Leather butterflies at last!!

I know… you all have waited practically forever for these butterflies! And I'm so happy that I can bring them to you at last!

All hand painted in metallic gold, purple, red, and navy… 

But sadly, I'm only going to have a few dozen pairs, at the very most. As I've discovered over the past couple years, some leather works better than others for my techniques and designs. I'm getting scary low on this bit of vintage leather and when it's gone, it's gone… and so are these butterflies.

But of course, I'm not letting leather go that easily! New and different things will be flying out of Tree Wings Studio later and I'm sure there will be some new butterflies!

And now, on to polymer clay… and more painting…

I'm really excited about these little painted tulip sticks! I've always said if I hadn't discovered polymer clay, I'd probably be a painter (that, or a pianist, but that's a story for later!)… for these, it was just a simple slab of polymer for my canvas and then some fun with tiny painted details.

Being my crazy, tiny detail, texture loving self, I added a faint lace texture to the back. No, it's not from real lace… I made the texture myself, when I couldn't find a pattern I liked or texture small enough to suit my needs the answer was the same as always: "I'll just make it myself!"

I really was SO tempted to keep them all for myself! 

I really was liking the color palette of the butterflies and tulips, so I decided to go back to an older design with new colors…

Sculpted wild rose beads are back!

 In "soft honey cream"

 "bittersweet orange"

"rustic peacock teal" 

 I made some Rustic Stripes chunky round carved beads too. I call this color mix "end of summer"… yes! spring has barely begun here and I'm already dreaming of autumn…

And finally…

A new design in rustic copper brown using that lace texture I mentioned. I made my own texture sheet using my "hand-drawn" lace and the impression of some pretty vintage rose beads on a necklace that had belonged to my great aunt. I love the combination of textures of old and new!

See everything in my shop here!

More new beads…

Delicate ruffled anemone wildflowers with speckles, stripes, and a little carving on the backs… and of course, more painting! This time in coppery brown and golden orange with deep rose and plum.

I love how the flowers have a shadowy, painterly feel with these beads. I'm really enjoying these new painting experiments and seeing how they turn out with smooth finished surfaces!

These beads were inspired by the wild wood anemones that are blooming now. And… I had originally planned for a woodland wildflower look, but these beads took on a little bit of a seaside feel instead… with the stripes and long pointed shape paired with the sandy ivory color they somehow remind me of seashells… but maybe that's just me…
 
I did save aside just a few for myself and I think I will make a long necklace, with maybe a fringe or something tassel-y… :-)

I hope you enjoy creating with them!

Leftover scraps and a little splash of paint, made for perfectly coordinated round beads!

See them all in my shop here!