Collecting Pictures

I got a new computer recently and I'm still trying to make sense of all of the thousands of pictures that I had to move from the old machine to the new one. I will post pics of new jewelry soon.

Meanwhile, check me out on Facebook.
Leah Hoffman Jewelry

R.I.P

I've been experimenting with some metal working techniques, although I'm not sure if I'm officially qualified to call them "techniques" since I'm just playing with fire and stuff. I'm only kidding. Sort of...

My first attempt to do filigree actually went pretty well.
This is a labradorite wrapped in recycled copper. 

Loving the Labradorite

 A few months ago I went a bit crazy and bought a whole lot of labradorite. At the s-l-o-w rate I'm making jewelry these days it seems as if there's no possible way I'll ever use it all. What a GREAT problem to have!  I'm like a kid in a candy store, but for the record I really hate the use of words like "yummy" to describe polished rocks.

Anyhow, I managed to get a couple nifty pieces made over the past week or so.

The first one was lovely on a black leather cord, until you tried to actually wear it and the darn thing wouldn't lay flat. I had to give in to chain. It's still nice on a chain. Some Jam-Band types (who seem to also love wire wrapping, which I discovered some time ago) seem to this this piece has a "Save your face" Grateful Dead mascot quality, which I totally saw even before it was pointed out to me. 

Just imagine this on a chain...

The second piece I want to share with you I'm really happy with, it's a reversible pendant and I'm totally into that.

LOOK AT THAT COLOR!

Just in case you're interested, both pieces are available and both under 100.00. Think CHRISTMAS!

Send me an email if you're interested...

Catching Up

I certainly don't want to get too personal in this blog, but since my last post my first grade son has started ABA therapy (which is a special daily therapy he goes to everyday for autism), and has also cut down to half days at school. I also have an adorable one year old daughter, and all of this makes it very difficult for me to hunker down in bunker and crank out the pretties. Since June I've only made a handful of pieces. When I do get the chance to be creative I often get stuck. I know I have a limited time before something will inevitably come up, so that means the pressure is on.

I have been getting a lot of requests for another skull necklace, but I have a really hard time recreating stuff. One such attempt sat on my bench for months before I picked it up last week and finally finished it. It sold pretty quickly. I especially like the details at the temples of the skull. The stone is a mid-grade yellow labradorite. I was unsure of it, but many of my "fans" had such wonderful and encouraging things to say.

• This next necklace got such  positive response that I was inspired to make a new piece using a gorgeous piece of rare purple labradorite from India. It is an incredible stone, one of the best I've ever wrapped. It also sold very quickly, within a few hours of posting it on Facebook Fan Page. (Become a fan!)

I also worked with some lovely moonstone last month, and here is what came out of that, so flashy!  I admit, not my favorite wrap I've done, but the stone makes up for that.
It's actually still available, and I find myself wearing it often.

I wish I had more time to work on these things, but I'm a mom first and foremost. I have a busy schedule and lots of responsibility. But I wouldn't trade it for the world. My hope is that all of these things I'm doing now will help my family in the future. It's not always easy, but I'm committed to my son and his needs.

If you're interested in any of the jewelry you see here, shoot me an email. Most stuff gets sold very quickly, but some of it is still available. And, if you're new to wire wrapping, or just have some questions on my process, or want some tips, I'm happy to help. 

I Want Your Skull

Decisions, Decision...

Chain?

Or Leather?

I love this new BRIGHT blue labradorite pendant. It was very popular when I shared it on Facebook. It got several inquiries asking if it was for sale before I even hung it on a chain, or a leather cord. I couldn't decide, so I posted some pictures in a couple of different Facebook jewelry groups asking the opinion of other artists. The responses were overwhelming, but also pretty even with about half of the people saying chain and the other half saying leather cord.

I had about four people in line, wanting to purchase the pendant. And, here's what's SO funny. When I asked the first person in line if she wanted leather or chain she said "neither." She wanted to buy the pendant and make her own chain, so I didn't even have to worry about it! And, since make end caps and clasps is SO labor intensive I was actually quite relieved not to have to do that. Is that ironic? I'm not really sure.

A Fine Line

So, first of all this is one of my FAVORITE things I've ever made. It's perfect. I love this gorgeous yellow labradorite. I'm so proud of this wrap, it comes from a new technique I've come up with.

I take a few pieces of wire, and make a loop in the middle (for the bale, the part that the chain hangs from.)  Then, I weave a symmetrical pattern on each side of the loop bale, leaving some wire to pull over the stone to hold it secure.  Then, I anneal the wire. (Annealing is when you heat it up with a blow torch until the metal turns red. That makes the metal SUPER soft and pliable.)

Then, I shape it around the stone.  (The pictures are of another pendant, and I'll share that one further down the page.)

The wire before I shape it around the stone

I then secure the long strands by bending them into a symmetrical swirls making sure that nothing is poking and that everything is tight. It has to look pretty too. Then, I take different grit buffing blocks and rub the metal to harden it, and polish it until it gleems.

Here is the finished pendant:

Inspired by Spring!

Happy Spring!  I can't believe it's nice enough to take pictures outside, and linger a bit.
I've been making good use of the new stones I bought, and I'm happy to share some of my latest offerings. A lot of them have been sold, but some of them are still available. If you're interested in anything you see here shoot me a message, I'll let you know if it has been sold or not.

I'm actually going through the pictures on my phone to find all of the pictures of the jewelry I've made over the last couple of months, and I can't believe how much I've gotten done.

Amethyst Druzy, wrapped in raw copper.  This piece has sold.

So, in the interest of time, and because I haven't posted in over a month, I have decided to post a bunch of pictures of the jewelry I've made since the last time I blogged.

Rainbow Bright

I can't believe I have friends with adult children! But, I do, and one of them have a girlfriend. He approached me a few days ago wondering if I'd be able to make a necklace for her birthday.

He picked a stone from my collection and I got started.

I finished it in one day. I'm really surprised it went so quickly, but I'm also very happy at the outcome.

Stone in Love

Ah!  I have so much going on, I barely have time to catch up. Lately I've been a jewelry makin' fool. I just love it. If I could add 10 hours to the day and dedicate it solely to making jewelry, I'd be in heaven.

First of all, I'd like to share with you a revision to the Sonora Sunrise pendant I made. I'm SO happy with this change. I wasn't quite happy with the slide that I made for the bale, it just wouldn't stay put. So, I sat on my hands (not really) for a couple of weeks, and had one of those Oprah "AHA! Moments™."

Here is the before and after.

The piece has sold.

I'm also having a great time working with all of the amazing stones I have recently invested in. Here are a couple more pieces that have sold recently.

This first one is a purple rainbow labradorite:

Here is a moonstone pendant that I sold to the same lovely lady:

I also made a simple rose pendant with a rose quartz. This one is still available for sale (39.00). If you're interested, please send me a message.

Finally, I'd like to share my newest piece, a flash glowing labradorite heart/crest. This was one of those pendants that went right with every twist and turn. It's actually pretty symmetrical which is pretty hard to do. I admire the artist Heidi Mandato of Mandato Jewelry Design for her symmetrical pieces. This sort of reminds me of one of hers (although that was completely unintentional.)

 I actually made most of it sitting upstairs in my chair rather than downstairs at my bench. I always wondered how people wove wire without a vise. Well, when you're using hair thin 30 gauge wire it's not that difficult. (Usually I weave with 24 gauge.)

(I'm a little disappointed in these pictures, the necklace is a lot better in person.)

Here I am modeling the necklace:

Rose Jade

I'm on a roll, or should I say, a donut!

As with any of the pieces I post on my blog, if you're interested in purchasing please send me a message.