Challenge 2012 (Day 6) - 365 earrings in 365 days

Today's earrings are pretty straightforward but, once again, pretty beads and, in this case, fancy wire make a difference!  I'd definitely wear this pair.

Before i get into the earrings themselves, i have a dilemma i'd like to put before you all.  WHAT am i going to do with 365 pairs of earrings???  Our daughter suggested we display them at the shop, hanging them above the top row of goods and going around and around the walls as needed.  Gettin dizzzy just thinking about that!  They aren't for sale just yet.  I'm thinking we might auction them off next January (in lots of 10 pair ha ha) and then donate the proceeds to......And that's where i'm stuck.  Any ideas?  Last year i participated in the Craft Challenge for the Wounded Warriors of the Special Forces.  Don't quite know what happened to that deal as the gal doing it got sidetracked by some other stuff but i liked the idea of supporting our soldiers and their families.  Anyways, leave a comment if you have a favorite charity.  We've got a few days before we have to have a decision, right?

OK.  The fancy wire i mentioned earlier is a Beadalon product called, you guessed it, fancy wire!  It is a copper core wire plated with non-tarnish silver.  And what it is is wire that has been twisted and then drawn to smooth out the bumpy edges.  It has a bit of a glint and adds a hint of elegance without bulk.  I used 22ga and found it to be very soft and easy to wrap.

Speaking of wraps, i like to use bailing pliers so that my loops are the same size throughout the project.  Bailing pliers have two different sized jaws and the jaws aren't tapered like a round nose.  Instead each jaw is the same diameter top to bottom so no matter where you place your wire, the loop will be the same size.  Ha ha!...come to think of it, i can use FOUR tools to make a wrapped loop:  bailing pliers to get the loop size, round nose to grip the loop while i finish forming it, flat nose to hold the loop while i wrap the neck, and cutters to cut the tail.  Hard way Harriet for sure!

So here is today's pair!  I used 6 green turquoise discs, two chips of quartz crystal, the fancy round wire, and stainless ear wires.  Because i was using wire and not headpins, i formed a tiny loop at the bottom of the crystal chip.  Again, this design is simple but effective.  And depending on how you arrange the beads, it'll look different every time.  Just 359 pairs left to do!!  I'm on it.  I'm so on it.