Hand made findings for bracelets

I have been making hand-made findings in both silver and copper for including in wirework bracelets. They can be put with any stones of choice and be made to any size. I think they add interest to the bracelet and of course, mean that the bracelet is individual. There's a couple of the findings in the photos below.

 

Mother of pearl earrings

I have had a shipment of beautiful mother of pearl stones from America. The markings are gorgeous and size is perfect for earrings. I've made a simple pair here to reflect the simplicity of the stone.

I also have some beautiful small heart shaped stones ready for Valentines' Day. Hopefully the Etsy site will be open by then so you can see if there's anything you like there for a special someone.

  

Copper Bangles

Hi,
I have been busy working in the background on my jewellery and experimenting with different techniques and designs. However, I haven't been very good at updating my recent work on the blog. Apologies for those of you following what's happening here.

Since Summer I have been working mainly on bracelets and copper bangles, stamping and fold-forming. Here's a few examples of my work to date:




Swirl bangle
 

Stamped with a message

 
                                           
 


Copper swirls at the front of the bangle

 

   Message on the inside or outside

 

These will soon be available on my Etsy site which I must also get around to opening shortly. If you would like one you can have any size of bangle made according to wrist size and your message of choice stamped around either the outside or inside of the bangle.

AQUAMARINE BRACELET

I have just finished this beautiful aquamarine bracelet with sterling silver findings and magnetic catch. I have made all the findings myself; the Celtic knots, the spiral wraps on the beads and the double links.

Aquamarine bracelet in sterling silver

One of 3 Celtic knots & double linked rings

The magnetic catch & spiral wrap on the beads

The bracelet matches the earrings which I made yesterday and are just beneath today's blog. It fits well on the wrist and the magnetic catch closes immediately so it stops any struggling to fasten the bracelet. The pale blue of the aquamarine stones is a gorgeous colour and because the beads are faceted, they catch the sunlight. It took quite a while to make all the parts but it has been worth the result. Stylish and stunning!

New dellivery of semi-precious stones

In the last few days I have been busy designing some new earrings with the latest delivery of semi-precious stones. Included in this latest delivery are some incredibly beautiful stones; amazing pink & black rhodonite, some dark teal jasper and aquamarine teardrops. Absolutely gorgeous!

I want to make sure I do justice to these beautiful stones and choose the right  design to show them off to their best advantage.

These gorgeous blue earrings are made from 12mm dark teal jasper stones with sterling silver original Bali base caps & end caps with a sterling silver 8 ball headpin. I have made the earwires from 8mm sterling silver wire, curled with a ball at the end to add detail. They are by far my favourite earrings and gorgeous to wear.




It's quite unusual to get rhodonite in this pink  colour veined with black but I couldn't resist buying them when I saw them on sale at Lima Beads. They are 10mm round gemstones aand I have placed sterling silver spacers inbetween them to display them better.

Once again I have added Bali end caps because I think it
finished off the earring better.

I have designed & made the earwires the same as the other earrings with sterling silver 8mm wire and a curled headpin.


What to do with these amazingly beautiful aquamarine faceted teardrop
stones?

I wanted to do them justice but keep them plain so that the design
wouldn't detract from the beauty of the stones. The first thing I have made with them are earrings but I am presently designing a bracelet with them too.

I have used on each earring a sterling silver Bali decorative cap at the top  with just a Bali decorative headpin at the base to keep them simple. To add some plain decoration, I have used some tiny sterling silver balls; one at the top of the earring and one on the 8mm sterling silver earwires at the base with a spiral at the end.

I think the end product is simple but stylish and they carch the light when you wear them. Beautiful!

I'm off now to finish the sterling silver bracelet I'm making with the same aquamarine teardrop stones as the earrings.

On a lazy Sunday afternoon

ON A LAZY SUNDAY AFTERNOON....
                                      
I was in a creative mood today and my daughter fancied some new earrings.  She choose her colours and stones and I set to work to design them


Mum ..... please can you make me ...........?

Busy making earrings in the studio                   


                         
I also had some great furry company in the studio: Tigger decided to join me on the desk and oversee proceedings. His sister meanwhile, despite a bell on her collar, had caught a young bird so she's been in trouble.

Busy working when ... what's that cat outside up to?



Tigger as supervisor this afternoon &
he is definitely too lazy to catch anything!

rose quartz faceted teardrops and irregular freshwater light cream pearls

 

This first pair of earrings is made with beautiful rose quartz faceted teardrops and irregular
freshwater light cream pearls. I have also used bali sterling silver spacers and ballcaps. The
drop earrings measure 5 & a half cm and
with the earwires the drop is 8cm in total.
I think these look absolutely beautiful with
the pale pink quartz and the irregular
shaped pearls. They definitely have the
wow factor!



The 2nd pair I made today - below here - is also made from more than one type of gemstone. The base gemstone is an impression jasper graduated rondelle measuring 15mm sitting on a sterling silver headpin with six tiny heads. There is a spiral wound wire wrapped around this bottom bead which can be better seen on the centre photo. Inbetween the beads are sterling silver bali spacers. The top two beads are larimar blue crazy lace 16mm round gemstones and the earwire is made from 8mm sterling silver wire twisted into a spiral with a silver bead. The whole drop of the earring measures 7 and a half cm.

The 3rd pair of earrings I made today is made with two different gemstones; a chrysocolla & blue fire agate. The blue chrysocolla 10mm round sits at the bottom with the two light blue fire agate faceted 8mm round above on a sterling silver headpin. The headpin is sterling silver and twisted into a spiral at the top where it meets the 8mm earwire which is also made from sterling silver wire with a ball at one end & then it is twisted along the earwire. The whole drop of the earring measures 7cm.

Enjoying the enamelling

Hi,

I have been busy enamelling and have recently learnt to torch fire pieces of copper jewellery. I've treated myself to a more powerful butane/propane mix torch to speed up the process which means I've had great fun making these beautifully coloured earrings.

I've added sterling silver earwires to the heart shaped pieces made with 1.25mm wire, curled at one end with a sterling silver ball beneath the coil. They fit the ear perfectly.


Three irregular shaped freshwater
pearls adorn a copper headpin
below a hammered copper hank with
a pattern. The ear pieces are also
 with a small spiral end.

     

These stones are jasper with copper wire spiral wound around them
and a copper earwire added. They match the bracelet in the last blog.

These stones are 8mm light blue
agate faceted rounds fed onto an
attractive headed pin with a sterling silver
ball added. The main shank is hammered
sterling silver with attractive markings
added. The ear wires are also sterling
silver.

These are freshwater pearls on a
copper headpin with a copper bead
at the base. The earwires are made
from 8mm copper wire with an added
spiral and a copper bead for effect. 



Back to the jewellery making

A rustic copper spiral bracelet.

Hi,
After spending a couple of months on mixed media art for an exhibition, I thought I'd have some relaxation today and make some jewellery. I made a couple of copper bracelets and some sterling silver earrings.

This bracelet is rustic and made from copper.
Each link has been made into a spiral shape
and linked together with an hook clasp.

I love this bracelet. The 14mm stones are red fire agate, connected
with copper wrapped around to fix them in place.
Inbetween are copper discs stamped with a heart and
the bracelet closes with a handmade S clasp.

             

These dangly stunners are made from
hammered sterling silver with a copper spiral high
up. The earwires are also sterling silver. They
are light to wear and catch the sunlight.

                     

  

Back in the studio again today!

Hello everyone!
I have made a pair of dangly earrings today and a wire swirl bracelet. They are both made with stones from Lima Beads and are beautiful.

The earrings here are made with Czech glass pink silk picasso chandelier cut stones with an authentic Bali bead spacer. I particularly enjoyed doing the spiral  wire work on these. They measure 4 inches from top to bottom & they do look and hang well.

I made the bracelet below with Czech glass caribbean blue groovy rectangles (the large ones), Czech glass cloudy day horse eye stones (medium ones) and the tiny ones are chrysocolla oval gemstones and are beautiful. The stones are very pretty.

I'm on a roll ...!

I just can't stop! I've been in the studio all day with the doors open & the sun streaming in and creating jewellery items.


Here's today's creations:

A rustic copper bracelet. This is beautiful.

Green stone swirl earrings

Brown stone swirl earrings

I've been inundated with ideas today so much so I couldn't decide what to make next. Funny how some days you have a creative block and then other days the ideas just don't stop. I have had a great day in the studio and really enjoyed being in my own little world listening to the radio and humming happily away to myself! Bliss!

 

   Making the jewellery in the studio.