Sea Foam

I had so much fun making this pendant, it combines my two favourite types of jewellery techniques of silver-smithing and wire wrapping. I can see this being a bit of a theme in the future, especially as I have a page full of designs just waiting to be created! :)

After hand sawing the 'wave' out of sterling silver sheet, I soldered and then wrapped the wire part of the pendant with tiny white seed pearls and silver seed beads, and faceted aquamarine along the edge.

You can find this in my Etsy store - Amari Jewellery :)

Azurite Flower

I did a bit of pottering in the garden at the weekend in some unexpectedly warm spring sunshine - it's nice to see some colour appearing, especially in my rather unkempt plot which has been sadly neglected in terms of planting!

This first picture is of a beautiful purple/blue periwinkle flower, or 'vinca major' to give it it's latin name. It holds a special charm for me - when I was a child we moved from the city to a small rural village, and the cottage we lived in was called 'vinca' as the garden was full of these pretty flowers. They make great ground-cover plants, the variety I have has variegated leaves.

I also spotted these lovely pink scented hyacinths in a pot that I'd forgotten about!
I've been creating again too - the sterling silver flower on this necklace has been set with a fresh blue/green azurite cabochon, and hangs on a pretty oval link chain. More pictures on Etsy - Amari Jewellery

Sodalite and Copper

Another hand-sawn and pierced copper pendant, this time with a sodalite cabochon.

I've also taken the plunge and cut some silver pieces which I'm hoping to finish today! :)

Orange Grove Pendant

Just a quick one! This is to match the orange grove earrings - this time with a teardrop shaped frame for the pendant. Again, a faceted vesuvianite drop at the bottom, with a cluster of sunstone and peridot beads.

Pistachio Necklace

I've had a break from wire wrapping and coiling recently, very busy with other commitments! But finally I have one or two pieces to show, and hopefully more on the way ;-)
The focal on this necklace is quite detailed - I've soldered and wrapped the wire shapes, then embellished with tiny faceted peridot briolettes, prehnite, and silver beads. Lots of coiling, but the result was worth it!
I've added a tassel of wire-wrapped prehnite beads and a Hill Tribe 'lotus' bead, also a little cluster of prehnite and peridot near the clasp.

Scalloped Fan Pendant

I really enjoyed making the pink tourmaline fan, so I thought I'd make another! I shaped the frame from sterling silver wire, including the scalloped edge along the bottom. I then did some soldering to create the framework for decorating.

The top section has been filled in with tiny Hill Tribe 'bamboo' beads. I then added some gorgeous deep teal-coloured apatite beads. The centre of the pendant took me quite a while to figure out, I wasn't sure if it was going to work until I got to the bottom and tightened up the wirework and beads, so there was always the possibility I would have to take it all off and do something different! I'm pleased with the way it turned out though, and because the wire is so fine it almost looks as though the silver beads are floating in mid air. The gemstones underneath are faceted citrine.

For close-up pictures, see my website, or Etsy store! :-)

Desert Rose Pendant

I forgot to post this! I made this pendant a couple of weeks ago - another one that differs quite a lot from my original idea... but I'm very pleased with the result!

I soldered some heart shapes a while ago for this project, when I actually put them together into the flower shape I realised I'd need something else to strengthen the shape. I put a large closed jump ring underneath, but then actually quite liked the way it looked so decided incorporate it into the design!

There are some more twisted wire filigree details, and the beads are faceted andalucite with Hill Tribe seed beads and a pale pink freshwater pearl.

Silver Spider Web

This was fun to make, despite a few creative blocks along the way! I had a sketch of how I wanted the pendant to look, but had to adapt a few of my original ideas to make it work. That seems to be happening a lot just lately... as a result it took me twice as long as it should have done! All part of the learning process ;-)

I made and soldered two frames to form the outer beaded section, which I wrapped with Hill Tribe seed beads. The spines into the centre were added next.. what on earth possessed me to think it would be a good idea to coil 0.3mm wire with 0.2mm wire I'll never know... you can imagine how long that took!!

To finish I added some faceted silver beads, tiny faceted amethysts, and a frosted sterling bead in the centre. I guess it looks quite seasonal in the pic, but it's quite sparkly and pretty in real life, so you could wear it any time really!

Iolite and Aquamarine Pendant

Another soldered pendant - this one a little more complicated (for me!). I made the three wavy shapes separately first, then soldered them together before coiling the entire frame.

I then wrapped across each section with Hill Tribe silver beads, amazing indigo-blue faceted iolite and pale blue faceted aquamarine.

Pink Tourmaline Fan

I'm finding a lot more inspiration and freedom with the option of being able to solder some of my frames, although it's still only a very small part of the process - there are still hours of wrapping and coiling to follow! That's the bit I like best, the 'colouring in' :)

I made the frame from sterling silver wire, soldering joints in the design before coiling with fine gauge wire. I have used tiny faceted Hill Tribe silver beads in the top section, and for the picot edging, then lots of polished tourmaline buttons in countless shades of pink!

Ruby Bloom - Layered Pendant

I know, I know - it looks all festive!!! I didn't realise until after I'd taken the pictures. I'm really NOT one of those people who start thinking about Christmas in September... I don't start shopping until about a week before!

Complete coincidence as I wanted to make something using these gorgeous raspberry-coloured seed beads. I made the large frame first - wrapping the petals with seed beads and sterling wire. The inner petals were then formed separately, and wrapped with fine gauge silver wire, before adding a pale gold freshwater pearl and gorgeous faceted rubies to the centre.

And yes, I guess it would look good at the office Christmas party... :-)

Netted Pearl Pendant

I love this wire netting technique, it takes a while to get it right - I'm still not there yet, but I'm very happy with the way this turned out!

I first shaped and hammered the frame, then coiled it with sterling wire. I added the pink freshwater pearls to the inside next, then formed the net in the centre with the wire.

Garnet and Citrine Pendant

When I made the garnet and citrine earrings, someone suggested that they would make a nice pendant - so here it is!

As usual, I first shaped and hammered the wire frame, then I wrapped across the top part of the pendant with very fine wire, I included some sterling silver beads to add interest. The little faceted drops are garnet and citrine. The bottom part of the pendant was then coiled with sterling wire and beads to form the lacy 'picot' edge.

Tourmaline Drop Pendant

This pendant has been made by shaping one continuous length of wire, with wrapping in between the circles. I've then decorated the circles using tourmaline (again, sorry!), sterling silver beads, seed beads, and a freshwater coin pearl (a happy coincidence that the top circle was just the right size for the pearl!).

This was one of those occasions where I thought of the frame shape first, then decided how to finish it afterwards! I have a couple of frames ready and waiting for me to decorate them at the moment... sometimes I know exactly what I'm going to do on a piece and other times I have to wait for inspiration!

Cherries Pendant

I sketched out this design first on a piece of paper, then created the frame with one continuous length of sterling silver wire similar to the 'Satin Flower Pendant'. The wire was a little more difficult to handle this time, but once I started coiling (particularly the stems), the piece began to take shape nicely! The cherries and leaves were 'filled in' with seed beads and cherry-red murano glass, the effect is almost like embroidery. The murano glass is gorgeous, the colour is quite vibrant and the cherries really sparkle! I'm so pleased with how this turned out I already have more ideas.... watch this space!

Tourmaline Pendant

I was so looking forward to receiving these polished tourmaline button beads - and I wasn't disappointed, the colours are stunning! My new favourite gemstone I think....

This pendant didn't quite turn out how I'd originally planned - the bottom section where the tourmalines are ended up smaller than I wanted, but I'm still pleased with the result - the citrine is very subtle and doesn't fight with the other stones! I've also coiled around the frame with sterling wire and tiny silver beads.

Fire Agate Pendant

Real 'fire agate' is found mainly in places such as Arizona and Mexico, is relatively rare and has a spectrum of colours running through it similar to an opal. The stone in this pendant is also commonly known as fire agate, but is actually carnelian that has been heat-treated to produce the distinctive pattern that can be seen on this bead. That having been said, it's still a very pretty gemstone in its own right!

I've coiled around the frame of this handcrafted pendant with sterling wire and silver-lined salmon coloured glass seed beads to bring out the warm orange tones in the fire agate.

Silver Satin Flower Pendant

This has to be one of my favourite wire pieces so far I think - the photo doesn't do it justice however, the silver wrapping on the petals of this flower have a lovely 'satin' sheen to them when the light catches them.

I shaped the wire frame from one continuous length of wire, then wrapped and hammered the 'bail' at the top of the pendant. Then onto a couple of hours of wrapping very fine sterling wire! The centre is creamy aragonite surrounded by tiny pink seed beads.

Summer Amazonite Pendant

I managed to get some free time this afternoon to have do some more wrapping and coiling with wire!

This first pendant is very delicate and airy - just a simple teardrop shape, with a faceted amazonite bead and tiny glass seed beads coiled round the frame with sterling wire giving a 'lacy' effect.

Ivy Leaf Pendant

Well this is what I've been working on, and finally finished this afternoon! I've got lots of ideas and inspiration at the moment.... but right now my fingers are sore so that's my lot for today.

This is all hand-coiled with sterling wire and tiny glass seed beads in forest green and creamy buttermilk colours. I've used very fine wire to add peridot chips to the centre around the veins. It's quite a bold statement - the pendant is 7cm by 5.5cm - so not a dainty piece by any means!