Recent Jewelry Projects

I’ve been working on a project or two here and there, although it may take me forever to show them.   It seems to be getting harder and harder to squeeze in time to make jewelry…I just try to be patient with how long it takes me now to complete something once I start it!

Last month I created a bracelet for fundametal.net’s copper washer design contest.  It’s amazing what you can do with a simple metal washer.  My husband rolls his eyes in disbelief when I get excited to hit the hardware store for something to use in my jewelry….copper tubing, stainless steel wire (could not find this at Home Depot though), and other little doo dads.  Did I say doo dads….hmm,  not like me.  The good thing is, you don’t have to take a trip to the hardware store to pick up a nifty box of assorted copper washers….they are on sale at fundametal.net and you can just place an order without leaving home (see them here).  The washers come in a nice little storage box too.

For this bracelet design I created “love knots” from sterling silver wire.  I layered two sizes of washers and texturized the smaller washer to add contrast.  The washers were easily oxidized along with the silver with liver of sulphur.

This next piece was a gift for a very special teacher.  My preschooler had the most incredible speech therapist this year, someone he looked forward to seeing every Thursday.  I think he thought of their sessions as a playdate really because he had so much fun while he was learning.  I couldn’t think of the right gift for her…she really deserved something one-of-a-kind so I decided it had to be handmade.

I can’t seem to get enough stamping with metal these days as you’ll see in this next piece.  Remember my recent post about Cynthia Thornton’s upcoming book, Enchanted Adornments?   Andrew Thornton (her sweet brother) announced a design competition in honor of the book.  The jewelry for this challenge must be either a mixed media piece or utilize a Green Girl Studios product.  I combined a GGS pewter coral branch with handstamped charms, Hilltribe silver and Swarovski crystals.  The easy, breezy “Sea Dreams” necklace was oxidized for character and a well-loved look.  Visit the flickr site here if you’d like to enter.