Trying something new

When we were checking out the fantastic bead store in Branson, it was obvious that the shop owner was quite the fan of wire wrapping. I'd taken a break from wire for a while, since silver was pricing itself out of my studio, but she mentioned trying copper, and I was inspired by her many cuff bracelets that she had made. This one, is my first attempt:



I don't know exactly what those beads are, but aren't they fun? Some sort of composite, I think, but they were nice and chunky, and just what I needed!! This particular design was actually pretty easy, so after I make a couple more, I may write up a quick tutorial for it.

I remembered over the weekend that I'd gotten some metal plated cabochon settings in a grab bag (not a good grab bag like at Auntie's beads... this one was pretty much a bust). I'd been reading that gold and pink were a hot color combination for spring/summer, so I thought I'd give this a shot. There is gold leaf mixed in with the 2 pink tones, and I paired it with my favorite accent color, stringing it from silk ribbon. This really does scream summer to me! It's just gorgeous in person, and not too big - only about 1" long! I also made one in shades of olive green, with Navy, Denim, and Purple accents.

So what have YOU been working on this week?

A challenge for myself!

This week, I discovered Auntie's Beads! They don't have the LARGEST selection of beads and supplies, but they do offer this really cool Bead Grab Bag. The one I ordered had a PINK theme!

The two long strands of rounds look like either glass or acrylic - dark pink and clear. There is a strand of faceted rondelles in VERY light pink - I'm not sure if they are Chinese crystal or just glass, but very pretty nonetheless. The pink rose is listed as having been made of a composite material, but it looks a little like polymer clay. The two frames have a paisley pattern in them, and the silver roses appear to be silver plated acrylic. The stone focal is Pink Variscite (which you may already recognize from another listing in my shop - what a coincidence, huh?), and there is a large crystal heart, and a ceramic bead.

The grab bag also came with a bag of glass bicones, and flat-back rhinestones. I think the rhinestones will be really neat in my current polymer clay project!!

So, for the challenge: I am going to make jewelry using ALL of these components, and I will show you all what I made by next Friday. Well... I'll use SOME of the crystals, and SOME of the rhinestones - I can't incorporate ALL of those into the designs I have in mind. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with the large stone, so that one might be longer than a week, but I DO have something in mind - don't worry! One of my designs that I have in mind is going to be for a giveaway for my SECOND ETSY-VERSARY, which is coming up in a little over a week!!

So, stay tuned to see what I come up with!