Last Day To Vote

Its the last day for voting in the Ecuadorian Hands contest that I have entered my earring into. I could win some lovely new tagua beads. So if you have a few spare seconds please cast a vote, today is the last day for voting. Thank you all. Click here to vote. 

Tagua Earrings Please Vote

I recently entered my Tagua earrings into a contest held by EcuadorianHands to win some Tagua Beads. They are such great beads I would love to win them so I'm shamelessly begging for votes. There are six entries which are all beautiful so I have my work cut out for me trying to get some votes. 

To cast your vote click here. You will see the six entries and under the final two pictures a voting box shows up. I'm not sure why but you can't see this voting box on a mobile phone but it can be seen when using a computer. Thanks in advance. 

You can also see my text and picture tutorial on how to make these earrings here. Or a video version here. 

I Made Another One

.... I just couldn't help myself. I have a bit of a wire wrapping bug after finally getting out of my making slump yesterday. This time I really wanted to make a fuller piece using a selection of Czech glass pearls and crystals I received as part of a challenge pack a while back. The colours worked so well together I knew they would suit a piece like this. This one is also slightly bigger. I think I much prefer this one although the gemstones in the other piece are beautiful too (who says I have to choose between them anyway, I plan on keeping both). 

So all in all I have had two very productive days in comparison to the last few weeks. Click here to read the blog post on the piece I made yesterday and find out the inspiration behind it. You can see it in the picture below. Which do you prefer? Let me know in the comment section below.

Getting Out Of The Creative Slump

I have been in a creative slump lately. I have plenty of ideas, that's not the problem. Its trying to get one of those ideas into a piece that has been my issue. But today I decided enough was enough and I grabbed my pile of Beads and Beyond Magazines for some inspiration. I have found in the past that following directions to a piece can get me past my slump and get some lovely pieces made. And today it worked. I came across the Saharan Sands project by Dawn Fuge in the June 2014 issue and knew I had to try it out. 

I substituted the pyrite in Dawns instructions for mixed gemstones I had in my stash. I managed to squeeze in so many gemstones into this little pendant.  

I used: 

Rose Quartz chips, 

Rhodochrosite chips, 

Freshwater Pearls, 

Labradorite chips, 

Moon Stone, 

Rhodonite, 

Jade, 

Sodalite, 

Larimar, 

Carnelian 

& Opal 

I love how the piece has turned out and if you have been visiting my blog for a while you know I love working with copper so I'm a very happy little jewellery maker today. Now to decide what to make next. 

5 Minute Earring Tutorial: Tagua Beads

I wanted to put together a quick tutorial to show you how to make the Tagua Bead earrings I made recently. They are so quick and simple and can be made in 5 minutes. Let me know in the comment section blow if you have tried them out. 

What You Need:

Tagua Flat Slices

Tagua Coins

2x Ball Head Pins

2x 4mm Jump Rings

2x 1.25inch Length of Small Silver Chain

Earring Findings

Slide one of the coin shaped beads onto a head pin.

Make a loop on top of the bead.

Attach the head pin, leaf slice and chain together using the jump ring.

Attach the top of the chain to the earring finding. Now make the second one exactly the same and enjoy wearing your new earrings. 

I got the Tagua Beads for these earrings from Ecuadorian Hands. They have a great vast range of shapes and sizes available. See my post about Tagua Beads here.