Pages

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Recently Completed...


Copper Wired Earrings

These Mykonos ceramic discs (Maya-Honey) have a beautiful green copper patina. They make a great pair of earrings and are on sale now at my etsy shop.

 
I also have been working on eyeglass holders that I will be displaying for sale at
Scottsdale Eye Care.  Here are two of my favorites:
 
 
Great for sunglasses!


 
 
Something a little more traditional with brass chain and translucent Czech picasso finish beads.


 
Which of the two eyeglass holders do you prefer?
 
Hope you are having a perfectly fabulous day!


Saturday, June 22, 2013

Got Beads? Join the Blog Hop


Lori Anderson is sponsoring a new blog hop on July 20th.
Why don't you jump in too and join the fun?
100+ sign ups already! You know its going to be BIG.  ;)

 

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Boot Camp #3: Wire Work Out

Love My Art Jewelry is running its 3rd Boot Camp Blog Hop today with a mission for us to expand our skills in wire work. Over the past month, Artist Members offered up some great tips and techniques for making wire jewelry. They also challenged us to move forward with our own new designs.

I started by making a pair of copper wired earrings. I really enjoy working with copper, it is so soft and easy to form.  The copper links were a snap using just flat chain nose pliers. The ear wires are nonallergic anodized niobium which is a lot stiffer to work with then copper. However, niobium's qualities for ear wires are tough to beat, in my opinion.



Having so much fun making these copper squares, I decided to move on to a copper chain (link) necklace. And I should add here that there are good and bad aspects of working with soft metals like copper. Yes, the wire is soft and easy to form but that also means it could bend and become "out of shape" (need to go back to boot camp ha ha) after being worn for a while.

As a work around, I decided to add silk ribbon to the part of the piece that lays along the back of the neck which typically takes the most stress. Second, I was very careful to work harden each individual link with a small rubber tipped hammer. Great for building boot camp arm strength don't you think?



Last but not least, the ribbon connectors I made came from a great wire work technique provided by Kelli Pope at the Love My Art Jewelry Blog. Am planning to keep this necklace in my personal collection for testing. You can always contact me  to find out how it is holding up. I love hearing from you!


 
And now please click below for more great Boot Camp jewelry wire work:
 
 

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Bye to Google Reader +MORE??

Never used it much anyway... I like to use the "Blogger Reading List".

But there seems to be some question (out there) about what will happen to "Google Friend Connect" when "Google Reader" goes away this coming July 1st. -And that sometimes grumpy but fabulous little widget that allows me to follow blogs, I would DEFINITELY miss! So... just to be safe I signed up with Bloglovin'. It is super easy to copy blog addresses from "Google Friend Connect".

HEY, A LITTLE REDUNDANCY CAN NEVER HURT!

For a more humorous explanation of all this please stop by Diane Cayton Hakey's place.


 
So, I am passing this along... just in case ;)
 
 
 
 
THIS IS NOT A PAID COMMERCIAL

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Following the Trail...

A few desert shots taken earlier this spring.

Black Mountain


Some hoof prints in the walk, probably a havelina.

 
 
and cactus flowers.
 
Hedgehog cactus flower


 
 
Weekly Top Shot #86
Ni Hao Yall
 
Scenic Weekends
 
Straight Out of the Camera Sunday
 

Friday, June 7, 2013

Adding Silk Cord

I have been playing around a bit with some silk and decided to try adding it
to a copper bracelet shown here previously.

 
So what do you think, do you like the bracelet better with or without silk?
Your opinion is most appreciated!!

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Turquoise Blue Seahorse Necklace

I really like this glass seahorse focal and have been hiding it away for way too long. The seahorse has a lot of dichroic sparkle and has finally been set free to swim among lovely turquoise blue seed beads and genuine pearls. The necklace is sewn together in a cubic right angle weave pattern.

 
 
Dreaming of a white sandy beach and clear turqoise blue water...where you can see all the way through, down to the reef.