Freeform Wire Cuff, Redux

I don't often repeat my designs, but yesterday I created one of my most popular bracelets, a freeform wire cuff I first made last year.

I have had several requests to repeat this design, but put it off because I like my pieces to be one of a kind, and also because I didn't think I would be able to collect the same assortment of beads that I used the first time.

But in the process of hunting for something else, I came upon leftover aquamarine rondelles from the initial bracelet - I had squirreled them away in a "safe place", and promptly forgot where they were, and after a few months, forgot that I had them at all. I hate that! Anyone else lose stuff to safe places, all the time?

Here is the fruit of yesterday's labors:

freeform wire cuff, 2013

This bracelet was made entirely from bead soup - no strands of beads were cut, no tubes of seed beads were breached - all of these beads were stashed away; it just took several hours to hunt through all my various hiding places!

Some of the beads I used include: freshwater pearls in various colors, shapes, and sizes - pink, champagne, white, and peacock blue; round, potato, top-drilled, button, and some really cool peacock cornflake pearls; aquamarine rondelles (some faceted, some not) and chips; Czech firepolish beads in 3 different colors; Swarovski crystals in 3 colors, and size 8/0, 11/0, and 6/0 glass seed beads in 3 colors.

The base of the bracelet is copper-plated steel, and I wrapped it with Vintaj Natural brass wire. It will fit size 6 to 7, and is very comfortable (it will actually fit up to a 7-1/4). The cuff base (being steel) is quite rigid, so it can't be further shaped to conform to the wearer's wrist.

More pics, from different angles:

I've added it to my Etsy shop - if this one appeals to you, don't delay! SOLD!

Blue, Green, and Copper Freeform Wire Cuff

Here is another freeform wire wrapped cuff, this one with green and blue beads that were just screaming to be paired with copper!

I formed the frame for the cuff from heavy, 12g square copper wire, and then started adding the beads in random zigzags from one side of the frame to the other, sometimes connecting the zigzags with another piece of beaded copper wire. I used round 24g copper wire for the beaded cross pieces.

The beads are a mixture of kiwi jasper, turquoise, matrix jasper, and various blue and green glass seed beads, with several shapes of copper beads and spacers interspersed.

I love freeform creating - it's a perfect fit for my personality: outside the box, with no rules! I hate rules! But whether it is freeform wire work or freeform beadweaving, the challenge is to always be thinking a couple of moves ahead, because even though it is "freeform," a little bit of planning is required, especially if you have certain elements that you know you want to fit into the finished piece.

Now, if I only had more time to express myself freely!

Freeform Wire Wrapped Bracelet

I combined a bead soup mix of blues, pinks, and neutral colors with Vintaj Natural Brass wire to create this freeform wire-wrapped cuff. The bead mix includes aquamarine rondelles; freshwater pearls in peacock blue, pink, and off white, and a mixture of seed beads and small Czech firepolish beads in pinks, blues, and bronze.

Freeform wire work is my preferred way to work with wire, because wire is not my friend! Wire likes to bend, break, and just generally be uncooperative when I work with it, so creating formal, structured pieces is a real challenge for me. I get better results when I either let the wire do whatever it pleases, as with this cuff, OR when I beat the wire into submission with hammers. Either way, I win!

New Tie-Dyed Copper Cuff

There is a brand spanking, shiny, new copper cuff in my Etsy shop this morning.

It started as sheet copper.

I cut a narrow strip, and deeply acid-etched it to achieve the texture, and then colored it with alcohol inks. Then I gently sanded the surface of the strip to take all the color off my texture ridges, so that my lovely etched texture, and the beautiful copper,  showed.


This picture shows the strip before I shellacked it to achieve the permanent, colorfast, shiny finish shown in the picture above. See my beautiful texture?

Alcohol inks are wondrous (yep, alcohol inks from the scrapbooking section!) While their color selection is quite narrow, there are so many different ways they can be used to color metal!

I loved the look of this "tie-dyed" strip of metal, and just wanted it to be shiny. Is that asking so much?? I already knew from previous experimenting with the alcohol inks that if I used embossing powder to seal the finish and give it shine, all the colors would bleed together, and I would end up with the hippie version of my "Spinach Omelet" pendant:

Alcohol inks LOVE to bleed, and blend, and comingle.

And that was not what I wanted. I pondered for several days before figuring out how to achieve my shiny, colorfast finish while preventing color bleed. The method I finally hit on still allowed a small amount of bleeding where the color blocks meet, and unfortunately it was just enough to partially obscure the beautiful texturing I worked so hard to achieve, but if you look closely, the texture is still there.

So anyway, I cut and prepped a much wider piece of copper, and deeply etched it again with the same texture as the color strip, attached the color strip to the cuff with decorative grommets, shaped the cuff, and then folded the corners up to provide a more comfortable fit. No rough edges!!

I tumbled it for hours and hours to achieve this brilliant polished shine, and here are lots more pictures of the cuff:

It is 2 inches wide, and approximately a size 7. It is malleable enough to be shaped to conform to your individual wrist comfortably, and can be shaped down to a size 6, or up to a 7.5 (not repeatedly, mind you - but if you aren't a size 7, it can be adjusted by its new owner for perfect fit!)


And while I was waiting for the acid to etch, and the inks to dry, I made a lovely, whimsical pair of unicorn earrings for the Regretsy fans out there.

I haven't listed these in my Etsy shop, but will, upon serious inquiry. I have pics from multiple angles available!

Very Sparkly Spiral Chainmaille Bracelet and Earrings

The spiral chainmaille rope is another of my favorite weaves. This set is woven with sterling silver half-round rings, so it is lighter in weight than you would expect, and the spiral weave allows the bracelet and earrings to catch the light with every movement. I just love this set!

The textured toggle reflects the spiral pattern in the bracelet, which is now available in my Etsy shop.

The matching earrings are also available in my shop!

And by the end of this week, I will have this bead embroidery cuff bracelet finished - or at least, that is the plan....lol.

Here's What's New

Happy New Year!

I decided to try a new beadweaving stitch called netting. I had never even heard of this stitch until the Etsy BeadWeavers November monthly challenge featured this stitch - I joined the group too late to hop on board that month, so I began my own personal netting challenge the week before Christmas. I found a couple of tutorials that were of limited use - it was like they assumed prior knowledge of the stitch in order to understand their instructions! So instead, I just followed the complex diagrams in the pattern, and 2 weeks (and over 120 hours of beading) later, this was the result:

This gorgeous cuff bracelet is 2.25 inches wide, and fits up to a 7.75 inch wrist. It's available in my Etsy shop right now. I probably will never do this stitch again, so this is a true one-of-a-kind for me! This just took waaaay to much time!

Here are pics of the Christmas commission I mentioned last time:

I think they're fabulous!

The colorblock herringbone bracelet I posted last time sold within 48 hours of being listed on Etsy! Very exciting! I am designing some new patterns now, and will be making some more herringbone bracelets soon.

Check out my websites - lots of great stuff! And I am always happy to take custom orders, too.