Here's One I Made Earlier

Obviously I have had a severe lack of funds to buy more jump rings for a little while so I have been playing around with what I have. I really don't know how I ended up with SOOO many purple jump rings but as I was sick of looking at them sitting there and didn't want to make more purple items for my shop I decided to make something for myself. It's just a simple double spiral chainmaille weave necklace (choker).


I also noticed that despite the fact that I love copper, I really didn't have that many pairs of copper earrings in my own collection. With the new job we are only allowed to wear small earrings though I have noticed quite a few people don't follow that rule (lol). I had been wanting to make another pair of these earrings for myself and I finally sat down the other day and did it. They are woven in a variation of byzantine weave called romanov. Basically it is just two sections of the byzantine weave, connect at each end with a slightly bigger jump ring and add a lovely Swarovski crystal in between. I used 6mm crystals and they were some freebies I got but I think the color is Siam though it is hard to tell in the photo as well as in person. It's such a dark red but really pretty with the copper.


Needless to say, I have plenty of ideas running around my head for projects it's just getting the rings to play around. One thing I really want to do is play with some really thick gauge rings, like 14, to make some chunky jewelry. Hopefully I will be able to get those and of course, I'll post any and all new projects here.

Favorites For Friday

I recently had someone on Etsy ask me if I would consider oxidizing one of my copper bracelets for them if they decided to purchase it. I have to admit that over the years of making jewelry my tastes have basically stayed the same but some things I have opened my mind to. Oxidizing is one thing and I answered that, of course I would. Then I started thinking about all the possibilities there are when you do oxidize metals and it actually got me thinking that maybe I ought to get my act together and make a few things. Till then, I thought I would share some of the pretty mixed metal items I found over on Etsy. I was surprised there was only 6 pages when I typed in "oxidized mixed metals" as my search.

Mixed Metals Copper Squares with Sterling Silver - Dream Belle Designs
(these are dainty but I LOVE them!)

Wavy Mixed Metal Ruffles & Ridges Earrings - Pobbletoes

Brushed Golden Teardrop Oxidized Sterling Silver Dangle Earrings - Glitz Glitter

Mixed Metals Sterling Skull Copper Earrings - KimVGlass

Chandelier Oxidized Sterling Silver Wire Heart Earrings - Mayahelena

I still love looking at shiny metals but after checking out these beautiful designs I definitely want to explore the world of oxidizing. As always, once I do I'll post some pretty pics here.

New Things and an Update

Yes, I'm still here, just on a SUPER sllloooooww dial-up connection. Ever noticed that not only is dial-up slow but you ALWAYS get kicked off. . . and it is usually right when you are doing something important! So, we are all moved out and in between I managed to snap a few shots of a few new things I have done lately. I have a few more pairs of these beautiful lucite flowers in other colors but this is the next pair that I made. Same as the red ones I posted previously but the ear wire I made a bit different. I really like just making these very simple since I want the flower to be the focal point. Much as I love the earrings that have a flower with beads, crystals and maybe a leaf or two, these just cry out to be on their own (IMHO).


This next piece is something I have actually been working on for a few months a little at a time. I believe the beads are Fancy Jasper but if you know they are not then please let me know. I was just going by pictures on Fire Mountain Gems site and so I could be totally off base. I did the copper wire spiral caps and then separated the beads with Byzantine chainmaille sections. Then added more Byzantine to the "back" part of the necklace. I'll have to get a shot of me modeling it so you can see how it lays. It's meant to sit at the base of the neck. The beads are actually really big, probably 10 or 12mm or for reference, the size of marbles. Chunky but not over the top.

I haven't been able to do many Entrecard drops or stop by any blogs but I noticed that there is a library that my husband passes during the day. I'm hoping to go there one day and use the wi-fi. Might actually be able to achieve a few things. I did get to the LV Gem & Mineral Society shop on Tuesday to finish up some cabochons I needed to shine up. I have some copper and brass wire and plan on wrapping them soon. Of course, I'll share photos when I'm done. Hope all is well for everyone out there in Blogland and I'll attempt to stop by soon.

A Few New (and old) Designs

Currently, I have an abundance of square copper wire that I bought to use for wire wrapping the cabochons that I had been making. The first photo is of a pair of earrings I made with a few lampworked beads I bought at a bead show in June. This wasn't the design I had envisioned for the beads but it was how they ended up. Always the way, I start off with good intentions and they never work out...lol. Though I am happy with the end result. I think those will be listed in my Etsy shop by the end of the week.


This is one of the cabochons I made and the design will include (once I'm finished) a chain linked to the two loops at the top. I've been on the hunt for some steel wool to get rid of some of my tool marks which aren't too bad considering how frustrated I was getting with this piece. The chain will be chainmaille and not ready made chain, I just haven't decided on which weave I'd like to use since I want to keep it simple since the pendant is the focal point. Plus, I have to look in my stash and see if I have enough rings to make a chain for it.


This is supposed to be the Golden Gate Bridge and since I had to hand-draw out the graph for it I think it came out pretty good. I thought I had shared this previously but when I was going through all my photos I realized I hadn't even taken one of it, it was done a few months back. This one was woven in peyote stitch using black and orange seed beads, size 11. If I had that beading software then I would insert a real photo and do one. One day I hope to do that as well as do one of the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle, England where my husband is from. That would be a cool series to do actually....beaded bracelets of bridges all around the world. Or a series of landmarks from major cities around the world.


This last bracelet was another of those projects that started out as one idea then got ripped apart and ended up as this. I seem to have quite a few of those lately. I had been wanting to play with those lucite flowers for ages and finally found some that I liked over on Etsy. The initial design was using the green seed beads (size 8) which I had bought ages ago at a bead shop here in Las Vegas which, sadly, is no longer open. It was called Lov-R-Beads and they had a fantastic assortment of seed beads. My first attempt was with a peyote weave band and then I was going to add the flowers. It did NOT work at all. So, after ripping it apart I decided on a tubular herringbone weave which wasn't as stiff as I wanted it so after putting the flowers on it still wasn't "right". Then it hit me, I had some 16 gauge craft wire which I inserted through the tube and added a few big spacers at the ends, made a few loops and added a clasp. Much better than the first attempt but still not exactly how I would have liked it. There are still a fair amount of the flowers left over and I have a few cool ideas for earrings with them so keep your eyes peeled as I'm hoping to get those done soon and get them listed somewhere.

I'm Wired!!

Not just wired on coffee! I've been taking a break from my chainmaille obsession and have been working on some wire-wrapping creations. The first photos is the cabochon that I made. If you aren't sure what I'm talking about then you can read this post here for the explanation. I know that a lot of people use square wire for their wrapped cabs but I had some 22 gauge round wire lying around so I just ended up buying some half-round wire from a seller on Etsy. I'm very happy with how it turned out considering this is my first ever attempt at wrapping a cab. Now if only someone could tell me what the stone IS then I'd be really happy.



Green aventurine is such a pretty stone and I love the way it looks combined with copper. I already have one pair of copper earrings with aventurine in my Etsy shop but these are slightly different. I'd like to do a pair like this in silver but maybe with garnets or lapis. Hmmm, or maybe I'll just have to make one pair of each.



This last photo is a cuff I came up with after seeing a design in Step by Step Wire Magazine. The original design had smaller "waves" but was along the same lines. This was fun to make since it was all very random as I went along. Lately too, I have been trying to make my own findings so the clasp on this cuff is handmade as well. One of the next projects I'd like to work on with wire is some hammering, so need to find the right time so I don't disturb the neighbors. I bought some 12 gauge wire which I'm chomping at the bit to play with. Uggg so many ideas, not enough time OR money! I'll be listing these in my shop soon so keep an eye out.