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.

Labradorite Earrings

I really tried to capture a good blue flash on these beads... but they just weren't playing nice!

More filigree work - soldered square frames with shaped twisted wire wrapped in between, quite a lot of coiling went into these, and as I used very fine gauge (0.2mm) it took a while! I prefer to use as fine as possible on this filigree style as it's less visible.

Blue flashy stones (really, they are!) - faceted labradorite rondelles and faceted moonstone briolettes, with the silver they look quite mystical.

I'm quite enjoying designing these filigree pieces... I get to doodle! :)

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!

Dew Drops - Peridot and Crystal Earrings

I really like these... they're nothing like the earrings I'd planned to make! That happens often - sometimes it means I'm having a bad day and shouldn't have started, sometimes it's a creative day and I just go with it!!

I started by making some fan-shaped frames, which I then coiled round with fine gauge sterling wire, and faceted Karen Hill Tribe beads. I wrapped some very sparkly faceted Swarovski drops, sterling silver beads, and gorgeous green peridot beads.

Caught the sparkle on the crystal too. It's been a good day! :)

Tangerine Dreams - Carnelian Earrings

These are made with my soldered rings :)

I've added a length of pretty oval link sterling chain, vibrant orange faceted carnelian drops (these look good enough to eat, trust me!), and tiny miyuki seed beads. Hard to tell on the photo - but the seed beads are actually transparent peridot lined with salmon/orange - just juicy, citrus colours!

Oh, and of course my soldered rings... :) :) :)

First Attempt at Soldering!

I spent most of yesterday de-junking the shed - just so that I could set up work space for soldering! (We have a parrot in the house, so fumes of any kind are potentially lethal). Great motivation though, I've been putting that job off for months!

These are just simple soldered rings, about 15mm in diameter, sterling silver. One or two are slightly blobby in places, but I got better as I went along. I'm really pleased - you never know how you're going to get on with a new technique, but this was fun!

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... :-)

Autumn Bronze Earrings

Autumn is now here I guess - not that we really had summer! You just can't beat the wonderful colours that go with it though - and I'm anticipating them with these earrings!

Wonderfully rich red faceted garnet marquise beads dangle from these fan-shaped frames, coiled with fine gauge sterling silver wire, and wrapped with topaz-coloured seed beads and bronze freshwater pearls.

Pink Chalcedony Wrapped Earrings

The wrapped sterling silver wire on the top frames of these earrings has a wonderful sheen to it when it catches the light - a lot like the flower pendant I posted some time ago - almost impossible to capture in a photograph, so you'll just have to take my word for it! :)

Underneath are tiny wrapped jump rings with salmon-coloured glass seed beads, and faceted pink chalcedony briolettes. These are quite long and dangly at 5cm, but they're very lightweight!

Indian Summer Earrings

Indian summer is a little bit of wishful thinking on my part I think...! These earrings were fun to make - the garnet drops are gorgeous rich autumn colours, and the chains really sparkle when they move!

The diamond-shaped frames are coiled and wrapped with sterling silver wire, I've added some Karen Hill Tribe faceted seed beads - I wish I could capture the shine and sparkle on these!

Rose Quartz Earrings

I've been wanting to have a go at this 'Danish Knot' or 'Lover's Knot' for ages - it took me a while to get the hang of it, but it was well worth persevering, I love the look of them! And of course they're always a talking point as everyone tries to figure out how they've been made... :-)

The top frame is coiled and wrapped with pink seed beads and fine gauge sterling wire, and the slender faceted briolettes on the bottom of the earrings are the most gorgeous pale pink rose quartz. Very romantic!

Peach Moonstone Earrings

I love this peach moonstone - the colour is so fruity! Orange is 'in' apparently - sheer coincidence - I just fell in love with these beads as soon as I saw them!

I've patiently coiled the frames as usual with very fine gauge sterling wire, adding lots of tiny faceted Hill Tribe silver beads and faceted moonstone - very shiny, sparkly and pretty little earrings!

Citrine and Peridot Earrings

My new favourites... the citrusy colours on these earrings look amazing with the shiny silver, and there is lots of sparkle from the tiny faceted gemstones and silver beads!

I have wrapped the triangular frames with fine gauge sterling silver, Karen Hill tribe faceted seed beads, faceted citrine button beads and tiny faceted peridot briolettes. Just to give you an idea of scale... the peridot briolettes are about 5mm long! Very delicate and sparkly.

Just to add... on all of the pictures if you click on them you get a slightly larger image which shows a bit more detail :)

Ruby Earrings

I'm still on quite a strong geometric theme with these earrings! The colour of the rubies is quite bold against the silver... I have some Liver of Sulphur on the way and I think these may get the treatment! We'll see...

Oxidised or shiny... these have been wrapped and coiled with very fine gauge sterling silver wire, tiny seed beads, faceted Hill tribe silver beads and gorgeous faceted rubies. Bold and decadent!

Garnet Art Deco Earrings

These earrings are inspired by the Art Deco style of the 1920s-30s, probably due to my watching lots of old episodes of 'Jeeves and Wooster' just lately!! I love the geometric shapes and bold colours, I think I'm going to be doing a few more in this style.

I've coiled and wrapped the rectangular frames with fine gauge silver wire, adding tiny sterling beads and gorgeous faceted garnet rondelles in a rich red colour.

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.

Raindrops Wrapped Earrings

Yet more earrings! Not hard to work out the inspiration here... the summer here in the UK has been pretty awful so far - we've finally got some sunshine I think, so fingers crossed it stays for a little while at least!

I've wrapped across the teardrop-shaped frame of these earrings with very fine gauge sterling silver wire, and added some Swarovski crystal dangles in peridot, indicolite and erinite.

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!

Diamond-Shaped Crystal Pendant

This pendant consists of a simple wrapped diamond -shaped frame, shaped and hammered, then coiled with tiny sterling silver beads and bicone crystals.

I love this colour - it reminds me of blue cornflowers, it's the light sapphire shade Swarovski crystal. I've used a few on the chain too to add some interest.