Happy Chap Goh Meh, Caged Pendant and Whimsicalnquirky

Happy Chap Goh Meh! the 15th night of Chinese New Year. It is also known as the Chinese Valentine's Day and marks the end of the Lunar New Year. In places like Penang, the celebration is associated with young single women tossing tangerines into the sea with the hope that their future life partner will pick it up. Not sure if they do it here in Kuching though.
We celebrated quite simply with family dinner, fired a few firecrackers and took the boys for a spin around town, watching firecrackers lighting up the city's skyline.
The moon is brightest tonight and people are still lighting up the sky with fire crackers as I am typing this. Tomorrow, it is time to go back to life as usual, back to work, back to business and no more long holidays.
I didn't manage to make any wire jewelry today but am sharing one that I completed yesterday - a caged turquoise pendant, similar to this one.
Used 22ga wire for the wrapping.

Hey look what M of Whimsicalnquirky came up with - Rosy Bliss based on my Wire Wrapped Rose Earrings Tutorial :) While you are there, do check out her amazing works. 

Thank you for sharing this M :)

Another 2 days till Friday

Giveaway Ending on Friday - Check it out here to enter

For 3 lucky winners! 

So hurry if you would like to win a free Sparkly Ring Tutorial worth $6.00 at my Etsy Shop

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And here is a recently completed caged pendant...again! :)

Material:
22ga wire
12mm tiger eye (approximate.

Mystical Creature from South China Sea :)

When I was done with this wire wrapped sea horse this evening, I kept thinking that I would not be able to recreate or remake a similar seahorse. Partly because I spent a lot of time in forming the seahorse shape/frame. This is the most difficult part for me, shaping the wire to make it look like a seahorse.
More difficult when the whole seahorse frame is wire wrapped with one piece of wire.
Can you tell/see where the wire ends?
Coin pearl, seed pearls, colorful tourmaline, garnet, corals, Swarovski Crystal and peridot are the gemstones used.

I am quite happy with the outcome though. Maybe I should give it another try - a smaller seahorse :)
Happy weekend my dear readers.

The Last Post of 2009

Less than 7 hours to go.
Goodbye 2009 and Hello 2010
A Huge thank you and a Happy New Year to all readers.
New year, new hope, new resolutions, new goals, new dreams, new to do (ok! some old to do :D), new projects, new wishes, new....oh...this is an endless list. Better not list them all because I have a feeling they will be old/new in 2011.
2009 generally was a good year for me and I hope 2010 would be a much much much much better one.
So, here's saying goodbye to 2009 and welcoming 2010 with my wide open arms and a wire wrapped Seahorse!
The letter "S" at the center is not for "Seahorse", it's the initial of the new owner :)

 

According to Wikipedia, the seahorse has long been a sign of eternal friendship in Hawaiian culture. Somewhere else mentioned it represents confidence and grace. Here's a detail post by Avia on the symbolic meanings of seahorse. This is interesting and new to me "A unique aspect of the seahorse is that the male is impregnated by the female and carries the offspring to term". If only human can do that...LOL.
I hope to have all the Seahorse's symbolic meanings in year 2010. 
Enjoy and Have a Very Happy New Year 2010.

Wire Wrapped Bird Cage Turquoise Rings (Triplets) and Mr. Spiky Pendant

Not as productive as I wanted to be the last few days. Some delayed projects and inability to meet deadlines. No hard feelings but I got time extension :) 

 

Here is my Triplets! Identical bird cage ring. These are tiny rings...size 7 done with 22ga wire.

This is an easy and fun project to make. Approximately 5 min each ring. These were done in between a very difficult project.

 

Meet Mr. Spiky. This piece is based on Carmen's tutorial - Spike Seahorse. Great technique and I can see many possibilities from this technique. Just haven't got the time to explore more. Next year maybe..:)
Talking about which, Have you list down your New Year resolutions?
Me, not yet - still thinking.

Simple Wire Wrapped Butterfly Pendant

While managing the sales last two days, I spent some time creating this simple wire wrapped butterfly pendant. This is similar to the copper butterfly created few days ago only that I use 19ga wire and this is smaller much smaller in size.
This is a potential low cost tutorial but we shall see.
Would you be interested?

Very tired now so good night (opps! morning) for now.

Was Here and Now Gone - Sales Ended and I Learned Something

The sales at my Etsy Shop ended few minutes ago.
It's been a great sales but a bit tiring as I don't want to keep you all waiting so I was never far from the computer...LOL. Glad it was during the weekend. Shall keep this in mind for the next sales.

One thing I noticed during this period is that the low cost tutorials seems to be doing better than the normal tutorial even though they are not on sales.
It cannot be because they are cheaper because some of the normal tutorials are cheaper than the low cost tutorials during this sales period.

So, why is it like that?
Is it because people prefer simple and easy designs? Designs that don't take lots of time, lots of materials or tools, etc.

Enlighten me if you are one who prefers the low cost tutorials.
Does this means I should create more low cost tutorials? :)

Thank you all for it was a great and fun sales.

Put Some Sparkles back into your Life

Its a weekend so don't feel down or sad. Put some sparkles back into your life.
I just hope my sparkling Swarovski crystal necklace and bracelet will bring some sparkles into your life.
Finished wire wrapping them early this morning just in time to share with you early Saturday morning.
Have a wonderful weekend!

Getting Too Cagey Already?

Seems like I can't get enough of this wire wrapped cages :)
I'll let the pictures tell the story this time around.

This is Much More Easier

Another try on this caged pendant. This time around its a round tiger eyes gemstone of about 1.2cm.
I can only say this is much! much! easier than the heart pendant and earrings made previously (previous post).
As it is round, I don't have to worry about how it sits in the cage. Whichever way it turns, it still look balance in all direction...hehe..
Easy! easy!

Here's the Pendant-Wire Wrapped Caged Earrings

Alright! It's not the headache. It is actually quite difficult to wire wrap this tiny crystal.
It just didn't want to sit still.
I managed but its a bit "wai wai!" (off center)!
Glad that I completed this set as they have been with me for a while :) but
* Reminding myself not to wire wrap this kind of tiny crystal next time. Must be at least 1.5cm.

Catching Up - Wire Wrapped Cab

Got this done this evening. I thought it would be a breeze wrapping this piece but not really. I use 23ga wire for wrapping the frame and I have problem keeping all the wire together while fitting the cab in there.
A bit of flow there but if you look closely, the cab is positioned a bit off the center.

Special thanks to Bobbi for her tutorial.

Why Cathching Up? Because I have lots of catching up to do ;)

Wire Wrapped Cab - Embrace It

Today didn't go so well with the little boy (Henry). He didn't want to go to school. Well! he did but only halfway. He got into the car with William and we drove all the way to the school. Once there, he didn't want to get off the car. Started crying/wailing that he didn't want to go to school. Coaxed him and tried to bribe him for about 5 minutes but failed. I gave up and drove him home...late for work again! This little one is really unpredictable and sometimes I just don't know how to deal with him. His mood changes as fast as lightning......

OK! enough about him. Hope you don't mind my rambling.

Here's sharing with you a wire wrapped cab I completed last night. Another one to go.

Lapis Lazuli, the Healing Stone

Lapis Lazuli alleviates pain, especially that of migraine headaches.

This is the statement that got me attracted to this gemstone recently. As some of you may know, I frequently have migraine headaches. I've tried lots of things to help me cope with the pain - panadol, paracetamol (same thing), pain killer (can't remember their names), even 100 Plus, Chinese medicines/herbs, massage, etc. etc but non of them helps. When I got them, I'd be completely "useless" for one or two days. I'd be locked inside the bedroom and try to sleep the pain away. Of course I can't as the boys will come knocking on the door from time to time...mommy! mommy!
Yeah! I am very very desperate. Thank you to friends who suggested other methods to get rid of the pain. Haven't tried some of them out yet but will do.

For now, I have made myself a Lapis Lazuli necklace. They are 8mm beads and we shall see how it works out. I hope it really works :)
For believers, here are other attributes of Lapis Lazuli:

• Friendship, universal truth, harmony, peace of mind, tranquility, honesty, creative expression, expand awareness, intellectual capacity and communication, mental clarity, self confidence.
• Mental clarity & emotional healing, and enhances judgment and wisdom.
• Enhances psychic abilities and awareness & communication with higher self and spirit guardians.
• Helps to openly state his or her opinion.
• Energizes the throat chakra. Helps in recovery from surgery. Aids healing in the areas of the neck, larynx, and vocal chords. 
  
• Protect wearer from physical danger and psychic attacks.
• Cleanses the mind body and spirit of toxins and negativity.
  

Wire Wrapped Butterfly Pendant by Emily

Emily did it again! I posted her other creations before - Wire Wrapped Tulip Pendant, Athena's Shield, Caged Herringbone Weaved Bead, Sparkly Ring and Rose Ring. She is getting better and better each day. Just look at her Wire Wrapped Butterfly Pendant below. Honestly, her butterfly looks prettier than mine :) Well done Emily! and thank you for sharing. Check out other wire wrapping tutorials in my Etsy Shop.

Stringing Projects

Sometimes I wonder why I don't do stringing projects more often. They are much! much! much! easier than wire wrapping. They are much faster to complete. I can complete one necklace under half and hour. On the other hand I need at least 3 to 4 hours to complete one wire wrapped necklace or 1 to 2 hours for a wire wrapped bracelet. Much more hours needed if the wire wrapping is complicated. But then I realized stringing is just stringing. All you need are string, clasps, pliers and beads or gemstones. Put them all together and you are done. Of course, a bit more creativity will create one of a kind stringed piece. Wire wrapping on the other hand still requires all the above except the string. But then of course lots of patience and load of imagination and creativity. With wires, I can manipulate them into various designs and shapes which string can't do. You can't make a clasp out of string do you? Or you can? At the end of the day, completing a wire wrapped piece gives me more satisfaction and sense of accomplishment than completing a stringed piece of jewelry. Hmm.....maybe you don't agree with me. The above necklaces, bracelet and earrings turned out quite well but I am still crazy about wires and wire wrapping jewelry ;D Have a happy wrapping day!

Muse, Organic Swirls and Eddies

I think my muse is on its way home sweet home :). Came up with this pendant this weekend and quite happy with the result. Lots of swirls and mixture of pearls, gemstones (citrine and peridot), dyed coral and Swarovski crystals. It measures about 6cm in length and 3.5cm across at its widest. WireBlissMei

She Did it Again!

Emily did it again with the Wire Wrapped Tulips and Sparkly 'O' Studs!.

I don't need to describe or explain more. Just take a look at her pieces here. 

Very well done Emily! Congratulations and thank you for sharing these pictures.

Wire Wrapped Tulips

Sparkly 'O' Studs: Athena's Shield Earrings

WireBlissMei

Peruvian "Wire" Art

I decided to detour a bit today. Just need to try this out....the Peruvian String art....a hot topic in the wire jewelry forums that I am a member of for the last weeks. What I learned from this first try is that the coil that I made is too fine. So, if you are thinking of trying this out, make a bigger coil and space them further apart. Otherwise, you will end up using lots....yeah! lots of wire, like me. Overall... I love this string art...give it a try and you will be hook. WireBlissMei

Sneak Peek - "Tulip"

The earlier pictures taken for a similar tulip were not satisfactory...at least for me. So, I started from scratch and recaptured new pictures for the up and coming tutorial for this wire wrapped tulip. Keep posted for the tutorial. WireBlissMei