Week Four, textured metal

I reread the first blog post and thought about what I wrote... ugh, I actually stated that I didn't go into my workroom sometimes for a week... That is the truth... and then there are times that I don't emerge from the den for a week.

This week has been one of those weeks...

I didn't emerge for much the past few days other than to make food or help my son study, he is taking the college entrance exams next month... I had to throw that in there, I am so proud of him. He's 12. I had to throw that in there because I am extra proud of him for being a genius... all to do with his father I am sure.
Anyway, I finished a bunch of pieces off, organized my bench, messed it up again, made a few components, made a few beaded pieces, manufactured some buckles for Martingale collars,  worked on artwork for some pieces to be etched, and did an amazing job of being in love with my little workspace.

 I say that is a week in itself and it is only Wednesday!
This is one of the bracelets that I made,  it is a cuff made from brass, etched and cut and shaped. I like this pattern, it is a Celtic knot and some other stuff... hope you like it!

I have three other pieces that I have made this week so far that are textured, I'll put up pictures as I can. I am having a hard time with this camera. not good close ups, I think something broke inside it when I dropped it last time. When it auto focuses it makes an odd clicking noise.
So, I decided to do a little bit more for the project... here's my bracelet that is made of brass, copper and silver, with Swarovski

crystals

These are brass earrings, etched, cut out, and domed with a patina.








Then there is this one... just a fun bracelet for a friend. I cut out the skull and heart, punched the little circle and used a stamp on it... then added a couple of charms to the bracelet... I like it..arrrrr.

Week Three- Try a Tutorial

This is week three of the Year of Jewelry Project, and to my astonishment, I'm still going!  This week's challenge is to try a tutorial. So I did. I tried out the Beadaholique tutorial on right angle weave. It was different using the odd shaped beads in the mix but it was easy to do. The beads came from the Pine Ridge Treasures 'True Blue' challenge and I had worried over finishing that challenge and doing something for week three... so I combined them.
The 'True Blue' challenge was going to be a three strand necklace, but I think the tutorial got me out of a rut. I don't do RAW much, matter of fact, I've only done maybe 6 pieces that I used that stitch. I really had to think about working on the necklace, as it doesn't come naturally to me like peyote stitch does.
The beads used were;  glass and crystal pearls, frosted glass and crystal beads as well as a glass bead that I got from Lori Anderson that is shaped like a bell that is fluted... it looked like a flower to me, so I used seed beads to make the 'stamen' and voila! here it is~

So.... I decided to use the Right Angle weave to make a necklace and then decided to make a bracelet to go along with the necklace... I ended up finishing the bracelet first. It is a Peyote stitch bracelet with a bead embroidered
peacock feather. I used 8/0 glass beads for the bracelet and 11/0 glass seed beads for he clasp and for the bead embroidery.
The necklace will be done tonight, with any luck, and I'll try to get a good picture of it, I kind of like it... I used 8/0 glass beads in the RAW stitch and thought it was kind of bare, so I went back and used 11/0 glass seed beads and larger, maybe 8mm and 6mm glass seeds to make a 'drop' and it looks better. I made the pendant out of a square glass bezel that I bought a year ago and just haven't had the time to make anything with it... I used a piece of cardstock from some beads that I bought as the picture. Glue and sealer and I will use 11/0 seeds to bezel it in a peyote stitch.

Week Two- Garnets

Week two of the Year of Jewelry Project and the theme is Garnets.
The Garnet is the birthstone for the month of January, so it is very appropriate for the theme. My mother's birthday is this month, and as her birthstone, I thought I'd make something for her... and as it is her 90th birthday, it would be nice for her to have garnets... but...

I didn't have luck getting them in on time. I had to order and of course, they haven't come in yet. Sooo.... I decided to use some of the leftover beads (yes, I still had a few leftovers) so I incorporated them into the necklace for this week. There are also some brass beads that I cut myself, along with the pendant that I pierced and sawed out of copper and fire painted. It is a knotted bird that I rather like.

Week One- Talisman

Yipee!
It is that time of year!!!
Brand new year, brand new blog, brand new projects!
This is my page for the Year of Jewelry Project... if you aren't familiar, it is a challenge to create a piece of jewelry each week for a year, which sounds easy, but there are times that I don't walk into my workroom for a whole week... soooo... to be perfectly honest, I was afraid to commit to the project last year, thinking that I just wouldn't be up to the challenge. I just jumped in this year. I will either sink or swim!

Week one challenge was to make a 'Talisman' to set the tone of the challenge. Something to give you inspiration, to get you creating. I picked a piece of bead embroidery that just popped into my head. I had Jasper and pearls from a challenge in December that needed to be used for something, so I used the remaining stones along with the left over pearls to make this  piece. I think it looks kind of Art Deco, and I guess that is what I had in the back of my mind.
The beads are a mixture of glass, from flat to 15/0 seeds and just about everything in between. The pearls are freshwater, natural, cultured, and crystal. I like the way they kind of set each other off and really made a nice contrast to each other.
I made a lot of mistakes on the piece, I didn't even sketch it out so I did ok I guess. But the challenge to myself is to make something different each week, to challenge myself to learn something new or try something new each week.
So here goes!