Four Seasons of Jewelry '06-'07

Week 3

Okay, trying to work with different free form wraps. I know how to do the Preston style (bought the DVD), but they just aren't "me". I'm kind of a wood elf at heart, so I wanted to learn a more organic approach. This one turned out great, but I made it with "practice wire" because I was too chicken to use silver. *Sigh*. That's okay, I still like it! :D

weirdly wired and WAY behind

Yes, I realize I am terribly behind on posting and apologize.  However, I'm not about to drop out, so you'll probably see quite a bit of my jewelry and deck in the next couple of days as I get caught up.  Sorry.

This is my favorite piece of the last few weeks.  It's a veeeeery long Rhodonite stone, Labradorite, FWP and sterling.  The challenge was finding a way to keep it from looking to toungish'.  I was using to twisted jump rings to hold it onto the leather, but lost one of the rings as I was changing back from another pendant and had to come up with something fast.  I REALLY like the leather going thru the top piece. 

My journal will be updated soon, but I want to get the blog updated first.

Thanks for looking and any feedback is appreciated!

Take care-
Angie S
http://www.allthingsangie.com/

Week 3- Synergy

I love turquoise and really like the way it looks with mixed metals in rustic/tribal type pieces.  I call this one "Turquoise Shaman" because it has the tribal feel to it.  I used copper and sterling wire to create the setting for this huge turquoise chunk.  It had a headpin glued into a hole.  Naturally it is not holding and I will need to reglue it.  I may have to redo the bit of wire wrap around the chunk just to be safe.  Right now the wire around the nugget is just for looks but if I am going to have to worry about the glue holding, I may wrap for durabilaty as well.  I think I will try to reglue first.  (Any suggestions for gluing a wire into a small narrow drilled hole in a huge turquoise nugget?)

I used other turquoise beads in different shapes, an antique key and miscellaneous found pieces to give the necklace the feel of an old necklace with a "history."

Mary

Ninde' Designs

Golden Leaf Necklace

This project is not completed yet, I had planned for the leaf to be woven and I have had to order some 26 gauge gold-filled to finish it.  I am really happy with how it is coming along.  The Leaf component is handcrafted with 16 gauge gold-filled, with some coiling in 20 gauge.  The rectangle beads are Kambara Jasper with Jet and gold-filled accent beads.  I chose the gold metal because the Kambara Jasper has some gold color in it.

I will update this photo when I finish the leaf.

Edited on Nov 1st to add an imiage of finished project.

Dawn

Synergies

I was playing around with these buckle style rectangular Obsidian. There are two holes on the long side and I thought it would be fun to wrap and adorn with 3mm Swarovski s, after I had done these two ( I have a whole strand ) it dawned on me, that I hadn't the faintest idea what to do with them, so I am really hoping some of you can come up with inspirational ideas, as to what I can use them for or how to link them together. They are too big for bracelets and they don't have a hole on the short side, that would be too easy lol. Any help would be gratefully appreciated.

~Jackie

Wk3 - Dreamsofnever / Lisa

Phew, my wk 3 piece is finally done. 

All in all, this piece took about 10 x the amount of time I planned it to take.  The only wire I had was .2 mil silver wire - hair thin (which I never use, as it is so time consuming to coil anything that small).  So I had to use it... 

I felt like throwing the necklace out the window so many times.... it just took so long :)

I am so happy it is now finally finished.  I wasn't sure whether  should do a double-strand of coiled loops (in the top part of the necklace - the "chain").  I stuck with one, but perhaps another strand of coiled loops may look better with the chunky stones.

This is moonstone (so I have been told - it looks more like smokey quartz to me), little pearls, shell beads & tiny cut-glass beads.

P.S Thanks for all the previous comments & especially help with my terrible photography skills :)  Much appreciated!

copper/bronze two-tone bracelet -- synergy?

Or maybe assynergy? I just made that word up, to mean a situation where the whole is less than the sum of its parts.

I'm still considering whether making this necklace in alternating copper and bronze sections, rather than all copper as in Rebecca Mojica's original "Möbiused Rosettes Bracelet" in the Lark book Chain Mail Jewelry, was a good design decision or not.

I took these nighttime indoor on-camera-flash-illuminated pictures as soon as I finally finished it, so it may look much better tomorrow in the sunshine after I tumble it. My various "design choices" as I made it are expanded upon in my blog.

Abigail

Week 3 - jusmall

Another project from Contemporary bead and wire.  Made with hammered pieces of sterling silver, rose quartz, lava, mother of pearl, some bali silver beads and double delica's.  I'm not 100% happy with this piece.  Although it looks pretty, and I've filed all off the ends its still a little bit scratchy.  If I was to make it again, I would use head pins instead of hammering the ends of the wire - less scratchy and less time consuming!!!

Julie

Gaea's Gifts

Well, life has been a whirlwind, so here is my third submission getting turned in on Friday--but I think the extra time I spent on it paid off.  The ceramic pendant is by www.gaea.cc .  I captured it with a spiral of hammered 14 Ga. sterling with a little sterling ring and charms of Swarovski crystal.  In ancient North American shaman art, a spiral-headed figure represents the synergy of spirit and body as the Soul Dreamers journeyed on their vision quest.  A lovely jasper oval wrapped in 20 Ga. sterling suggests the living rock such effigies were painted or pecked on.  This long, heavy pendant demands a chunky sterling chain and heavy-duty sterling lobster clasp.  Dangles on the chain include beaded bead fruits done in glass, sterling, and malachite beads,  tiny Illuminatii "all-seeing eyes" in pyramids, and green agate circles hung with twisted sterling spirals to signify harmony of the spheres. 

I even made a few extra beaded beads to make a matching pair of earrings or a bracelet.  : D

Speaking of synergy, it occurs to me that that is the essence of all art/craft.  It is such a joyful act of creation to take tiny seed beads (the atomic particles of this craft) and yards of 1 dimensional string...which, when combined, take on a spirit and dimensionality far beyond their humble unitary existence.

Thanks so much for the great theme!

Love,

Jeanne-Marie

www.cat-chloe.com

Week 3 earrings

For some reason it came as a shock to me at 9.30pm Tuesday  that my project was due on Wednesday, so I quickly made these simple bead & chain earrings, I am pleased tho', they are fun to wear & certainly get noticed. They were finished on Tuesday but poor light & technical issues mean I'm late posting.