Saga of Faux Bone™ continues

Sorry, no pictures today. Cloudy, rainy.  Maybe this weekend.

Still working on the Beach Combing piece.  Making the various elements wasn't the real problem I am facing, it is assembling it into something that looks right.

The crooked little stick I mentioned previously turned out to be a piece of vine and is not usable, so that's out of the composition.

The cartouche (the spell checker doesn't like the spelling), piece mentioned earlier is on hold. I know what I would like to do with it, but it may be beyond my ability to pull off.

In the meantime, I'm starting to experiment with colored pencils on faux bone, specifically the recommended Prismacolor type.  We already had a large selection on hand, so I didn't have to buy any additional ones.  We had some other types, but they do not work very well at all.

Thanks to all who have been stopping by for a peek.

New Elements

Shown are some more elements which may or may not be added to the final piece.  Things remain in flux as to what to add and what to leave out.

The pieces on the right and bottom were not meant to be as they are now.  Here's why. You probably have heard the old adage, measure twice and cut once?  In this case it was: Check your drill bit size twice before you drill. I have some half-drilled Swarovski pearls.  These accept 20 gauge wire.  So what do I do?  Read this nice chart of drill to wire sizes from Nancy L T Hamilton I have taped to a shelf over the bench, wrong.  So, instead of putting a No. 67 drill bit in the chuck, put a No. 60!  Really bad move. No. 60 is for 18 gauge wire and the pearls, they aren't going fit.  So I have to start over and ball the ends of 18 gauge and then with the aid of good old Zap - a - Gap glue, glue on some seed beads in place of the pearls.  As a rule, though, you do need to use some kind of glue with half-drilled pearls, real or artificial.

Learn from my mistakes, folks.  It's all part of what my blog is about.

One little thing I've found out, which may or may not be of help to anyone working with faux bone, is pre-sanding.  There are few hard and fast rules about working with faux bone.  In general, you draw out the design, saw, shape and then sand.  In some cases, when working with a small piece, if I sand off the slick surface of the material, it is much easier for me to hang on to it.  As I have mentioned before, I sometimes have to rely on a ring clamp or a vise to hold small pieces.  My fingers just aren't strong enough anymore.  You have to do what you have to do.

Speaking of sanding.  There is a most informative nice little video on Ganoskin about an easy way to sand interior spaces that are hard to reach. A very neat solution to what is sometimes a vexing problem.

Found a nice little crooked stick when out on a walk today.  A piece of that might just work in the Beachcombing piece.  We shall see.

Next post in 2 - 3 days.  Thanks for stopping by to see what's up with the journey.

Beachcombing (in progress) phase 4

Another addition to the mix of what eventually will become a necklace.  This piece has been heat formed into a dome using a heat gun and a wood dapping block and punch.  Lines drawn with an X-acto knife and patina is Paynes Gray acrylic paint. Paynes Gray has a bluish tint.

I will start work on some of the stringing.  I may not post anything until Monday, so be patient.

Beachcombing (in progress) phase 3

Two more components to be added to the mix, which will eventually become a necklace.  Both pieces were heated and then formed.  The starfish measures about 7/8s inch across.

Beachcombing (in progress) phase 2

Unfinished Faux Bone™ sand dollar and a seashell shard.

The sand dollar is one inch in diameter, or 2.5 cm, and is 1/8th inch thick, or about 3 mm.    The shard is about 1 and 1/2 inches long, or 40 mm, and is 1/16 inch thick, or about 1 1/2 mm. My measurements are only approximate.

The sand dollar has just a bit more detail to be added, then the patina.  The shard is probably finished.  I not sure that anything else needs to be done. The patina is orange acrylic paint with interference red acrylic paint over the entire piece.  It isn't noticeable in the photo, but it gives a sort of nacre-like sheen to the piece.

The shard began as a sort of ellipse with one end rounded.  I gripped one end in a pair of round nose pliers, heated the material with a heat gun, then gripped the other end in another pair of round nose pliers and twisted the piece.