Finished Farthing in an Oil Slick Bracelet - COM Update

Last week I posted about my Art Jewelry Elements Component of the Month for July, but I ran into some complications!  I had to redo my bezel, and just didn't get finished.  Well, I had hope to work on it over the weekend, but that didn't come into fruition, so I picked it back up this week.

All the components...copper bezel, connector rings, farthing clasp by Niky Sayers, and gorgeous lampwork by Sue Kennedy.

Fast forward, I not only ruined the 1st bezel attempt, while trying to solder on the connector rings on this one, totally melted the silver bezel again! Note to self...attach copper connector rings first, since they need much more heat than the fragile fine silver bezel! Duh!

Anyway, I finally got it done and am really pleased with it!  I textured the backplate and ditched the little silver balls...too fussy, I think.

I love Niky's farthing clasp right next to Sue's big flower cab!

You can really see the iridescence of Sue's beads in this light!

I curved the connectors slightly so it would lay on the wrist better!

This beauty is already listed in my shop!  Hey, did you know I was offering 30% off everything in my shop?  We have had a hard summer financially...healthcare costs and just blew our rear wheel cylinder on our main vehicle and had to spend money out the wazoo to fix!  Now, school is about to start and those back-to-school supplies are killer!  Use coupon code BRAKES30 at checkout for a limited time. I am going through and listing other inventory that has never seen the light of day, so keep checking back!

Thanks for stopping by!

Bead Soup Mix for my Partner...

I included a big (2 inch) mixed metal focal disk I created with embedded filigree into solder over a copper base.  The clasp is also mixed...the circle is a copper base that has been covered with solder and textured...the hook is copper wrapped with brass.  Using metals as my focals, the color palette for the rest of the beads was unlimited.  I like the look of the green and browns that I chose, though.  The first thing I picked up were the lampwork beads by Reghina of Birchtree Jewelry..the picture doesn't show it very well, but these lovely beads have tiny specks of green among the golds and brown.  The rest was easy...faceted botswana agate, 6mm green stones (not sure exactly!), pretty Czech glass leaves and a few of my enameled beads.

I am liking this color palette so much, I may have to create myself a second mix to play with later on!  I can't wait to see what Michelle creates!

Ornament Swap Hop!!

The fabulously talented and sweet Sally Russick organized a Holiday Ornament Swap/Blog Hop!  She paired all of us happy participants up and the ornament making commenced.  The only requirement was that the handmade ornament include an art bead of some sort. 

After much internal debate on the direction I would take, I decided to make a Stephanie Lee "PipeDreams" inspired piece. I embedded some metal filigree medallions on each side and then stared at it for a few days before the inspiration decided to hit me! I punched some holes in the bottom and wove some copper wire in a fishnet/lace pattern and attached some pretty red crystals. I took a big metal filigree bead and halved it, somewhat flattened it, then enameled it a Christmas tree green shade, and wired it onto the top with more copper wire and a red crystal.

With the other end of the wire on the top component, I hung several lengths of copper chain that I embellished with a whole load of stuff...czech glass flowers and other beads, a couple of red birds I enameled.  I added some strips of pretty sari ribbon that I got from lovely Barbara Lewis.  I then fashioned a swirly hook out of some steel wire and added a bow of more sari ribbon.

I was totally ready to stop when I remembered the enameled/resined cardinal component I made last year and hadn't known what to use it with!  I had to add it...I know it sent it over the top, but I just had to.

My creative partner is Crafty Hope Smitherman!  We hit it off immediately!  She is a fellow 'Bama girl!  Rooooooollllllllllll, Tide! Roll!  She sent me the sweetest package of goodies, including candy! That is my kind of girl!  A very cool Christmas tree of resin, complete with a gorgeous polymer clay star and pretty green enameled bead is very happily hanging on my tree!  Oh, and the handmade pom-pom garland?  Very clever and Christmasy!  Thanks again Hope!  Here is a sneak peak at what she sent....I loved it!!  To hear more about her creative process, go check out her post!

Go visit the other pairs and check out the lovely ornaments that they made and swapped!  Wow, this really puts me in the Christmas spirit now!  Thank you, Sally, for hosting such a fun, inspirational blog hop!!

Erin Prais-Hintz and Alice Peterson

Sally Russick and Kim Hora

Susan Kennedy and Kathleen Lange Klik

Patty Gasparino and Cindy Wimmer

Hope Smitherman and Melissa Meman

Jennifer L. Justman and Sandi Volpe

Jenny Davies-Reazor and Christine Altimiller

Rebecca Anderson and Jen Velasquez

Jeanette Blix Ryan and Tamara Soper

Holly Westfall and Mallory Hoffman

Baroque...

I am slowly but surely finishing pieces that have been started for forever.  This past weekend I finally completed this little set which was some of the first soft-soldered bezels with resin I attempted.  I loved how the bezels turned out, but the resin, not so much.  I attached the music paper with Mod Podge and didn't wait until it was completely dry to fill the bezels with resin.  The earrings worked out okay, but the pendant is a bit cloudy and has lots of bubbles, even though I worked hard to get rid of them.

All that aside, I like them!  I decided to stay with the mixed metal look of silver and bronze,  but wanted to add some color.  I think the garnet adds a lushness to the antique quality of the music paper and when trying to think of a name, "baroque" was the 1st thing that popped in my head.  I wire wrapped the tiny faceted garnets in the necklace with bronze wire, along with 1 inch lengths of sterling silver chain and added a bronze swirly hook clasp.

In a moment of weakness, my hubby has agreed to swap his "man cave/library/catch-all" room (that he really never uses) for the little nook I have been using for jewelry and other arts!  It will entail finding a spot to put everything as we empty it from one room into the other, but I am so excited!  I have yet to have 1 centralized place to work.  I will still keep my enameling and soldering in the basement, but, Yay!  Maybe I will even have room to set up my sewing machine...not that I really sew, but it would be fun to try again.  I will keep you posted!

Thanks for dropping in :)

BTW, June 1 - Or, what I did on my day off :)

So, as I was saying in my last post, I took an extra day off from my 9-5 this past Friday...it was a wonderful break to have an actual 4-day weekend!  Luckily for me, I had a good part of the day to myself, so I put aside my guilt pangs about not cleaning the house or pulling the stupid bermuda grass out of my flower beds and went to my dungeon basement studio and played!

First I enameled...

I have been playing with some pretty color combinations with new transparent enamels I got from Ms. Barbara.  My goal for the little charms will be to fill them with words and/or images and resin...I have some matching pairs (not shown) that will be earrings, other singles will be charms.

After a while, I decided to pull out my solder and practice my Homesteading skills!

These didn't turn out quite as I had hoped...too much solder on the disk before adding the filigree, but they definitely have potential...will be making some more.

These were experiments with using dapped copper washers as a flared bezel...it worked!  They will be getting an image/resin treatment!

And, last, but definitely not least, my favorites...

These have been in my head for a while, just had to find the gumption to sit down and try!  They aren't perfect, but I don't care.  I am going to dangle some pretty briolettes off the ends, I think.  I will absolutely be making more of these!

So, I have my work cut out for me!  Now, to just quit my day job so I can concentrate :)

What's on your bead table today?