Egyptian Coils Bracelet

I found the book, "Making Wire Jewelry" by Helen Clegg & Mary Larom which has the instructions for this piece and many other interesting designs. The book

includes actual size illustrations against which you can

compare the jewelry components you've made. I used 20 gauge copper wire. I think this bracelet would benefit from being antiqued. Rather than use the liver of sulphur method, I'm going to try using the hard boiled

egg method described here.

First Time Using a Jig

I made this bracelet using 20 gauge silver

wire and a jig. Since the wire flowers were a

bit uneven, I decided to use amethyst chips

instead of perfect little round amethyst beads

in keeping with the naive look.

I hammered each of the flowers before

connecting them with jump rings.

Unfortunately, between hammering and

trying to flatten the wire with pliers, I

managed to break more than one of

the amethyst centres.

Baby Booties

Chelsea and Julia are both due in December and

Kristen in January. It's the first baby for each of them

and the first grandchild for each of their parents.

We know Julia's having a girl!

All the booties were knit on size 3 mm. dpn's

using Bernat Baby Softee.

Each pair is slightly different from the others.

I forgot to photograph the last pair before I

wrapped them and gave them away, but

you get the drift.

More Paua Shell Pendants

J liked the last silver wrapped Paua

shell pendant I made, so I gave it to her.

I'm always amazed when someone likes the

jewelry I've made. I wrapped two more

pendants; one with sterling silver wire and

the other with gold. They're both 20 gauge.

Tiger Eye Bracelet

Another crocheted bracelet, this time gold

wire and tiger eye. I gave it to Camilla

for her birthday.

Three Strand Necklace

First time using crimp beads and my

crimp tool. I used three strands of

Beadalon for this necklace. The smaller

beads are strung on separate strands

and the larger ones are strung on all

three. I like how that makes the smaller

beads look kind of staggered.

Paua Shell Wire Wrapped Pendant

Back to the Paua shell again and what to do

with it. I used 20 gauge sterling silver wire

and wrapped it around the first one.

Then I twisted two strands of 28 gauge

gold wire together and wrapped that

around a shell. It kind of reminds me

of an x's and o's game board.

I finally started using the macro zoom on

my digital camera - huge difference.

Pea Pod Pendant

I once saw a picture of this and kept the idea

of it in my head. I wish I could find the original

again to see how it was made compared to mine.

I used a 20 gauge sterling silver wire for the

pea pod shape and once I had manipulated it to

an interesting shape, I hammered it. Then I strung

some light green fresh water pearls on a thinner

sterling silver wire and wrapped it at the top and

bottom of the pod. If I were to make this again,

I'd use a thicker wire for the pod, or better yet,

I'd try square wire instead of round. Oh well,

right now I'm just playing around with it and

learning a lot through trial and error.

Paua Shell

C just gave me some Paua Shell that

her brother brought back from a trip to

New Zealand. It's beautiful - highly polished

and jewelry grade. She was hoping that I could

come up with something to do with it since it

doesn't have any holes in it. I've read that shell

dust is toxic and when it's processed for jewelry

making, any drilling is done under water.

Crocheted Wire Necklace and Bracelet

I've been wanting to try this for a while. I used

gold 28 gauge wire, a size 1.75 mm. crochet hook

and some chips in 2 shades of green.

Simply chain 4 strands for each of the necklace

and the bracelet and then weave them together.

I finished them off with toggle clasps. I think

if I made it again, I'd only use 3 strands for the

necklace. I'm not much of a crocheter - chain st.

is really the only crocheting I can do.