Archive for the ‘New Listings’ Category

• Held Captive – Poor Beads, Oh My….

  Date: 2010.05.28 | Category: Chainmaille Necklaces, New Listings | Response: 0

  How tragic for these beautiful, yet simple, black and white Czech glass beads…… many hundred (I lost count but there are at least 450 rings in this necklace) bright aluminum rings got together and trapped all these lovely black and white beads in their little cages. There is no escaping!!!

  I really enjoyed creating this necklace over the course of last weekend, a long weekend, no less. The weave I used is called “captive inverted round” and the captive part refers to the beads that are captive inside the rope like structure. I had no idea what ring size to use to make this work but trial and error helped me find the right size to work with these beads I had at hand. I have seen the captive part be other things than beads such as more rings, for example, rings of a contrasting colour. I will experiment with that concept at some point in time as well.

  This particular necklace is fairly long at over 26″ and I haven’t used a clasp. It’s one continuous loop and easily slides over my head (and I have a pretty big one). I kept contemplating, as I was working on this piece, whether I should make it a short choker style necklace or a longer one and the long style won out. I do have plans though to make another one that’s a whole lot shorter with sparkly Swarovski crystals inside the cage. I already have the crystals at home. I just need to sit down and make it.

  Speaking of making it, Fab Fair is coming up in just another short week and I have some great new pieces ready to go as well as tons of earrings. However, I’ve fallen prey to a bit of procrastinating. I have several bracelets and necklaces half finished and quite a few lonely earrings – earrings that are either just missing the ear wire or lonely earrings that don’t have a partner yet. Before getting too much more creative with new ideas, I need to sit down and finish what’s waiting for me to be finished. In the sock knitting world (which I’m deeply entrenched in – I try to knit at least one pair of socks a month), we call this sort of thing the second sock syndrome when you knit one sock and then lose interest in making the sock’s buddy. I guess I’m suffering second earring syndrome…. I think.

  Aside from creating jewelry, I am currently in the middle of a yarn/fibre dyeing workshop. We started last night and are continuing tomorrow. I will blog about my yarn dyeing experience over on my “other blog” when the workshop is done.  Tomorrow I will spend the day learning to dye up 108 little hanks of silk (little hanks that I spent countless days winding) in the full spectrum of the colours. I just wish the weather would coordinate. On Sunday, I’ll get back to the jewelry!!! Enjoy the weekend!

• An Earring A Day – Day #2

  Date: 2010.05.03 | Category: New Listings, earrings | Response: 0

  

  I Love Purple Earrings

  Today’s pair of  earrings are made from light weight bright aluminum and display a fun purple spade shaped bead as the design feature at the bottom.  These earrings are casual and fun.  The dangle is woven in the box chain weave.

  They are now listed in my Etsy shop.

• Back to Work

  Date: 2010.04.14 | Category: New Listings | Response: 0

  Many of my friends and customers know that I am equally as passionate about my chainmaille jewelry as I am about the world of fibre arts.  Well, during the last couple of months, I’ve been just glued to my loom, my needles and my spinning wheel creating many lovely fibery pieces of art.  Well, boom, the jewelry muse has struck again and I’m back – not that I ever stopped creating and designing chainmaille, I just didn’t do it as excessively as I often do.  I created my “standard” pieces for my customers but I didn’t make quite as many new pieces – I guess you could call it keeping the status quo.

  As spring sprung, I’ve done a few things that brought me back around to gathering lots of ideas and inspiration.  I taught at the Fraser Valley Bead show and that was a fun first experience.   I hope to teach there again, maybe in the fall and am already thinking of the possibilities.

  I’m in the middle of planning out all my Christmas shows and I think I’m about “this” close to being fully booked.

  Last weekend I went on a bit of an earrings spree with a stainless steel box chain bracelet thrown in.  I’d forgotten how slinky and cool box chain looks like – take a peek:

  

  New Earrings and a Bracelet

  Well, and I have lots of work to do on this site, too.   These are all listed in my Etsy and my Artfire shops.

• Saturday Night’s Sparkly Inspiration

  Date: 2010.01.02 | Category: New Listings | Response: 0

  I have had this bracelet design in my head the entire Christmas break.  I bought the beads on December 23rd and knew almost exactly what I wanted to do with them.  I didn’t realize the design until tonight because I must admit that I didn’t do much jewelry work over the holidays.  I mostly worked on my fibery pursuits as well as spending time with the kids and my husband.  I did some weaving, some spinning and a fair bit of knitting.

  This particular design uses a very simple chain structure but the sterling silver leaf clasp and the gorgeous lampwork teardrop beads add the pizazz.   This bracelet will make its way into my Etsy shop in the morning some time (Jan. 4) but I have made a mental note that I MUST make myself one as well.  For myself, I might go for black or purple beads as that will fit with my wardrobe more.  Take a peek!!!  Let me know what you think of it.

  

  

  
  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  
  
  

• Back in the Swing of Things

  Date: 2009.12.14 | Category: New Listings | Response: 0

  Craft show season is done, for this year and after the first weekend in Coquitlam, I’d like to thank all my customers who bought a piece, or two or three.  I’d also like to thank everyone who stopped by and let me know what they enjoyed about my creations.  It was a hectic and busy three weeks but also very much fun and rewarding.

  I took a bit of a break last week just to ground myself and also catch up with some of my other ventures like my fibery creations.  I sell some of those out of a little country store out in South Langley.  I’ll link to it at some point but right now, the fibery inventory is limited.  They almost sold out of things, especially my funky hats knit from handspun and my woven scarves.  I am working hard to replenish the inventory there.

  I have lots of plans for 2010, some of which are already finalized and committed to and others are still in the planning stages.  Watch this space for regular updates.

  With no more shows upon me, the snow falling outside and Christmas almost here, I am trying to get ready to my regular routine of listing new items in my Etsy and Artfire shops.  Tonight brought the first of several new listings that will come up in the next few days and it’s my Bermuda Blue Cosmic Oval pendant.

  

  

  
  

  

  

  
  
  

  Lovely, right?  The sparkle on the Swarovski Cosmic Oval is just gorgeous and the Bermuda Blue just works beautifully with the gleam of the sterling silver.

  As you can tell, my picture galleries and all the links aren’t perfectly working yet.  This is a work of progress and I will continue working on this during the holidays when I actually get some time off from my day job.