Too Much

Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing, as in too many beads.
In designing brangles and bangles, I initially thread the beads onto a relatively straight piece of wire. I love using lots of beads in different sizes, shapes and colors. For me, this is the fun part of designing, but in order to get the right shape the wire must be curved.



And now the dilemma, the beads that looked so perfect and fit so nicely are too crowded, impeding the final shaping of the brangle.




Some beads need to be removed. This will create the space I need in order to curve the bracelet properly.

This is what I faced with this brangle. I don't know if you can see from the photos, but in the first photo the brangle has two more blue beads than the final photo.
I removed those two little blue ceramic beads so I could get a smooth oval shape; just perfect for gliding easily along the wrist.

In Pieces

Is it a bangle? Is it a bracelet? No, it's a brangle,! This unique type of wrist adornment combines the smooth look of a bangle and the fluidity of a bracelet.

In this particular piece I used lampwork beads that remind me of the bright blue skies and golden sun-kissed lands of the Mediterranean (well, the photos I've seen of the bright blue skies and golden sun-kissed lands of the Mediterranean). I've combined the lampwork with silver beads, colorful ceramic spacers and hand-coiled sterling silver.

I can see this brangle being a playful addition to the workday wardrobe. I'll be adding it soon to my etsy shop.


Want to make your own brangle? Connie Fox has a great tutorial.

Unchained

Actually 'Unglued' would have been a more appropriate title. That's what I became trying to teach myself this chain maille design. It's the '4-in-1' design. Sounds easy. It wasn't. Sounds like a beginning design. It isn't. Not according to the Urban Maille website, which is where I should have gone before attempting to make this design.

I did eventually figure it out on my own, but I highly recommend visiting the Urban Maille site. I've purchase a few of their kits and they've been well worth the price.

I do like how this pair of earrings turned out. I like how the sparkle of the jet black Swarovski crystal and luminosity of the white pearl contrast with the stark elegance of the chain maille.

Teal Me No Lies

Pure, honest, luxury. These were the words that came to mind when I designed these earrings.
I paired peacock/teal green mystic quartz cubes with lustrous white pearls.
I loved them so much, I made myself a pair too :)

Not Red and Green

Wow, did these luscious lemon quartz briolettes catch my eye! They are super sparkly thanks to gorgeous faceting. They are so beautiful that I decided to keep the design simple; pairing them with deep blue/violet quartz cubes.
Simple elegance that dazzles.

Jewelry on Display

I needed to do a photo display of some of my pieces for a gallery feature. I'm not much of a photographer. Perhaps practice will make me better, but probably not perfect. Some of these pieces will be available in my shop and some will be off to the gallery in the next week or so.

Bewitching

Cupid's Darts, Venus Hair Stone, Fleches d'Amour by any name Rutilated Quartz is intriguing.
When I saw this strand of rutilated quartz I just had to buy it. Stunning! But what to do with it? I considered splitting the strand up; sprinking a bit of it's magic over several pieces. But I truely loved how all these little gems looked together.

And so, that's how the Bewitching Bracelet came to be.

Over 240 cts of top quality rutilated quartz crystal, poised on hand made sterling silver headpins, were carefully linked together to form this one of a kind beauty. Vibrant with the colors of warm russet red, gold, celery, peach and deep chocolate brown, this bracelet flows elegantly over the wrist.

Two stunning step-cut smokey quartz nuggets and a hand-hammered clasp are the finishing touch.

Saturday night sparkle. Bold weekday elegance. Yummy!

Workshop Wow

I'm taking a weekend workshop with Connie Fox. Whoo Hoo :)

Silken Enchantment

Flowing, shimmering, sensuous. Brightly colored silk was the inspiration for this pair of earrings.

Flawless sparkling pink topaz, glowing pale green prehnite and bright blue apatite. This color combination sings with light. I couldn't help but feel happy as I worked on this piece.

Yards of fine silver and sterling silver wire were carefully twisted, looped and woven into the whimsical 'embroidery' pattern.

The techniques used to make these earrings are based on the work of Eni Oken and Magdalena Borejko and remind me very much of the embroidery work I've done with silk ribbon.


This is the beginning of a stuffed bear, started ages ago. The fabric has been pieced using the crazy quilt technique and then embellished with silk ribbon embroidery and beads.

October Sky

October Sky Sterling Silver and Lampwork Bead Bracelet


Borosilicate Glass
I made this bracelet with artisan made boro lampwork beads. Boro is an abbreviation for borosilicate. It is an extremely durable type of glass with a unique color palette. The colors are outstanding and it is difficult to capture their full beauty. The layer of clear glass on the outside of these beads offers an intriguing multi-dimensional look. It's as though the beads hold another world inside of them.

Chain maille
I am particularly fond of asymmetrical designs so I made a chain maille flower chain. The lampwork beads are linked together with sterling silver and then linked to the strand of chain maille.

Chain maille has quite an interesting history but its uses go beyond Medieval times. Some of its many uses include protective clothing for butchers and scuba divers, and protective gloves for the British police. Historical re-enactment groups use it for costumes as well as for protective gear.

A number of states hold Renaissance and Medieval Faires as do some universities. Ohio has a wonderful faire in October every year and the Ohio State University has one in May.


And, as you can see in my design, chain maille is also used to make jewelry. There are many decorative designs, some are quite complex. Urban Maille is my favorite site for inspiration in using chain maille in jewelry.

Woven Wrapsody

Sterling Silver and Champagne Citrine Earrings

I just finished making this new pair of earrings with the help of Iza Malczyk's tutorial.

Iza is a phenomenal artist and a genius at wire-work. Her tutorial was easy to follow and I had great fun coaxing the wire into its intricate latticework design. This pair of earrings features gorgeous AAA champagne citrine rondelles and briolettes. I love the glowing, almost luminescent quality of the briolettes and the facets on the rondelles make them sparkle.


Native American Feather Wrapping as Decoration
The title of her tutorial is 'Indian Feather Earrings'. I have some preconceptions about Native Americans and their use of feathers as decoration. I like to challenge my preconceptions, to see how much is unfounded bias and how much is truth, so I decided to do a little research a la the miracle of the internet. I found this site, Native Tech. It describes some of the history and the technique behind the Native American art of feather wrapping. I found it to be a fun, interesting site so I have included the link for you to check out for yourself.

Mischief Managed

Sterling Silver Bracelet

Yards of fine and sterling silver wire and many hours of coiling, twisting, coaxing and hammering have led to this result.

Many thanks to Connie Fox for her kind instruction and generous inspiration.
You can see more of my work in her student gallery.