The ring is the thing

Making metal jewelry I find that I have scraps that are too big to be tossed in the recycle pile, so I try to incorporate them into other pieces of jewelry.  Today's blog shows how I converted those left over pieces into great jewelry.

I made several bracelets using strips of silver with really pretty designs pressed into the metal. I had several pieces that were each 2 or 3 inches long and decided to make some rings.  The results are so good that I'm actually buying the silver just to make rings. 

One day I had on a ring that is similar to the one on the left. On my way to work a woman in the train commented on it, then in the doctor's office I got another complement from one of the nurses.  At work I got some great comments and a couple of orders too.  I call it the cascading crystal ring because the beads are free flowing and every time you put it on the beads fall into a different configuration.  It's a fun ring. 

The ring on the right is the first ring that I made and is a casual ring. Very simple in style with a stable swirly looking bead that reflects the swirl on the side of the ring.  The wire is simple, yet beautiful.

Inside both rings I've stamped a secret message.The purple ring at the top says "Laugh" and the blue ring says "Dream".

Making these rings was so much fun and I will have several on my website, if they aren't purchased before I can post them.

Visit my website at http://www.jewelrybydm.com

Challenge Week 26

Week 26... wow, half way through the challenge.  I wasn't sure I was going to make it this far.  In the beginning it was difficult to discipline myself to get the jewelry and blog done. I made sure that the jewelry was done so that Saturday morning I could post it on the blog, and now it's just part of my Saturday routine. Recently I watched the movie Julie and Julia and saw that a weekly challenge was a piece of cake (pun intended) compared to her challenge which was a daily challenge. Although cooking each day using another persons recipes is easier than creating a piece of jewelry. Just to have the stamina to come home from work every day and cook and then write a blog - I give her a lot of credit. She also ended up getting a book deal and a movie out of it so it paid off.

The piece of jewelry that is being used for this week's challenge was actually made last week along with the pendant that I did.  My co-worker asked me to make this ring and another one that is similar, one having her birthstone and the other her daughter's birthstone.  It is from the same book that the pendant was in so I can't claim the design, only the skill of reading the directions and bending the wire.

The ring is called the wave ring and the little waves that go off the ring on either side of the stones really make this unique.  On one side the wires are twisted to give it even more texture.  The ring in the book used smaller stones so there were 3 across the top; I like the larger stones because you can see them better and also it's easier to thread the wire through them.

If you would like a wave ring just send an email to me at denise@jewelrybydm.com - it is a great ring to give as a gift because I can customize it with birthstone colors using crystals and being unique the gift won't be duplicated.

Have a great week and I hope to see you back here next week.

Challenge Week 16

As a change from all the black that I have been making I received a special order, which I'm using for my challenge piece, and it just happens not to have any black in it..

For week 16 I've made a ring, similar to another that is in my store. This ring is for a co-worker to give as a birthday gift and is made from campaign color freshwater pearls and sterling silver wire.  These pearls are going to look great on a tanned hand. This is a "wear with everything" piece of jewelry.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend. While you are enjoying your holiday, please remember the people that have fought for our country and for our freedom to enjoy this holiday.

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.

Challenge Week 3

Sometimes I make a piece of jewelry that I really like, but I probably like it because I made it. So I show it to people and they say "Oh, it's nice" and I wonder if they are saying that because they like it or because they don't want to hurt my feelings. My confirmation that it's not just me is when someone actually wants the piece or asks me to make one in a different color.

When I made my first ring people said they liked it. But my confirmation came when a friend's daughter tried it on and didn't want to take it off, it was a perfect fit too. So I literally gave it to her off of my finger. Please excuse my insecurity, I'm an artist, it comes with the territory.

My second attempt wasn't as successful. I used a stone in a setting, rather than a bead. It looked rather clumsy when I was going for elegant.

The challenge for Week 3 was to make a ring that I can put into my store, and I think I found it. It's a simple design inspired by one that I saw in a magazine. I used medium blue Swarovski crystals on sterling silver wire, with antiqued silver spacer beads. I have other color beads that I have already started to make into rings.

This challenge has been so much fun, I'm glad I started it. I have an idea for next week already!

New Rng

I hope you had a Happy Halloween. I can't believe it's November already.

Been busy making jewelry and decided to try somehing new with silver wire. I made this ring with sterling wire and a glass bead. I am very proud of the way it came out. It took quite a while to get the wire small enough to fit my finger but it finally worked. I'm going to take orders at craft fairs so I can customize the ring to the size and color that people want. If you would like to order a ring you can contact me through email at demclach@yahoo.com Tell me your ring size and the color stone that you would like. I'll send you a price quote, then will post the ring as a special order on my Etsy site at www.demdesigns.etsy.com That way I'll get shipping info right through Etsy.

I'm going to be very busy over the next 2 months so blogs may be few and far between but I'll try to keep writing at least once every 2 weeks.

It would be nice to see you all in person at at least one of the craft shows, if you can't make it I'll take pictures and post them on the blog, . The craft fair locations are in the bottom box on the right side of the blog. Englishtown Street Party was rescheduled to May 15th because of the weather and that is one I was really looking forward to. All the others will be fun too!

Happy crafting.