Photo of eyes looking through hole by Dmitry Ratushny on Unsplash

October Theme Challenge – Eyes

October's Art Elements challenge is all about eyes. If you think about it, a large proportion of mental activity is generated through the eyes. The eyes are constantly moving, looking for something to focus on or selecting random stimuli. The eye transmits information to the brain. Some of the information that’s taken in is immediately discarded. The brain coordinates input from the eyes and prevents us seeing the world as a rapid sequence of flash-images.

So even though we may not remember seeing the billions of images that pass through the eyes, the brain is constantly experiencing them. Closing your eyes can bring about a huge change in your consciousness fairly quickly. 

Photo of woman with closed eyes by Amy Treasure on Unsplash

Eye focus, or drishti, is key in yoga practice. Different types of yoga use different eye positions, and even within one practice, the eye focus will vary throughout the class. The first step to developing the capability to hold a drishti is learning to practice with the eyes closed. As soon as the eyes close and are focused on a fixed point, you will begin to feel a shift in your thought patterns.

Photo of yogi with eyes closed by Form on Unsplash

When I read the saying “Close your eyes and open your mind” made me realize that I wanted to use closed eyes rather than open eyes as my inspiration for this challenge.   I used a polymer clay focal by artisan Brooke Bock. The focal reminds me of an ancient Greek statue.

Ancient Greek Necklace by BayMoonDesign

This unique Greek necklace has a pendant created with this ancient face. I found the long fine brass chain to pair with the ancient face. To complete my focal I added a vintage crystal and a key. The long necklace is 30 inches long with the focal hanging below 2.5 inches.

Ancient Greek Necklace by BayMoonDesign

This looks like a very quick and easy necklace to make, but I ran into a major snag-- the chain which I adored. I loved the look of it but when I went to work with it, I realized that the holes in the chain portion were so tiny that I couldn't pass any kind of wire through them. What I ended up doing was using two crimp covers to attach the chain to the lobster clasp on both sides. It worked great because of the tiny decorative balls. They were perfect anchors for the crimp covers to be nestled between.

I use crimp covers to attach the clasp parts

This is a blog hop so please visit all who participated and leave comments.

AE Team

Susan
Marsha
Claire
Cathy
Jenny
Niky
Jennifer
Laney

Guests

Dawn  

Hope  

Beth & Evie  

Kathy  

Michelle 

Tammy    

Cat  

Elaine

Altered Tins Morph into Holiday Ornaments

I have been saving Altoid tins for a number of years and have several blogs about creating Christmas ornaments with them. My first blog on this topic goes back to 2017. I have also collected ideas of what can be done with Altoid tins as well as tutorials here on Pinterest.

I received an invitation to create some holiday ornaments for the Biggs Museum of American Art . The museum hosts a reasonably priced holiday market for children. They purchase handmade items by museum member artisans that are purchased then purchased for family members.

I went through my stash of tins, card stock, tools, old Christmas cards, ribbons and trim, earrings, holiday pins, odds and ends. Two essentials for this project are a hot glue gun and Modge Podge which I had. The best part of this project was that I did not have to buy a single thing. I had everything I used already at home.  I admit I worked with children for 35 years so I have a rather large collection of holiday pins and jewelry that I hope will bring joy to others as I repurpose them. I wanted them to enjoy life outside of my jewelry box.

Santa ornament by BayMoonDesign

I pull the Altoid tins apart with my bare hands.  I take advantage of the larger width of the bottom of the tin and use decorations that wide in them.  The tops are used for the thinner items.   All of my tins have their surface covered with carefully cut to size high quality card stock and Modge Podge which is generously applied on both sides of the tin. The Modge Podge acts as a glue as well as a sealant. When it dries it is invisible. 

My first ornament features a Santa from a holiday pin.  I pulled the pin off with pliers and hot glued the pin to cardstock that has the Modge Podge already applied and dried.

Back of the Santa Ornament from BayMoonDesign

I enjoyed seeing a favorite Christmas card that I saved. Now it is on the front and back of the Santa ornament. The plaid ribbon is repurposed from an old toy.

Snowman Ornament by BayMoonDesign

The snowman comes from my extensive collection of 1980's button covers. I bet a lot of my readers have never heard of button covers and that is probably a good thing. The snowflake is a repurposed earring. I just snipped the post off the back and hot glued it on.

Mr. and Mrs. Owl Ornament by BayMoonDesign

This ornament has a repurpose Christmas wreath pin and 2 owls that are 3D stickers that I hot glued on.  

Front of Sleeping Owls Ornament by BayMoonDesign

back of Sleeping Owls Ornament by BayMoonDesign

All of  paper that I used is high quality card stock. It has the weight and thickness needed.

Sleeping Owls Ornament by BayMoonDesign

I used a variety of trims along the edges.  Hot glue is used to attach the trims.  A metal punch makes small holes at the top. I pulled gold cord through both of the top holes.  Sometimes when I make these ornaments I hang beads from the bottom.  On some of the ornaments has small silver bells hung.  The sky is the limit on what you can use and create!

My hope is that these ornaments from repurposed items will be enjoyed for many years to come.