Possibly the last Bracelet and Earrings I make this year

I made these bracelet and earrings for a friend.  She just loved my necklace and I thought they would be the perfect "thank you" gift for her.

I also made the clasp myself, and worked with copper wire, fire polished beads and polymer clay beads.

My Dear Friend's Choice

Yesterday I met with my dear friend.  We had a lot to talk about since we had not gotten together for over six months.  Between her travels, mine and my pregnancy we had not been able to set some time aside for us.  We caught up; we went together to a personal activity we share and after that lunch.  I had a great salad and some fruit.  It was a wonderful morning!

Now back to jewelry... this is the set she picked out.  I have to admit that this is the one I thought she would.  It looked fantastic on her.  I am glad she is taking a little reminder of me when she leaves town.  I will miss her and always have her in my heart.  And of course, there are phones, and she will be coming to visit some family every once in a while.

This set is made of fancy marble beads and sterling silver chain, spacers and beads.  And of ccourse, SS wire.  The clasp is handmade.

These are the matching earrings.  Not that you need me to tell you this.... :)

To enter my giveaway of a Polymer Clay Pendant and Beads CLICK HERE for instructions.

Autumn Jasper

I have been pretty busy doing some fall cleaning and organizing in my house.  God knows we need to make space, recycle things that others can use and declutter.  I had not been able to sit in my studio until yesterday.

What better stone to make a set in autumn?  Well, this set started as a gift for a dear friend.  When I finished it, I loved it but it did not seem to match with her.  I ended up making another set.  Since I like this one so much, I will let her choose.

 

It is made of Atumn Jasper squares, rounds and donut, Fire polished glass, sterling wire, sterling rounds and sterling chain.

The matching earrings are also made of sterling and Autumn Jasper.

To enter my giveaway of a Polymer Clay Pendant and Beads CLICK HERE for instructions.

Copy Me Design Challenge by Gaea

Gaea posted a picture of this bracelet and encouraged copying her design either way our muse would take us.

She distributed a kit to 6 participants.  I was not one of them because I signed up after a bunch of people, but my first chore was to put a similar kit together.  So I used ceramic beads, fire polished beads, brass tone chain and wire and a metal focal with holes on each side.

I liked the way she used her ceramic beads right into her focal, this I copied.  I also liked the multiple strands of chain and used them on one side of the necklace.

I saw red or brown glass beads attached to the chain in her original design, so I use fire polished glass and added blue because I just felt like it.  I also attached my clasp to the back, yet kept the asymmetrical design in my creation as well.

You can see that is a different creation from Gaea's, yet the inspiration and similarities are there.  I hope you like it.

Here is a list of other participants:
Lorelei

Michelle

Erin

For My Sweet Daughter

SueBeads

Spirited Earth

Malin de Koning

Imaginative Jewelry - You are here!


Check out Gaea's Post for more participants

Simple Necklaces That Always Sell

I have learned that different people have different taste.  The other day I made a necklace that I did not like, but in the past these have sold, so I displayed it with the rest of my jewelry.  Do you want to know which one sold first?  And the one that sold third was one that had been sitting in my display for a while.  You never know when the match to your necklace will come.

These are some simple necklaces that I always keep in my display, why? Cause they always sell.  I am always making these simple sets, and believe me they are the first ones to go.  First, they are simple and some people just like that in a necklace; second, since they are easy to make they are cheaper to sell and third, they are light; not all people can wear a fully strung necklace because the suffer from neck pain. 

So who can resist good price and simplicity?

To enter my giveaway of a Polymer Clay Pendant and Beads CLICK HERE for instructions.

The Power of the $3.00 Sign!

I have seen people come to the table to see this $3.00 item on display.  Some of them just buy the $3.00 item, but many more continue to look and buy at least a couple more things.

I make these book thongs out of inexpensive materials, I also make some fancy ones that are more expensive, but the thing is that if I make these I get more people interested in the rest of my jewelry.  I recommend you have a big $3.00 sign with earrings, book thongs or any item you can make easily with little investment to attract potential customers to your table.

Some people decide to get the more fancy book thongs or bookmarks, but they still came to my table because of the $3.00 sign!

To enter my giveaway of a Polymer Clay Pendant and Beads CLICK HERE for instructions.

Different Ways to Finish a Necklace Strung on Beading Wire

Here you will find great tips on how to finish your strung jewelry. 

I know that when I started stringing on jewelry wire, I would use crimp beads and not cover them since they were on the back of the necklace.  After I learned to make a single wire wrapped loop, I changed my way of finishing these necklaces, and it does make a difference.

Imagine you have two exact necklaces, just different ways of attaching the clasp.  Which of these would you choose?  Which one gives you a more professional impression?  Better quality?

In this picture you are saving money, just using a couple of crimps to do the job.  But is it worth it?

Here you are also using two crimps and two beads that match the necklace, two beading tips and wire.  You are not incurring in such a great cost increase, but the look is more professional.

If you do not know how to make a wire wrapped loop, you can always use crimp covers or wire guards.

This picture shows the peach marble bead with a crimp cover next to it and a wire guard to protect the wire.

Wire Guard is not expensive and it will protect your bent stringing wire from tearing. 

Crimp Covers can also be used in the first finish.  Just using one over each bead will make a difference to the quality of your necklace.

Believe me, I've done it all and can tell you that people would rather spend an extra buck or two to buy the more professional finished or presented necklace.   So maybe this is what you need to boost your sales.

To enter my giveaway of a Polymer Clay Pendant and Beads CLICK HERE for instructions.

Black Velvet 2

This is a variation of the Black Velvet Bracelet.  I was falling asleep when this idea came to mi mind.  I had to struggle with myself not to get up and execute it right away.  I had to meditate and try relaxation techniques for a while because I needed my sleep.  I am glad I was able to fall asleep quickly and still remembered about this idea this morning.

I had some things I had to do first, so I decided to post the other bracelet anyways.  Here is the variation:

I added a bead in the middle of the heart.  I think it looks nice.

To enter my giveaway of a Polymer Clay Pendant and Beads CLICK HERE for instructions.

Black Velvet

I bought this black velvet ribbon a while ago.  Always thinking I wanted to make some sort of buckle bracelet with it, one day I found these Silver Plated Heart Conchos (I now know the name thanks to Jeni) that were perfect for the task.  They got separated in my stash, so I would locate one then lose the other one.  Today they have finally come together.  I am in the middle of organizing my stash.  I have way too many things and little storage space, so I have to be creative as to how I organize.

I used some fire polished glass beads to give it a little bit if bling.

To enter my giveaway of a Polymer Clay Pendant and Beads CLICK HERE for instructions.

Metal And Glass Come Together

I also made this necklace on Saturday. It is made from metal chain and glass beads.  The clasp is handmade using gold plated wire and it hooks into the Metal Flower.

I have used some of my big link chain in this project to give it some fun and assymetry.

Not a Plan Anymore - Fruits From my Planning

As I have said before, I have many things to do.  I could be making jewelry all day long and not get tired but then my "To Do" list gets extremely big.  So I just made 3 pieces of jewelry, more tomorrow.

This is a silver plated peach marble bracelet with metal clasp.



I've had this bracelet in my mind since my FMG order arrived.  I am glad I finally cleared that space so that more inspiring projects can fill it up again.

This next necklace is also made from Italian Onix from my FMG order, metal chain and charm.  I have made the clasp myself using antique gold plated wire.

Here are some closeups:  

 

More from Challenge Swap 5 - Informal

All these are made from the swap kit.  They use: hemp, coconut beads, wood beads and metal, silver plated and gold plated findings.

More from Challenge Swap 5 - Formal

This set is made combining beads from the swap and from my stash.

Necklace: unakite rounds from the swap, from my stash: fire polished glass beads, unakite squares, gold tone chain, gold plated rounds, wire, terminals and clasp and goldtone message washer

Bracelet: unakite rounds from the swap, from my stash: fire polished glass beads, unakite squares, gold tone chain, gold plated rounds, wire and terminals and goldtone message toggle clasp.

Earrings: all from my stash: fire polished glass beads, unakite squares, gold tone hooks, gold plated rounds,  and gold plated wire.

 

My First Things from Challenge Swap 5

The theme was natural materials, earth tones.  I got a wonderful stash of beads.  This challenge has been inspiring for most of us.  Lots of people have already been posting as they've been making.  Here is what I have so far:

All the materials are from the kit: hemp cord, mother of pearl and shell chips.  Below are the matching earrigs.  This was the first thing I made.  As I opened the kit I started makig it.  Today I just finished the clasp and earrings.

I wish I could make earrings that would go into your ear with just hemp...

Here I used gold plated rounds, mother of pearl diamonds, stringing wire, terminals and feather from my stash.  The rest of the materials, are from the kit.

These are the matching earrings.

If you want to see what the other participants have been making, just CLICK HERE and be sure to check frequently since we are uploading as we make 'em.

Copper and Polymer Clay

I had a cane with 3 of these squares left.  I started just making earrings, and then thought: why not make a pedant set? I got busy, but.... no copper terminals in my travelling stash.  Thank God there are beadstores everywhere.

You can see I am still haveing light problems... should have brought my lightbox with me, and a lamp!

The set is made of copper wire, fire polished glass beads, bronze tone stringing wire, metal Chinese coin and copper findings.

Don't you just love these little Chinese coins?  I do :)

I promise to start working on the Challege Swap materials from now on... I'll be posting as I make'em

Now the Necklace for The Whole Set

Here is the necklace.  I finished it after getting up several times.  I am having back pain and I cannot sit for more that 20 min.  Imagine how bad that is for jewelry making.

Inspired by Blue, Green and Brown

Inspired by the color challenge, I thought of this beautiful pearl and silver plated bracelet.  I hope to finish the necklace today so that I can post it later on or tomorrow.

I really wanted to use a toggle clasp, but I am reticent to use another type of clasp for bracelets.  I just think they are not secure enough, and people might end up losing it, unless it is made to the exact length of the buyer's wrist.  Who knows who the person that will wear this bracelet will be.