Chainmaille - My First Project and Number SEVEN On My "Pledge List"

Seven - for some people a lucky number, for me it is right now another point on my "To Do List" done! I have learned seven NEW jewellery making techniques this year! Yes! 

Today on the menu: CHAINMAILLE (or chain-maille).

Chainmaille has always been intriguing to me - it can be tough and feminine at the same time, and it uses wire. Well - jumprings, but they're made from wire, so there are as many material choices as there are kinds, gauges and colours of wire.

The biggest accomplishment of "Mission Chainmaille" is the fact, that I made my own jumprings out of hardware wire! Very proud of myself. I tried to saw the jumprings first, but I broke one blade, so I have decided to cut them with flush cut pliers. I was just watching some movie and snipped away:)

My first project was a pair of earrings combined with copper washers of two different sizes. My inspiration came from magazine Step by Step Wire Jewelry (Jun-Jul 2011) from  tutorial by Lauren Andersen; but I would also like to give credit to Amy Sanders, who was the originator of the design and who also generously offers a FREE TUTORIAL on her blog here: http://www.crazymokes.com/2011/04/shenandoah-pendant-tutorial/

I discovered the online tutorial after working on this design and found it mainly because I was looking for who to give credits to.

OK, now here is the design:

And here are the finished earrings with earwires and after oxidizing.

There is only one problem with them: they are VERY heavy. Very heavy. So I will not try to sell them but keep them as a showpiece:)