well hello there

my it's been a long long time.  how'm i doin?  oh well i guess i'm doin fine.  it's been so long and now it seems that it was only yesterday.  ain't it funny?  how time slips away?

On the bright side!  i've had time to think about this here earring challenge and this here blog.  It's obviously obvious that i am not gonna meet the 365 Challenge and i'm okay with that.   <sigh>   We had it going on for a good little while! and it was great fun! and there will be more earrings!  But now, wander with us and let's see where the beading path leads.

One thing that has captured my beady attention is beadpoint.  Beadpoint is needlepoint with a bead on every stitch.  A little bead.  A little 11/0 seed bead.  A very little bead.  Little beads and little holes in the 14 count aida cloth.  Why am i doing this?

photo from TheStitchery.com

Because a friend gifted me with a needlepoint floor frame like that one in the photo here.  Beautiful oak with wooden knobs for all the adjustables.  I can't just let it sit there! but needlepoint is not my thing.  But beads are!  So i'll try beadpoint!  This'll be great!  And, you'd think, easy.  Got beads.  Aaaahhh.  Need pattern.  Need pattern that i like.  And that will work with beads.  aaaaahhh.  Took forever but i found something.  Got the cloth.  Prepared the cloth.  Attached it to the frame.  Hemmed.  Hawed.  Hemmed again.


And finally, tonight, i tried a line of beadpoint.

Took me long enough to do this one stretch that i estimate the project will take 232 hours.  Not counting any non-stitching time.  Just threading the needle will take countless hours.  Pulling out bad stitches will take countless more.

Anybody else really excited?

But it's sooooo cool!!!!!

However, i don't like the black nymo thread 'cause it darkens the beads which i thought would work but it doesn't.  So i'll be starting over with white nymo thread. <sigh>

And, yep.  That's the pattern to the right of the framed cloth.  92 by 116 beads.  Did i mention they are little beads?

I know.  Another big idea.  And we know how well i followed through with the last big idea, right?  But ima gonna start this because I CAN!!!  ha ha ha!  Hey.  i already have a second pattern.  And a plan to chop this first pattern into bite-size pieces if necessary.

Off we go!

Earrings in April again

What a great couple of days!  An extra day off from the shop for Easter Sunday and then spending that day with our kids and grandsons.  Beautiful weather and an hour in the garden today.  Maybe all that fresh air inspired me to sit down at the beading table and - yep! you guessed it! - make a pair of earrings.

This pair came about through just messin' with the beads.  Back in 2008 or 2009, i bought some glass discs from Bokamo Designs.  Steve works in borosilicate glass which is a hard glass that was developed originally for cookware (under the trade name PYREX) and scientific glassware such as test tubes.  Borosilicate makes for a different looking bead than the lampwork beads that are made with soft glass.

Anyhoo.  The point is that i've had this set of beads for quite some time.  The problem has been that nothing i tried showed them to their best advantage.  Well, sometimes it's difficult to track the train of thought that leads to a final design so suffice it to say that i tried this and i tried that and i redid the other until i was satisfied. 

Here.  I went down and took a quick picture of the remaining discs.  A thousand words and all that.  Aren't they beautiful?  I love that shiny, translucent quality.












Fortuitously - try spellling that one with your eyes closed - i had some little glass daggers in the same bluegreens.  So far, so good.  I settled on brass wire because the warm color looked good with the discs.  Lemme tell ya, though, brass wire is SPRINGY!  But i bossed it into submission so all was well.

Supplies
(2) borosilicate discs from Bokamo Designs
(12) small glass daggers
length of 24ga brass wire
(2) interchangeable ear wires in antique brass

Thread six of the daggers onto a manageable length of the brass wire, form into a teardrop shape and secure with a wrapped loop large enough to accommodate one glass disc.  With a second length of the brass wire, make a second loop large enough to go through the same glass disc and give it a couple of wraps to seure it.  With the same piece of wire, form a second wrapped loop to attach to the ear wire.  Slide the finished earring onto the ear wire
Repeat for the second earring.   Nice, huh?  Now it's your turn.  Go to Bead Blast, coming up the first weekend in May down in Overland Park KS, look for Bokamo Designs and pick out a sweet bead or two for your collection.  Only, don't let them sit for years like i did.  Make something pretty!

Earrings in April

ha ha ha!  This picture made me laugh!  They look like sunglasses-wearing dancing teeth.

But they are actually cool skull beads given by a friend.  And they've been sitting on my beading table waiting for inspiration to strike.  Being such unique beads in and of themselves, i wanted to both highlight that and come up with a design that, with luck, would complement their uniqueness.

woooooo.  lofty, no?  But, really, that's kinda what we do every time we make a piece of jewelry.  There's usually a "most" important element along with supporting elements.  "What's your conversation?" A customer said that to us quite some time ago, and we often pass it along as a bit of designing advice.


So my conversation was these two cooly wacky and wackily cool skulls that are also an unusual color.  What you see in the photo is actually the pair of earrings; that's just a bad picture.  I did take a better one.

Supplies:
(2) cool resin skull beads
(2) 10mm copper rounds
some copper wire
(6) links of chain with rings left on
no ear wires..the kidney ear wires don't look good and i didn't have any other copper ones..so no.  no ear wires for you.

I wrapped the loops extra large and made sure that they faced front at the bottom of the bead.  Crystal rounds instead of the copper rounds would have looked mystically cool but...i didn't have any crystal so copper they are.  And i could have dangled something from the bottom of the links but i just liked the rings as the finial pieces. 

Well?  Did i hit the right design note?  Did the skulls remain the focal beads amongst complementary and supporting components?

Who cares?  They made me laugh out loud!  I love 'em!

Earrings Every Day or four

We're back with another exciting earring adventure!

Tiara Bangle
design by Debbie van Tonder

But first!  I did some beady homework today and finished the tila bangle that i started two Saturdays ago.  woohoo go me!  It was, for me, a difficult pattern.  I had to pay attention every step of the way and i  think i still missed at least one stitch.  But it looks good! and it fits good! and i like it!  I might make another bracelet from this pattern, just to try it one more time.  It is very pretty and the directions are excellent. The pattern is available through the designer's etsy shop at www.etsy.debger

Supplies:
10gm tila beads (turquoise - my fave)
8/0 seed beads (dk brown frost)
(18) 4mm Swarovski bicone (dorado)
Fireline.  Lots of it.
#12 beading needle

Dorado is a unique bronze flash effect that coats the entire bead.  It is soooooooooo pretty!



Okay.  On to the earrings.

I often second- and third- and sometimes even fourth-guess my design decisions. I just know the next combination is going to be killer!  And playing with the beads as i try different designs is a great part of the enjoyment i get from this creative outlet.  At some point, however, you have to stop so that you can finish the piece. ( But i don't wanna!!)

Tonight i kind of cheated and made two almost the same earrings.  Same components in the same order, just attached differently.  I'm all about movement in jewelry design, especially earrings, so normally i would use loops between each bead.  But loops are a design element and i didn't like the look of all them loops.  I linked two components instead of three and it was still too bulky.  I left that one intact for comparison and then the third one i threaded all the beads onto a single length of wire.  I think i like that look best and it has movement jes' a-swingin' from the jumprings.  Which one do you like?

Supplies:
(2) FABULOUS mosaic shell tube beads
(4) 8mm Swarovski crystal pearls (grey)
(8)2mm sterling rounds
(4) 8mm twisted jumprings
(2) ear wires
length of 22gauge silver plated wire

I was gifted with a strand of the mosaic shell beads and i'm going to knot most of the rest of them on #4 grey silk alternating the shell beads and the 8mm Swarovski pearls.  woohoo sexy!  The 2mm rounds in the earrings are meant to mimic the knots between the shell beads and the pearls.  But you couldn't know that since you haven't seen the necklace.  Once i get the necklace finished, i'll put a photo up. 

That's it for today, y'all.  Bead happy!

Earrings Every Day...lately...

Tonight!  The big reveal!  Are these earrings Oscar-worthy and, more to the point, would Angelina Jolie wear them?

 May i have the envelope, please.

And the Oscar goes to..............Chandelier Earrings!!  This style is a winner!  It works for the boho look and the elegant dressed up for prom look.  It all depends on the components you choose for the design.  Funky colored glass and antiqued brass equal bohemian chic.  Crystals and pearls say "Classy, lady."

Supplies:
(6) freshwater pearls
(8) 4mm Swarovski crystal AB bicones
(6) sterling liquid silver tubes
(8) bead tip sterling headpins
(2) filigree chandelier components
(2) leverback earring components

Thread a pearl, a crystal and a liquid silver tube on a bead tip headpin and make a wrapped loop, attaching the dangle to the chandelier before wrapping the loop closed.  Repeat 5 more times for a total of 6 dangles.

Thread a single crystal on a bead tip headpin and make a wrapped loop, attaching the dangle to the chandelier so that it goes through the top ring AND over the top edge of the chandelier component before wrapping the loop closed. 

This is harder than you might think for some reason.  I just couldn't "see" how to attach the loop so it would encompass the ring and the edge of the component.  I think the trick to making it work was to pull the tail of the loop open more than usual, allowing the bulk of the component edge to slip in.  However i managed to do it, it's a cool effect to have the bead dangling down into the "negative space".

Attach the finished component to the leverback earwires.  Leverbacks are very secure and when you are wearing high dollar earrings like these, you want secure. 

And voila!  A trendy and beautiful earring that swings, baby.  Can't you just see Angie wearing these?

Tomorrow:  homage to Davy Jones, the cute little Monkee who died yesterday at the age of 66.

Earrings Every Day...or not...or feature a guest artist!

Mardi Gras must have been a bigger party than i thought. 

I could not finish a pair of earrings for yesterday's blog.  I tried two different designs.  I had a glass of wine at hand to release the muse. I was MOtivated!  But no worries.  I took the night off.  And i'm off the hook again because today's earrings were made by Melissa.  From glass and wire.  From scratch.

Melissa is a talented bead artist who works in several media.  We've always looked to her for her expertise in beadweaving and her strong technical skills.  Recently Melissa has ventured into metalwork and is creating beautiful cold-joined jewelry.  Her metalwork classes at the shop are very popular.  And very affordable, i might add.  Get more info here about classes.

Melissa is also a lampwork artist and she made the headpins used in today's earrings.  Very cool.  And by the way, Melissa's glass beads are available at...the shop.  How convenient!

Supplies:
(6) glass topped 5inch copper headpins
(2) ear wires

Th-th-that's all, folks.

Make wrapped loops incorporating a fancy wire technique and connect them as you go. Pretty!  And swingy!  That's a good thing!Thanks, Melissa!

Until next time, y'all...bead happy!

Still On the Road - Challenge 2012

Amigo watching Terry
from across the ravine

Rainy cold Sunday in Lajitas and across much of Texas.  We stayed close to the house, venturing out for a walk or to throw discs across the ravine.  I updated the website which took forrrrrrrrrever because of the weak wifi signal from the resort but i got it done and that was huge.

Yesterday was a drive past Presidio to the ghost town at Shafter which was a bit of a disappointment.  Couldn't walk thru the ruins of the town but we took a few photos and drove back through Presidio where we stopped and had a meal at El Patio again.  Tres leches cake, anyone?  Oh my.

Wound our route back home stopping to look at canyons and hoodoos and balancing rocks along the way.  Looked like rain was moving in so we just kept moving on.

Today the weather kept us in.  I made earrings.  Kelly picked the colors - amber  and turquoise - and we played with beads a bit.  Kelly quilts and her current project is a Fibonacci design (think the crosscut of a chamber nautilus).  Her perspective is different from mine, much less rigid and freer with color.  I'm uptight; what can i say?

But the earrings swing!  And the colors look fabulous together and, all in all, we made such a pretty pair!

Supplies:
(4) amber beads, drilled on the diagonal
(4) 4mm Swarovski rondelles in crystal copper
(2) 4mm turquoise glass rondelles
22gauge non-tarnish brass copper core wire

Using bailing pliers so i'd get consistently sized loops, i made the components for the earrings and then attached them together, opening the simple loops like jump rings. Then because i didn't have any ready made ear wires in a suitable finish, i made some real simple interchangeable ear wires from the same 22gauge wire.  Really should start carrying a file to take the edge of those ear wires!

Our days here are dwindling fast and there is still so much to do. Tomorrow it's Study Butte for the post office and hardware store and Mexican food at Rosie's.  Tuesday we start our drive towards home.  Bright spot:  Pappys in Monahan Texas.  Best brisket EVER.  Another pair of earrings?  Nah.  I'll play catch up when i get home.  Maybe.

Earring count:  36 earrings/ 40 days

Still On the Road - Challenge 2012

.  

Lajitas Peak

Another day in Lajitas.  Where no plan is the best plan.
Yesterday we geocached and got our Texas badge.
Today, the boys went shootin' and the girls went walkin'.
Then we sat in the sun and watched the mountains.
Made a pair of earrings.
Pizza at the Long Draw.
A quick update of all social media.
Tomorrow? Quien sabe?

The inspiration for today's earrings came as i stepped out the back door.  There's a large specimen of calcite setting at the foot of the stairs and little pieces frequently fall off.  I picked up two pieces, washed them off and set them down on the mat.

Not drilled.  Going to have to wrap them with wire.  Uhh. Free form wire wrapping is harder than it looks.  For me anyways!  So i took a piece of practice wire and played a bit then went the 18gauge non-tarnish brass plated copper core wire and wrapped those rocks, baby!

Then i used 22gauge wire (same as above) and made ear wires. The earrings are a teensy bit heavy but hey,  they're rock steady.

I really like these ear wires.  I used them for the green discs and for at least one another pair.  If you remember, it's a single piece of wire with a large loop and then the other end goes through your piercing.

So here's another pair in the challenge.  ha ha!  The challenge has morphed but we shall persevere and make earrings wherever we go!

Earring count:  35 in 37 days

Day 31 of Challenge 2012 - 365 earrings in 365 days

Alrighty then!  Today makes one month's worth of earrings!  Some have been inspired.  One or two were just get 'er done.  Not bad for 31 days of creative effort, eh? And it's been fun...sort of...no really...fun....

Today's pair were squeezed into the short time when my brother and his wife and daughter and our son all went out to dinner.  Terry and i begged off saying we wanted to get further along in the packing.  What we wanted was quiet and a moment where we didn't have to make a decision or clean or pack or lift or answer.

I swear.  This emptying a house is a seemingly never-ending project.  There is always something else to deal with.  And you can't dismiss it by saying you'll get it next time because, this time, there will be no next time.

So in the spirit of quickly, i pulled out the beads.  The silver plated Western dragons called to me but i want to spend a bit more design time with them.  Next was a selection of copper plated components.  Hmmm....haven't worked with copper in a few days...and those round frames have potential.  And oooh there's a couple of copper butterflies (or are they bows?). 

Funny how even when i want to move quickly through a project, i always slow
down when it comes to looking through the beads.  I just love beads! 

So, what to put in the frames?  Copper annnnnnd....turquoise!  A natural pairing, if you will.  Happened to have some little turquoise tube beads that fit the frames, a couple of copper head pins, and a couple of copper ear wires.  That's the supply list for today.

Rather than join the components with loops, i just threaded them all on a single head pin and, because i didn't wrap tight to the top bead, they kind of swivel around on their own and don't line up perfectly.  Perfect! 

So one month down and just 11 more to go.  That sounds better than 334 days to go, doesn't it?  Doesn't it?  Ummm..i'll have to get back to you on that one. 

Day XXX of Challenge 2012 - CCCLXV in CCCLXV

Got that?  Me neither.  I had to ask.

First order of business:  we've been in this house not 40+ but FIFTY plus years.  Makes me even more tired just knowing that!  Ai yi yi.  The clock is ticking faster!

Back to today's earrings.  Took a break from the endless sifting through of stuff i have no idea what to do with and walked down to Geary St which is our little business district.  Did an errand and then, walking to the other errand, passed the Hobby Company.  I love that little shop.  It has stuff for doll houses, models, general art supplies and in the back under lock and key, a little bead room.

 It's very small with a correspondingly small selection but i always look.  Today i found black Czech seeds in 8/0 and 6/0, and fold over crimps for the feathers i've yet to do.  And then i found the stash of charms from Tierra Cast.   

Tierra Cast is located in San Rafael, CA - right across the Golden Gate from SF.  Early in the years of owning Bead Boutique, i had the opportunity to visit them and got a tour of the facility and an in-depth explanation of their process.  They make good quality cast plated pewter items and we carry some in the shop and like them real well. 

So in that little bead room, in the back, nearly in the dark, i found charms and, in and amongst the cowboy boots and the butterflies and the feathers, i found dragons.  Gold plated Eastern dragons and silver plated Western dragons.  So i got me some.  And with just a touch of red for good luck, they became today's earrings.

Should i just make 335 more of these?

Supplies:
(2) antique gold plated Eastern dragon charms by Tierra Cast
(2) 4mm Swarovski bicones (siam)
(2) Vermeil bead tip head pins
(4) 4mm gold plated jump rings
large kidney ear wires in plated antique brass

Thread the bicone on the bead tip head pin and make a wrapped loop.
Open one 4mm jump ring and thread on the dragon, the bicone and the second 4mm jump ring.
Close the jump ring.
Hang the dangle on the ear wire from the second 4mm jump ring.
Repeat for second earring.

These have got to be good luck earrings!  This is the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac.  I was born in the Year of the Dragon.  In the Chinese calendar, the only decade birthday you celebrate in the same year as your zodiac sign is your 60th.  Guess what.

Day 29 of Challenge 2012 - 365/365

Day 29 and we're feelin' fine!  Rained today in San Francisco and i think the green growing things are confused because here it is February 1 and the flowering plum are doing just that!  What the....??

Last night Terry suggested that my mom be the inspiration for the next pair of earrings.  For those who don't know, my mom passed away last August and we are in SF to go through the house and celebrate her life with a party this Saturday.  Well.  "Going through the house" does not quite capture this undertaking.  We are, in essence, going through my mother's 87 years, my dad's 85 years, their 50+ years together, the 40 years we've lived in this house, plus whatever my brother and i and assorted family have added to the stew.  Ai yi yi.

Not to lead you to believe that everything remained untouched until we arrived.  Not at all.  But there is still plennnnnnnnty to go through and the clock is ticking.  Ai yi yi.

As for my mom inspiring a pair of earrings, she is everywhere i look. There is no lack of inspiraton.  But what made me laugh was a pair of small brass jingle bells.  Mom was forever "getting organized." ( Oh my.  That's been MY new year's resolution for the past 10 years!)  Her method of organizing was to put small things in small containers.  So there are lots of small containers - film cannisters, little tins, little jars, little boxes - filled or not-so-filled with small things.  I found the bells in a drawer.  There were two of them and bingo!  Pair of earrings!  You think?  Follow me as we dance down the path that is my convoluted route to finishing....anything.

the brass bells

my first idea.  KISS.
and get 'er done.

but more is better!
 longer is also better!
hahahaha!
 fools said i you do not know!



Supplies:
(2) small brass bells
(12) twisted connectors in antique brass plate
(10) top drilled small glass daggers
(4) 8mm jump rings in antique brass plate
26gauge plated copper core Artistic Wire in non-tarnish brass
(2) interchangeable ear wires in antique brass plate

These are so pretty!

Attach glass daggers to connectors with 26gauge wire using a briolette wrap.
Thread 3 connectors with attached bead onto one 8mm jump ring.
Open a second jump ring.
Thread one connector with attached bead, one connector with no bead, and a third connector with attached bead onto the second jump ring.
Thread the middle connector with no bead onto the first jump ring.
Close all jump rings.
Slide top jump ring onto interchangeable ear wire.

Wow.  Threehundredthirtysix more days of changing my mind every two minutes.  I can't wait.
 

Day 28 of Challenge 2012 - 365 earrings in as many days

Today was a short travel day.  Just 4 hours from Reno over the Sierra Nevada mountains to San Francisco.  Whew.  Stick a fork in us 'cause we are about done.  Fortunately we are here for a few days which will give us a chance to catch our collective breath before heading on.

After a very West Coast dinner of fresh crab, fresh french bread, white wine, avocado and salad, i sat down for a little earring therapy.

Well, i guess everything is starting to look the same and like i've seen it before so i had to dink around for quite some time before coming up with something i liked. Beads weren't working Colors weren't working.  Design was non-existent or looked forced  Didn't have enough of what i wanted to use.  But hey.  At least i looked good whilst working.  hahahahahaha!

That little head lamp is a fashion must have!  See all that beady stuff on the mat?  Didn't use any of it.  Went a whole 'nother direction.

The final design is deceptively simple but it took me quite a while to come to it. Once i decided on the design, i still had obstacles to overcome. I started with tiny crystals and they were too small.  I tried a mix of colors and that didn't work.  I tried all one color and that was boring.  Got it finally and i actually like them!

Supplies:
(8) 4mm Swarovski crystals (2 each of tourmaline, emerald, fern and peridot)
(6) pieces of liquid silver
(2) 2.5inch plated head pins
(2) 4mm jump rings ear wires

Thread four crystals on the head pin from dark to light with a piece of liquid silver between each one.
Make a wrapped loop at the top of the head pin.
Open the jump ring and put on the dangle and an ear wire.
Close the ring.

You might think a longish straight dangle like this would be look stiff hanging down but the crystals and the liquid silver make it shimmer and adding the jump ring between the dangle and the ear wire gives it motion.  Success!!

Question is, will we be as successful for the next 337 pairs of earrings? 

Day 27 of Challenge 2012 - count 'em 365 earrings in 365 days!

Cousin Ray checking out photos on the Ipad

Lovely time in Las Vegas with cousins from my dad's side of the family.  Today, on the road again 95N to Reno. We stopped in Beatty - you really should look on the map.  Words cannot describe how EMPTY this part of the country is - for a quick meet-up visit with a third cousin.  Then we stopped in Tonopah, an old silver mining town, and my dad's hometown, for a too short visit with my dad's cousin Ray who is 95 years old.  As of last October, he was still driving the Caddy to Reno and back!

Made it to Reno, the biggest little city, just before dinner time.  We're staying with my cousin (from my mom's side) and her husband, and Dimi is an excellent excellent cook.  It must be the Greek genes. Tonight it was short ribs braised in a burgundy reduction with a side of polenta flavored with gorgonzola cheese. and a salad of winter vegetables.  Dessert was English trifle.  Well, we had to eat SOMETHING!

Oh.  Earrings?  Almost overlooked them in all the excitement.  Can you guess what the black components are?  The crystals are Preciosa, which we are now carrying in the store.  They are much less expensive than Swarovski and have just about the same blinnnnng factor.

Supplies:
10mm Preciosa crystals.
black components
7mm jump rings
wire
ear wires

Put the crystal on a double wrapped loop and attach to the 7mm jump ring.  Attach the jump ring to the black thingie.  Have you figured out what they are?  Tassels!  Oh, that was obvious, you say?  Did you recognize them as tassels from a strand of those pricey little faceted gemstones?  Yep.  I saw i had two of them and i figured they would make a lovely pair of earrings.  Am i right?

Alrighty then.  Open the ring on the ear wire and attach the earring.  Repeat.  Ta da!  Your go-to earrings for that LBD.  Sexy and sassy.  Can i come up with sexy and sassy again sometime in the remaining 338 pairs?  You'll have to tune in to find out.

Day 22 of Challenge 2012 - 365 earrings in 365 days

Back when silver was $7 or so for a troy ounce (as compared to the $30 or so of today) i didn't think twice about buying the silver items that caught my eye.  And one of my most favorite silver things, then and now, is liquid silver - those thin little hollow tubes of silver that, when gathered onto multiple strands, flow and shimmer like a river dancing in the late afternoon sun.

Sigh.

I have yet to amass enough of these little heishi beads to make the necklace of my dreams, but in support of more recent fantasies, i raided the stash of enough to make today's earrings.

Supplies:

(6) 3inch pieces of 22gauge silver plated wire
(6) turquoise glass drops
(42) liquid silver heishi beads

(2) 10mm plated jump rings

(2) stainless ear wires

Straighten the wire piece as much as you like.  A bit of curve can be a good thing.

Thread a glass drop onto the wire and secure with a briolette wrap.  Don't use too much wire at this point.

Thread 8 heishi on one wire, 7 on the second wire, and 6 on the third wire.

Make a simple loop on each wire right above the last heishi.

Open a 10mm jump ring and thread the 3 wires and the ear wire onto the jump ring.

Close the jump ring and put those babies in your ear.  Swingin'!

Repeat for the second earring. 

All the earrings i've made so far are now on display at the shop.  Makes for a fun collection but i do wonder where i'm going to put all 365 of the little objets d'art.  I suppose that will work itself out.  The trick is going to be coming up with CCCXLIII more of them. 

Day XX of Challenge 2012 - 365 earrings in 365 days!

Sometimes overthinking leads to blockage and that's what happened to me tonight.  I thought lightning would strike twice and i would be INSPIRED by outside events again today.  No such luck.  I guess working on taxes doesn't give me a creative jolt.  Go figure.

So i tried this and tried that and messed around - which is fun in and of itself but doesn't necessarily lead to a finished pair of earrings.  Finally, almost in desperation, i picked up a pair of antiqued plated copper chandelier components.  I tried black glass drops but really didn't want to have to do briolette wraps tonight although the black looked good with the copper.  Tried this.  Tried that.  Tried the other.  Nothing was clicking.

Well wouldn't you know it.  Swarovski bicones to the rescue.  The color was perfect.  The shape is attractive.  And, sometimes, making a few decent wrapped loops makes me feel like i've accomplished something, by gum.  I'm going to wear these tomorrow!

Supplies:

(2) plated earring components
(6) 6mm Swarovski bicones (tourmaline)
(2) plated ear wires

Twenty pairs of earrings in as many days...
Can i stop now?
Not so fast, lil miss.  You've got 345 more to go.  Aiiiyeeeeeee!

Day 19 of Challenge 2012 - 365/365

I rarely title the jewelry that i make but tonight's pair is called "Bad Hands".

My first inspiration was 49er red and gold.  My final inspiration was Kyle Williams' fumble in OT.

Ah well. 

Supplies:
(2) 6inch pieces of 26gauge gold plated copper core wire
(2) each of glass hand beads, matte gold frames, small turquoise beads
(2) 4mm jump rings
(2) gold plated ear wires

The glass hand beads are top drilled so i threaded the wire through until the bead sat in the middle, then folded the wire up like for a briolette wrap.  Instead i used the vise pin and twisted the wire, stopping when there was a nice distance between the glass hand beads and the twist of the wire.  Then i just threaded the wire through the frame, capturing the turquoise bead in the middle of the frame.  Then a wrapped loop and a 4mm jump ring to attach the dangle to the ear wire.

It's a sad pair.  Like 49er fans everywhere. 

Day 15 of Challenge 2012 - 365 earrings in 365 days!

Today was definitely going to be an easy breezy project.  And for the most part it was.

Except.....

I wanted to thread freshwater pearls onto the wire and they didn't fit.  Imagine that.  So instead of compromising my design (never!) and using a different bead, i pulled out that handy little tool we used with the corks back on Day 7.  It takes a bit o' time and a bit more patience, but i was able to ream out the holes for both pearls quite easily. I really think i'm just going to have to put that mini hand drill in my tool pouch and let Terry borrow it from me.

Supplies:
(2) 4inch pieces of 22gauge fancy round wire by Artistic Wire
(2) glass beads
(2) freshwater pearls
(2) 4mm jump rings
leverback ear wires

That fancy wire is quite soft but adds such a nice glint to the design that it's worth fussing with.  So i fussed with it a few times and finally got it to where i was satisfied.  Remember, this was to be an easy day.  The glass beads are a bit large and quite clear and the drill hole is obvious.  What to do.  What to do.

Ha!  Turn them on their sides!  That's what i did.  Day 15 is done.
Gone the sun.  From the lakes.  From the hills.  From the sky.
(Was anybody else a Girl Scout?)
All is well.  Safely rest.  God is nigh.

         And just nigh onto 350 days til i'm done.

Day 14 of Challenge 2012 - 365 earrings in 365 days!

Bringin' in the big guns tonight!  Well...their bitty bullets anyways.  Terry bought me a brick of .45 brass shell casings as components for earrings.  Awww...it must be love!

He was also there to resolve the first - and for a change, only - problem of today's project.  The base metal head pins slipped right through the beads we had selected.  grrr.  And making a loop at the bottom of the bead spoiled the rounded look we were after.

So he took a length of 18gauge non-tarnish brass plated copper core wire, filed the cut end smooth, gripped the wire in a pair of pliers and then flattened the end with a brass hammer.  Sweeeeeeeeeet!

You can see the wire below the pliers if you look hard.  The copper core wire is soft enough and the 18gauge is big enough so that the wire flattens out into a headpin effect. 

Armed with perfect caliber headpins, it was a quick draw to Day 14's pair.  Bang!

Sure as shootin, we're aiming for just 351 more! 

Corny, no?

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 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.