Opal was my mother’s birthstone and she had opal jewelry but nothing like this African opal. My sister loves the stone because it looks like an ancient map ;-) and I love the color and luminescence of the “water”. You can see the entire necklace in my ArtFire studio. http://www.artfire.com/users/bonniesplace
It’s been more than a little cold and wet in Seattle this spring and I’m dreaming of going to the ocean to soak up some sun, dip my toes in the water and get a sand pedicure. Peruvian blue opal with lemon quartz almost fills the need. Almost. More photos in my etsy shop here.
This week’s necklace is highly unusual for me. I typically make rather delicate pieces but I was going out in a very classic little black dress and needed something to give it a punch of summer. I’m not petite, so I decided a bold statement necklace would be just the thing. This necklace is actually dyed howlite, just turquoise in color, but I got tons of compliments on it and most people commented what an expensive piece it must be. In fact, it was very inexpensive to make – probably less than $20. I’m very happy with it. More pictures at my blog.
Isn’t it funny how we get on a kick with a particular technique or style? Right now, a lot of my earrings seem to feature a section of horizontal striped peyote stitch. I think it appeals to me because it demonstrates that freeform beading is not formless or undisciplined (which YOU all know as fellow artists — but you know how customers are sometimes!)
This is one theme that’s a no-brainer for me. Here is another recycled glass pendant of chartreuse Fenton glass with bronze and turquoise freeform beading.
So, been a bit late posting, sorry about that. Health…….sigh…….energy……..!
Decided to use up some of the stashed things I’ve had for many years and also some of the BBB winnings I received from Magpie Gems. Hope that’s okay to mention?
I wasn’t sure what kind of texture I’d be looking for, so I compilation of different styles, shapes, colors seemed like a good start. To finish I wasn’t happy with it! I then got out the wire and a crochet hook and created a frilly, filigreed bezel setting for the mosaic pendant. Voila! Extra textured look with all the other gorgeous gemstones.
Closer shots and varied angles are posted on my blog if you care to have a better look. http://www.daffydelights.blogspot.ca/
For this theme I decided to experiment with various wire techniques. First for the base of the necklace I did some viking knit that is tapered toward the ends. To create ends for the viking knit I made some twisted wire beads and capped them with an adapted bead cap topped by red creek jasper beads. The bail was made from twisted copper wire and the pendant was created using a Red Creek Jasper stone that was wire wrapped and topped by another bead. To emphasize the textures created by the different wire techniques, I gave it a patina using liver of sulfur. This was a fun project and I enjoyed doing the different techniques. Unfortunately the stone in the picture is slightly out of focus. However, the wire work was the main focus for this week’s topic:)
Although this project isn’t green I thought it would fit the subject. This piece was created to take to a craft show this weekend that will benefit Dolphin and Ocean preservation. Again I used layering of glass and glass paints to create a 3D type underwater scene. I then tried my hand at a new technique for me; Viking knit. The wire is copper silver plated craft wire and I added the swarovski crystals for accent. Visit my Blog on Friday 5/11 to see more of these and some wire wrapped pieces that I will be taking to the show.
I did a little experimenting this week with some sterling silver tube set bezels. One looks better than the others, Two I drilled the seat a little lower than it should have been and the bezel is a little thick as a result. I also used a little re-purposed diamond in one – the fist time I’ve dared work with a diamond. The tiny bails (hand sawed tubes) were the hardest part as I experimented with different ways to hold everything still and straight on my soldering block. The (too) thick bezels are growing on me – they give a slightly modern feel. I’ll keep the two thick ones for myself and put the “correct” peridot on my etsy site.
These funky wrap bracelets will go around and around your wrist or straighten out into necklaces.
Around and a round. To me, it was pretty obvious how I would approach this week’s theme, and that was by creating something round. Now, I’ve done round before… no real challenge there. So I wanted to incorporate a design element I haven’t really used before and that was the copper ball chain that I bought a couple months ago and haven’t bothered to use. I wove the chain directly to the pendant so it’s a ready-to-wear necklace. No fuss, and really elegant. I’d originally added a small crystal to the center, but I actually think it has more of the medallion feel I was going for without it, and just keeping with the natural beauty of the copper and the design elements themselves. And, because I can’t be too literal, this isn’t exactly a perfectly round shape, but I was hoping to achieve the look of wire that continuously moves in a circle.
Thanks for looking and for putting up with my gazillion posts in one night. Now I’m FINALLY caught up! Sigh. Now I can get back to the drama of opening a new store. lol
Shew.. okay, another one down. Now… for this week’s theme, I had a couple of these really cute abstract square Swarovski rings in this beautiful pale amethyst color, and I thought a nice contrast between the smooth texture of the crystal and the texture of woven wire would make a nice addition to the YOJ projects I’ve done. So I was sure to include the ring directly into the weaving. I basically treated it like another base wire while I was working. Normally I just wrap weaves through the center of rings like this, but this time I used the ring in the weave itself, so that was a nice change of pace and I got myself a great pair of earrings as a result. Used copper wire and Swarovski elements, and then oxidized…. though I think it looked great bright too with those shades of purple. Anyway, that’s week 17 and one more to go before I’m caught up! lol
When I thought of this weeks theme (in my desperate efforts to get caught up and complete my promise to myself that I would complete every single week, and try to stay as on theme as possible) the first thing that came to mind was being environmentally conscious. I knew there was a Recycled theme coming up (though not exactly the same context), so didn’t want to recycle per say. Instead, I decided to do something nice… for my garden. So I created this simple wave ring in silver filled wire. I’ve done this ring before, but had left the original a nice bright silver. This time around, I oxidized it. THEN, I saved my LOS solution until it neutralized, and I poured it in the garden I planted this last week! It was all kind of serendipitous actually, and maybe my plants will actually stay alive this year.
I had so much catching up to do it was ridiculous! With some Etsy drama to contend with and a new shop to set up, and new pictures to take and item descriptions to write, it’s amazing I was even able to get any real CREATING done these last couple days. So, for Double Duty, I chose to do a barrette. Hadn’t done a hair accessory in a while even though I love making them, and since a barrette can be worn several different ways, I think it qualifies just fine. I used bronze wire in this creation and kept it nice and bright. I felt that oxidizing it would blend it too easily with most hair colors, despite the bright blue Swarovski crystals. So, it’s staying bright, and looks really great when worn!
I am really happy with these earrings! I made them for a spring jewelry swap and now that partner has received them (and loves them!) I can finally post them. They are twisted wire with shaded amethyst and pearl. More info at my blog.
