Beach Bracelets: The Journey

My beach bracelets are definitely a keeper.  It's been quite a journey making this line of bracelets. 

The Original Prototype

 

These simple bracelets, quick and fun to make with simple knotting, had a tendency to stretch out and loosen. I learned to make them snug-fitting to begin with.

The Sturdy Version

Hoping to create a version of the original prototype that would not stretch out so easily, I progressed to woven bracelets. Made with six strands and a weaving strand, these bracelets were much more time-consuming to make but way sturdier. They definitely hold their shape nicely over time.

My first woven band: 

The next experiment: loved the beachy blues!

Technique mastered: This style is super tight and sturdy. Later after a bit of wear, I added glue to the tail ends to prevent this fraying.

Hitting my stride: playing with color

A productive day on the beach a couple of days ago . . . made this bracelet. Great way to spend three hours! Pretty sure there are actual grains of sand in this one (a true beach bracelet), as the winds were high, and I was being sandblasted. Love these playful colors!

Field-Testing

I have field (or rather, beach) tested my own beach bracelet for weeks now, and I am pleased with the way it wears. Initially stiff, it gets comfortably soft and homey. I wear mine every day!

Getting Orders 

At a local restaurant the other day, our server noticed my bracelet and expressed an interest in one. I gave her my business card.

After posting a photo on Facebook, I just received an order from a friend for three more bracelets -   one in beachy light blue and seafoam green . . . 

. . . and two in Seahawk colors.

Playing with copper . . . 

Test Drive: Beach Bracelet 2015

New version of my beach bracelets! I wanted to create a sturdy bracelet from hemp that withstands those sandy, salt water days at the beach without stretching out.

 This baby is so tightly woven and firm that I think it is going to pass my road test quite well. 

I am wearing it every day and allowing it to take some ocean spray to see how it holds up.

 These are so much fun to make. The perfect project to take to the beach in my beach bag . . . a ball of hemp, a few beads, a button, glue, and scissors.

Simple stuff always pleases me. 

Leather, Metal, and Gemstone Design

Sometimes I get on a roll with a particular design that I just love to make. Such is the case with these earrings. Maybe it's playing with that lovely soft deerskin leather. Maybe it's playing with the leather punch and rivet setter. (I do love tools.)  For sure, the possibilities for design variations is endlessly appealing. I will make these until I run out of materials or get bored, whichever comes first.

Mixed Metal - textured silver hoops, textured and antiqued copper washers, silver rope rings, chocolate deerskin leather, copper beaded earwires 

Mixed metal - silver rings, stamped copper washers, and brass. Big hoops!

Textured copper washers, verdigris patinated stamped copper washers, copper rope ring, turquoise-beaded copper earwires

Textured silver hoops, Peruvian opal coins, glass seed beads

Textured silver hoops, Peruvian opal barrels, glass seed beads

Textured silver hoops, turquoise magnesite rounds, glass seed beads

Textured silver hoops, turquoise magnesite barrels, glass seed beads

Embossed and patinated brass gears, blue lace agate coin bead

What to do with all of those copper washers I textured and patinated? They fit perfectly in this design.

Finally, Steel Wire!

After working with copper, brass, and plated metals, I'm trying a new material - dark, annealed steel wire. I've been fascinated with the look of steel write for quite some time. Ace Hardware had 19 gauge wire, but I found it too thick and stiff for wrapping stones neatly. I noticed on their website that 24 gauge was available to order in-store but was told I needed to order 10 packages. I do a lot of wire-wrapping but I certainly do not need 1,000' of wire! Finally, the store manager agreed to work with me, asked what I needed it for, and inquired if I might need more in the future. Of course! Now I have 2 packages of cool steel wire. 

My original reason for wanting this wire was to wire wrap some beautiful bumblebee jasper stones. The stones are a gorgeous combination of black, gray, yellow, and orange. Steel wire would look awesome!  But first I had to experiment with this wire to discover its properties. 

This first experiment was conducted with 19 gauge steel wire, which I looped around the top portion of the blue glass bead and the yellow Indonesian glass bead. For the lower loop and the earwires I use gunmetal headpins.  I was still waiting for the 24 gauge steel wire to arrive.

For this second pair, I used 24 gauge steel wire to wrap around a gorgeous chalcedony briolette, kiwi quartz bead, and pewter bead. I also coiled some of the 24 gauge to add to my handmade plated silver earwires.  

 

After ending up with black hands, I've learned that the wire must be scrubbed with steel wool and polished to remove the black coating. Easy enough.

I'll finish by treating the wire with some Rennaisance Wax to prevent rusting, which is likely to happen in this climate. Fun experiment! Now, I think I am ready to wrap those bumblebee jasper stones.

Jewelry Storage Find!

Quality Control

Yesterday's antiquing trip proved quite productive. Found this great three-drawer wooden tool chest. 

Inspectors Jaspurr and Missy are making sure that the new addition to their household meets standards. Make no mistake; this is THEIR house. Checking the outside panels, sniffing each felt-lined drawer, and finally giving a nod and walking away, it seems that the inspectors have deemed this lovely tool chest worthy of living in their home. 

What a great jewelry storage piece. So thrilled with this find!

Recycled: Eye Shields

You just have to laugh sometimes. After having recent cataract surgery on both eyes (not laughable), I was left with a couple of eye shields for post-surgery recuperation. On the morning after the last night I was required to wear them, they were sitting on my nightstand, and looking at them, I actually chuckled. Metal! I could use that.

The next moment I was pulling out tools - metal shears, disc cutter, dapping block, files, and pliers. With precut holes, cutting discs out of the shields was obvious, but wait . . . what about those little teeth around the edges? Little charms! Kinda plain. Emboss them!

The first pair of earrings were so easy, based on a design I often use.  I polished the metal disc, domed it, and added some pretty blue beads. These earrings were a gift for my opthamologist who restored my vision. My world is now shiny and new, tinted a soft blue rather than the ugly yellow I hadn't realized had dominated my outlook.

The little triangle-shaped charms took the marine-colored patina nicely. Again, blue seemed appropriate. These earrings went to Rachel, the surgeon's assistant, who always complimented me on the jewelry I wore to her office.

 

With one more pair of domed discs remaining, I chose to patinate them in marine blue and accent them with antiqued brass and aged picasso Czech glass beads. I will keep these earrings to remind me of the miraculous gift I have received. My antiqued, yellowed vision no longer dulls my world, and I will not take this miracle for granted. 

I decided to add another antiqued element to my earrings. They look funkier. Just the way I like 'em.

All of these earrings practically made themselves, all in one morning. I just love those moments of almost-divine inspiration. So satisfying. 

Just as I was about to publish this post, the mail arrived. Inside a bubble mailer, I discovered this. :)

Update: Today I spent 4 hours cutting out triangle pieces from eye shields, filing, embossing, painting, and sanding them. Can't believe where the time went! Lots of new charms to use.

When Life Gives You Lemons . . .

I had an idea in my head, and things were going pretty well. Then I screwed it up. Damn. I even asked my husband, who is always supportive of my jewelry efforts, what he thought of it. Good man that he is, he shook his head, cast his eyes down, and mumbled, "Nope."  Too much time and effort had been invested to scrap the whole thing, so I stuck the project in a corner of my studio table and moved on to something else. Then I saw this posted on a friend's FB.

List item #3 applied to my situation. It was time to make lemonade out of the lemon that was taunting me from the corner of my studio table. So here is the culprit . . . 

This annoying little piece of copper that I cut, filed, and then RUINED by texturing and glazing with patina.  Grrrr... so how to rescue these things? (There are two of them. Why I didn't just stop after screwing up the first one is a mystery.)

A while ago, I was faced with a similar dilemma when I embossed a piece of brass. I forgot to flatten the metal first and ended up with a blank section in the middle of the pendant. Looked awful! I solved that problem by riveting a filigree flower over that space. Maybe that would work again on these charms.

So I pulled out rivetable copper things - gears, shell charms, connectors. They needed some color and texture. I could tie them on with waxed linen! Yep, that might work to spruce up my lemons.

The finished earrings - kinda funky, kinda cool, and definitely satisfying lemonade. ;)