Sunday 29 March 2009

Necklace Sets

At last! Finally I discovered that I had actually edited the pictures but did not resize them suitable to the web. So I spent the whole day doing that, including some more cropping, and giving each a name. Quite time consuming - the initial file was 153MB!

The first set is a euro 4-1 weave
with Swarovski AB rondelles
and Dorado crystals, done in goldplated wire.

Next is a herringbone 
weave on beautiful 12mm pearls interspersed with Swarovski crystals, also done in goldplated wire.

European 4 in 1
Herringbone Weave
Below you see a byzantine
weave with mother of pearl coin beads and a carnelian as focal point.

The focal in the next set 
is V-shaped in two directions: head on view as well as from the side, filled with assorted Swarovski crystals and other beads. The wire used is copper 20g and the chain is a butterfly weave.

Last but not least is a variation on the byzantine weave for the focal and plain for the necklace. For this I used champagne craft 
wire with olivine Swarovski crystals.
Byzantine Weave


And when you think
that the layout in your 
post is what you are 
going to see on the
blog, you are wrong!
Trying to describe 
each item as it appears
seems to be futile,
because afterwards
all is in disarray!

How do others do it?
You see a picture
and the caption below
it,  again and again.
So, what am I doing 
wrong? I think I
need help!!! 



Byzantine Variant

Saturday 28 March 2009

Pendants

Here are two new styles of pendant, that is new for me!. The first one is a faceted glass cabochon on which I tried my first ever netted bezel. I think it turned out quite well. The wire used is 20g and 28g  copper and the cab is just 1.8 x 1.4cm.
The second was a bit of a challenge because of it's
asymmetry. The stone is a beautiful tigereye, different in pattern on each side. So I decided to keep the wrap very simple and made it a reversible pendant to show off the beauty of the stone all around. Now that I have done it once I am sure others will follow.
I also tried to upload some necklace sets as mentioned in an earlier post but it seems I have to re-edit them to a smaller size. ......so hopefully you will see them next time!

Monday 23 March 2009

How to

After thinking about it for a while I have decided that once in a while I will post a "how to" to show different designs or techniques in wire which could help others in their way forward.
There is just one challenge I face: I can't very well execute a particular step and take a photo of it at the same time. Therefore I shall post a picture of each step and describe it.
If anyone has a better idea of how to accomplish my objective, please let me know! In a way these instructions will be mini tutorials, but as of now they will be free because I myself have learned so much via the internet and so many helpful groups without paying anything, therefore it is payback time.
Let me know what you think!


Saturday 21 March 2009

More Earrings





These are the remaining earrings which escaped posting last time. They are for casual fun and do not have necklaces to match, just single pairs. Next time I hope to show some necklace sets if I get some good pictures done.

Friday 20 March 2009

Be Grateful

Today I learned all over again to be grateful for all that I have and take for granted! A new member signed up to the wire wrap group I belong to.  She is a great grandmother of the tender age of 73. She works her jewellery in copper and writes her posts in caps on her computer. WHY? She is legally blind!!!. For a person of this age and the handicap she has to deal with to do all this is utterly praiseworthy and all the rest of us should not gripe or moan about lesser problems!

Therefore I say, be grateful for what you have!

A glitch

Now that I decided to post some pictures of my present earring collection only 4 showed up, yet the album (picasa) contains 13!!! It took me about two whole hours just to accomplish this. I ask myself, where are the other ones and what happened to their descriptions? It just means that either I learn much much more about the intricate workings of the web or I go back to upload photos one by one. This seems to be the better option because I do not have to wait an eternity for them to show! And not only that, but after all my struggles and nothing happening on my monitor screen I finally discovered that the same post was published THREE times, most bizarre! Sure, I deleted the extras and only hope my trials and errors will not put off my readers. Thank you all for your patience.

earrings




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Sunday 15 March 2009

Chainmaille Rings

A question was asked in the comment box if I make all my rings for chainmaille. The answer is yes, I do. There are several important reasons why I do so. The first is cost. Goldfilled wire is pretty expensive already and to buy the ready cut rings would treble the cost. The second, equally important reason is that I can make absolutely any size of ring I want and when I want it in any type and gauge of wire which takes my fancy. To be able to make them I have complete sets of knitting needles from the tiniest to the fattest, both in metric and imperial measurements. So for me it's do it yourself!

Saturday 14 March 2009



Too late for Valentine' day! It seems it's always after an event when I get the inspiration for it. Just like in the case of this simple copper heart with a Swarovski crystal and earrings to match. But I like the wavy links best, they look dainty. Well, mother's day is not far!

This bracelet is done in barbed helm weave with goldfilled wire in 22g. The rings used are 4mm and 3.25mm ID. Anything smaller, it becomes too tight and larger will make it too floppy and not hold the pattern.


This bracelet is euro 4-1 but woven lengthwise with 4 rings per row. Also made in goldfilled 22g wire with rings of 3mm ID.

Sunday 8 March 2009

Fond Memories

As I was sitting today working on a chain in the smallest size of ring possible my thoughts went way back into the past, trying to remember where my love of beads stems from. And I did remember! I was either 5 or 6 years old when I was given a most exciting Christmas gift. It was a box of tubular beads, same length and width, in opaque glass. There was no plastic in those days!!! They came with a set of instructions how to make different shapes of doilies, diagrams and needle and thread. This was indeed a most wonderful gift. Forgetting everything else I proceeded right then and there on Christmas Eve(that's when Santa brought our gifts) to start on the first project which was a star shaped placemat or doily. 
In those days our kitchen was what was called a living kitchen. All the family's activities took place there for the simple reason that it was the warmest room in the house as well as the largest! So I opened my box of beads on the large kitchen table, spread them all out just to admire the colours, threaded my needle and got the first segment underway. Then what: grandma came to announce dinner time and I sadly had to pack up again. But eventually I completed my doily, even though I remember that passing the thread back and forth was not that easy!
I think this is where my love of beads stems from. What about you? How did you start? I would love to hear your own fond memories.

Friday 6 March 2009

Confusion

Now, when I typed in my last post everything showed up underlined. Why? I don't know! Restarting several times made no difference. Guess what? I just decided to go ahead and publish and lo and behold no underlining was there!  One day I will understand the workings of this thing called web, hopefully...

More pendants



This pendant was made in copper wire e-wrap with a picture jasper and Swarovski crystals.  And one day I will figure out why this post decided to be underlined!!!
Sometimes the intricacies of the net are simply too muchGrrrh.

Another filigree pendant in silverplated wire with malachite.

Wednesday 4 March 2009

Yesterday I uploaded three pendants but this one refused to show up. It is a beautiful 12mm pearl wrapped in silverplated wire, topped with Swarovski crystals.

Tuesday 3 March 2009

Pendants



Since my knee is behaving in a more agreeable way, my brain too is back in functioning mode. Therefore I was able today to take pics of my most recent pendants. I don't know why this happens, but if I get inspired to make one, many others want to be made! It often means I do only one particular type of jewellery for a whole week or more before that particular obsession leaves me! I wonder if this happens to other jewellery makers?
Now to the latest pictures!

Sunday 1 March 2009

Throughout last week I made kiddies stretch bracelets (of all things), but then my daughters shop will open shortly! For the weekend I promised myself to tidy up my work room, so it will be ready for my new students. Then my knee took over! For one reason or the other it decided to be excruciatingly painful, so much so that I can hardly walk. That of course stopped my cleaning exercises as well as taking some new pictures of what I have created! That's life interfering with ambition. 
Thankfully the students understand the postponement! Hopefully I shall be back on track within a few days.

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