Good Things Come...

Here's one that's been waiting for its time to shine!

This fun wine-themed necklace here was inspired by the combination of the cluster of grape beads and the cork. They just seemed so right for each other! However, together they didn't make a complete piece of jewelry. 

As regular readers know, I'm a bargain-hunter and on a budget, so I couldn't just buy a bunch of supplies all at once and experiment like crazy. I had to wait for each new material, and plan the necklace piecemeal. In the end, serendipity brought everything to me. See how long it took me to assemble everything!

Gold colored chain --- acquired in thrift store June 2013

Shiny glass bead --- acquired in hobby shop March 2013

Bright copper wire --- acquired in 2012 and woven April 2013

Old wine cork --- acquired from mother late 2012

Cluster of beads --- acquired in a garage sale summer of 2011

Funny thing is, I'm still not done! (Observe the loose wire hanging from the VK weave!) A lot of my pieces come together slowly like this, but this one takes the cake for longest incubation time.

Future blog(s) to come on this necklace!

Look Both Ways (Before Buying Beads)

Here are two bracelets I made. Only one of them exists.

Ok, ok, you caught me. Only one of these exists in the present. The first picture is before, the second is after alteration. I simply couldn't stand the first version....

In the beginning, after I'd finished "knitting" the bulk of the bracelet, I was very happy with the quality and colors, and I eagerly awaited its completion. But when I put the chain together with the end caps and clasp, something was missing. The design just begged for more flair.

I thought maybe a nice focal bead would do the trick, but none of the beads I already owned fit the bill -- they were too small or were not the right color.

To the hobby shop!!! I bought a string of some heavy glass beads whose color was a opalescent pink and champagne and gold. They were shiny and sparkly and -- I thought -- an excellent color match. (They were also on sale. Win.) I proudly brought them home, smug as a Viking sailing back from a good day's pillaging. Until I made a discovery....

Side A:

Side B:

Foiled by my own enthusiasm! I hadn't checked both sides of the beads to see if they were the same color or not. Who would have thought I'd have had to??? The first side was one set of colors, the second was a funny iridescent green.

I didn't like this green at all. It didn't suit the colors in the weave. But I wanted to give it a chance, and so played around, paired it with some smaller beads, and agonized for quite some time....

In the end, I still didn't like the big green bead. The smaller beads around it also rang hollow. The longer I examined my handiwork, the less I liked it, until I marched down to the hobby shop for new materials.

When back home, I cut the beads out, made my adjustments, and unveiled my new creation to the world.

These feather-shaped charms resonate much better with the gypsy "spirit" that inspired the chain in the first place, as well as improving the design in general. Maybe the sparkly big bead wasn't terrible, but I think I prefer the more earthy feeling of the metal feathers.

Personally, after all that trouble, I'm glad the other bracelet only exists in the past.

Clasps

If you think finding a decent clasp for a bracelet would be pretty simple.... You'd. Be. Wrong.

I was lucky, and I somehow began with a clasp very well-suited to my bracelets right away. You can see what they look like in the photos below. It has one large loop (not always a circle) and one straight-ish part that you have to point forward to get it through the loop. This kind of clasp -- the toggle -- is on all of my earliest bracelets, and is still my standard.

Recently, though, the quest for cheaper and possibly differently-styled fastening devices drew me in some interesting directions.

These next two hook-and-eye variations weren't necessarily cheaper, but I liked their designs. The copper swirly clasp is neat looking, but this one wasn't made very well, so it swirl was a little too snug.

This silver one I knew was too big to be successful on a bracelet, so it went on my circuit board necklace.

I have also tried lobster clasps, as seen on my leather band bracelet, and on the copper bracelet with blue charms.

Personally, I usually find lobster clasps difficult to open with one hand, and have never liked them. I thought I'd give them a chance on my bracelets, to be open-minded. However there is a major problem, that has less to do with the "lobster claw" than the ring it hooks onto.

When the ring you are trying to hook on to is not very heavy, it swings around too easily, no matter if the hook is a lobster claw or some other shape. I've tried to think of a way to fix this problem without buying new supplies. (I like to keep my operation simple and low-cost.) But I am fairly certain that the solution lies in a heavier ring.

The last hook is one that I made myself, with the help, once again, of online tutorials.

I didn't buy wire that was stiff enough -- even though I DID purchase thick wire especially for this project. I also had the issue with the "destination ring" being too light again, so, until I get stiffer wire and a heavier ring, you will not be seeing this on my designs. (I might not even bother, though. I thought it was too much work for too little return. I'd rather by ready-made fasteners.)

If you were good enough to read this far into my ramble, perhaps you are a jewelry-maker or frequent wearer, and maybe you have some thoughts. If you have any tips or anything, put them in comments!

Variation on a Theme

This is my latest addition to my Etsy menagerie. It is a double knit pattern in light green-yellow (or chartreuse) silver-plated 26-gauge wire.

(For the record, the brand is Artistic Wire. I used a silver wire of this brand once before, and was disappointed by the coating peeling off. Not cool! But my second try with it was very satisfying -- lightweight, quite flexible, and no peeling!)

This bracelet is actually inspired by a recent custom ordered piece. Here is a photo.

This second bracelet is single knit with black and peacock blue beads inside the weave. (Incidentally, the beads are of Czech glass, whose sparkle I love and whose price I can afford!) Also, as you can see, I didn't put beads on each end of the chain, but instead there are bronze colored end caps.

As this piece was a custom order, I did not choose the wire color on my own, but rather I consulted with the buyer to make a special online purchase. Buying a single spool of wire online is not something I'd do normally, because shipping about doubles the total cost. It's also risky, as is any other online order.

I report with gratitude that the color was just what I'd hoped, the wire didn't peel or have any other defects, and furthermore, after I'd finished with the custom order, I was left with some wire to spare for my own amusement!

I really liked the blue beads with the green, so I stuck with that in the next bracelet, adding some new colors. (The beads from my matching madness have a cameo as well!) I also wanted the weave stronger and stiffer, hence the double knit. I like my second bracelet, but I think the color is so bright and fun that it calls for a design that is a little more complex.

Maybe another variation on this theme is in the future!

Sitting on the Shelf for Months

Unfinished. Experimental. Behold!

I made this bracelet about 4 months ago. I wouldn't feel right trying to sell this awkwardest of turtles to anyone, but I don't mind revealing it to the internet in picture form. (Speaking of turtles, my Beloit friends may recognize the tabletop as that of one of the tables in the Science Center!) With this piece, I've been working with the nice harmony between the green of the wire and the bronze of the chains and clasp.

So, I like the color combination, but the balance is all wrong. Either I need to disassemble this piece and use its parts for some other creation, or it needs some major renovation. I am just not sure how that will come about.

Suggestions welcome in comments!

Tapering (and Getting on My Soap Box About Good Photography)

Hello, fellow adventurers! Here's a new necklace -- copper with wooden beads. (Looks quite a lot like a previous bracelet I've done!)

While I was finishing up the chain, pulling it through the draw plate, I felt as though it would benefit from some tapering at the ends near the clasp.

Here's the necklace that I modeled it after.

A side note here on the photography. For anyone who is thinking about selling anything online -- even on eBay or craigslist -- make sure you get at least semi-decent pictures, because it makes a world of difference how your item is perceived. Yes, I got a bit lazy with my necklace, as you can see. And whoever shot the other jewelry (possibly their creator,  Jan Raven) is a superior photographer. But it goes to prove my point -- good photography makes things look very attractive. Bad photography.... Well, I apologize for not taking better photos before sending this piece off to its owner!

Back to my point: this was the first piece in which I used the draw place to achieve a long taper. I am mostly satisfied with the result, although when I first looked at it, I wished my draw plate had more holes that were less drastically different sizes from one another so I could make a more gradual taper.

On the other hand, looking at Jan's jewelry, I rather think she had the same process. Instead of a slowing decreasing diameter, there is an illusion of gradual tapering where in fact there is one diameter for the most of the length of the chain between the beads and the clasp.

I have learned enough about design to know that it is the illusion that matters, not the reality. So, I think I can declare my experiment a success, and move on to the next piece!

Crafter's Block

I have no finished pieces right now, as I have hit a slow period in my crafting progress. However, I am never without something exciting in the works! I have a few pieces that are almost done or still in the middle of production. This two-tone bracelet is "almost done."

"But looks finished to me," you might say.

It is indeed finished enough to be wearable, so, in a way, you are right. I had hoped that at this point it WOULD be done. However, I am not at all satisfied with its overall form. Do you see how it makes a sort of teardrop shape? I would hope from a simple design like this that it would be more circular when laying on a flat surface.

On a larger wrist, this may not matter much. But on a smaller wrist (like mine), it lies awkwardly, weighed down by the clasp.

I am not sure of the answer to this problem. Should I attach some charms along the length of the chain? Should I get some different end caps? Should I change the design entirely?

For now, I am at a standstill. Feel free to make suggestions in comments, even if you are not an expert jewelry maker. I will update you as soon as something happens on this front!