YOJ Week 45: ok, so I'm off topic again!

I actually made this a while back but didn't get pictures up, and now I've got to make another one on commission, which got me to find my pictures! "Egyptian Coils" is made from 16GA copper wire. This took some doing , trying to figure out a way to do a traditional Egyptian coil pattern but on a watch that looked good. The problem ?? The coils don't butt up directly against the watch head.. which causes a ugly gap. In fact that's a problem with beading/wireworking a watch. You want the pretty pretty where people will see it.. but you have to be careful, because you still need the watch head to move free enough to shape on the wrist properly. I finally made a single spiral, with sort of a gentle curvy twist behind it, so the watch head can still pivot. Sometimes to make jewelry, a degree in engineering would help!

Here are just a couple of pendents made with dice and sterling wire... my hubby is a board gamer, and heck, everyone I know, including myself, has roll played and slung some dice at some point. I really like the purple one, the spirals stand out from the pendant, instead of flat around the bail.

I've been TAGGED!!! and oh yeah, and week 44 of YOJ

ARRGHGHG! I've been TAGGED!!!! wait, what does that mean? I guess it means I"m it! LOL

Marcy at Studio Marcy (http://www.studiomarcy.blogspot.com/) wants me to play a game.....
Here are the rules of tagging

1. Link to tagger and display these rules on your blog. (check)
2. Share 7 facts about yourself - some random, some WEIRD (see below)
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by including links to their blog. (see below)
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

7 Random and Somewhat Weird Facts About Kat

1. this is my favorite piece that I'm selling right now:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9260696
if you get the humor behind this piece, then you already know me!!

2. I was born face up and eye's open, which surprised my doctor greatly! I guess you
could say I knew what I was getting into, since I "looked"

3. My middle Name is Amal, which is a family name. For years my mom thought it was
part of the missing link of Native American blood in my family. Much to her disappointment she learned a few years ago it's a misspelling of the doctor's wife name who delivered an ancestress over 100 years ago.

4. Amal means "hope" in Arabic. It also stands for "Alaskan Malamute Assistance League" and the name for a small town in Sweden.

5. I love love love love Google! ( see #4)

6. I'm married to Jerry (believe me that is both random and weird)

7. I'm on time again this week for YOJ!!! This weeks theme is "child's play" . If you want explanations or more pictures, check out my Etsy listing: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16832821

OK tag you are it...

http://thebadliz.blogspot.com/
http://noeasybeads.blogspot.com/
http://marshalljodie.blogspot.com/
http://gretchenbarron.typepad.com/
http://linorstorecom.blogspot.com/
http://blog.thelonebeader.com/
http://earthenwood-beads.blogspot.com/


Be sure to check these blogs out...

YOJ Week 43: Harvest Moon

Yeah Me! For the first time in months I'm actually on topic for this weeks challenge!! Hopefully this will be a trend! Anyway, I"m still having a ball playing with my pearls, so would could be more perfect for a harvest moon, but delectable, fall colored pearls!! I actually used Goldfilled 18GA for the frame and 24GA for the wrapping, I think it turned out just fine... I usually use sterling or copper, but the color combo I came up with just wanted gold, so gold it got. I used 15 different colors/types of pearls in this. It turned out kind of big, I didn't measure it but I bet it's close to 3 inches long.

This pendant was a special request from a friend.. I made one some time ago and gifted it to her, then her mom saw it and had to have one for her friend, so I made another using blue cat's eye. I've played around with this style from time to time, but I think this one turned out especially well. Hope your mom's friend enjoys' it Cathie! Last, a very simple earring pattern using up some left over crystals and soft touch ( wire) I've always got bits and pieces of the beading wire left over.. and I hate to throw anything away, so from time to time I try to come up with uses for them... These earrings I think work very well !

Pearls Pearls and more Pearls.....

I love pearls. I always liked them-- I bought pearls the first year I started making jewelry.. way back in 1996, just a few strands of rice shaped white pearls. I thought they were pretty, but at the time good colored pearls ( and yes that means dyed, possibly irradiated, and otherwise treated ) were very expensive, and therefore not in Kitty-Kat's budget. The few that I could afford were poor quality, the color would rub off or "flake" and generally I didn't really want to deal with pearls much.. I've always been into color, and when I started making jewelry I was mostly about glass and crystals... because of the colors!!
Well, things have change quite a bunch since then. Pearls, especially colored pearls have gone though a revolution, and give me drum man, cause I wanna sing and march in the parade!! Even inexpensive colored pearls are fantastic!! The vast majority of colored pearls are color safe, they don't smear on your clothes or flake off, and the luster is just short of glorious. And if you buy expensive color pearls? woooo mamma! About the worst I could say about this next generation of fresh water ( mostly Chinese) pearls is they sometimes fade in strong prolonged sunlight.. I mean, leave on the dashboard for a month type fading. And there is just something about pearls... the weight of them, the luster, the history... pearls are just wicked kewl no matter how you look at them! I'm so gosh down grateful that I leave in this age of pearls.. colorful, affordable gorgeous pearls!!!

OK, enough gushing... this gush was brought to you by the Treasures bead show in Des Moines, IA. Last weekend I absolutely went nuts buying pearls at the show. I bought a few other treasure but pearls are what I spend the bulk of my time and money on. I went to this show specifically looking for pearls. I've been on major pearl kick all summer, and I wanted to resupply. I love pearls, but I've also been thinking a great deal about what jewelry to make on this break... I'm shifting more and more to wire and metal work, and for the most part that means a higher price point. To keep my booth balanced, (and frankly well stocked.. the wire and metal work takes longer) I'm planning on a line of more affordable jewelry. What could be better than a pearl line? Besides I love pearls and playing with them! The first couple of pics show the stash I got at the show. The third pictures shows several piles of pearls, and 4 of crystals. When I make pearl jewelry I like to make piles like that, so I can see what I am working with. The last 2 pictures are the finish product... a necklace that ended up featuring 9 different colors of pearls, and 4 of crystals. I love the dragonfly clasp! Anyway, I believe you will be seeing lots of pearls this year on this blog...

Cuffs and Bangles....... Week 42 of YOJ

I got into a cuff/bangle kick last month/early this month. First up is a variation on my "crayon id" bracelets I make.. only I decided to make it into a full cuff this time. Funny thing is while it fit people and wouldn't fall off, everyone who tried it on seems nervous about it slipping off... so while I like designing cuffs without clasps, I don't think I will as a general rule... the gal I ended up selling this to wanted a small hook on it.. which I was happy to do, and only took a few minutes to add. That got me to thinking and I ended up making several cuffs/ bangles, all of them with a hook, or even an inch or so if chain to make them adjustable ( Like the bangles from last entry..) Anyway, here are a few more, one made with hematite, one with really lovely amethyst rounds, and another cuff made with opal crystals... yummm....

Browns, bieges and natural tones......

"do you have any brown earrings?" Boy I heard that bunches this summer. Apparently finding decent brown earrings is harder than finding the holy grail.. so I've been working on brown earrings, which honestly makes me want to do other things in browns/ earthy tones. first up, this is some sort of anonymous jasper, I think it looks stunning wrapped up in a bracelet. The earrings are MOP, they are quite fetching, and I'm sure will satisfy the next person asking for "brown earrings". The pendant is in goldfilled and a lovely honey brown color.. it's also MOP. I'll hopefully get it up on etsy soon... it's $18.00 if you are interested. I could easily whipped up matching earrings also.



Last picture looks like a messy pile of, well, a mess. A couple of weeks ago I felt brain fried and so sat down and made 72 cell phone charms. Some of them are brown of course.. but I really did need to make some, I was down to 15 or so charms, and the bowl on the show table looked mighty sparse. Cell phone charms are an easy and fun thing to make when you are feeling brain dead.

YOJ Week 40 & 41 more catch up

Ok, this wonderful copper and sterling wire bracelet already sold at one of my last few shows, but I wanted to show it anyway.. it's spirals on spirals, and I just think the contrast between the copper and sterling is great... and it makes this much more affordable. I sold it in the 35-40 dollar range, and if I'ld done this in all sterling, I would have had to charge at least $85.00, due to the cost of sterling. The large coils are 16GA copper and the smaller coils are 21GA sterling, and the hand cut rings are in 18GA. It's hard to see in this picture but I made a toggle for this one, as nothing else looked as good.


My second item to consider is a pin made with crazy lace agate, pearls and crystals. The pictures are rather dark, but the stone bead has great natural browns and hints of purple in it.. so I used purple crystals to bring the color out alittle. I'm quite pleased how this pin turned out, I think it's my best pin yet.

Last for your viewing pleasure is a simple but elegant strung piece using sterling, pearls and these gorgeous wood jasper beads. I like the necklace, but I loved the earrings that go with it!! Infact the earrings are long gone... I guess I'll have to come up with yet another design for earrings for this necklace... hmm.......

Week 38 and 39: bracelets

I am sooooo far behind, I"m going to try to get caught up in the next week. It's been such a busy show season this year, but I"m pleased to report I am done with outside shows for the year now. Don't worry, I plan to stay busy... learning new skills and playing ( which is the best way to learn!) with new tools and materials; doing home jewelry parties ( if you are in the Des Moines, IA area and would like to host one just drop me a email); exploring gallery opportunities; and finally keeping my Etsy site stocked up with jewelry goodness!! I've got several exciting design ideas and sketches I've back burnered during my shows, and I can't wait to work on them! Once I get caught up on YOJ I plan to start making pieces specifically for the challenge again. On that hopeful note, I present week 38 & 39... the first is a spiral bracelet made with 9 different seed beads. I actually started this bracelet 2 years ago, and then put it aside... this summer I took it out again and started to work on it. I'm not sure exactly why I didn't touch it for so long, but I'm glad I've gotten it finished finally!! I think the wide variety of colors actually go well together!

Second bracelet is fire opal agate ( also called crab opal agate) bangle made with gold filled wire. I used 20Ga for the base, and wrapped it with 20GA flat. The clasp is I think 18GA. Using the flat wire for the decorate wrapped worked extremely well, gives it more of an airy texture I think. I've been on a bangle kick, so expect to see more over the next few days.... Bonus pick is earrings made with a sterling disk I punched out by hand, texturized and filed. The blue beads are vintage glass.

Week 37th: pendants pendants pendants

I had a great show in Cedar Falls, IA yesterday, despite the misty and rainy weather... a great thanks goes to the shoppers who braved the weather to see and purchase great art.... thank you very very much!!

OK, trying to keep on time if not on topic for YOJ, present 4 different pendants, in 4 styles. You can pick which one seems more "french culture " to you. I"m am greatly looking forward to October, because I'll have a nice break from shows, and really get a chance to play and stretch my artistry again for the YOJ challenge, instead of just making do.
First pendant is vintage crystals and sterling (square wire, 21GA) Next is Agate in the Sculptural style with goldfilled wire ( square wire 21GA). Next is a wrap loop on black gold amazonite (20GA wrapped with 24Ga) and last is a wrapped donut, with a crystal drop (22GA twisted) enjoy!

Week 36: Opal Hearts

This weekend's is my daughters' 12th birthday party/sleepover with friends, so I 've only got a few minutes between shrieks, elephants running through the house, and feeding frenzies... at least they are having a good time, all though my achin' head will never be the same... LOL! This necklace is a series of heart shaped sterling links and opal crystals, or opulence glass. I didn't really get good pictures of this, in person it's really delicate and graceful looking. It's based on a design from Sharilyn Miller's book... only she goes for a heavier wire look.. I like the elegant style of this, it's light and airy. I used 20GA on the links, gently flattened them with my hammer, and then tumbled the whole piece for shinny shinny. I made 2 different earrings for this, both are pictured last. Most go feed the hordes again.

Week 35: Pretty Pinks

This is sort of a redo. I made the body of this necklace over a year ago, and had a centerpiece of a vintage glass cab. I never really quite liked how it looked... so I decided to take it apart. Instead I started to play around with another vintage glass cab, and well, now it looks great! At least I think it looks great!! I think the biggest problem is the links of silver on this are so big... and the original centerpiece was about the same size. The center needed to be bigger to look balanced. I initially had the same problem with this cab... so I started to add layers to it. The pendant is made with 21GA square on the wrap, then the first loop is 22GA twisted wire, and then finally another loop with small pink beads. If you look at the sterling links on the necklace they are are different, and made from 18GA. I made earrings to match naturally! This necklace now has that funky vintage look I wanted originally. This just reinforces you shouldn't be afraid to rip stuff apart and redo it... when it doesn't feel right the first time.