Wednesday's Worktable

On my worktable this week: preparation for Friday's reveal! 

...Which, unfortunately, means emergency bead repair:

Noooooo. Time to bring out the glue, and see what I can do... Oi. (I wasn't even being that rough with it... ah well. These things happen, I suppose.)

As of this moment, I have three pieces in the works for this Friday's reveal, and not a single one of them finished. Heh. I suppose we'll see what I'm able to accomplish tomorrow. 

Thanks for stopping by today to see what I'm up to... Have a wonderful evening, everyone!

We're All Ears - January Reveal

I'm a day late, but here I am! I'm still getting some technical things figured over here (new computer setup, woo!), so we'll see how this goes... In any case, I'm excited to join in this month's reveal for the We're All Ears challenge.

The challenge in question was to make earrings using the 2019 Pantone Color of the Year. I know I've already blogged about this a little bit (here, if you're interested)... As a reminder, though, this year the color is Living Coral:

I was surprised to find that I actually have quite a few beads in this shade. After a bit of debate, these are the ones that I decided to play with:

They are large and acrylic, salvaged from a vintage necklace--and a perfect candidate for this challenge. Because they are so lightweight (and did I mention large?), I decided to just go big and bold and make them the top part of a two-part dangle. 

This was the final design:

The other beads are vintage glass. I love the contrast between the coral and the blue, and I love the way that they dangle. While they may not the most complicated construction, I still think they're a lot of fun.

Thanks so much for stopping by to see what I made for this challenge... Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Wednesday's Worktable

Quick entry today! 

It's been a busy week so far--but, thankfully, most of it has been good. (Even if I am really sore from my new exercise routine that I'm doing with my husband--hah! Apparently those muscles really need the workout.)

I have even gotten a chance to just play around and do some jewelry designing. Fun times!

Currently on my worktable:

A lovely collection of bright copper and clear glass, with just a touch of white. This is from this month's Bargain Bead Box... and, very fitting considering this week's choice of weather.

...Yep, that's my backyard. Lots of snow and ice and cold, bare branches.

Oh, and deer tracks. Those are indeed deer tracks, even though I live in the middle of the city. 

...This may or may not be why my best friend thinks that I'm actually a Disney princess. Well, that, and the ridiculous amount of fluffy pudgy squirrels around my house. Now, if only I could convince the wildlife to do my chores for me, so that I have more time to bead... :)

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Have a lovely week, everyone!

Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge - January Edition

For this month's challenge, I'm doing something a little bit different.

You see, I have recently made a new beading friend (yay!), and we decided to do a bead swap. So, my challenge is to make something with the beads she sent me.

What did she send me, you ask? Well, here's the unveiling!

Such pretty things! Two gorgeous raku pendants, a Humblebeads birdie (so excited--my very first one!), and a collection of beautiful Czech glass. I have so many ideas, and I'm excited to get started.

Come back on January 25th to see what I make!

Thanks so much for stopping by today... Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Hello, 2019!

...and hello, first worktable post of the year! Woo!

Now, to be completely honest, this year hasn't had the best start. At all, really. On January 1st, the mother of some dear friends passed away unexpectedly (and quite tragically, in a flash flood), so the first week of this year was spent flailing around, making arrangements to go out of town to support them. And then, upon arriving home, I was hit with some sort of cold/flu/crud that has knocked me out cold.

I'm still feeling under the weather, but it's Wednesday and dangit I want to post to my blog. So, here I am! 

And on my worktable this week, I'm experimenting with the Pantone Color of the Year, Living Coral:

Coral isn't a color that I usually work with, but I do have some beads in my stash in that hue. Here is what I am currently playing with: 

Those will probably become earrings for this month's Earrings Everyday We're All Ears challenge. I also have a necklace in the making... It's fun to play around with something so bright and cheerful, especially when I myself am not particularly feeling that upbeat.

Thanks for stopping by today to see what I'm up to... I hope that your year is off to a much better start than mine. Ah well... here's to brighter days to come--and, of course, more beautiful jewelry!

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge - December Reveal

A bit late, but here it is: the reveal for this month's Wonder and Whimsy Monthly Challenge. Hurray!

...As a side note, I really need to stop scheduling blog reveals for the last two weeks in December. Between Christmas, my best friend's birthday, my own birthday, and New Years, I'm completely swamped. Don't get me wrong--it's a good problem to have! I just need to remember to take that into account when I'm doing my schedule.

Anyway! Onto the jewelry! To jog your memory, my challenge this month was all about chainmaille.

I had a lot of fun with this challenge. Now, I have actually tried my hand at chainmaille before, but this was the first time that I really devoted myself to it. 

...And I really, really enjoyed myself.

Overall, I made six items: five necklaces and one bracelet. I went through all of the chainmaille-specific rings that I had bought, and considering how much I enjoyed this challenge, I need to buy more. (And, a quick note: the size of chainmaille rings is very specific, having to do with inner and outer diameters... I will do my absolute best to document what I used correctly, but I apologize if I make any mistakes. I am, after all, still learning.)

And now, without further ado... Here is what I made!


Necklace #1

This one was actually a birthday present for my best friend. It features a captured bead design, made with 4mm iridescent beads and 18 gauge 3/16" aluminum rings. Oh, and silver tone chain to complete the design. :)

Necklace #2

This necklace was a fun experiment. When I was cleaning up my craft table as part of this month's We're All Ears challenge, I found those two chandelier crystals. I thought it would be fun to make them into a chainmaille pendant... and so I did.

Again, I used 18 gauge 3/16" aluminum rings... and matching lightweight aluminum chain from my stash. As far as the design goes--I just kind of played around and came up with it. I'm sure there's an actual name for what I made, but I still haven't found it. (Maybe the box weave?) Regardless, it was really fun to just experiment. After all, that is one of the ways that I learn best. :)

Necklace #3

The idea for this necklace actually came from one of my new beading friends, who sent me the photographed instructions via Facebook messenger. It is essentially a variation of Japanese 12-in-2 made to look like a snowflake. (The inspiration article is credited to Rebeca Mojica, so I am going to credit her with the idea.)

I made the pendant using 18 gauge 5/32" aluminum rings paired with matching tiny jump rings from my stash. I then decided to pair the pendant with clear faceted glass and chain--adding the wire-wrapped links that seem to be part of my signature style.

...I really, really like the final result.

Necklace #4

I couldn't let this challenge go by without attempting to make a full necklace of Byzantine weave. I love the way that this weave looks, and it's considered pretty beginner-friendly.

...It would have been nice, however, if I hadn't run out of rings before I finished it. Hah!

It is made with the aforementioned 18 gauge 5/32" aluminum rings... with a few 18 gauge 1/8" aluminum rings at the end. Essentially, the smaller rings are placeholders until my next shipment of 5/32" rings comes in. If you look really closely, you can see where I switch weaves near the clasp.

All in all, though, this necklace came together like a dream--albeit a dream where I ran out of materials. :)

Necklace #5

So, first things first: this necklace was made from a kit that I purchased some time ago from Mhai o Mhai beads (which is also, incidentally, where most of my rings were purchased). I don't know if it's available any more, so I'm super glad that I bought it when I did. 

It is, essentially, a variation of the captured bead weave that I showed earlier. I really, really like how it turned out... and, again, I really like the combination of the chainmaille with the wrapped links. It's always fun taking a new skill and melding it with my signature aesthetic.

Bracelet #1

...And now, it's time for the grand finale. I did some research and chose my favorite advanced weave, and gave it a try. And I actually had success! Yay!

I present: dragonscale chainmaille.

It was made with 18 gauge 9/32" rings and 18 gauge 3/16" rings, all made from aluminum.

I love this bracelet. I like how it looks, I like that I was able to figure out how to make it. I'm sure that there are ways that I can improve... I'm still working on closing my rings perfectly, and I'm sure it would look better with smaller rings. But I was able to do it! And for a chainmaille novice, I think that's pretty cool. :)

So, there you go! Those are the pieces that I made for this month's challenge. I really did enjoy myself, and I look forward to playing around with chainmaille even more in the New Year. I like the rhythm that goes into opening and closing the rings, into building the weave one piece at a time. I don't think I'm going to switch over to the chainmaille exclusively--but there are so many possibilities in incorporating it in what I already do! :)

Thank you so much for joining me today--and for this year. I really appreciate all of my readers, and I'm so glad that you're part of my jewelry-making journey. 

Happy New Year, everyone! Here's to a beautiful year to come!

Art Elements - December Reveal

I didn't get this post up in time to be officially part of the reveal, but I did actually make two pieces to go with this month's Art Elements theme. 

And, well, since I made them, I figured I might as well share them!

The theme itself was White... and I enjoyed the chance to play around with it. :)

Necklace #1

For this first necklace, I made the pendant using bits of vintage lace. Sadly, the pictures don't quite capture the detail--but it is there! After I made the pendant, I put together the tassel and chain to match. I enjoyed trying to come up with different variations on the white theme--different finishes and shades to give the final product both texture and depth. I'm pretty happy with how the finished product turned out. :)

Necklace #2

I made a lot of wire-woven pendants as Christmas gifts this year (pictures of those to come at a later date)... When I saw this lovely little bead in my stash, I knew that I wanted to make a pendant for this reveal, too. Relatively simple, but elegant--and, again, quite fun to make.

Thanks for stopping by to see what I made for this challenge... I know that this is a quick little entry, but I'm trying to get it up before midnight. And now, to work on my post for my Monthly Challenge reveal.

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone!

Upcoming Reveal

Hello, all!

I know that today is the scheduled reveal date for my Monthly Challenge. As you can tell, however, that is not likely to happen. I've been having a lot of fun being social and celebrating the holiday--and I'm a bit behind on taking pictures. Oops!

So! I will be doing this month's reveal over the weekend. Hopefully you'll still think it's worth it. :)

Thanks so much for your patience, everyone! Have a wonderful night, and I'll be back this weekend to show you the happy chainmaille pieces I made!