I promised a friend of mine that I would make an Owl pin for her, so when her birthday rolled around recently, I decided to make a few pieces for you all too. :) I chose the Great Horned Owl, and what a fabulous challenge it was! These birds are so magnificent, and recreating them in clay gave me the opportunity to try out some more complicated techniques that I rarely use with sculpting parrots.

There are three different necklaces on auction, including a beaded set, a pendant, and a choker. The prices on the owls are higher than the parrot jewelry due to the great deal of time and more involved work. Many people assume these are painted, however absolutely NO paint was used, instead just layers and layers of colored clay, applied painstakingly in different ways give these sculptures their realistic look. The eyes are also clay, and are glossed for a life-like appearance.

NEW ON ETSY:

I took a break from sculpting last weekend to play around with some different techniques including inking, and made an assortment of unique light switch plates. There are a variety of colors and designs now for sale in my ETSY SHOP!

Please note that these are "first come, first serve" - if you see something that you like, you will need to purchase it immediately on Etsy, since these listings are not auctions. If you've never purchased anything on Etsy, it is super easy, so check it out!

Macaw Light Switch Plate

Owl Light Switch & Outlet Plates

Here are some new one-of-a-kind creations that are on sale this week on eBay!   Lutino Cockatiel Necklace - holding a pink heart, on pink cords and ribbon

Male Eclectus Pin - created with a metallic shimmery finish! Unique "Mystery Bird" Pin - created with scraps of leftover clays

I've being receiving so many custom order queries every day, so I thought I would give you all an update as to how my current line-up of work is going. At this point, I still have approximately 7 months more of custom order requests from last year yet to fill. I am working my way through and drawing from the stack of requests that have been waiting, and creating as many as I can each month.

Once all of the outstanding waiting requests are filled, I will be taking a bit of time off to do some website updates, and at that time will determine when I will be open for new custom orders in the future. Whenever I have openings again, and can accept additional custom orders, I will post the news through my newsletter, Facebook, and this blog!

This month, I am using Ebay Giving Works to donate a percentage of each of my auctions to Phoenix Landing, a non-profit, all-volunteer, organization that promotes and protects the welfare of parrots. To find out more about Phoenix Landing, visit their website: http://www.phoenixlanding.org

I had an informal "poll" on my Facebook page recently to see what birds everyone would like to see me make, and when the Spix's Macaw came up several times, I was inspired to give them a try! I had actually already picked the Moluccan Cockatoo as my Bird of the Month, but it's been so long since I have created a "new" bird that I've never sculpted before, so decided to have TWO different species for this month!

Did you know that the Spix's Macaw is one of the world's rarest parrots? They are extinct in the wild, and only around 100 or so are in captivity. Extensive efforts are being made to increase the population, and hopefully eventually bring them back to their native home in Brazil.

The Spix's Macaws on auction for the next six days include the following: bracelet charm, charm with leash, choker necklace, pendant on cord, pendant without cord, Rainforest design pin, glass beaded bracelet, and a glass beaded necklace/earring set!

The Bird of the Month is the beautiful Blue Throated Macaw!

I haven't had any macaws on sale for a while, so I've listed a charm, choker necklace, glass beaded bracelet and a glass beaded necklace/earring set for auction on eBay and end on Friday!

I have also created three unique pendant necklaces featuring some "abstract parrots", made using many bits of "scrap clay", all rolled together to form some unusual and eye catching designs!

I typically wait until I have quite a clump of many bits of leftover clay from custom orders, and then squeeze it all together in different ways. It's always a fun surprise to see how each one turns out, and certainly makes each piece one-of-a-kind!

The birds could represent a variety of parrot species based on the body shapes, it's just up to your imagination! These pendants are on sale on eBay until Friday.

In addition, there there is a new assortment of bird poop jewelry available! I find that whenever I need a break from sculpting custom orders, making some "poop jewelry" is a fun change. ;) Apparently, I'm not the only one around with a slightly bizarre sense of humor, since I can't seem to keep these crazy creations in stock! You've asked for more, so here they are! This collection of pins, pendant, charm, choker and magnet are now on sale until Friday on my eBay Auctions. As I did last month, I'm using eBay Giving Works to donate at least 10% of the proceeds of all of this week's auctions to The Oasis Sanctuary! It's a perfect time to think about holiday gifts, and this is a great way to give back to bird rescue at the same time!

The Bird of the Month for August is another first on eBay, the White Capped Pionus. I'm offering a charm, choker, pendant, beaded bracelet and necklace/earring set. I love the colors in this necklace set, and not only glass beads are used but some semi-precious stones as well.

I went through a "pink phase" a few weeks ago, and made up a fun assortment of Flights of Fancy pieces all in shades of pink for you! There are four unique Dragonfly themed beaded necklace/earring sets in the following species: Conure, Macaw, African Grey and Eclectus. The Conure set is shown below along with some other pendants. A beaded "Laugh" pin is also listed, along with a regular female cockatiel bracelet charm.

They are all on auction for the next week on eBay!

The Bird of the Month is a bird that I've never sculpted before, the beautiful Crimson Rosella. Those of you in some parts of Australia probably see them frequently! I can only imagine having these beautiful birds wild in your backyard! There is great detail on the scalloping on the wings and back which was a fun challenge to create. There is a charm, choker, pin, pendant on cord, beaded bracelet and beaded necklace/earring set currently on auction on eBay!

I have also listed a large assortment of wild and wonderful red, white and blue creations - just in time for the 4th of July! The birds loosely represented are: African Grey, Amazon, Cockatiel, Cockatoo, Conure, Eclectus, Macaw and Parrotlet - however some could look like other species, so it's really up to your imagination! You can read more about them within each listing page, so go visit this week's auctions for more details!

Also new on eBay this week are a Senegal bracelet charm, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo charm, Blue and Gold Macaw Beaded bracelet and earrings with gorgeous lamp work beads, and another bird poop pendant.

Stop by my eBay listings and take a look!