Wire Wrapped Wednesday....Buttons!

Today I took inspiration from the button book that my friend Farah gave me for Christmas....First mentioned in this post.  I really like all the fun things that are done with buttons in that book, and I have been wanting to try something with buttons, but it took me awhile to come up with anything.  For wire wrapped Wednesday this week, I used wire to "stitch" these buttons together, adding a glass bead as a pendant on the bottom.  As I mentioned Monday, these are some more earrings to add to my blog's limited collection....also look out for some tomorrow as well!

Wire Wrapped.....Thursday?

Yes, it's true, last night I passed out on the futon upstairs while watching old seasons of 30 Rock on Netflix, having every intention of updating my blog but never even having a chance to.  So here is a belated Wire Wrapped post, hope you enjoy!  I used the same jade beads from Fire Mountain Gems that I used on this Post and this Old Wire Wrapped Wednesday Post.  I really like the large size of these beads for wire wrapping, it makes for a really cool look.  Enjoy!

Wire Wrapped Wednesday, White!

Today's Wire Wrapped Wednesday is a pair of earrings, created out of white and gray feldspar.  Like I said in yesterday's post, I really created a lot of white jewelry this week, guess you could call it my first week of one color inspiration!  I like the speckled look of this stone, and I really enjoy the shape.  I have used it before as the focal pendant in This necklace.  I have a lot more of these beads too, so I'm sure you will end up seeing them again soon!  I used the wire on this necklace to appear as almost a wave  on the center of the feldspar bead...once again a beachy theme.  The wire wrapping on this one was a little challenging, because it kept slipping off of the curved edges!  I also really enjoy the blend of the silver wire with the gray flecks in the bead itself, and like the vintage, handmade look of these glass iridescent beads.

A Christmas Gift

I made earrings for one of my friends, Farah, for Christmas.  They are wire wrapped marble teardrop shapes, with green colored copper wiring and vintage crystal glass beads.  I, of course, got the marble teardrops from Fire Mountain Gems.  And I forgot, as usual, to photograph these earrings before I gave them to her, so I was so surprised and excited when last week she texted me a picture of herself wearing them at work!  It made me so happy!  And now you can see them and get an idea of what they looked like, though not up close.  Hope everyone is enjoying their Monday so far, and getting excited for my super-awesome Thrifting Tuesday post I have prepared for tomorrow.  (Spoiler alert:  if you by chance saw me on Friday, I was wearing the shirt that I will be posting tomorrow, and the compliments abounded!  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.)

Thank you again Farah for sharing your photo with me!!!

Wire Wrapped Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Ahh, Wednesday yet again.....One step closer to Friday!

For today's wire-wrapped post, I have created a wire wrapped piece from a stone bead that I got in a random miscellaneous bead bag from Fire Mountain Gems.  I have no idea what type of stone it is, but I really thought the dark gray tones meshed well with the tortoise shell patterning on these vintage beads.  These tortoise shell beads are from yet another necklace that my aunt gave me in my bag of vintage goodies.  I have yet to run out of interesting pieces to use in jewelry I make, and it seems like I use pieces from her almost everyday!  I still have much more to come, too!  I am saving some very special beads and pieces for later!  I really liked the way the copper wire looked bright against the dark gray of the stone, and the copper created more of a connection between the stone and the tortoise-patterned beads, bringing the whole necklace together.

Wire Wrapped Wednesday, February 2, 2011

First of all, Happy Groundhog Day to everyone!  Hope you had a good one!  I had a pretty good day today, actually, first thing to start off the day on my way out the door to school I found on my doorstep my brand new beads and gemstones from Fire Mountain Gems that I ordered about a week ago!  What a great start to the day!  Then, after classes my sister and I went on a thrifting adventure to Salvation Army....we found so many rediculously awesome things!  And, to top it off, it was 50% off day!  I even got shoes for $1! 

For today's Wire Wrapped post, I am posting pictures of a pendant that I made awhile ago and did not know what to do with.  I ended up deciding to put it on a simple chain.  Because the main bead is clear lucite, I decided to use my green wire, and accentuate the green color further by dangling a faceted glass green bead from the pendant that I bought last spring at a bead show.  I love the intensity of the green colored wire, and enjoy the sparkle of the piece from the faceted glass bead and the crystal clear lucite.  Hope you enjoy!

Wire Wrapped Wednesday, January 26

Today I made a pair of earrings for Wire Wrapped Wednesday....Making necklaces is fun, but sometimes I want to "take a break" from necklace making and create something different.  Today, that happened to be earrings.  I used peach calcite beads that I bought from the Fire Mountain Gems $1 sale back before Christmas.  The gold colored wire compliments the warm tones in the calcite perfectly.  The earrings really give off a bohemian feel, and bring to mind thoughts of warmer weather.  I can't wait for these cold temperatures to end!  Bring on Spring!  I am dying to break out my warmer weather wardrobe.  I think these earrings would pair well with a beautifully printed dress and a great pair of summery sandals...ah, sunshine, how I miss you!

Wire Wrapped Wednesday, January 19

This week's wire wrapped Wednesday post is a necklace that I made using a piece of pink wire I randomly found in my jewelry making supplies.  The interesting part about the wire is that it is actually 6 or 7 years old.  The wire was a scrap left over from my junior or senior year in high school when I made these wire wrapped candle Christmas gifts for all of my friends.  I was so excited to find it, and I had to use it for this necklace.  There was only a small piece left, and I used the whole scrap for this project.  I wrapped a piece of Italian onyx from Fire Mountain Gems as the main pendant, and then made it kind of into a tassel look with little purple beads dangling off of it.  The purple glass bead at the top also has significance, because I got that bead when I was in high school with my dad at the Pendleton Art Center down in over the Rhine.  My dad's friend Litsa used to own an art gallery there, now her gallery is Art Design Consultants near downtown Cincinnati.  We used to go to the old Pendleton building once a month for Final Fridays, a fun art event on the last Friday of the month.

Wire Wrapped Wednesday

I decided lately that I have fallen in love with the look of wire wrapped pieces of jewelry.  I have not really made much wire-wrapped jewelry in the past, and I would absolutely love to get more experience in making it!  Some wire-wrapped jewelry can be so inspiring and beautiful, and have a look that is extremely unique.  So I decided the other day to create this ongoing feature (for as long as I decide to keep it up) called Wire Wrapped Wednesday where I will either showcase wire wrapped jewelry that inspires me, or wire wrapped pieces that I have created myself.  This week, I am showcasing a piece that I have attempted to create myself, that is to say, it's not perfect, but hey, like I said I don't really have experience with this, and want to get more, and what better way than to just start practicing??  Hopefully with the continued occurrence of this weekly feature, I can improve my wire-wrapping skills!  I would also in the near future like to get a jig to play with wire on.  In some of the random jewelry making items my aunt gave me, I obtained some bits and pieces that go with a jig, but I did not get the actual jig board, which is of course the most important part.  I will probably buy myself one once I get a job.....haha.  (I really need some income before I start buying random things).  Hopefully that will come soon.  But here is my piece, hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it!