Art Nouveau Cuff Bracelet

Each month Sarajo shares the inspiration her husband, Eric, gives to her as a jewelry-making prompt. She called it the Honey Do List.  Usually, these inspirations are photos that he's taken on their travels. This month, the inspiration was a photo of an art nouveau mural around a set of windows in the Czech Republic. I love that they pass on this inspiration to the rest of us to spark our own creativity. 

As soon as I saw the mural, I knew that I had a blue tin in my stash that had something of a similar pattern on it. 
See! And, I have no idea what the words on the tin say so I suppose it could be Czech too!

Anyway, I cut out one of the main floral bunches from the lid of the tin and then had to decide what I wanted to actually do with it. I toyed with the idea of a necklace or cutting the section into two and making earrings, but none of that seemed right.
The length of the piece made both of those ideas fairly awkward. However, I thought that it might be perfect as a bracelet.

As I sanded the edges and created raised dimples for interest on the tin, I thought more about the direction for the design.
It finally hit me that I have a few thrifted leather belts in my stash that were waiting to be transformed into something wonderful.

After picking out a belt that had a similar reddish-brown color as the window frames in the inspiration picture, I made sure it was wide enough to fit the tin. It was - just barely!
It took some force to cut through the belt, then I rounded the corners, and punched the holes.

A snap was added to close the cuff. And, to attach the tin to the leather, I used rivets.
These were all fairly new skills to me, so there were a few mistakes, but I chalk it up to learning. In the end, I'm elated with the result.

I did have a good giggle at the inspiration photo though. As I stared at it looking for a spark of an idea, the decorative supports at the top of the picture caught my attention.
They look like screaming robots. Please tell me you see it too.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing what Sarajo and other designers created with this amazing image in mind. Thank you to Sarajo and Eric for another inspiring prompt! Make sure to head over to SJ Designs Jewelry to see what she made!

9 comments:

  1. When I looked at Sarajo's post I was quite stumped. For her description said Art Nouveau, the motifs on the wall were from the Arts and Crafts movement. So I did not know which way to go. But your tin plate is close to the inspiration and since there is a bit of "Curve-counter curve" happening it is art Nouveau too.
    PS: I too thought that the pillaster looks like a vintage robot

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  2. What a fantastic way to upcycle a cool tin! Love the bracelet. Those supports are screaming robots to me too. How funny!

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  3. Wow! What an awesome bracelet! I love how you embraced the challenge with that gorgeous tin. I have to laugh at your robot discovery since "robot" is the one and only Czech word to have been incorporated into the English language. Too funny! Check back on December 1st to see what Eric comes up with next!

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    1. Sarajo, Thank you!! That is funny about the word robot. Must be one of those unconscious things that I knew way in the back of my head. Ha! Can't wait to see what the next challenge is. Y'all are helping me make some real beauties. I appreciate that so much!

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  4. I love what you did with the tin! And screaming robots!!

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    1. Eric, thanks so much! Thank YOU for the inspiration. I'm sorry if I ruined the architecture for you. It was just one of those "faces in places" moments.

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  5. This cuff is gorgeous, you have a way with tin for sure :) I didn't notice the screaming robots at first but now this image is stuck in my mind forever :) :) :)

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  6. I see the screaming robots now! :) I love how your bracelet turned out.

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    1. Ann, I hate that I've invaded everyone's brain with the screaming robots, but I had to make sure it wasn't just me. Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to visit. It means so much to me.

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