New Chain Maille Necklace

Tuesday I posted about a new pair of earrings I made. With those finished, I decided to start something else new. Poking around in my stash of rings I found three large copper rings I received from Urban Maille when I ordered a kit for a half persian bracelet. The ID for the rings is about 15mm. Large! My next thought went to the recent project of the Japanese Bulls-Eye earrings. So, I then found an 8mm sterling silver ring to put in the middle. (Like the Bulls-Eye) I then tried to put some little rings to connect the two large rings as in the Bulls-Eye. (Picture on the left)


It looked fine on my work surface but wouldn't hold its shape when picked up. My plan was to make earrings. Even pulling them up a bit to look like Mickey Mouse didn't seem to work. (Picture on right)
Next, I thought a necklace form might help hold the design. It did a little bit better. (See this picture.)




Well, it isn't exactly a Bulls-Eye but not a bad look. Since I only had three copper rings, the first part of the design was finished. Next, I added a simple chain of 2 and 1 rings and I ended it with a lobster claw clasp and a small extender chain. It measures about 18 inches long. Here is the finished design:



It is fun to see how an idea changes from start to finish. I may think about it some more and maybe the real finished project will be different but so far I like it.

B

www.bevsjewelry.com and www.bevsjewelry.1000markets.com

Veterans Day: Who Will Stand // Bloggers Unite

Today is Veteran's Day. I've been fortunate to never have a family person who served in the military other than an Uncle in WWII who served state side.
But lately there are so many serving, you can't help but meet many who do have friends and family serving.

Let's take some time to Thank those who are and have served.



Also, check this site out too.

Veterans Day: Who Will Stand // Bloggers Unite

Posted using ShareThis


B

Japanese Bulls-Eye Earrings

I often surf the internet just looking for new ideas. The other day I ended up on the Blue Buddah Boutique website. (That is the one that I used for the Jacob's DNA Ladder necklace I made recently).

I saw a pattern for Japanese Bulls-Eye earrings that caught my eye. So I purchased the pdf file of instructions. (I admit, I tried to do it myself from the picture first - but gave up)

The instructions were good and except for the fact that I did not have the exact sizes of rings on hand, they went together fairly easily. I did not make them as long as the instructions suggested. I really don't like long earrings. So these are only two segments long and not three.

I can see that using the size rings recommended would have resulted in a better fitting pattern. This pattern is a bit more forgiving that some patterns are for that, however.

I was very pleased with the results. Tomorrow, I'll share the next step I took after learning the Japanese Bulls-Eye pattern. Stay tuned.

B

www.bevsjewelry.com and www.bevsjewelry.1000markets.com

New wrap bracelet(s)

I have a message in to my buddy, Melanie about this bracelet. We have a joke between the two of us about my "thinking". It is just one of those things we laugh about.

I usually say "I'll have to think about it" when she comes up with one of her new ideas. Or "I woke up this morning and I've been thinking ..." The thinking usually results in a new design or improvement.

This is a combination of thinking about a new design for a Lexie jewelry piece and my making a memory wire bracelet recently. See post here. Also, it uses several items I have on hand. (I'm not going to any more bead shows until I clear out some of my inventory!)

I had the curved silver plate tube and the silver Awarness ribbon all on hand. Of course I have the Lexie Swarovski pearls on hand as well as the Bali silver daisy spacers. It all went together fairly quickly once the idea was there. The only decision is how long to make the bracelet.

The above picture is just one wrap. It looked a bit "thin". So I made another one with three wraps. Actually, it is a bit shy of three full wraps so I may make another longer one. Here is the 3- wrap one:



What opinions can you share with these two bracelet? (I'll let you know what Melanie says too)

B


www.bevsjewelry.com and www.bevsjewelry.1000markets.com

New Metal Stamped Earrings

Last Saturday two of my beading friends and I went to Swede's Beads in West Bridgewater to take a class in Metal Stamping. We were given 5 copper circles to practice with and then we could purchase some other shapes and metals to use what we had learned.

You can see the picture of my sample pieces.




Hammering is a great way to get out some frustrations. The funny thing is that the first ones (top) seem more planned than the lower two where I was trying to make something. Interesting phenomenon don't you think? They just need ear wires to make nice earrings. Well, interesting ones anyhow.

I like the silver and copper earrings that I finally made.




They clink when you wear them. They are a little longer than I like but not too bad. I need to measure the holes better so I don't have to use such a large jump ring to attach to the ear wires..

They were all oxidized to show the the detail in the stamping. I think I should polish the silver a bit more but for a picture that is not a bad thing. (Not so shiny) I used my initials and a squiggle stamp. Then for "interest" I hit the silver pieces with the ball of the hammer. Makes dents. The oxidation makes them show a bit. On the square copper pieces I just made lots of hits with an "interesting" design.

With the "interesting" design stamp, I bounced a bit and liked the results, so I bounced several hits to make it look as if I did it on purpose. (I'll never tell that I didn't do it on purpose)

Anyhow, I've discovered a new technique and need to explore it more. Lots of different possibilities.

Next I'd like to make a bracelet with the squares and different stamps on each one. As with most new techniques, it requires some new tools. They are on order and I hope I remember everything when they get here.

B

www.bevsjewelry.com and www.bevsjewelry.1000markets.com