Trying New Methods – Wire Weaving

 I’ve been spending quite a lot of time trying different metalwork techniques. During this exploration period I tried my hand at wire weaving. This necklace is the result. (I should learn to start with smaller projects right?)

Of Love Necklace

The way this necklace was constructed it could also be called wire twisting.

 The necklace uses glass pearls, clear rhinestones, acrylic flowers with rhinestone centres and a seed bead flower constructed on a brass form. There are some brass and clear rhinestone connectors and even a butterfly included, with brass wire used for the weaving / twisting. 

Pearl and brass chains are added to each end to give the necklace its 16 inch length. A 3 inch extender chain is included.

 Much as it was fun to try, I don’t feel this freeform type of wire weaving is something I will pursue further. The necklace is available in my shop

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day

Searching Etsy

Do you have an affinity for a particular type of jewellery? Get tired of searching through an Etsy vendors site? Use the Etsy search bar for that vendor to narrow down your search. For example, on my site, there are sections for pearl jewellery but you'll also find pearls used in pieces under other sections. Using the search bar there are over 20 items that come up, both in the pearl sections and in other sections. Some examples below that show the variety available. Give it a try!

Important Note!

During the ongoing Canada Post strike I am using ChitChats to ship parcels. For anyone local to Newmarket ON I will deliver your purchase.

Field Flowers Bracelet

Planets and Galaxies Necklace

Meant To Be Earrings

Better Than Grapes Necklace

Mallorca Pearls Stud Earrings

Hearts and Pearls Bracelet

Pearls and Rhinestones Stud Earrings

Nesting Earrings and Necklace Set

Sea Treasures Bracelet

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day

Honey Do List, March Challenge

Sarajo Wentling hosts a blog hop challenge on her site every month. The inspiration is a photo taken by her husband Eric. The challenge is meant to inspire Sarajo to design outside of her comfort zone and use up some of her stash. Happily she shares and invites us to join along

This month’s inspiration is this photo of a rusted, crusty window with lots of heavy streaks of rusted iron and copper minerals, blackened areas and even a bit of what looks like very white snow around the edges of the glass panes

Photo courtesy of Eric Wentling

The brown colours on the lower window panes and the light yellows on the top ones seemed like a perfect fit to me.

 

Daisy Burst Necklace

Going through my stash I found the perfect stoneware pendant with a pretty daisy on it, created by Leslie Watt. The background is glazed in brown with the daisy in white and the perfect yellow centre. Digging further I found the perfect brecciated jasper rounds, a great complementary colour for the pendant background. Since the jasper rounds were so large I only used a few and needed something to balance them. Some glass rondelles filled the bill. I used a pale ivory waxed linen to string everything. To keep the necklace from being too heavy I added length with an antiqued brass chain and lobster clasp

Daisy Burst Necklace

I was in the mood to continue this colour exploration and made another necklace. This time I used a large mandala inspired polymer clay bead from Staci Louise Smith. There is a different pattern pressed into the front and back along with different colours on each side. For fun I added an antiqued brass key to swing from the bottom and used a very large antiqued bronze open loop as the bail. To bring out both sets of colours in the focal I decided to use gemstones again, this time surreal jasper ovals with streaks of different colours and hand carved yellow jade. Everything is strung on waxed linen again, with a chunkier antiqued bronze chain to add length

Iron Age Necklace

And here’s the reverse side of the pendant

 

Iron Age Necklace

I had a great time making these necklaces and hope you like them too.

You can find both in my online shop. Please check out all the other creations here

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day

Art Elements March Theme - Nests

The Art Elements team have changed their monthly challenge format, going with themes now instead of component of the month. Using a theme allows participants to select their favourite art medium and create using it. The only rule is to use the theme in the creation.

For March Cathy Mendola selected nests as the theme 

I followed my favourite medium and created jewellery for the challenge. Inspired by a pretty little charm of a bird in flight I created this pendant

Nesting Pendant

Created by Melissa Trudinger, the image of the bird is sealed in resin and has the added touch of a polymer clay textured back with the word Soar impressed into it

Reverse side of pendant

The birds nest holds 6 tiny Swarovski pearls in the duskiest of greens that matches the background of the bird photo. I used 22 gage brass wire that I antiqued with gun blue before making the nest. The same wire was also put to use to make the bail. I hung the pendant from a silk and lace neck cord

I had such fun with the pendant nest that I decided to make matching earrings

Nesting Earrings

The tiny earring nests are made with the same wire and Swarovski pearls as the pendant. They were a little more difficult to make because of the ½” size but still satisfying

I had a great time making these and hope you like them too. You can find both in my online shop.

Please check out all the other creations:

Guest Participants-

Alysen

Anita

Divya

Kathy

Kym

Mona – You are here

Rosantia

Sarajo

Tammy 

AE team members-

Caroline

Cathy 

Claire

Jenny

Laney

Leslie

Lindsay

Marsha

Niky

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day

Pretty Palettes, March Challenge

It’s been awhile since I joined the Pretty Palettes challenge. I’m thrilled to be able to join this month. The March challenge is based on this pretty artwork. You can read more about it here

 A Moment to Dream

Molly also provided this colour palette and selection of beads for it, however we are not limited to using these beads.

Following my usual mode I searched my bead stash for both unusual focals and suitable colours. First came this bright and sunny bracelet. I pulled from the brightest of yellow in the photo. Though it doesn’t match the colour palette I’m happy with it

Joyful Bracelet

This bracelet exudes joy with its bright springtime colours.  The colourful ceramic bullseye bead, made by Jennifer Jangles, is slightly different on each side. I used cheerful pressed glass hearts, stars and round beads to complement the ceramic bead. Everything is strung on waxed linen and finished with an antiqued brass toggle clasp

I decided to play with the other colours in the artwork and palette, focusing on the blues, light greens and the darker colours on the bottom row

Moments Pendant

The star of the pendant is the pretty polymer clay dogwood flower by Heather Powers. I used freshwater pearls in 3 sizes that were dyed 2 colours, moonlight silver and olive, as stackers on top of the flower. It felt like just a bit more colour was needed. I found cotton floss in complementary colours and made the little tassel which I finished with an antiqued brass cap. For the wires, chain and sweet heart toggle clasp I used antiqued bronze which helped to bring out the darker colours in the flower bead. I’m very happy with how this pendant looks and came together

You can find both in my online shop. Please check out all the other creations on reveal day here

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day

We’re All Ears March Challenge – Celebrate Contrast

 I am late to the party but still happy to participate in the Earrings Everyday blog hop this month. This month’s challenge is built the achromatic look of black and white

Black and White

The inspiration post had a link to a Buzzfeed article on mixing, matching and playing with clashing prints. I have to admit I did struggle with some of their ideas. They are definitely not for everyone

I had planned several styles of earrings for the challenge and ran short on time. I did succeed in making 2 pairs with the second being a variation on the first

Chroma Earrings

This style of polymer clay plumeria flowers has always been a favourite. I had them in several colours and sizes but am running short now. I used the last 2 pair of black and white ones for this challenge

Chroma Earrings

The dangling little beads are snow quartz that I tied onto fireline. They almost seem to float over the shoulders. The ear wires are gunmetal, keeping with the black and white theme

In the Night Earrings

I was so pleased with the first version of these earrings that I decided to make a contrasting version with lots of black and very little white. Again I started with the polymer clay plumeria flowers

In the Night Earrings

For this pair I used faceted hematite beads for the dangles. It felt like these earrings could have the same emphasis with fewer dangle beads than in the whiter pair. Just to give a little change I decided to add a gunmetal loop to the top. It turns these earrings into great shoulder dusters

Please come and check out what everyone else created at the Earrings Everyday site.

Both pair of earrings are available in my online shop

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day

We’re All Ears January Challenge – Colour of the Year

I am happy to participate in the Earrings Everyday blog hop this month. This month’s challenge is built around the Pantone colour of the year, Ultra Violet. You can read all about it here

Pantone Colour of the Year

Purple is one of my favourite colours. I was cleaning up my supply of storage tins lately and found the perfect one for this challenge. To my eye it looks like a combination of Ultra Violet and Hyacinth Violet from the Drama Queen colour harmony in the inspiration post

Tin Cover – Ready for Repurposing

The combination of the purple shades with the pale grey of the swirls, flowers and snowflakes, along with the touches of green, red and black appealed to me. From the pieces of the tin container I made these

Dream

Along with the pretty tin circles I used freshwater pearls dyed peacock plus chain, jump rings and head pins with an antiqued brass finish. The ear wires are sterling silver that I used gun blue to add a patina to. They are available in my online shop

Come check out what everyone else made. Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day