Monday, 26 July 2021

2021 Topic 9 : Baubles & Bling {Topic Introduction}

2020 Topic  9 - Baubles and Bling


Hi everyone, Keren here with a slightly unseasonal topic (or is it?!). We'll head straight for the obvious and go to Christmas! We have Germany to thank for so many of our 'traditional' traditions. The tree, tinsel and the beautiful bauble all originated from there and from Lauscha in the instance of the bauble. Baubles were originally shaped as fruit and nuts and developed from there. They were originally glass with mercury and lead embellishments, a far cry from so many of our plastic ornaments.
Popularity of baubles in the UK exploded after Queen Victoria had a picture of her, Albert and the family with their decorated Christmas tree published in the newspapers. For many, baubles weren't affordable until plastic ornaments were developed. 


But are baubles just for Christmas? 'Bauble' can also be defined as another descriptive word for a ring or trinket; something shiny and decorative. I wonder if any of our bloggers will be designing trinkets?
Here's a bauble 'bauble' !!


I can't imagine that we'll see any designers creating the final 'bauble' definition which is the sceptre of a jester, but I'd love to be proved wrong. Beginning with our PaperArtsy bloggers, we'll see what jewels we can unearth.

Kay Carley is not one to shy away from sparkle and these baubles are no exception.


Alison Bomber has done a real masterclass in different bauble designs. Here's a beautiful one to whet your appetite.


If you like raiding your cupboards, have you tried the old shaving foam technique? Miriam Grazier has created some cool and crisp baubles with added embossing.


Lastly, Darcy Marshall created a gorgeous dimensional bauble using paper, paint and more. So many good ideas!


Isobel Moore is a wonderful fabric and textile artist. Aren't these baubles stunning?


If textiles and sewing aren't your thing, maybe these striking origami baubles might intrigue.


Baubles don't need to just be seasonal. How about these hand painted ornaments.


Let's move away a little from baubles and go to trinkets. Trinkets could be a wide variety of items, but I thought these soldered ones were a great place to start. Makes you want to order a soldering iron doesn't it!


Creating an electic mix of elements to make unique jewellery is a special skill. These are by Anna Hanna.


Let's move, before we finish, to the topic of bling. Efemera likes adding bling to her pieced and inked backgrounds.



Coming nearly full circle back to Christmas. Tinsel (which again came from Germany and was originally made from metal), features on this tag and brings a more subtle 'bling' to proceedings.


We've showcased this project before, but vintage bling is a category all by itself. Scrapcosy does it seemingly effortlessly and shows that bling can be subtle and pared back.


If you're looking for glitter techniques, then Nikki Acton has 3, and even though she's using lots of glitter, it doesn't seem overdone.


The last project is using a tiny amount of bling- showing that it can be a gentle nod to bling rather than a full throttled in your face effect. Autumn's simple embossed star lifts the design so elegantly.


For some of you, I suspect that the idea of bling and baubles might seem one step too far, but hopefully this collection of projects might inspire you to join in too.

If you want to create along with us while we explore this topic, please share your makes on our social feeds so we can follow along. Instagram @paperartsy or why not join us and post in the PaperArtsy People Group on Facebook. Make sure you tag us in your contributions, we love to see what you get up to in your creative world! 

1 comment:

Miriam said...

I'm only just catching up. What a wonderful topic to get me in a festive mood! Your inspiration is fabulous. And such a surprise to see one of my projects.