here, it can still be painted as a custom order! Just email art_by_aelia@ymail.com to ask for a custom order.

Here's an example of how these necklaces hang when strung. 

There is no metal finding, or hole carved in the animal. They hang naturally, giving them an additional degree of realism. 

Each necklace is made from durable black waxed-cotton cord and tied with slip knots so that the length is completely adjustable. 

If you'd prefer that they be hung via a screw eye in the back, that option is also available on request. 

I've been a bit less active online lately, and now you can see why! I've been working on an entirely new line of items, in a brand new medium... PEWTER! I've had quite a few requests for metal jewelry, as opposed to Polymer Clay or Resin, and I'm pleased to be able to offer lead-free pewter jewelry at this time. Each unique design is sculpted in clay and used to create a finely detailed mold for casting.

Had so much fun with my first batch of resin jewelry, that I decided to start a new one right away! There are lots of things I still want to try, and actually got to a few of them this time ;)

Here's a photo of the second batch taken while I was working. This is after the first layer of resin was poured. I tried inserting some objects into this group, including some stones and fresh moss.

Another one of my favourite pieces so far... I took a few pebbles and some sand that I collected on vacation last summer and embedded them in the resin in two separate layers. The sand and stones are from Provincetown, Massachusetts (the very tip of Cape Cod). I went there for the first time to whale watch two years ago, and fell in love not just with the whales, but with the place itself! My family returned there later that summer, and again last year. 
I really like the way it turned out, and will absolutely be experimenting with embedding different things in resin in the future. 

Labyrinth inspired necklaces were pretty high on my to-do list! These are my first attempts. They include a silhouette of a character (Sarah as in below left, Sarah and Hoggle as in below right), which floats above a background inspired by the movie. Also played with glitter, and I REALLY liked the addition! I will absolutely be using glitter in the future, especially with Labyrinth items (seems especially fitting). 

I also tried this technique with some animal silhouettes. Although pairing sea creatures with space has been done before, I like the way it looks and decided to take a crack at it myself. Hence stingrays swimming in front of a nebula, and sharks in front of the moon. I LOVE the moon as a background, and will absolutely be using it again. The giraffes are in front of a sunset background that I painted. All include some glitter, which gives them a fantastic shine in the sunlight.

Right now I'm working on different methods for stringing them on necklaces, trying to find the best way. I'm also testing the strength and durability in a variety of situations so that I can be sure the jewelry will last as long as possible! Also working on some custom molds for casting... but you're going to have to wait until my next blog entry for more info! Until then... thanks for reading! :D