Archive for June, 2011

Tonight I finally used some of the leather I was trying to weave on Day 22. I wire wrapped a large Swarovski crystal and a blue kyanite stick with sterling silver wire. Both are suspended from a leather cord with a sterling silver clasp.

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Today I wire wrapped these lovely pink crystal beads from Beadlush. The wire is sterling silver.

After trying to make a woven leather band for yesterday’s buckle focal, I decided leather wasn’t going to work. Maybe it’s my lack of experience with leather? It just would not do what I wanted it to. Having the daily time limit made me give up on the leather and move on to idea number two.

I ended up making a rustic hinge and attached it to the “handles” on the focal. I added three chunky chains with lobster clasps, some jump rings, oxidized it and now it looks and feels great! This bracelet has a really nice weight to it.

I’ll definitely be submitting this design as my June MOJO at JewelryLessons.com. But today, it is my Day 22 completed project for 30 Days of Creativity.

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Tonight I made a buckle focal for a men’s bracelet. I’m working on this piece for the Jewelry Lesson’s June MOJO challenge (trying to kill two birds with one stone). It’s copper scraps cut and arranged on a piece of sheet. I soldered them on, hammered it a bit to make it look “manly” and oxidized it.

Tomorrow, I need to design and make a bracelet to attach this to. Stay tuned!

I have made these earrings before but didn’t oxidize them. The daisy or flower spaces came with the antiqued finish but the rest of the silver was bare and shiny. It’s hard to believe what a quick dip in some liver of sulphur can do. It transformed the earrings in to a cohesive piece instead of something that looked a bit frankensteined together. Now, they look like I meant them to have that finish.

These earrings combine lime turquoise rondelles and round beads. All the wire is sterling silver. Kind of a fun, summery look.

20 days down and 10 to go! I think I’ll be a bit sad when 30 Days of Creativity is over. How will I fill the void?

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It’s the weekend so I decided to try something a bit more complicated. For today’s 30 Days of Creativity piece, I made a dapped dome and soldered it to a sterling silver disc. It needed something so I suspended an oval link forged from a piece of sterling silver wire.

Still not happy. I soldered a ring to a piece of sterling tube to hang the pieces from. The dichro glass is the repurposed half of a pair of old earrings.

All the parts were attached with jump rings I cut using my new Koil Kutter purchased direct from Dave Arens. What a fabulous tool!

The other earring was incorporated in to the pendant in this post.

I added a diamond cut curb chain with a spring ring clasp. As usual, the piece was oxidized and buffed to bring up some highlights.

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Lots of forging today! I made the bead caps for this pair of earrings out of sterling silver sheet and used some scrap to make the rectangular dangles. I wire wrapped them with sponge coral rondelles and oxidized the pieces. Buffed them and they are ready to wear.

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