YOJ 2014 - Week 2 and 3

Since I jumped in again in the Year of Jewelry project, I've started making a new jewelry piece every week. Here are my entries for week 2 and 3.

Week 2: It's golden

This is a pendant I made loosely based on a free tutorial by Angelina Krell, it's quite tiny. I like how the copper shimmers against the blue background.

Week 3: Circular logic

Well, my latest piece certainly matches the theme of the week, it's all circular up and down and middle too. It's made from the latest wire wrapping book that I bought at Amazon (was published in 2013) by Kaska Fior called Weaving Freeform Wire Jewelry. Love it so far, it really has some cool modern designs that I just have to make!

And since I mentioned the wire wrapping book that I bought which I used to make this second piece , here is the cover. I can't wait to make the bracelet shown there, it's amazing!

Copper Leaf Pendant

This leaf pendant is made of copper and it's loosely based on a Nicole Hanna tutorial using wire wrapping technique. I bought recently a couple of her newer tutorials and my fingers were itching to make something. The pendant is quite small, with the bail is just about 4 cm (2.5") and it's fun and casual to wear with a chain or a black cord. It has a green seadbead as adornment.

YOJ Project Week 25 - Solstice

This pendant has nothing to do with solstice, however it's the first jewelry piece I made since my mojo left me, and since it's literally (hot) summer here, it has become my summer solstice piece.

It's just something I did on the spur of the moment using various waves, a green cats eye bead and some agate brown beads. Was fun to do, so hopefully I'll start creating regularly again. If it weren't just so dar hot here (around 40C every day this month so far).

YOJ Project 2013 Week 23 - Twin Hearts

I've skipped the last week's YOJ project, which was about twins, so I made now this pendant to catch up. It's about twin hearts. It's in my series of 'going back to basics' where I'm practicing symmetrical scrolls and wraps. When learning to make jewelry I've kind of skipped this step and I know that I'm lacking in this department, so with these simpler pieces I'm focusing more on 'getting it right'.

Here are a few pictures that I took from this piece. It's so amazing how different it looks under various lighting conditions.

Inspiration for this piece was Jodi Bombardier's set of earrings from her latest book (also mentioned in my previous post).

June Synchroblog - Pinterest Project And YOJ 2013 Week 24

This post will be about a simple pendant that I made to fit two different projects: the June Synchroblog, which this month is about something that inspired us on Pinterest, and also about the Week 24 of the YOJ project 2014.

I've kind of lost my mojo the last week or so, I didn't feel like making jewelry at all. I guess we all go through  those uninspired times, and I'm right now in one of them.

But I knew I have to do something for the two projects, so I made this basic pendant with a dyed turquoise bead.

First starting with the Synchroblog project, a group of artists who blog every month about something specific. I've linked the project here, so you can read more about it, if interested.

As to this month's Pinterest inspiration, I saw this particular pin of a lovely copper pendant with a dyed turquoise, when I remembered I have somewhere one of these dyed beads as well.

As for the YOJ project week 24, the entries are about Commitment. So with this simple pendant I'm committing to go back to basics of making jewelry. I've been doing all sorts of rather complex things, but I can't for the life of me two two identical shapes. So having bought just now Jodi Bombardier's new book called Artisan Filigree and started working through the first project. There are tons of beautiful filigree shapes that can really get me up to speed with these types of scrolls and weaves, so I'l work through each of the projects in the book.

So here are a few photos of the piece I made with copper and dyed turquoise bead that I had at home.

Finally, let me end with the links to the other Synchroblog members so that if you're into blog hopping, you can check them out as well. I know I will.

http://amyestellemetalworks.blogspot.com/
http://www.islandgirlsinsights.blogspot.ca/
http://www.wrapturewirejewellery.on.ca/blog
www.elenorbuffington.blogspot.com
http://doxallodesigns.blogspot.com/
http://lesliervillarreal.blogspot.com/
http://www.journeyinjewelry.com/blog/My-Journey-in-Jewelry
http://simpledesignjewelry.blogspot.com/
http://designsbylynnea.blogspot.com/
www.createrecklessly.com
http://design.kcjewelbox.com/
www.allwiredupjewelrydesigns.blogspot.com
http://shaktipajdesigns.com/blog/
http://silversmithblog.com/
http://stonezjewelry.com/blog/
www.beadsbythebay.blogspot.com

Gothic Silver Chain Maille Pendant - YOJ Week 5

This silver pendant is made for the YOJ Week 5 challenge with the theme 'deja-vu', aka before and after. About 4 years ago when I dabbed a bit in chain maille, I made a Rondo a la Byzantine pendant with a goldstone bead wrapped at the bottom. I never really did anything with it afterwards, and I left it forgotten for 4 years.

Now looking at some of my older pieces to work up for the challenge, I found it tucked in a ziplock bag.

So here is the before and after. Bad picture quality for the before as I only snapped quickly a shot of it in the evening so I have something to show for the challenge.

The new piece has a smaller black onyx wrapped bead. All metal is sterling silver that I cut in jumprings.

Purple Tulip, aka started wire wrapping again - SOLD

After a few months of abstinence from wire wrapping, here my next piece. My fingers were itching to do something, so I came up with this pendant. It's really beautiful, I couldn't capture it with the camera properly. I guess it's time to get myself a new camera as well...

Gorgeous amethyst briolette hanging from a sterling silver pendant. Size is ~ 3.5x3.5cm (~1.5 inch). Comes with the silver chain in the picture, and of course, free shipping all around.

Cyprus silver pendant - SOLD

A few weeks ago while on holidays, I went with hubby to the beach (in Paphos area, if anyone has been in Cyprus, will know where it is), for the particular reason of collecting rocks and pebbles for tumbling and cabbing. We came home with over 5 kg of rocks. It was really a fun day.

Among all those many rocks, I found this small stone a reddish serpentive (I've only seen yellow, brown and green serpentine until now). It was such a sweet stone, and just the right type, sort of oval, that I decided to cab it. So this is not only cabbed and wrapped by myself, but also collected by us. Talk about 100% handmade and 100% Cyprus item!

Mushroom Jasper pendant

I'm quite proud of this piece as it's one that I actually cabbed from a small slab a friend in the US sent me, and then wrapped it as well. It's looking quite cool if you ask me (yeah yeah blowing my own horn here :p )
It's a mushroom jasper (or so I've been told, but from the looks of it, the name really fits) which got quite a nice shine to it while cabbing.
As usual it comes on a sterling silver chain and with free shipping all over the world.

28 Euros

Byzantine and herringbone

I was busy the whole week with this byzantine necklace, a piece on commision. Now hope they will actually buy it :)
Sterling silver with a gorgeous clasp bought on Etsy. AR 3.5 on 1mm wire.
I love the byzantine, it's a timeless beautiful weave which is gorgeous either on its own, or with beads in between. This piece took me pretty much the whole week as I had hundreds of silver rings to cut.

Tonight, after all this chainmail, I wanted to do something entirely different, but still something in my comfort zone. So I picked the herringbone weave, which I love so much. The beads are goldstone, they sparkle so much in the light, they're simply gorgeous. For the first time since I make herringbone, I've used thicker wire for wrapping, it has quite an interesting effect. I might use it again for larger beads.

Cloisonne silver pendant

I bought recently this gorgeous cloissonne heart from Etsy and I was dying to do something with it.So I've wrapped it lightly in sterling silver and added two little Bali style cloissone beads hanging from it.
The colors are really strong and vibrating, I really love this one. Simple but beautiful.
If interested, you can find it in my shop.

A few more jewelry things

I've been busy yesterday and today. Love it when my creative 'juices' are flowing. Sadly only during the weekend when I'm rested and I have the whole day ahead of me...
Pendant uses a lampwork bead made by an Etsy artist, and it is wrapped in sterling silver. Really small one, hubby liked it (he prefers the smaller ones usually).


Second is a herringbone weave set I made today in sterling silver. I wanted too much to oxidize it but I was afraid. Nevertheless I said if it won't come out nicely, then I won't sell it and just keep it for myself. But I think the result is quite nice. LOS'ed it, then polished the heck out of it with the steel wool, and then put it (actually them) in the tumbler. I've also made a pendant but I still have to take a picture of it. Will do it tomorrow.

Learning to border wrap a pendant

I am learning wire sculpture and in all the pieces at least the main stone needs to be wrapped secured around. I've played around already with Remy's style of setting, and now I decided to try the 'other' border wrap, where the wires have a nice slits in the middle, I like this style so much better. Plus it used much less square (of half-square) wire, of which I hardly have, as I have to order this type of wire from the internet. Expensive!
Stone is turquoise jasper, a very soft stone as I've sadly noticed today. Wire is all sterling silver. I've found that setting the stone this way is so much more secure and it gets shaped somehow easier too. I will do more like this and then attempt again the wire sculpture pendants.

If interested, you can find it in my shop. Looks like it's one of the most viewed, pinned and added as fan items in my shop :)