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!

Metal and WireWork Earrings

For these earrings, I hammered and oxidized some copper discs, punched holes in them, and wired some teal glass seed beads to their fronts. I dangled a chrysocolla rondelle from the bottom of each.

Custom Mixed Metals Wirework Necklace

One of my regular customers requested a necklace combining copper and silver. She came into the shop and selected some beads she really liked, and then gave me carte blanche to come up with the design.

This was a really fun piece to design! I wired some of the beads to other beads, or inside of large connectors, and then hooked everything together into this long necklace.

Detail:

And best of all, my customer loves it!

New Earring in the Works

My student yesterday was late so I had to fill some time. Not knowing how late she was going to be, I didn't want to dive into the fringe necklace, so I started playing with some beads, wire, and hoop earrings.
This is how far I got before she finally showed up:

Hoping to finish this pair today - they're freeform, so they go fairly quickly, even though I'm doing a pretty dense pattern.

And here is the finished garnet torsade I created while teaching the multistrand class yesterday:

Woven Wire Bracelet

This is a bangle bracelet I wove with 2 colors of 18g artistic wire - this wire is dead soft, so it is very easy to weave with. And I love the brown and the blue together!

This is the hook and eye closure:

Fun bracelet! And it's available in my Etsy shop!

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!

Girls' Night Out

Have y'all seen this feisty gal in my Etsy shop?

Her body is a polymer clay bead, her "feet" are a Swarovski crystal, her arms are 16g sterling silver wire, her head is a polymer clay bead (yay! Red curls just like me!), she wears a sterling silver daisy necklace, and she is hoisting a strawberry margarita. She is my idea of Girls' Night Out!!

Wire Wrapped Bronzite Pendant

New in my Etsy shop this morning:

This beautiful, irridescent bronzite cabochon is wrapped in matching Vintaj Natural Brass wire, giving it a very earthy, organic appearance. I love how the bronze color of the Vintaj wire matches the browns and bronzes in the bronzite!

And you can find it here on Etsy!

New Beaded Wire-Wrapped Bangle

Happy October!!

I have had such a productive week! I completed 3 brand new designs, start to finish, plus I finished a custom-ordered kumihimo necklace and matching bracelet, and totally wowed their new owner. Always such a relief when the customer is happy!

I am so fortunate to have a full-time studio to work in - a dedicated place to design, create, photograph, and sell my work. But the downside is that it is 45 minutes away from my home, and I frequently leave all my computer work for my evenings and days off, and then realize I've left my memory card, or flash drive, or some other important documents sitting on the computer at work. And that's where I find myself today.

I was so proud to finish all these designs AND get all the pics taken and downloaded and edited, all in the same week! And now I find myself ready to blog about it, and my pics are literally in another state. So I will give you a little taste of one of my creations, and leave the rest for later on.

This is an absolutely delicious, lush, beaded sterling silver bangle. These red-banded agate beads are 12mm rounds, faceted and highly polished, and I fell in love with their rich coloration and swirls. The pinks range from the palest pink to a deep fuchsia, and the beads are so polished they literally look wet. They reminded me of freshly picked and washed raspberries! (I actually took to calling them "raspberry agate"). The minute I found these beads I nabbed them and stuffed them into my stash (you know what I'm talking about - we are all bead hoarders!), just waiting for the right project. And now I wish I had another strand!

This is a beaded wire bangle that I have made a number of times - it calls for 4 mm beads, and is fun to make. So I figured - 4mm, 12mm - what's the difference? Well, not exactly, but that's sort of what I thought - I figured I would just have to make a few "modifications" for the larger beads.

Ha!!

These beads were SO much bigger, and SO much heavier, that this became an almost overwhelming issue of engineering. I had to account for the bangle itself being wider, as well as the sizing being completely different because of the beads' diameter, and I also had to buttress the wires themselves just to get them to stay in bundles as I wrapped.

So I added lots of wraps along each side of the wire - these started out to be structural elements, but after I had done a few, I realized they looked great, so I decided to make a pair between each bead. These wires added both strength and texture to the bangle.

And while the sterling silver wire is perfect with these bright pink beads, the beads themselves are the real stars in this bracelet! This is such a bright, bold, dramatic accessory for so many different occasions. It can be dressed up, dressed down - it is so much fun! And it's available in my Etsy shop!

Many thanks to those of you who took the time to read my BSBP essay and leave comments. I visited each and everyone of my fellow BSBP participants, read every word, and was awed by all the talent.I know what a time commitment it was for those who blog-hopped for BSBP, and I truly appreciate your efforts and words. Thanks again!

It's always something

Down at the bottom of this post, I showed a picture of a project I was hoping to fiddle with the next day.

But I had forgotten that I was teaching a class the next day - so that day was shot.

Then, I got bead shipments, and had to sort beads, price beads, etc - this is ongoing and endless, it seems.

And then I took stock of the inventory on Friday, and realized I needed to place orders for findings and such - so the whole week was basically gone. And I think I spent a whole 30 minutes last week on my little fun project. I really, truly hope I can play with it tomorrow.


I actually took a class on Saturday - and made this:

It is technically finished (according to the teacher's instructions) - but I am not happy with it. The wire-coiling frame looks too dainty for this giant piece of impression jasper, and it actually isn't even stable - it will flop around the stone, because nothing anchors it but the wire going through the center of the bead. So basically, it is a flimsy, spinning, bead frame - which was not the plan.

So I am going to smack it with a little Sweet Freedom Magic, hopefully tomorrow or Wednesday, and make it better!

If nothing else comes up, you understand....

Something tells me both of these projects are going to end up in that HUGE box of half-finished projects in the back room - the ones I was all excited about starting, and then I got interrupted, and then I got distracted by a new project, and now my poor babies are abandoned.

It's not just me, right - does this happen to anyone else?

Is there a 12-step program for this?

Oh - Bailey is running a little poll over on his blog - if you get a chance, take a look - he fancies himself a big investigative journalist now. In fact, he posted some pictures on Flickr that may get his daily treat privileges revoked!

Thanks!