A Bit of Wire Wrapping

I don't normally do this type of wire-wrapping. Anyone who does it regularly must be a bit insane. It's time consuming and the wire is persnickety. I use fine silver wire to keep the persnickety-ness to a minimum. It doesn't work harden the way the sterling silver does.

This first pair of earrings is super long. They look like twigs to me. I wrapped them with a series of  seed pearls and tiny faceted garnets.

For my next pair, I did a more daring color combination: apatite and golden tourmaline. These are shorter, but just a little more elaborate.

I don't have plans to list these in my etsy shop. I have 4 (ack, what was I thinking?!?) craft shows coming up and I need these earrings to keep my selections varied. You may see them on etsy later in the season, f they don't sell. But I hope they do!

Lampwork + Gemstones = COLORPLAY

One of the funnest things about creating jewelry is the color play involved. Gemstones are full of natural color. Pearls can be naturally colored, dyed or heat-treated to attain wonderful colors. And lampwork beads? Where do I begin to describe the amazing colors and combinations thereof that are found in these art glass beads?

Just about a year ago, I purchased a bunch (49 to be exact) orphan lampwork beads from Firelily on etsy. Here's a photo of the whole lot.

They are amazing and they've been sitting on my worktable for a full year. I would occasionally fondle them or just peer into their awesomeness. Inspired by something I saw on etsy the other day, I finally decided to use some of these works of art.

First, I sorted through them to separate out the pairs, to be saved for earrings. I know they are all supposed to be orphans, but I definitely found lots of pairs. With some of the remaining beads, I made a series of pendants. Each bead is paired with a gemstone (also orphaned) and made into one of two styles of pendant. In one style, the lampwork bead and the gemstone are wired together in chain-like fashion, making for an articulated pendant. The other style hard-wires the two elements together.

These photos capture most of the 21 necklaces I made.

I do not plan to list these in my etsy shop, so if you see something you like (or would like to see more photos of), let me know and we can work something out. Enjoy the colors!

Working By the Batch

Today started out slow and I was sure I would get very little done. With Rick out of town (he reached California safely yesterday), Jet has been very needy and I've been indulging him. By this afternoon, we had just about enough of each other and I got serious about making some necklaces.

This collection of pendants were all made within a few hours -- I was on a roll! I always make the pendant part of the necklace in batches like this. Once I'm in Wrapping Mode, I figure I better just keep going. Tomorrow I will make the chains and add any other embellishments. That part isn't nearly as fun as working with the stones, so I'll probably procrastinate a bit. And I'll blame Jet for that.

In no particular order: bronzite, rutilated quartz with chrysoprase (also with peridot, ruby & kyanite), huge ruby, a couple of whiskey quartzes, hypersthene, garnet with labradorite,London blue topaz with turquoise, ruby in zoisite with an emerald rondelle, 2 moonstones with Botswana agate, prehnite/chrome diopside/tourmaline trio and prehnite/tourmaline/moss aquamarine trio.

If any of these combos appeal to you. let me know and I'll make the necklace especially for you! Just tell me which one and what length! If you click on the photo, you'll get to see it enlarged.

As a treat, here's JetMan in the snow. He had a haircut last week and looks like a totally different dog!

 

Wire Wrapped Necklaces

I used to dread making necklaces like these. It was boring and tedious ... just keep repeating the same motions over and over. Now, I think of it as therapeutic. And of course, I'm a lot quicker at it, which helps a great deal.

Having said all that, it felt like forever until this necklace was long enough to go around the neck twice without using a clasp. I can envision wearing it with a linen colored silk sheath style dress.

It was worth the time it took. I alternated champagne colored pearls and smoky quartz rondelles for a earthy, warm look. Here's a close-up:

I've worked on several necklaces in this same style. Here's my favorite. The beads are fluorite and vary in color but are mostly shades of purple and seafoam, traditional fluorite colors. The shape is also quite enticing: faceted stylized cubes.

These pieces are too tricky to photograph for me to list them in my etsy shop, so I'll probably reserve them for local sales at craft shows.