Day 11 - The bead goes on. And on and on and...

How 'bout them 'Niners!

Today we were privileged to attend the lovely wedding of a young couple.  I was so hoping to be inspired by the whole wedding atmosphere and come home and whip up a stunning pair of earrings that any bride would be proud to wear.  The colors today were white, silver and blue - a very wintery combination and a very effective combination that i totally love.

It's really nice to have an idea.  It would be even nicer if some of these ideas i have just carried themselves to completion and left me standing in awe of my powers of design.

I tried.  I really tried.  Lustrous white beads.  Drops.  Crystals.  Sigh.  Not to be. 

So today's earrings are a punt.  But they turned out pretty good despite me.

Supplies:

20gauge wire (i think this is square wire, actually)
8/0 seed beads
3.4mm drops
chain

Make a loop on one end of a 5 inch piece of wire.
Thread 8/0 seeds in your choice of color to cover one half of the wire.
Bend the wire in half into a long oval.
File the end that will go through the ear.
Attach a drop to the chain by opening a link and adding the bead.
Open the loop on the end of the wire and attach the chain.
Close the loop.

Not bad, eh?  And just 354 ideas left to bubble to the surface!  I'm psyched!

Challenge 2012 (Day 10) - 365 earrings in 365 days

Day 10!  Double digits, baby!! 

For today's earring extravaganza, i thought i would try forming wire into a shape reminiscent of earrings i had back in the day.  Back in the day in my case equals the late 60's and early 70's in San Francisco, so think hippies and beads and love is all you need.

I started with 22gauge copper core colored wire in a lovely ice blue but i didn't have the beads on hand to finish out the design so i switched over to 20gauge copper wire.  Forming the wire free-hand was a bit of a challenge and it took me a couple of tries to get it close to right.  I could have used a jig - homemade or otherwise - but a) i didn't have one on hand naturally and b) i like the look of wire that's been worked over a bit.

Ninety minutes later (could i be any slower?) i had two fairly similar wire shapes and then it was "just" a matter of finding the beads to complete the design i had in mind.  I finally settled on black drops and black and turquoise seeds.  KISS, right?  (Keep It Simple Sister)

Choosing the drops meant i had to do the briolette wrap again but i think i've discovered a little trick.  Let me work it out a bit more and take a few photos, and i'll share it. 

Then i used simple loops to attach the 3 seed beads.  When i make double loops, i like to have the loop faces alternating directions.  To achieve this lofty goal, have the first loop facing you when you start to form the second loop. 

And that's all there is to it.

Supplies:
(2) 6-inch pieces of 20gauge copper wire
24gauge copper wire to attach the beads
(2) black glass teardrop beads
(18) 11/0 seed beads in black (12) and turquoise (6)
ear wires

I used my handy bailing pliers to form the "chandelier" part of the earring and then the usual assortment of flat nose, round nose and cutters to complete the job.  I kinda like these.  Terry said they looked elegant.  Sweet!  And, just 355 pairs left to do!  Go me.

Have you found our group on Facebook?  Search for "earrings!!!" and join up so you can post photos of earrings you've made.  I'd sure like to see what you all are creating!!

Happy trails to you until we meet again.

Challenge 2012 (Day 9) - 365 earrings in 365 days!

It was Late Night Thursday at the shop so the plan was to do an easy pair of earrings for today's entry.  On my way out i grabbed the last two 20mm raspberry colored acrylic beads that have been sitting around for a year or more.  I've been wanting to do a long chain/bead combo for a couple of days and i thought these beads would be light and bright.  Easy breezy lemon peasy!  Stick a headpin in it and i'm done for the day.

Of course not.

The first couple of attempts were pretty standard:  headpin, bead on top and bottom of large bead.  All equaled BORING.  Then inspiration!  What if i made it look as if the chain is threaded through the bead?!?  As if the bead is floating on the chain?!? 

And that's what i did. 

Supplies:

silver plated chain (from years ago!  still looked shiny bright)

18gauge silver plated copper core wire

(2) 20mm acrylic beads

ear wires

The chain didn't fit through the bead hole so i made a double eyepin sort of deal with the 18gauge wire.  It was a bit tricky making the eyepin because i wanted it to sit very close to the bead so the chain would look like it just continued through.  So i made one eye, threaded the bead on and then flailed around trying to make the other eye.  It wasn't a tidy process but i got 'er done by golly.

One caution:  be sure you cover the chain, or wire for that matter, with your hand as you cut it.  Pieces o' metal can go flying across the table with surprising force. 

 

Then i opened the eyepins and attached the pieces of chain, and then opened the ring on the ear wire and attached the end of the long piece of chain.  And voila!  Day 9 is lookin' fine.  Why didn't i add a bead to the end of the chain?  Because that would have been PREDICTABLE!!  These earrings need to go on a cruise to somewhere warm where you don't have to wear a lot of clothes so you can show them off against your skin.

And they really do look good on! 

9 down, 356 to go...

Challenge 2012 (Day 8) - 365 earrings in 365 days!

Button button who's got the button?  I saw a pair of earrings made with buttons in this really cool little book titled 1000 Jewelry Inspirations by Sandra Salamony (Quarry Press) and thought "cool!  i'll do a pair like that!"  Well, of course, it didn't turn out quite "like that" but buttons were the starting point and we went from there.  I'm trying to use beads and things that i already have on hand.  I do have to raid the shop for findings because i'm low on ear wires, headpins, rings, and the like.  The buttons were still on the original card from, oh, probably five years ago and i actually had several colors to choose from.  Simple, round, plastic, washable, two hole buttons....

Supplies include 24gauge and 18gauge silver plated copper core wire, 10mm jump rings, 6mm soldered rings, ear wires, two blue 11/16" (18mm) buttons, and frosted glass drops.  Drops are fat little teardrop shaped beads with a hole in the tapered end of the bead.  Argghh!  I see more briolette wraps in my future!

Cowgirl up and get 'er done, darlin...

And i have to say, i don't usually sit down to make a pair of earrings and walk away satisfied 15 minutes later.  I try my original idea and of course it doesn't quite work.  I started this pair with clear drops and they just d-d-d-disappeared into the background so i had to redo hoping the frosted drops would work and fortunately they did better.  Then the first wraps i did, i used a wrapped loop and that made the drops all hat and no cattle so i had to redo using a simple loop and that worked better.  Do you get my drift?  Start here and loop-de-loop around and over yonder and back until it jells.  Good thing i enjoy the process as much as the product!

OK.  Three drops are dangling one each to a soldered 6mm ring.  The soldered 6mm rings are threaded onto an approximately 8mm jump ring that i made from the 18gauge wire because, of course, i didn't have any jump rings that size on hand.  I could have used a 10mm jump ring but it didn't look right.  The 8mm jump ring is threaded onto a 10mm jump ring that goes through one hole of the button.  A second 10mm jump ring is threaded through the other hole and a soldered 6mm ring is also on that 10mm jump ring and connects to the ear wire. Thank goodness a picture is worth one thousand words!  These are actually kinda cute.  Day 8 is done.  Uh oh.  We're gettin into higher math here but i think i have 357 pairs to go.

Challenge 2012 (Day 7) - 365 earrings in 365 days

Hahahahahaha!  These earrings make me laugh!  Lately, as you may imagine, i view everything as potential earring components.  So when i finished the last of this lovely imported French wine and discovered i now had TWO corks...

The first order of business was to drill a hole lengthwise in each of the corks.  My husband, bless his heart, always has just the right tool and this time was no exception.  Using his mini hand drill, i drilled in from each end of the cork and then used an awl to enlarge the hole enough for wire to pass through.  This is a sweet little tool!  I found it online at http://www.welburngourdfarm.com/ and, according to the website, it is ideal for making teeny tiny holes.  We know it works on wine corks!  I might have to get my own.  Terry keeps a pretty close eye on his toys.



Once the corks were drilled, it was easy going.  I had a couple of brown glass heart beads to dangle from the bottom and i used 22gauge copper core color coated wire to form the loops.  I had to use a briolette wrap on the glass beads.  Not my preference but ya gotta go with the bead hole flow, right?  And.....here they are!  Lucky Day 7!  Corks, glass beads, and 22ga wire.  Sweet!!  I wonder how many corks i'd need to make a necklace?  A long necklace...............

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.

Challenge 2012 (Day V) - 365 earrings in 365 days!

And the next entry in the seemingly never-ending earring saga (is this really just the fifth day?), is a study in spirals.  Working with wire is an extended learning process for  me; each time i try a wire technique, it seems like the first time.  I've made  spirals before.  Not thousands  of them, but a few.  Using a project from the book Complete Guide to Making Wire Jewelry (Art Jewelry Books by Kalmbach Books), i first had difficulty deciding which way the instructions meant for me to bend the wire.  Perpendicular, you say?  To what?  The 90-degree bend in the river?  The photos didn't help.  Maybe i was just overthinking  the process  but  it didn't get any easier with successive spirals.  Nevertheless, i pushed through the brain fog and created a pair of spiral-happy earrings.  AND i had a lot of help from my husband, who is also trying really hard to teach me to take decent photos.

Supplies:

22ga colored copper wire

black ear wires

round nose pliers

chain nose pliers

cutters

ruler

Cut pieces of wire ranging in length from 1.5" to 2" or even 2.5"

Make a simple loop at one end of each piece.  Go here for the how to:

jewelrymaking.about.com/od/wiretechniquesinfo/ss/050808.htm

For short dangles, measure about 1/8" from the bottom of the loop.

For longer dangles, measure about 1/2" from the bottom of the loop.

Listen hard at this point:  "Grip the wire with the tip of your chainnose pliers, and bend the wire 90 degrees.  This bend will make the stem of the wire perpendicular to the loop."

Got that?  Great!  You'll do it several more times.

Now make a spiral up to the 90 degree bend.  Go here for the how to:

www.artbeads.com/wire-spiral.htm

When you have all the spirals you can stand to make which for me was about six per earring, open a fairly large jump ring and slide the dangles on in a pleasing order.

Attach an ear wire, close the jump ring and admire your spirally handiwork!

And here's Day Five!   Ooooooooooooo!  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Only 360 pairs of earrings to go!

By the way, scroll down to leave a comment and be sure to "follow"  this blog!