My first Thing-a-Day submission; a day late, but hey here it is:
Chloe is eight and likes turtles and the color green. This is for her birthday. I used peridot beads, and Swarovski crystals.
Archive for the 'jewelry' Category
Two years ago, I made my mother a beaded watch. In September, she returned the beads and watch to me because one of the strings broke. Since my parents are visiting me this week, I thought I’d better start working on an improved version of the watchband. I found a design by Lilli Brennan in Making Bead and Wire Jewelry that I liked. Then I had the brilliant idea of enlisting my dad’s help in the project. I basically handed him the jig, wire, beads, and instructions and told him “Please make this.” As a former watchmaker and surgeon I thought he’d be uniquely qualified for such an undertaking. As you can see, he did not disappoint me. My mom has her watch back and maybe my dad will become interested in further projects along this line. If you’re interested in more information about making wire jewelry with jigs, check out the WigJig site.
I think Summer is my official jewelry season. Here is a quick project I just finished based on a design by Carol McKinney. Isn’t it interesting how the character of the jewelry changes depending on what colors and stones you use? Do you have a favorite?
Aventurine, Labradorite, Magnesite, Swarovski Pearl
Serpentine, Turquoise, Jasper, Swarovski Pearl
I have two drawers of assorted junk jewelry which include bits and pieces I found at my grandmother’s, things friends gave me, and precious items from my teenage purchases. Here is the first piece I’ve pulled together from: an eyeglass holder, a broken bracelet, a broken necklace, and a single ear clip.
The Process
- Replaced the eyeglass holder finding with the bracelet clasp
- Swapped out some of the charms missing a bead on the bracelet bit
- Attached the bracelet bit to the eyeglass holder/necklace
- Removed the clip from the ear ring and jerry-rigged the piece to the necklace
- Attached the gold chain to the ear clip and the clasp
A travel craft should be a small project you can easily stash away in your pocket or your bag. You should be able to work on it pretty much anywhere with few or no tools. Everything you need to make this ring can be tied into a handkerchief and squished into your coat pocket.
Materials
- White Handkerchief. This will be your work surface. The white cloth makes it easier to see your beads and prevents them from rolling around. If you want to make this project more portable, you can lay the cloth on the water bucket tray in your hotel room, or the pie pan of your vacation rental.
- Beading Wire size .012
- Delica Beads or Seed Beads size 11. The hole in the bead needs to be big enough for the wire to pass through twice. If you are going to use the seed beads for other beaded ring projects, you may even want to use the slightly harder to find size 10.
- 4mm beads. For a 6.5 ring I used nine Swarovski crystals. Play around with what you have in your stash or happen upon in a bead shop.
- Scissors or nail clippers in a pinch
Steps
1. Measure out some wire about the equivalent of 5.5 Bic pen lengths, (24 to 30 inches) and string a 4mm bead onto the middle.
2. Add 4 seed beads to the left and the right of the 4mm bead.
3. String a 4mm bead onto the right end of the wire. Guide the left end of the wire through the opposite side of the bead so that the wires cross within the bead.
4. Pull the wires taut.
5. Repeat Steps 2 through 4 until you reach the desired length. For a size 6.5 ring I used 9 crystals. You should end with 4 seed beads on each side of the 4mm bead.
6. Now close the ring by threading one wire through the first bead and the other wire through the opposite side of the bead in the same manner as Step 3. Pull the wire ends taut.
7. Continue threading the wire through the ring along the first pass through, essentially doubling the wire. This gives the ring more stability and helps you weave in the ends. Cut off any excess when you close the round.
Now show off your latest jewelry and when somebody asks you about it tell them, “This little thing? It’s something I just threw together on the road.”
I’m a latecomer to Bones, the TV show, but I love the jewelry the character Temperance Brennan wears. If you are unfamiliar with her style, check out the screen captures collected by bonesnecklaces.
Since my birthday is coming up, I thought I’d go window shopping at Etsy to find some necklaces in her style. Here are some of my favorites:
Neptune Meets the Phoenix Necklace
Celtic cats - The chase - charm pendant necklace
Large Exotic Wood Pendant
Sigh, so does anyone feel compelled to buy me a present :-D?
It seems like I’m making red jewelry for someone’s birthday every year around this time. Maybe it’s because the birthstone for January is garnet and a drab winter day just calls out for some bright color. For this necklace, I used Lilli Brennan’s design as described in Making Bead and Wire Jewelry, edited by Dawn Cusick. You can look around the book here. Figure 2 on p. 124 is the jig configuration for the silver links. This is a great way to use up some kinda-sorta matching beads of the same size. So, Happy Birthday Rita!
