2 Feet of Wire!

The theme for Week 12 of Year of Jewelry Projects 2011 was "2 Feet of Wire" and what a challenge it was, too.  I never really thought about it until I forced myself to stay within the '2 feet' limit and I found that the things I usually create take much less or much more wire.  I did pretty good and only cut minimal pieces off when I was ready to secure my wire wrappings - so I possibly have a smidge under 2 Feet.

So, here's the measurements:
Swirl Earring Wires - 4 inches of 20g. sterling silver round dead soft wire = 8 inches - Forged, hammered/textured.
Wire Wrappings - 2 pieces of 2 inches each of 26gauge s/s round dead soft wire to secure the loops = 4 inches
Wire Wrapped Pearls - 2 pieces of 6 inches each 26gauge s/s round dead soft wire to wire wrap these gorgeous greenish/grey freshwater cultured pearls = 12 inches

So, there you have it - 2 Feet of Wire!  And pearls, of course!

Known as the 'stone of sincerity,' pearls symbolize purity and represent faith, charity and innocence.  As the most widely used gemstone in weddings, pearls are believed to bestow the power of love, (and money, too).
They are thought to bring luck and to offer protection for the wearer, especially to children. Royalty often valued pearls above all other gemtsones and you know this "Pearl Girl" loves her pearls!! 

With Easter, Mother's day, Prom and Graduation, not to mention all the Spring and Summer Weddings that are popping up amongst your friends and family, you can bet you'll be seeing these gorgeous and versatile gemstones every where!

To find out more about these fantastic gemstones, jump on over to our website and check out our pearls page!

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and 2 Feet of Wire (Adorned with Pearls!)
Cheers,
~Shel~

Irish Eyes Are Smiling

St. Patrick's day finds us once again over in California and will be having a traditional cornbeef and cabbage dinner at my Niece's house with her and her family. It's always a fun time, only usually my sis is there - snapping away with her camera - catching us all in our green clothes, jewelry and funny glasses - but this isn't the case this year.  I guess we'll have to take our own pics!!

Okay, so last week, after fighting with my tumbler and pulling items from it in every imaginable color - except the bright, shiny silver I was trying for - I decided to bench the silly thing and just go with this beautiful, shiny copper just the way it was! Although it would have been really cool looking had it been oxidized with LOS and them polished up - but, it is what it is!

Week 10 of YOJP 2011 had a theme of "Irish Eyes Are Smiling".  I was inspired to try a design I saw in the Fall issue of Belle ( page 48 - Intention Earrings) but I varied the design slightly as I did not hand stamp any 'intention words' into the hammered copper sheet that I wire wrapped with recycled sari silk ribbon.  I did wire wrap some small new jade roundelles and attach them on the ends so they could dangle freely, adding to the movement of they "Eye Catching" earrings!  I completed the look with my own handcrafted, artisan earring wires in my 'Signature Style' and now that everything is finished, I'm quite pleased with the end result.

You should skip on over to the YOJP 2011 Website and check out all the fabulous designs that folks are making - they're amazing!! 

I hope your St. Patrick's Day is filled with all the green things you can handle (and handle responsibly!!) and that you have a wonderful time with family and friends.

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Happy St. Patrick's Day!!
Cheers,

Winter Enchantment – Windswept Dreams Necklace

Our assignment this time around for the Artbeads.com blogging challenge, was the theme “Winter Enchantment” and I found some nice items to try – and boy are they cool!

This project, by the way, is also doubling as my YOJP 2011 Week 9 Entry this week – with the theme being “Windswept”.

I had a ball with this cause I was really jazzed to try out some of the Swarovski Crystal beaded yarns. Here’s what I got:


Swarovski Crystal 3mm Crystal Beads White Cashmere Yarn


Swarovski Light Grey Mohair Yarn with 3mm light grey pearls (ya knew there be pearls in there somewhere, didn’t cha!!?)
Swarovski Crystal Hematite Mohair Yarn with 3mm hematite beads.

These were really fun to work with. All were soft, and the mohair and cashmere ones are really ‘fuzzy’ and remind me of nice, warm winter sweaters! They would be great to make little “Barbie” necklaces with. Yes, I even make jewelry for Barbie once in a while….I’m such a dork!
I really am a dork, because I forgot to snap my ‘before’ pics when I take all my goodies out of the bag and you get to see everything lined up before I start creating – sorry about that.


For my necklace focal bead I chose a 28mm Jet Swarovski Crystal Twist Pendant – boy does this have some heft to it! LOVE IT! And, the toggle I chose - since I was doubling this for my windswept theme for Week 9 of YOJP 2011 – was this spiral (swirly wind!) Tierracast Spiral Toggle Clasp.

I like the Tierracast toggle design and since it’s light weight (it’s silver plated not true sterling) it feels nice on the back of your next and doesn’t press down on your neck bones in the back. I know that sounds weird,…but trust me,…it’s important!

I gathered up these lovely little, fabulously fuzzy yarns with their tiny little beads and wire wrapped the ends, sliding them into some plain sterling silver cones that I purchased from my friends over at BeadWorld here in Glendale. I also got the nice sterling silver bail that’s holding the Swarovski Crystal pendant on at BeadWorld as well!

I added the pendant and the toggle clasp to the layers of Swarovski yarns and ‘Ta-da’ – it’s a “Winter Enchantment, Windswept Dream!” (it’s more of a little winter enchantment, fluffy, fuzzy looking type of dream necklace than any windswept necklace, but whatcha gonna do!?!) But, it still looks rather ‘Winter-ish’, don’t you think?

I’m really thankful to the folks over at Artbeads.com. I’ve been ordering from them for over 5 or 6 years now and their items are really great, shipping is fast, and their prices are some of the best around. You definitely can’t beat that these days – that’s for sure!

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love, Winter Enchantment and Windswept Dreams of Spring Coming Soon!!
Cheers,
~Shel~

FTC compliance disclosure: the Artbeads.com items mentioned in this post were provided as a promotional gift as part of the Blogging for Beaders Program. These items are for review or design purposes.