Coiled Coils

This was one of the projects, that were not properly planned in advance, where I didn't know what I was looking for and just experimented and went with the flow...

It's one of my older works that I never saw worthy putting on the blog (that was until somebody bought it:) - please note that all the coiling was done before I discovered the "Coiling Gizmo".

Old Design/ New Design - Reworking a Finished Design

More copper washers! Don't say you didn't see it coming (especially after I blogged yesterday how addicting working with washers is).

So there are two different designs on the following pictures. If you think that they look very much alike, you are completely right, because it is one and the same pair of earrings. First photo shows a combination of three different sizes of washers bound together by a copper wire - that was the original idea. I have added some silver coloured wire as an interesting detail, but then I noticed, that the washers are slightly turning while being worn, which caused irregularity in the detail (you can see the silver wire at a different position on the second photo).
I gave it a thougt and as much as I hate reworking a finished project, I wanted it to be 'perfect'. In order to stop the washers from turning, I drilled holes into them and secured with a piece of the same wire used for the contrasting detail.

I hope you like the "upgrade"!

Copper Washers Are Great!

There are so many things jewellery can be made of - things considered junk (or at least "suitable for something else"). But as the saying goes, one's person's junk is another person's treasure.

I have first seen washers used by great jewellery maker Sharilyn Miller (http://www.sharilynmiller.com/,  here is her blog: http://sharilynmiller.blogspot.com/). The ideas Sharilyn has and the pieces she makes with washers are amazing! Following her recommendation, I have bought a kit of 110 copper washers (car repair shops have them, and they're on Amazon too) - that way you get 6 different sizes that you can combine. Hammering them and oxidizing afterwards makes the washers more attractive.

Here is my first pair of copper washer earrings! And they're certainly not the last, I'm already addicted!



Mixed Metals Earrings

It was time to experiment... steel wire, check... brass rivets, check... copper sheet and beads, check, check... MIXED METALS experiment!

I might patina them as well, have to think about it a bit.



First Wirewrapped Cabochon

My first wirewrapped cabochon ever...
It's not the greatest, not as good as I imagined it to be, but - there is a first for everything and this blog is a collection of firsts. That's how discovery works - a series of firsts. Wait for number 2 (oh no, not that, you dirty minds:), it ought to be better!