Alrighty then! The second pair of earrings in our Challenge 2012 is good to go!
These earrings are based on a design that i saw in a magazine last year and it caught my eye from the get go so what better time to give it a try than today!
And, even more fun, this was my first completed - although tiny - attempt at metal work!!
Ima gonna do MORE!!!!!
Supply list:
(2) 1" pieces of 14gauge square sterling wire
(6) 6-7mm coral discs
6" piece of 22gauge Artist Wire in non-tarnish silver
earwires or posts
hammer, steel block, rubber block, hole punch, round nose pliers, chain nose pliers, cutters, file, marker
Hammer the 1" pieces of sterling silver wire until flat. I laid the steel block on the rubber block to deaden the noise a bit. The silver will flatten out and lengthen somewhat. I used the chain nose pliers to hold one end of the silver so i could hammer the middle. I did this after i hit my thumb not once but three times. OK. Maybe i need to use a tool for this. D'oh. But i'll tell you what. Hammering metal is a BLAST!!!
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| 4x4 steel block by Euro Tool Available at Bead Boutique |
When the piece of silver was as flat as i liked, i used the file to smooth the ends a bit. (Full disclosure: i actually started with a 1.5" piece of wire but that made the flattened metal too long for my taste so i had to shorten it.)
Then, i used this nifty little hole punch tool to punch a hole in one end of the flattened metal. I marked the spot where i wanted the hole but still ended up with one of the holes a leetle too far off center, almost off the metal. Luckily still usable though.
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| hole punch by Euro Tool Available at Bead Boutique |
The final thing was to stack the coral discs on a length of the 22-gauge wire and do a couple of of wrapped loops to attach the coral beads to the metal and then to the earwire. Pair #2 is done!! Only 363 left to do! Tomorrow's pair will be a LOT simpler design than this but, i have to say, today's earrings made me smile!
These are my favorite!
ReplyDeleteYeah, i like these real well, too! Maybe they'll show up again later in the challenge disguised by a different metal and different beads!!
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