RAWards Voting Day 3 - How I Make My Handpainted Seashell Jewelry

The accessories I design and create through Watercolor Submarine are a labor of love. Each necklace takes me anywhere from 1-4 hours to create. Today, I thought I'd share the process I go through to create my hand painted seashell necklaces.

I begin by selecting, thoroughly cleaning, and drilling a hole into each seashell. I don't always select 'perfect' shells, because I believe the imperfections that naturally occur in each shell add to their beauty and uniqueness.

I then layer on the color. Using bright watercolor pigments and ample amounts of water, I dab on colors. This is my favorite part of the process, because I get to let the water do its own work, and the results are often more beautiful and surprising than I ever could have imagined!

After the color dries, I use a tiny brush and black acrylic paint to outline a sea creature onto the shell. This is all done freehand, so no two paintings are ever exactly alike. Next, colorful bubbles are painted on the shell with acrylic paints to add accent.

At this point, the painting is finished, so I seal the shell to protect against water and UV light. I then use the hole I previously drilled into the shell and a length of wire to turn the painted shell into a pendant.

A chain is then added to complete the necklace. I use several different types of chain, but may favorite is stainless steel for its durability.

Finally, a small tag is attached to the necklace that describes the character featured on the complete one-of-a-kind jewelry piece.

Thanks for visiting and don't forget to vote for me for RAW:Omaha's Accessories Designer of the Year! Vote on my RAW Profile at RAWArtists.org/KristiSchmit

RAWards Voting Day 2

It's day two of seven for RAWards voting. Please help me win a chance to showcase my original jewelry in the semi-finals by voting HERE.Your support means a lot to me! I know the site was slow yesterday, but it seems to be running much more smoothly today. The deadline for voting has been extended one day due to the issues they were having with the website yesterday, so you can now vote once per day through October 9th!

All of my hand painted seashell jewelry features an original character that is part of my Aquatic Avenue Crew, a group of eccentric ocean dwellers and undersea neighbors. Each one-of-a-kind necklace or trinket tray comes with a description of the character it displays. You can read more about my characters by checking out the free downloadable coloring pages on this blog, click HERE. Below is an example of one of my favorite characters.

Thanks for your support!

RAW Voting Starts Today

In May I participated in a RAW: Natural Born Artists showcase in Omaha. I had a blast showing off all of my hand painted jewelry, and checking out the other artists' work. Each year RAW honors the top artist in their category (mine being accessories) in an event called RAWards. The first step in promoting my jewelry is to get as many votes from my supporters as possible. So, for the next 7 days I'll be posting all about the artful accessories I put my heart and soul into creating through Watercolor Submarine, and asking for your help to advance to the next round of RAWards!

Click HERE, take a small moment to register your email address and vote for me from my RAW profile. If you're feeling extra generous come back and do the same tomorrow. You can vote once per day through October 8th!

Here is an example of what you're voting for. All of my jewelry features some type of water-dwelling critter:

My Video Interview (from RAW:Omaha Expressions)

On May 23rd I participated in an art showcase put on by RAW: Natural Born Artists in Omaha. It was an awesome night. Each of the artists had a video interview filmed, and they were released on YouTube yesterday.

Check mine out! I'm talking all about my Aquatic Avenue Crew jewelry line (check out my watercolor submarine shop for examples). I like how it turned out, but it's always strange to hear or see yourself talking. The first thing that goes through my head is, "Do I really sound like that?" I guess I do - I have recorded evidence!