Lariat Style Cord Necklace

I won’t really have much to say about this piece. I made the glass components and sewed them onto the cording. I found this one a bit harder to do than the one I made earlier with the thicker cording. This cording is thinner and longer so I was able to make it into a lariat type necklace. Here’s two different views of the same necklace:

I haven’t decided whether to dye the cording. I like the different colors I get when I dye them but the dye tends to make the cording a lot darker. Not sure if all the glass components will show up very well on a darker cording. Still thinking about it….

Published in: on July 19, 2012 at 8:27 pm  Comments Off on Lariat Style Cord Necklace  
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Porthole Pendants Galore

I finished up an order for several porthole pendants. I still have one more to do, just didn’t get the end caps and button clasp made last weekend for it.

These are tough to get a good picture of since they have a glass domed cab on the top. I did all the same end caps and button clasp on all of them so I’m only going to show one since they are all the same except in different colors to match the silk ribbon.

And since I’ve never shown the back of one of these, here’s a picture of one.

I use etched copper sheets for the backs. I’ve etched a bunch of copper sheets with different designs on them to use for different projects.

 

Published in: on July 16, 2012 at 9:43 pm  Comments Off on Porthole Pendants Galore  
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Totally New Necklace

I’ve been working on making the glass components to use in some necklaces and I finally got one assembled. It took me all morning to sew on all the components, then when I went to glue the end caps on, I got glue on the fabric cording. Yuck. The only way I could think of covering the glue up was to dye the cording. I used Ranger’s Adirondack Alcohol Inks. They are supposed to be permanent. Guess I’ll know once I wear it.

I make the components on the ends of copper wire so technically they aren’t really beads but more like decorative head pins that I make a loop on the back so I can sew them onto the cording.

Published in: on June 23, 2012 at 2:46 pm  Comments Off on Totally New Necklace  
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Pokeweed Lariat

I go to the High Sierras every year for a week vacation. It’s nice fishing and making something that I don’t get a chance to at home. Working with seed beads takes a lot of concentration for me and this is a time that I can spend long periods concentrating.  This is one of Laura McCabe’s kits. I always buy seed beads kits. It’s easier than designing something myself which would take me longer to make a piece. With a kit, I get the instructions along with all the beads. I don’t have to shop to find all the needed supplies. Laura’s kits are awesome!! She doesn’t fudge on details in her pieces and her instructions and well written and understandable.

Sorry about the bad picture. I took it with my cell phone camera which always gives me blurry pictures. It’s hard to see all the little size 15 seed beads in the piece. It took me three days to make the spiral lariat part and after I finished, I wish I made it about 2 inches longer so I could double wrap it around my neck if I wanted to wear it shorter but I didn’t realize the embellishments on the ends would go up the lariat so far. It’s impossible to add more length without making a HUGE mess. This piece took me 6 days to make, working on it about 6 – 8 hours a day. I did spend some time trout fishing in my spare time. Freshly caught and cooked fish is just the best!!

Published in: on June 10, 2012 at 11:13 am  Comments Off on Pokeweed Lariat  
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Just Beads

I badge holder keeps breaking and the big bead I had on it got fractured in a few places when it fell on the concrete. I thought it was time to replace it. I made some BIG beads, none I really like but I don’t want to spend any more time making a big bead. So these are the ones I got done last night.

How did that small bead get in to the picture? I didn’t like these at all. I was a bit tired and shouldn’t have tried the top bead. It takes forever to make them. The bottom bead is silver glass. I made a mistake on how the glass was supposed to be layered so I got some weird reaction that isn’t pleasing.

This is the bead I used for the badge holder. I just strung it on some leather cord. Kind of cracks me up. I make all kinds of jewelry and this is the best I can do for my badge holder.

Published in: on May 19, 2012 at 12:54 pm  Comments Off on Just Beads  
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Finishing Up A Few Things…

When my sister was down for the holidays last year she made a bunch of porthole pendants. They have been sitting around so I finally finished them up. Gluing a image to the glass domes and putting them into the porthole pendants. That’s the easy part.

I put this one on a leather necklace because the bail just happened to fit. I have to figure out what size tubing my sister used for this as it works perfectly with this size leather.

I used silk ribbons for the necklaces on the next three pendants. I finish them with a two hole glass button and glass end caps. The two hole button acts like a slider type clasp.

The reason the end caps and button isn’t showing in this picture is because I “lost” one of the end caps before I had a chance to glue it on. I now have to remake it tonight.

Close up of the pendants.

Published in: on May 13, 2012 at 11:20 am  Comments Off on Finishing Up A Few Things…  
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Two Bracelets and One Necklace

I made these ladder bracelet for myself:

Not sure if I like the black leather with the amethyst stones but I didn’t like it with brown or natural leather either. That’s all the choices I had. I’ll wear it and if I don’t like it I’ll remake it with another color leather.

Then, a new type bracelet:

It’s a double wrap leather bracelet with drill rocks and other beads. I made it to fit my wrist and I so far, it’s pretty comfortable. I’m going to change how I do the connections from the rock piece to the leather on my next one. You didn’t think this would be the only one, did you?

I made the copper bail and riveted it to a glass bead. It’s strung on the same leather as the bracelet. The little stone is pyrite.

Published in: on May 11, 2012 at 1:01 pm  Comments Off on Two Bracelets and One Necklace  
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Copper Bail Pendants and Other Things

I started a ladder bracelet this week and never finished it. I’m finally getting tired of making them. Not that I won’t go back and revisit them later. I’m still making buttons for them and should have a good stock of them when I do get back to making them.

First up is a couple of glass pendants that I made a copper bail to hang them from.

I wish I could find bezel cups with higher sides. Just a tad bit higher would be a big help since I’m trying to hide a rivet inside the bezel cup.

I made some new beads to use for these copper bails last night.

The first one has frit and silver foil and silver glass in it. The other two are all transparent glass with a little heart.

More buttons that I made this weekend. I like making buttons….

My mom made these fabric origami boxes. Of course it wouldn’t be right not to embellish them with a glass bead or button.

Aren’t they cute?

Published in: on May 6, 2012 at 11:29 am  Comments Off on Copper Bail Pendants and Other Things  
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Something New

I thought I wouldn’t have time to work on this but I forced myself. I wanted to try this idea and use it with glass pieces. For this one I used an already drilled rock that I had in my drawer. So I guess this could be considered the prototype.

Front. It’s got a lapis cab set in a bezel under a piece of copper.

Back

Published in: on April 29, 2012 at 3:27 pm  Comments Off on Something New  
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Solderless Bezel Pendant

Our little group had a play day today and I made this solderless bezel pendant. It’s solderless because the bezel is formed by punching a circle in copper, then dapped into a bezel shape. I planned on using a glass cab but I made the bezel too large so I enameled a domed copper circle and use that instead.

Image

Not my best work but this was all an experiment.

Published in: on March 10, 2012 at 8:27 pm  Comments Off on Solderless Bezel Pendant  
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