Thursday, July 26, 2007

Shades of Purple

Since my last post *too long ago* I have posted a few new additions to my store. I tend to lean toward fall colors, so I worked on adding a bit more color to my pieces... *yep, just in time for the end of summer* *laugh*


Shades of Purples seems to have called me. I'm going to show one of my absolute favorite pieces first.






This bracelet is sooo gorgeous! The beads are designer beads from the popular J Moore. You have to see these beads upclose and personal to really be able to appreciate their pure beauty. The artisanship is simply supreme. I accented this divine piece with lavender matte, deep purple and light purple swarovski crystals; which are known as the most beautiful crystal in the world. If you have never seen swarovski crystals reflect light, you are missing one of the most beautiful sites that jewelry has to offer.


The dangles are made with size 20g Sterling Silver wire and Sterling Silver bead caps bring a touch of added character and style.




This bracelet is 7-1/2". An extender chain is always available free of charge, upon request. I'm always happy to shorten any pieces as well, also free of charge.


If you love Amethyst- then you will ADORE this Chunky, Amethyst Nugget Necklace. I fell in love with these stones- they have such a natural beauty. I didn't feel like they needed any extra accessories. I wanted to keep it simple and let the beauty of the nuggets speak for themselves. So I strung them with, what I feel, is the perfect, complimentary beads- Aurora Bourealis Crystals. The crystals capture the rich, purple color and reflect the color in sparkly hues.





At 17", it fits most size necks as a choker. It does come with a Sterling Silver extender chain, that lets you adjust it up to 19-1/2". I'm always happy to adjust the length for you, free of charge.


If you want to make a statement in a natural, subtle kind of way- then this is your baby! *smile*






Let's take a turn away from jewelry for just a minute. Halloween is fast approaching- do you or someone you know throw the most awesome Halloween parties? If so, then you need the most awesome Halloween Invitations to go with it!





These are really fantastic, with tons of character and what I like best, texture. I love a card that has a lot of different textures to it- I think it adds a lot of character.



I also posted a general invitation with the Halloween invitations- you can have your choice or combination of both. You can choose the colors you would like the general invitations to be. Keeping in the theme of purple, that's the color I chose:











If you would like more invitations than offered, just write me- I'll be happy to make as many as you need.


Do you want to show off your talent, along with the faces you love best?


If so, this little Purse Scrapbook is so great to add your favorite faces to. What I do with these, is add a wallet size pic (or equivilant cut-out size) to one side and scrapbook the other side. It's a fun way to show off your favorite people and furbabies, while showing off your talented embellishment talents! *smile*

































I'm going to close, veering off purple shades, just a bit. Keeping the color scheme beautiful and feminine.


This elegant Pink Puruvian Necklace and Earring set is totally gorgeous! You'll feel so elegant and feminine when you put these on.





The Necklace is a generous 22" in length. A figure 8 Puruvian Opal is the focal and is accented with Puruvian Opal Square beads and fantastic, artistic light and dark pink glass beads. The glass beads have a splash of black splattered on them, which adds tons of style! Silver bead caps cradling the beads, adds the perfect finishing touch.


















You have to love the 2-1/2" dangle earrings that come in the set. They have a victorian flair- I'll be making some of these earrings, in different colors, to sell separately. They are hung on Sterling Silver earwires and the dangles hang on 20g Sterling Silver wire. AB Crystals are added for a touch of sparkle. I think they're the perfect compliment to the artistic glass beads and silver bead caps.

I hope you enjoyed the little trip through some of my new listings. Remember, I am always happy to do custom orders and I do not charge extra at all for them.


Would you like certain colors for birthstones?
A matching children's piece to go with the adult version?
A similar piece done in different colors?


Just ask! If I'm able to do so, I'd love to make you your own custom piece(s).


All of my first time buyers receive 20% off of their total order, before S&H. Refer a buying customer to my shop and receive 30& off of your highest value item, on your next purchase!

Gift wrapping is always free and comes complete with a card- when you order, just be sure to let me know you would like gift-wrapped.


These are just a few ways for you, my customer, to know how much I value and treasure you.


I hope to see you soon!


Wednesday, July 11, 2007

The Art of Using Wire to Enhance your Jewelry Creations





Using wire in your jewelry pieces can dramatically change the look and value of your piece- so much so, it can change it from another beautiful piece, to your new masterpiece!






This is my latest piece using wire to enhance the uniqueness and style of this one-of-a-kind beauty.




To frame this pendant with a 'starburst' frame, I used 2-1/2 feet of sterling silver wire, which was woven using two parallel dowels. I then used other strips of sterling silver wire to string the red garnet stones, peridot and black diamond swarovski crystals on and then weaved them into the wire-work frame. I chose to use four different straps of wire to do this. One for the top, one for the bottom and one for each side. This helped me to weave it into the design more easily without disturbing the original design. It also helped me to shape the additions and keep them to the outside of the starburst frame, completing as close to a symmetrical circle as possible.


This is an example of using wire to dramatically change the look of my piece. It wouldn't be the same without it. But using wire doesn't have to be so dramatic. It can be simply making a beautiful, long pair of french earring wires, (e.g; like the Smoky Quartz earrings we made in an earlier blog entry):


Look how making our own earring hooks added so much character and elegance to the pair of earrings mentioned earlier. Imagine them with the regular short, french hooks- they wouldn't have the same elegance, would they? I don't think so. They would still be cute, but just simply adding a longer style of hook, puts them in a whole new category.


If you have never made earring wires, don't let it intimidate you. They're much more easier than you would expect. Be sure to look up the blog entry where I gave step-by-step instructions and make your own! And if you do, please share them with me! I'd love to post them in a blog entry :)






Dangles are another easy way to add a lot of character to your pieces. To learn how to make dangles, all you have to learn is how to make a simple eye pin, with a basic loop wrap. Then simply string them on in the order of your design.



When most people think of wire-work, they think of the heavily wrapped pendant or a piece like my green garnet pendant. But as you can see from the other examples, everyone can use wire to enhance their jewelry and give it a whole new look.


On the pendant below, I used wire to simply wrap all four corners of the picasso pendant.





Just a little wire on all four corners add character to this artsy stone, without taking away from it.












The sterling silver wire earrings were easily made by just making a figure 8 and wrapping in the middle. So easy to make and I absolutely love them! Word charms seem to be really in style at this time. I've always loved word charms and have been using them for a long time. I'm a scrapper also- so words are a huge part of scrapbooking. I chose pewter charms to hang from these- one says, live and the other, laugh.



Live life and laugh a lot while doing so! A great message for everyone to follow :0)


Using wire is fun and exciting! It brings a whole new dimension to the world of jewelry making. The designs you can make using wire is endless.


I'm working on a pair of crochet earrings now using very thin sterling- 28 gauge. You crochet wire, just like you are crocheting yarn and it creates a beautiful web for chips and small nuggets.


Don't be afraid to mix different metals, as well! Try using copper, brass and gold filled wire.


There's endless articles of how-to's on the web. Punch it in your search bar and get started today! Buy art wire from your nearest craft store or department store to practice with before you start using the more expensive metals. I would suggest keeping art wire for trying new designs on first. Wire can get a bit expensive, so you want to know what you're doing, when you grab your sterling silver or gold-filled wire.


If this article has inspired you to dabble into the world of wire, please send me your creations! I'd love to post them :)


Remember, you can always click on my titles to get to my store! All first time buyers receive 20% off of their total order, before S&H.


Happy Creating!