a fair cop (per bracelet)

Rich brought home some scraps of copper wire that the electricians left lying around at his work last week and now here they are with some turquoise beads.

I've never been all that keen on copper jewellery, but I do like this. I've marked it with the pliers in a few places, not used to working with such thick wire, but it's not too bad. I went off it slightly when I was mid-way through and Rich said it looked like a toilet flush chain, but I think we got past that.

Might have just enough copper left for some matching earrings.

More sewing

More of my favourite in class this week. This the partner necklace to the bracelet below. Thankfully much easier, though I'm still not impressed with it!

Cab-bing fever

This was this week's project. A wire wrapped rhodonite freeform cabochon with a wireworked chain. The chain links are all hammered. The first picture is shiny silver, then I oxidised it and it now looks like the second picture. I like it, but I think I may get some fine steel wool and give it a rub just to bring up the silver a bit more, it's looking a bit gunmetal atm.

sleeping beauty

I'm not very big on sewing. Sew (groan) this one was a beast. Four hours of threading tiny seed beads onto two invisible pieces of fishing wire. This is what turned me boggle-eyed in my class yesterday. I think I would rather stick the needles in my eyes than do this one again. Thankfully, although it is very dainty and pretty, it's not really my style, so I don't feel any inclination to.

Aflame

Just finished this orange sparkly-ness. It was hanging around for ages until I ordered the extra beads I needed to finish it. Really nice shape when it's on this one.

I'm boggle-eyed now after two hours of sewing beads in jewellery class. I'm certainly no seamstress.

More oldies

No making today, too busy with studying and migraine, so here are a few more oldies.



I think this is my favourite necklace so far. It is abalone shell, green moss agate and bali silver. Very 'Island'.



And some matching earrings in bali silver, apatite and swarowski crystals.



These are my favourite earrings - in bali silver with blue topaz stones.





And these were the first chandalier earrings I made - in silver and amethyst.




And last but not least, last week's beading extravaganza of pure purpleness...

pretty in pink

This is the latest and greatest. In silver plated wire and pink opal. More of a practice piece really, I'm not so keen on the pink, a bit washed out on me. This took quite a while though, I got lots of practice with wired loops, closed and open. It started to feel a bit like whittling after a while.

I think I want to do this piece again in turquoise with oxidised silver. Possibly even in red jasper and turquoise. But I will need to oxidise the silver (plated) wire pieces first - can't do it after as turquoise is a bit fragile (doesn't like heat or chemicals, soft, porous). I think I will also need to let my fingers heal first too, after bending all those closed loops...

We three rings

My jewellery teacher told me last week that the ring shank I was attempting to wire wrap (for the first time) was rubbish. So I have been practising all week. These are better, but still not great.

The ring on the left was the first and worst, the bead in it (baroque amethyst nugget) is a little big for a ring I think. After I finished it I wrapped the shank rather messilly with 0.6 wire.

The ring on the right was the second with a smaller amethyst nugget. This worked a little better and I quite like this one. The shank is not wired though and it could do with it to balance it out.

I tried something different with the ring in the middle (turquoise) and did it a bit like a wired cab. I cut three pieces of wire, wrapped them and then bent it into a shank. After popping the stone in (on the end of the wrapping wire) I made the swirls with the ends of the wrapped wires. All done in 0.8 wire. Now I just need to work out how to get the sizing right - note to self: make rings smaller - easier to make bigger after!

Got to start somewhere...

... And it might as well be here.

I just want somewhere to journal my travels in jewellery-making, somewhere to put the pics and notes to self...

So might as well start with a few things I have made already:



This was an early one, made in about March I think. Just some simple beading and attaching the clasp. It is fluorite and black lava stone, with silver - very goth. I made another one, for Rach's birthday, in new jade and Botswana agate.






For this one I had to hunt down some (new) Berber beads from Morocco, Lovely big beads, though not silver unfortunately. The stone is carnelian. Bit hippy this one.




This is my favourite so far - a bracelet in labradorite and iolite nuggets with Bali and Thai Karen Hill tribe silver. It was also the most expensive, but so pretty, the labrodarite has blue and purple flashes.






Silver earrings with blue opal and citrine drops.








Silver again, with rainbow moonstone and aqua faceted glass cubes.









More hippyness with amethyst and rainbow moonstone on Bali silver chandaliers.











And a nice sparkly summery necklace.








All fairly easy so far... I started more wire stuff after this...