Earring Trio

I purchased a light box earlier this week and I have been inspired by the quality of photos I am getting with it.  I am still in the viney tendril phase as you can see by the latest earrings.  I used pure copper on every bit of the pieces and the dangles are held on by balled copper head pins which I also made in the torch.

Folded Copper Pendant

Just playing with the 24 gauge copper sheeting and folding it and dapping it until the little raised areas started to break away from the pendant but were still firmly attached.  Then I carefully raised them a bit for more texture.  I should call it 'The Hanging Chads' necklace!!  More beads from Beth Singleton.  I have so enjoyed working with them.

Silver and Copper Ringed Bracelet

I've been going back through my old Step by Step Wire magazines for some inspiration and found lots to interest me.  This bracelet started out by having to make fused fine silver rings which was a little bit of a challenge for me, since I haven't done any fusing or soldering in quite a while, and never got adept at it anyway.  But I managed but then ran out of the 14g fine silver.  I substituted some copper washers and just love the result.  These are all handmade lampwork beads, most of which are from the torch of Beth Singleton on etsy.  It's a fun and funky piece.

Copper Spiral Necklace

This was intended to be a bracelet, but the scale came out wrong, even though I slavishly followed the directions.   I liked where it was going though, and just continued on until it was done.   The beads are from the daughter-in-law of a spinner friend and were bought from her etsy shop  http://www.etsy.com/shop/bethsingleton.  They are oh, so, lovely and are beautifully made.

I used 16 and 18 gauge raw copper to make this lovely piece.  The directions are in the latest copy of Step by Step Wire Jewelry magazine.

More Earrings

I've been having lots of fun making earrings today.  The copper ones are inspired by Sally Stevens, one of my favorite wire artists. I used 18 g copper wire throughout, even for the ear wires.  In my opinion, 20 g does not hold up well enough for hard use.

Matching Earrings

I had a few components left over from yesterday's necklace, so I made matching earrings.

Christmas Acorn Necklace

My daughter gave me this gorgeous handmade lampwork acorn bead for Christmas and today I fabricated this necklace.  I already had the gemstone beads and from the price I paid which was still on the string, they are some pretty special beads.  They also match perfectly, which is why I chose them from my stash.  The links are made from 18g copper which was balled up on the ends in the flame and loosely wrapped around itself.  I used 14g for the acorn head pin and 12g for the ring upon which it sits.  My idea was for viney tendril types of things.  I'm thinking that I'm not 100% happy with the ring which supports the acorn.  It doesn't quite look viney enough but for now, I'm happy with it.  I'm choosing not to patina it with liver of sulfer.

Copper Scrolls and Green Bead Necklace

My new workbench is lovely and I have moved it into a different room in the basement.  I'm much happier now with its location, and to celebrate my new space, I created this necklace from 16, 20, and 24 gauge raw copper with some green beads.  It has been antiqued with liver of sulfer.

Aqua and Copper Peapod Necklace

I finally got around to applying the patina to this necklace.  I am very fond of it.  When I was crafting it, I found that if the torch got too close to the beads, they would shatter!  I think they were not annealed properly, if at all.  I love the organic shape.

Fold Formed Copper Necklace

This is my latest creation from playing at Tada's Artisan Boutique.  We were fold forming copper sheeting and I just loved how this one came out.  The copper reminds me of a petticoat.  I had no idea how I was going to finish it off, but it sort of just came to be once I started putting things together.  The straight pieces of copper in the necklace part were about 3 inch pieces of 12 gauge wire which I balled up on each end and then hammered flat and pierced.  Too bad I broke my two-holed screw punch though.  Sigh.

But I am loving this piece and the addition of the turquoise bead is excellent.

Folded Metal Pendant with Viking Knit Chain

Sharon, here is the picture of the finished piece, since you asked so nicely:-)
The viking knit chain was made using a 7/16 dowel and 5 e-loops with 24 g copper wire. I worked about 12 inches and when it was done being drawn through the draw plate, it was about twice as long in length. I annealed the chain afterwards but it made it so soft that it actually got too thin in places. Next time, it would be better to anneal the wire immediately after it was removed from the dowel, and before the draw plate.  I used 18 g wire for the bail and end caps.  The bail wire was hammered flat and then wrapped loosely around a knitting needle to size it and then placed onto the chain.

I have made a series of copper toggles and then tumbled them to work harden, shine, and smooth. I used a small one for a copper washer bracelet with swarovksi crystals and used one of the washers for the other part of the clasp. I'll see about posting a picture of the bracelet soon.