Posts Tagged 'autumn'

All the leaves are gone…

Well, not quite. There are still leaves up there but I’d say the sweet spot for leaf preservation has passed.

Leaf jewellery ©Shireen Nadir 2012

And that’s the ‘why’ of the matter for me – Autumn is beautiful and magical because it passes. The trees give us a treat for a few weeks and then it’s over. More than spring, more than summer, there is a nowness to autumn – you’ve got to enjoy every beautiful, colourful jewel of a day because, well because winter is on it’s way.

Leaf jewellery ©Shireen Nadir 2012

This is why, of all the things I’ve preserved in resin, autumn leaves are the most precious to me. I have taken something transitional by nature and preserved a piece of it. No matter how many times I do it, it always feels a little bit like magic, especially when my stash of leaves begins the inevitable – turning into dust.

Leaf jewellery ©Shireen Nadir 2012

Another reason I love these pieces is that they’re pieces of home. They’re Canadian maple leaves, collected here in Ontario. The fact that we have 4 seasons is one of the things that makes life up here so beautiful and inspiring and I love being able to create something not only inspired by, but made of, seasonal change.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBlueBrick

Enough babbling :) I’m in a romantic mood this morning, maybe because tomorrow is the big wedding day for Kris and Kev! We all got our mendhi (henna) handwork done last night, and we’re all excited for tomorrow!

Leaf jewellery ©Shireen Nadir 2012

There will likely be only one more round of jewellery coming after this one, and then I’ll retire the resin until tulip season in the spring. Check out my Etsy shop to see what’s available :)

An Etsy update at last

I’ve finally updated my Etsy site with jewellery made from the leaves collected on our road trip. If you followed my travels around North Ontario you might have seen this picture:

autumn leaves ©Shireen Nadir 2012

During the trip I made sure to be collecting leaves along the way – looking for anything that caught my eye including small ferns, and strips of birch bark. We didn’t hurt any trees though ;) everything I used was collected from the ground. We slowly dried  and preserved the leaves over the trip so when I got home I had all kinds of beautiful material to work with.

Real leaf jewellery ©Shireen Nadir 2012

Every necklace is made with jeweller’s grade resin; it will never yellow and it won’t scratch easily. Little compositions of leaves and bark have been created in each 1″ bezel.

Real leaf jewellery ©Shireen Nadir 2012

They come in a variety of finishes; copper, bronze, hematite and silver. Each one comes on a matching 18″ball chain.

Real leaf jewellery ©Shireen Nadir 2012

If you like what you see then head on over to my Etsy site to see more :) These one of a kind pieces are crafted with love and are a great way to celebrate this beautiful time of year.

Real leaf jewellery ©Shireen Nadir 2012

North Ontario Road Trip – Day 2 Manitoulin Island to Sault Ste Marie

Manitoulin Island ©Shireen Nadir 2012

Day 2 took us off the island and into the border town of Sault Ste Marie. Once again the autumn colours were in full blast all the way there, and the weather was gorgeous.

Manitoulin Island ©Shireen Nadir 2012

Manitoulin Island ©Shireen Nadir 2012

Manitoulin Island ©Shireen Nadir 2012

Once in Sault Set Marie we went out for some more night shooting, getting this great shot of the milky way diving down over Lake Superior and into Michigan state.

Manitoulin Island ©Shireen Nadir 2012

That was, sadly, the last of gorgeous weather – last night we went through a harrowing, pitch black, stormy drive into Thunder Bay and the weather hasn’t cleared yet – resulting in me missing out on a great solar flare from a great latitude. The trip is not over yet though, so I still have hope!

Romantic Copper jewellery

I can’t get away from the autumn leaves, though my stores of preserved ones are getting woefully low :( However – I had enough for a few last pieces in my autumn leaf series and I think these are my most beautiful and romantic items yet.

This lariat style necklace is made with a copper butterfly charm and a heart shaped pendant. The heart contains real autumn leaves, preserved in jeweller’s grade resin.

This beauty is an antique copper pendant with filigree elements that were hand-shaped around the pendant after the resin was cured. The leaves are from a sumach.

This gorgeous medallion is the same idea as above – though in this case the filigree was adhered directly to the resin.

autumn jewellery ring

I’ve saved the best piece for the last one :) This ring is my absolute favourite, so delicate and detailed with 2 pieces of shaped filigree and textured autumn leaves below the resin. Even the side view is lovely:

autumn jewellery ring

I have discovered that working with natural materials and resin is my favourite medium. No matter what other ideas I have, I always come back around to this one, the possibilities are endless and nature herself has provided me with so much inspiration, and such a beautiful colour palette. I will be making these until the very last leaf of my 2011 storage is gone, but I am already moving into work involving flower petals – more on that tomorrow!

I ♥ Autumn

I heart Autumn jewelleryMy last round of I ♥ Autumn jewellery did so well I decided to do one more round before autumn in Toronto is over. I’ve added some new bezels, silver finishes and a new ‘tree of life design’ check it out!

I heart Autumn jewellery

I heart Autumn jewellery

I heart Autumn jewellery

I heart Autumn jewellery

I heart Autumn jewellery

Autumn Beauty Preserved pt II

I wanted to share an update to my Etsy shop – resin rings have been added to my Autumn collection!

autumn ring

These rings contain real autumn leaves, vintage sequins and occasional embellishments like sprigs of Queen Anne’s lace.

resin ring

They are both in antique copper for now, though I’ll be making some in copper, silver and gold finishes as well.

resin ring

They are adjustable in the back, I love them so much I made one for me :)

autumn ring

Autumn Beauty Wearables

resin jewellery

I’ve been working in resin again and this last round has me thrilled. So thrilled in fact that I’ve finally updated my Etsy store to share some of these beauties.

resin jewellery

Ever since I started working in resin I’ve been obsessed with the idea of preserving beautiful, natural elements to wear. In particular, the magic of autumn in Ontario is something I’ve always found inspiring. The idea that this transitory beauty could be preserved in a unique piece of jewellery was very appealing to me, and is what kick started my journey into working with resins. It’s taken a pretty long time to perfect my technique but I think I’m finally there :)

resin jewellery

Some of them are simply flower petals preserved. Some of them took lots of squinting and composing using exacto knives and tweezers ;) I do a double pour; once to seal my composition, once to give it a nice finish.

resin jewellery

The one above contains a maple leave and a sprig of queen Anne’s lace.

resin jewellery

resin jewellery

If you like what you see head on over to my Etsy page to check out the rest :)



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