Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Copper Embossed Tree Pendant Necklace

Long copper embossed tree pendant necklace to match bracelet and earrings posted below. Sierra Agate, Brown Snowflake Jasper, Picture Jasper, Copper colored Freshwater Pearls and Red Agate in between copper chain. Necklace measures 26" long to bottom of pendant 30" long.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Fall Colored Tree Embossed Copper Set

This set has the perfect Fall colors! Sierra Agate, Brown Snowflake Jasper, Picture Jasper, Copper colored Freshwater Pearls and Red Agate add to this Tree embossed Copper disk bracelet.  Lots of copper on this set. Earrings have the same copper embossed tree with Snowflake Jasper, Red Agate and Picture Jasper. Bracelet measures 7-3/4" long and earrings are 2" long.
 

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Wildflower Vines Metal Embossed Bracelet & Earrings


This is a new product line for me - Metal Embossing.  I start with a sheet of brass and punch out a disk with my Swanstrom Disk Cutter (which I absolutely love!)  Then I emboss the disk with my Vintaj BigKick and for this pattern I used the Vintaj DecoEmboss Wildflower Vines folder.  I run the disk in the tumbler to remove any rough edges.  After the embossed disk is smooth and clean, I then patina it.  For this bracelet and earrings set, I added Snowflake Jasper, Czech glass, Cultured Freshwater Pearls in Sage, Swarovski Pearls in Antique Brass, Picture Jasper and Sierra Agate. 

Monday, August 13, 2012

Argentium Sterling Silver Square Earrings

 Well, I thought that I would never get into metalsmithing, however this weekend I tried my hand at it. And as it turns out, it wasn't to bad.  I started with 19 gauge round Argentium Sterling Silver wire cut into 2 inch lengths.  I formed the wire into a circle and flush cut the ends. Using solder paste and my micro torch, I soldered the ends together and this closed the circle.


I used my cushion square mandrel to shape the closed circles into a square.  I then hammered the squares flat to get the look you see here.

These are the finished earrings.  I hung the Argentium Sterling Silver squares on Sterling Silver earwires using another piece of Argentium Sterling Silver as the link.  I wrapped the link with 12kt Gold-Filled 24 gauge wire.  The earrings measure 1-1/2 inches long. 
I guess I should never say "never" to a jewelry making technique.


Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Red Leather Braided Bracelet

I love these braided leather bracelets!  They are so popular.  I created this bracelet using red leather cord.  It is 16" long and will wrap around most wrists two times.  I used the cutest metal heart button for the clasp. 

Monday, July 16, 2012

Copper Links and Magnesite Bracelet

The links on this bracelet were created with 18 gauge round copper wire cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces.  I bent the wire in half and created a loop on each side.  I then hammered the center of the large bottom loop to give it a flatten look.  The links were aged (patina) using liver of sulfur.  The beads are Magnesite with a blueish green color.  They are a great compliment to the copper wire.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Orange Triple Wrap Ladder Bracelet

Created this ladder bracelet using my Knotty Do It All board.  Love this tool!  I used tan leather 2.0mm cord for the sides and brown S-lon for the stringer.  The beads are an orange/peach color barrel shaped glass.  I thought the wooden button made a great clasp.  The bracelet measures 24" in length so you can wrap it around your wrist 3 times. 

Monday, June 11, 2012

Ginkgo Leaves Copper Pendant

My latest craze is Art Clay Copper.  I have been working with the Art Clay Silver for about 2 years and just ventured in to the copper.  There are quite a few more steps to the copper clay process than the silver, however I do like the finished product.  For this pendant, I rolled out the clay, stamped it with a ginkgo leaf pattern and cut it out using a rounded square template.  I thought the pendant should be a pretty big size so you could see alot of the ginkgo leaves.  It measures 31mm square.  After the copper clay dried, I sanded, fired, patina and polished the pendant.  There are a few more steps with an acid solution to remove the fire scale in that process.  I strung it on black suede cord and added copper and silver-plated accents.  It measures 19 inches long. 
 

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Ribbon and Leather Necklace

The focal bead on this necklace is Moonlight Jasper.  It is a nice size measuring 40x25mm.  It is a grayish tan color with veins of gold.  It is strung on four different components.  It is hard to tell from the picture, but there is brown and gold organza ribbon, antique gold chain and brown leather.  Dangling from the chain are brass discs, that I have punched and stamped with a cross hatch pattern.  The necklace measures 22 inches long.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Fire Agate Pendant on Satin Cord

This is a beautiful piece of Fire Agate set in Sterling Silver.  The pendant measures 30mm long x 15mm wide and with the bail it is 45mm long.  It is strung on 2 piece of satin cord  To accent the color in the gemstone, I have also added a strand of seed beads in the color of amethyst.    The necklace is 21 inches long and is $29.  What a great soft color for the summer!

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Sun, Moon and Star Triple Strand Bracelet

Sun, Moon, Star and Sand (only in the picture) bracelet. This bracelet is 3 strands with a silver-plated box clasp and is 8 1/2" long.  It can be made to fit any size wrist. The sun, moon and star charms are silver-plated.  Only $13 for a great summer look!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Fine Silver Floral Earrings with Cultured Freshwater Pearls

Cultured freshwater pearls add such a feminine touch to any piece of jewelry.  I created these earrings initially with a Cerise colored cultured freshwater pearl, however my sister-in-law requested a pair with a white pearl instead.  I think they look so pretty with a white pearl.  I am sure she will get lots of wear out of these earrings!  Thanks Donna for the suggestion.

Fine Silver Earrings with Turquoise Beads

These earrings are a great look for summer.  I think Turquoise is always a nice color that goes with so many other colors in the summer.  The earrings are created with Art Clay Fine Silver and have been tumble polished and have a patina finish.  The Fine Silver triangle is 5/8 inch in height and width.  Turquoise beads and Swarovski Crystals have been added with Sterling Silver components.  They are 1 3/4 inches long including the Sterling Silver earwire and are very light weight.  Cost is $30.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Fine Silver Beaded Sunflower Pendant

I love this pendant!  It was created Fine Silver Art Clay and a mold from Cool Tools called Beaded Sunflower.  Before the clay was fired, I added a white Cubic Zirconia to the center.  It adds a great look to the pendant.  The pendant is 7/8" in diameter and is hung on a black suede 18" cord.  It is finished with Sterling Silver cones and a Sterling Silver clasp.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Red Twisted Oval Glass with Silver Wire Links

This necklace was a special request for a friend.  She wanted a red necklace and after looking through my collection, she picked these twisted glass beads.  I tried a different technique for this necklace.  I wanted the red to really stand out.  I didn't want to add a bunch of other colors or mix different shades of red, just to get the length for a standard beaded necklace.  The solution was to create wire links out of 20 gauge Artistic silver wire.  The only other beads I added were Swarovski Crystals in the same shade of red and silver rounds and spacers.  This gave the necklace a very airy look and you only see red!  She loved it!

Monday, March 26, 2012

First Attempt using the Quilling Technique

So now that I have my quilling paper organized, I can get started creating cards, right?  This is my first attempt at quilling.  I don't think it turned out to bad.  I love how you can take the paper strip, roll it into a coil, pinch one side and it instantly become a flower petal.  Put a few of those together and whalla, you have a dimensional flower!  If you pinch the opposite sides of the coil, it becomes a leaf for the flower.  I had so much fun making this card.  It took me an hour to make it, but hopefully with a little more practice, I will get much quicker at it.  Thought this design would make a wonderful wedding card.  I used Stampin Up Top Note die under the layers to break up all of the purple.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Quilling Paper Storage

The art of quilling or paper filigree has been around for a very long time and recently has become popular with paper crafters in the card making industry.  I found this craft and became very interested in it, because it will add a new dimension to my rubber stamped cards.

I went out and purchased the supplies I needed.  But of course before I can even start a project, I have to have everything organized and be able to storage my new items.  I guess that is just part of my OCD.  Here are the quilling paper strips that I purchased.  They need a home…

I started with a piece of foam core board 12 inches long by 3 inches wide.  I cut 2 of these and glued them together.  You could make this any size you like.  I made it 12 inches long so I could cover it with 12 inch wide paper.
Next I selected a paper that I liked and made sure it would wrap the hole way around my foam core boards.  I glued the center of the paper to the front of the foam core, making sure that the back of the paper would cover the foam core and wrap over itself.
I glued the paper to the back of the foam core top and bottom, creasing it at the top and bottom so it would lay flat.
From the top of the foam core, I measured down 1inch and drew a straight line across the entire board.  From that line, I measured down 1/4 inch and drew another straight line across.
On the top line, I measured every 1 inch starting at the left and put a mark.  On the line below, I measured in from the left 1/4 inch and put a mark.  Then continued to mark every 1 inch on this line.  You will end up with staggered markings at every 1/2 inch.  I pushed the T pins into the foam core board making sure to only punch through the first board.


.I turned the T pins vertically and used it to separate the paper strips and slid the quilling paper strips onto the pin. 
Then I turned the T pin back into the horizontal position.  This will keep the quilling paper from sliding off of the pins.  The T pins I am using are 1 5/8 inches long and the quilling paper strips are 1/8 inch strips. Each T pin can hold up to 8 packs of quilling paper strips.
I used my small scissors and made holes in each top corner.  I glued eyelets into the holes and put a 4 inch piece of ribbon through each.  I used the ribbon to hang up the holder.  Whalla!  You have a holder that will hold up to 24 different colors of quilling paper. 

Friday, March 9, 2012

Pink Cat's Eye Pendant Necklace

This necklace has the perfect colors for spring. It has Olive Jade beads, Clear Crackle beads and Pink Acrylic beads. The focal bead is a 40x30mm pink Cat's Eye pendant. The gold beads and chain components are gold plated.

The necklace is 56 inches long and can be worn in many configurations. I have doubled it in the photo.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Aged to Perfection Birthday Card

This is a great stamp set for almost any occasion.  It is from Fiskars and called Aged to Perfection and is a clear stamp set.  The sentiment on the outside reads "Heard it through the grapevine" and on the inside "Like fine wine you only get better with age!"  I thought this would make a great birthday card for the wine connoisseur. 
The cardstock used is Stampin Up Pale Plum, Perfect Plum and white.  I embossed the first layer with the Stampin Up embossing folder Vintage Wallpaper.  I also used a purple and gold wire ribbon on this layer.  For the next layer, I used the grapevine stamp and Always Artichoke ink.  The grapes were stamped, colored with Copic BV17 Deep Reddish Blue and G99 Olive, cut out and layered on top.  The sentiment was stamped and cut out using the Nestabilities Petite Oval Small and Petite Oval Scallop Small.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Cupcake Gift Box

Isn't this just the cutest gift box you have ever seen?  I created this using a metal hinged tin, the size of an Altoid box.  I used Stampin Up Create a Cupcake Builder punch with some old Baby Blue designer paper and Chocolate Chip cardstock to create the cupcakes.  The background designer paper is Elegant Soiree.  The box has been trimmed with Chocolate Chip grograin ribbon.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Wedding - Love

Another wedding card.  This one I created with Stampin Up Apricot Appeal and White cardstock.  The embossing folder used to emboss the white layer, is from Sizzix Thank You #5 set.  I used Flower Fest stamp set and 5 Petal Punch to create the layered flower.  Both of these are from Stampin Up.  Apricot Appeal grograin ribbon is placed under the flower.  The sentiment is Stampin Up Wonderful Words.

For the Newlyweds

Getting ready for all of those spring and summer weddings!  Created this card with Stampin Up Red Riding Hood, Always Artichoke and White card stock.  I purchased a new embossing folder that I just love. It is Sizzix Wreath and stamped the image inside the wreath.  It was colored with Copics R35 Coral, R37 Carmine and G99 Olive. Placed olive green organza ribbon underneath Stampin Up Decorative Label punch and layered on top with Extra Large Oval and Large Oval punches.  The sentiment is Teeny Tiny Wishes from Stampin Up.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Fine Silver Script Pendant and Earrings Set

This is a beautiful Fine Silver Pendant and Sterling Silver set.  The pendant was created with Fine Silver Art Clay.  It was stamped with a script stamp and torch fired.  I used patina gel to darken the silver and bring out the design on the pendant.  It is finished with Swarovski Crystals and a freshwater cultured pearl and hangs on a 18 inch Sterling Silver chain. 
The earrings are Sterling Silver and have the same Swarovski Crystals and freshwater cultured pearl.  The earrings are 1 3/8 inches long.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Flower Fest Birthday Card

I created this card using Stampin Up Flower Fest set.  The flower was stamped on Perfect Plum cardstock with Perfect Plum and ink and punched with the large scallop punch. It is layed on Pale Plum and white cardstock.  The white layer has been embossed with the Cuttlebug scripted folder.  The bottom layer is Perfect Plum and white cardstock and embossed with the Cuttlebug swirls embossing folder.  The edge of the Perfect Plum layer is punched using Stampin Up scallop edge punch.

Wire Wrapped Copper Heart Earrings

These earrings were created with copper wire and hammered to give them texture.  There is a freshwater cultured pearl that dangles from the bottom.  They are 2 3/4 inches long.