Sunday, March 27, 2011

Challenge Week 7

The week ended on a great note, I went to the Marching Dragons Craft Fair at Brick High School. The morning was a little slow, I think the cold weather kept people away. In the afternoon it got crowded and I had lots of visitors to my booth. So I'm a day late in posting my weekly challenge.

This week for the 7th challenge I made another version of a ring. I'm trying to find a ring format that I like, so if you have a favorite of the ones that I've done so far please let me know. The ring I made (shown left) is a light amethyst Swarovski crystal in a four prong setting. The wire is 20 gauge square sterling silver, wrapped three times to give a nice base to the crystal.

I wanted to try to use the 4 prong setting to make a ring because I thought it would look very formal. I like the way it came out, but it's not my favorite.  I prefer the ring that I made with the 3 round crystals.  I'm going to keep experimenting though, I'll know when I find the right combination of stone, ring and wrap.

Please stay tuned to see what new items come off the work room table.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Challenge Week 6

This week's challenge entry is a little late, I had a very bad case of the flu and couldn't think about making jewelry. So, I'm finally starting to feel better and have made a variation on another piece that I've made before.

For the challenge this week I made a barrette covered in 4mm square flat back crystals. Previously the crystals that I used were round. The way this barrette sparkles reminds me of the old mirror balls used in the discos.

This barrette is great for bridal wear and also for a night on the town. It is 2 inches long and is a little more than a quarter inch wide. It's the perfect little hair jewelry for most occasions.

Check back on Saturday to see what comes off the work room table.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Challenge Week 5

Welcome to Week 5 of my 52 Week Jewelry Challenge. This week I made a beaded bracelet. As I have been trying to stretch my jewelry making style, I included some cube beads into this bracelet.  That's a little stretch because I feel more comfortable with round beads. The cubes are Swarovski crystal elements and the rounds are glass and have both blue and black colors in them.  I really like these beads and I think they blend well with the black cubes.

The cubes were in my beading supplies because I had seen them in a catalog and liked them, also bought some turquoise color cubes, which are still in the package. So this week when I was looking for materials to use I thought this would be a good bead to use to challenge myself.

You can find this bracelet on my website. I hope you like this week's bracelet and will come back next week to see what new item comes off of the work table.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Challenge Week4

This week I used the last of my favorite beads, they are a turquoise color Czech glass, oblong shaped bead. I paired them with white cats eye beads to make a very soothing combination of colors, in a princess length necklace (18 inch).  I have used this combination before in a floating bead necklace that was bought at a craft fair faster than I could put it on the table.  The clasp that I used is an antique finish square that I think compliments the shape of the Czech glass beads.

I have 2 of the Czech beads left and will make a pair of earrings to match the necklace.

Look for more pictures in my shop.