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.

Bead Soup: The Big Reveal

The day has finally arrived to reveal what I have made with the beautiful beads I was sent by Ana of Acbeads. I found myself struggling a little bit at first as there was such a variety of beads that I honestly didn't know where I was going to start but finally I decided to break up the beads into different sections and ended up making four different pieces. 

As a reminder of what Ana sent to me click here to see all of the photos. And click here to see the soup that I sent to Ana.

So my first piece is a pair of earrings. I made these using the Irish Linen Cord and Labradorite Chips. I love the simplicity of them. I didn't want to loose the beauty of the Linen Cord or the Labradorite. 

My Second piece is a bracelet made using the large glass bead, blue mother of pearl discs and blue wooden beads along with the clasp from Ana's packet. I used my own seed beads and freshwater pearls along with some rose quartz that I still had from last years packet form the Bead Soup Swap. (I knew I would find something special to use the last few in eventually.) I love that this bracelet is so neutral coloured with just a pop of strong blue.

My third piece is another bracelet. I made this piece using the Labradorite Chips, Shell and clasp from Ana's packet. (If you haven't noticed I'm a little bit in love with the Labradorite now). I finished off this bracelet by just adding some seed beads that I already had in my stash. The colour is perfect with the Labradorite I think. This is my favourite of the 2 bracelets. 

My fourth and final piece is a necklace. I started by using the beautiful Focal pieces that Ana sent along with (again) the Labradorite Chips on the beautiful blue Linen Cord. I added a small copper bead on either end to tie in the copper chain and clasp from my own stash. I knew as soon as I seen these focal pieces that I would be using them with copper somehow. It is my favourite metal and I knew the colours would all suit each other. I would never normally use cord and chain like this but I'm so happy I tried it out. I think the Linen Cord is soft next to the beautiful clay beads before the harsh metal. 

I think the necklace is by far my favourite of all four pieces I have made and I cant wait to wear it over the summer. Its a nice new piece to add to my collection. 

So that's all the pieces that I have made. Please click here to see what Ana has made using the beads I sent to her. Also click here to see the list of all the participants of the Bead Soup Blog Party. I can't wait to get around all the blogs and see what everyone has made. 

Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to leave a comment below.

If you want to win the earrings above then click here to enter. 

Ah Thank You!

I only this week noticed that the Jewelry From Home blog featured my necklaces on their Makers Gallery section twice over the last few months. They said lovely things about them all so I'm really happy. 

My Jigsaw, Heart and Star pendants where featured on their March Makers Gallery Post (which you can see here). 

My Copper Spike Necklace (which you can see here) was featured as part of their April Makers gallery post. You can see my tutorial for that piece here.

Tutorial: Copper Spike Necklace

I made this necklace a little while ago and put together a tutorial to show how I made it after a lot of interest when I showed it off on pinterest and other places. Let me know if you try it out in the comments below, I love seeing peoples takes on my tutorials.

What you need: 

1: Heavy Gauge Copper Wire (I've used 3mm Here)

2: Glass Beads (Choose your colour)

3: A Ruler

4: Hammer and Metal Block

Measure out one piece of wire to 1.5 inches, two pieces to 1 1/4 inches & two final pieces to 1 inch in length. 

Cut the pieces of wire to the required lengths.

Hammer flat about a third of the way up each length of wire.

Add a bead onto each length of wire deciding which pieces you want where. If the bead falls too far over the hammered piece then extend the hammering slightly higher.

Make a loop at the top of each piece of wire and slide all five pieces onto another piece of copper wire about 1.5 inches long. Loop the ends of this piece also. You can now attach chain to either side of the pendant and your done. 

New Pendants and Some Fun

Yesterday I spent a few hours in the workshop making up a few new pendants. I had one final (for now) jigsaw puzzle pattern to try out as well as a new heart and star. I of course went with my hammered finish but for the heart I didn't think it would suit so I gave it a nice high shine polish instead. I'm glad I did. I think it suits the piece much better.

Later on I spent some time with my two little cousins making bracelets. They really need no help with this at all now. I cut the elastic and tie the knot thats all they want me to do. They both love to lay out the beads and play around with the order the want to put them in before stringing them which is fantastic to see them at 5 and 6 doing.






I think I will be stocking up their bead box for their birthdays next week. The box they have has suddenly gotten very empty and I'm afraid they will start "shopping" in my bead stash.

Jigsaw Puzzle Piece Pendants

Today I tried out some pieces I had been wanting to make for a while. I had these sketches in my book for a while and finally got around to making them. I made three different pieces in Aluminium, Copper and Brass. I'm really happy with how they turned out. Again I've used my hammer finish which seems to be my signature finish at this point. I may as well just embrace it. I have a few more patterns I want to try out now as well so I you may be seeing them soon. 

My Pendant in Beads and Beyond Magazine

I recently sent a picture of my copper flower pendant into Beads and Beyond Magazine. It was inspired by a tutorial in the magazine a few months ago by Joanne Tinley. I loved how it had turned out and wanted to share it and they printed it. 

I also won a £25 voucher for Beads Unlimited so I can't wait to go on a little shopping spree soon. Look out for my post when I have have decided what I want to get. 

This Week In The Workshop

I've spent more time designing pieces this week than actually making anything so I don't have a lot to show. I do have a new pendant and bracelet that I worked on this week though so it wasn't a wasted week.



The bracelet I made using a mixed packet of pastel coloured glass pearls I got last year from Beads Unlimited. I loved all the colours in the mixed pack and wanted to use them together. I used a four strand slide clasp to finish it off. Its a very summery bracelet I think.






I also made a pendant using aluminium and copper (again) and yet again a hammered finish. I'm not finished using a hammered finish just yet but I'm sure I will get sick of it at some point soon. I like the option of this piece of being able to wear it with both pieces or each on their own.

Red Wire Wrapped Heart

Today I made another wire wrapped heart but this time I used red wire over copper and added a few beads. I used large gold coloured seed beads. I'm liking wire wrapping and have a few more ideas now to make a few new pieces. I haven't decided yet weather to make a beaded chain for this pendant or just you a plain copper or silver chain to hang it on. I think the pendant is fussy enough without a beaded chain added to it so I will have to try it out and see what works best.

Some New Pieces From The Workshop

I cut out a butterfly and heart pendant on Monday and today I got back to the workshop to finish them both. They are both made from copper sheet and finished with a high polish and then a hammered finish. I had wanted to make a butterfly for a while but kept putting it off when I had other things I wanted to make. I'm really glad I got back to make it now because it turned out better than I thought it would. The heart is a plain and simple heart shaped piece but has a lovely pattern with the hammered finish. Again I love a hammered finish and I'm using it a lot at the moment, I'm sure I will move on from it at some point but right now I really think it is suiting the pieces I am making. They are plain pieces and the hammered finish just adds that little extra.

 I then decided to make another heart shaped piece. (It must be all the valentines related things I'm seeing online at the moment.) I made an aluminium heart and a copper heart outline of the exact same size. They are only connected with the jump ring so they move about independently of each other. I really love this piece and for once I'm also really happy with how the pictures turned out, I think they show it off really well.

Copper Wirework Heart

I recently picked up the February 2014 issue of Making Jewellery Magazine and fell in love with Sian Hamilton's Wired Heart tutorial.

Using the copper wire that I've been gathering out of old scrap electrical cables I made the heart.

To make it a little bit more Valentine-y I made a beaded chain using red seed beads and silver plated wire.

I love how its turned out.

Copper Flower Pendant and Cross

So far this week I have made two pieces in the workshop. The first piece is a cross pendant made using Aluminium and Copper. I used a high shine polish and hammered finish. The Aluminium cross to the back is curved and the copper cross is flat. I liked the way they sat using this method.  I love mixing copper and silver coloured metals together so I love the look of this pendant.

The second piece Ive made this week is a copper flower pendant. It is a project featured in the February issue of Beads and Beyond magazine to be made from silver sheet. I made the flower pendant in copper instead and also used a hammered finish. I also added a drill hole to take a jump ring to suspend the chain. The project is called Daisy Daisy by Joanne Tinley. Thank you Joanne I loved trying this piece. Im going to have a go at the smaller flower tomorrow.

Today in The Workshop

I spent all evening wanting to get into the workshop yesterday to try out a few ideas I had so this morning I started and got two of the ideas running around in my head done. I am actually pretty happy with how they have turned out. As I'm still only getting used to my tools and being back at the bench Im expecting a few problems but until today I still hadn't broken a single saw blade (which is amazing for me I used to go through so many). I know I have to work a bit on my polishing still as I was used to using a huge polishing machine and doing it with a dremel is very different. But I'm getting there.

The first piece I made was a horseshoe. Its basic and simple but gave me a challenge with the saw to see how I would get on. The major problem I came across here is I drew the horseshoe freehand which looked ok until I had it cut out. I kept the lines pretty well but my drawing was a tad bit off but what horseshoe is perfectly symetrical? This piece is made of aluminium.

The second piece I made is actually made up of two different pendants both musical notes one in aluminium and one in copper. I love the look of aluminium (or silver) and copper together so this gave me  chance to make something using both. I love how it turned out. I love this piece now so I'm going to stick to the theme and try a few more pieces this week. As soon as it was finished I had so many ideas.

I am currently using aluminium instead of silver for the cost aspect. As these are just practice pieces and I'm just playing around in the workshop trying to find my style again it seems like the most cost effective thing to do. The last thing I need is to be worrying about having too much unusable scrap silver lying around. My next purchase will be some melting equipment so I will be able to reuse the scrap metal when I need it but right now I don't have this option.

Loads of Copper

Starting out

So Much Copper Wire

I was given a length of wire by an electrician recently that was of no use anymore so that I could strip the copper out of it. Its about 1.5 metres long and has about 30-40 strands on copper inside measuring about 0.5mm. Its taken me all day already just to get some of the rubber coating off as its an outdoor cable so is heavily insulated. When Im done Im going to end up with more copper than I will know what to do with which means loads of experiments. (I honestly have no idea what Im going to do with it but you dont say no to free copper wire).

New Tools

I said in my last post how I was getting back to working at the bench with my tools and metal. Well Im closer to my goal. I ordered some new tools and sheet metal from Cookson Gold and it arrived exactly 24 hours after I places my order. Im not very used to things arriving so quickly so Im really happy.

I spent a long time training with some fantastic jewellers a few years back who thought me a lot and its always been the goal to get back to working this way and keeping the beaded work as a hobby as it has always been. (Not that working at the bench is like work either really haha.) I have spent a lot of time building a workshop and gathering tools when money allowed and I have just about what I need to get going. Im starting basic and realising how many tools I had access to in the workshops I trained in. Hopefully one day as I go along I can build up my tools and have some fancy equiptment. But for now what I have will just have to do.

I ordered a new mallet and saw (I now have a few different types) along with saw blades, Beeswax, A hand drill and drill bits, and the best part: Aluminium, Copper and Brass Sheet. As its been a while I wan to practice again on a cheaper metal than silver but I also like aluminium. Its light weight and a good price so I think I will be sticking with it for a while.

Cant wait to place my next order with Cooksons. I need to get some polishing materials next.

There is nothing like getting new tools

Recycled Copper Chain Tutorial

I have a load of cut off bits of electrical wire hanging around at the moment that are too short for any use and rather than throw them out I decided to use them in a piece of jewellery I'm working on at the moment (its a secret at the moment so come back to see the finished piece next weekend). So I wanted to share how to make a chain out of the scrap copper.

Depending on the type of wire you have there could be a number of strands of copper inside and they could range in gauge but what I have is six strands of wire about 1.1mm thick.

1: After stripping the rubber off the wires you will be left with long strands of wire like this.

2: I use a skewer that is about 5mm around for this part. I wrap the copper around the skewer until the whole piece of wire is now in a coil shape and remove it from the skewer. Click here to see my tutorial on making a coil.

3: Now simply start at the end of the coil you finished and just where the wire starts to overlap cut the wire and you now have a jump ring. Keep doing this until you have no more left on the coil. Click here to see my tutorial on making Jump Rings.

4: You now need to separate all the Jump Rings you have made into two piles and close all the jump rings in the first pile.

5: Open all of the Jump Rings in the second pile.

6: Now you add one closed ring onto and open ring and close it up. You then add one open ring onto the ring you just closed, add a closed ring and close. Continue this on until you have no rings left or have reached the length you are looking for. You can simply add a clasp to the end by using an open ring on either end to make a simple bracelet.

You now have a simple copper chain that you have made for free using something that is just sitting around in the shed or going in the bin. 

Have you made this? Let me know in the comments below how you got on or if you have any other questions. 

How to Make Jump RIngs

I make a lot of these out of scraps of wire that I wouldn't have much other use for. Also its not always easy to go get ready made ones or wait for them to arrive. There are loads of different ways to make them, everyone has their own style,there are even mandrels made in specific gauges but I use a nail. Its the only thing I had handy one night when I ran out of the ready made ones to finish off a bracelet. So here's how I make mine. See the bottom of this post for a video tutorial.

What you need:
Wire cutters
Flat nose Pliers - just to help with the final piece around the nail
A Nail - or anything that is the size of the Jump Rings you want to make
A length of wire - I use 0.8mm Silver plated Copper here

Step 1:

Wrap the wire around the nail until all the wire is used up. Wrap it as tightly together as possible as gaps result in oval and mis-shapen rings. 

Step 2:

Remove the coil from the nail.

Step 3:

Starting at one end of the coil you need to cut where the wire is just meeting the next coil so when you cut here you will have a full ring that will be slightly open. 

Step 4:
Now you can use your jump rings you just open them further or close them up.

Jump Rings are needed for practically everything you do in jewellery making and will never go to waste so always make a few extra and keep them stored. You don't want to have to make loads of them when you only need 1 or 2.

Click here to view a video of this tutorial.

Byzantine Bracelets

I made these bracelets as Christmas gifts using the Byzantine Weave. I really like this weave it can be a bit time consuming but isn't as hard as it looks at first. Some of the jump rings I used I bought ready made but the purple ones I made myself using wire I already had. Every bracelet looks different depending on the colour of the jump rings used. I used toggle clasps on my bracelets but any type of clasp can be used to give the bracelet a different look.