Monday, December 26, 2011

Challenge Week 34

Happy New Year!  This post is a little late because of the holidays.  I hope you all had happy holidays and your new year will be the best yet.

My Christmas was very nice, spending it with family.  My brothers did the cooking this year and the food was so good! I would have liked to be able to eat everything on the table, but then I would pay for it with having to buy bigger size clothes. Leave comments, let me know how your holidays were.

Week 32 is a varriation on another pair of hoop earrings that I did.  These earrings (at left) are for a friend for Christmas, to match a bracelet (below/right) that she had ordered from me.  The large center bead is amethyst color and the edges of the bead are copper coated. I accented the center bead by putting a copper and an amethyst bead on either side of it. I think the earrings go well with the bracelet. Don't you?

The bracelet is similar to the one featured in week 33, using different beads.  I really enjoy making these bracelets, it's so much fun and a refreshing change from the work that I usually do.

In the month of January my goal is to add 30 new items to my website, McLachlan Design Studio, with some of the items featured in my challenge and others that I bring to craft shows which have never made it to my website because they sell faster than I can photograph them.

Have a great week!
Denise

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Challenge Week 33

This week I have a special treat for the guys in the audience.  I made a masculine bracelet.  Most of my jewelry is for females however, I have made some cufflinks and tie pins.  It surprised me that most of the male jewelry that I made has sold.  One gentleman at a craft fair told me that he didn’t see many things for men and he was disappointed, so that’s what gave me the inspiration to add the cufflinks and tie pins.

One of my co-workers asked me to make him one of the new macramé bracelets that they are showing in the stores.  He wanted all black, so I used black hemp cord and 8 mm black onyx beads.  The bracelet fits an 8 inch wrist and can be adjusted by either pulling on the cords at the end of the bracelet to make it smaller, or pulling the bracelet apart to make it larger.  The piece that keeps  the bracelet closed is also the mechanism used to adjust it. 

I have several new orders for this bracelet so it may be after the first of the year before I put one in my shop.  If you would like to place and order for one I will need to know the size, in inches, of the person’s wrist and the color beads you would like.  It’s too late for Christmas but you can always put a certificate in an envelope letting the person know that their gift has been custom ordered. To place a custom order please send an email to me at denise@jewelrybydm.com and I will get back to you with an expected completion date.

Have a very Happy Holiday season and Happy New Year!