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.