Back to School and Peace Pendant

When the boys start school earlier this week after a week long holiday, it means back to busy time for me.
Besides work, basically its back to the routine of dropping and picking up the boys from schools.
Morning is not so much of a problem as I drop Henry at his kindy on the way to work.
At noon time, I have to rush to pick him up and drop him off at home by 12:30pm. As he gets out of the car, William gets in and off we go as he is in the afternoon session which starts at 12:45pm. After dropping him off, normally just on the dot, I'll drive straight to office, grab a quick lunch (normally tapao / take away) and back to work - all within 1 hour, provided there is no traffic jam.
That's basically my day on week days.
Now you know why I am always looking forward to weekends and holidays....hehehe.
I am sure there are many parents in similar situations as I am but that is part of life over here.
Not sure about other places though....maybe you can share.
Enough rambling, here is what we really need - PEACE - at home or outside home.
This wire wrapped Swarovski Crystal peace pendant was completed a while back but it got pushed back and back till now.

Its quite large, about 5cm in diameter but it is meant to grab attention :D
Have a PEACEful day!

Reminder to Self and Friends & a Wire Wrap Green Pendant

There are so many things in my mind the last few days (till now and probably in the next couple of weeks/months maybe....hmmm), but I just got to tackle them one at a time.
Go! go! Mei...you can do it. Yeah!
Need some self-encouragement here.
OK, first thing first.
Have you heard that Artfire Basic Account, which till now is free will be retired on the 15th August?
After the 15th, all NEW pro seller will have to pay $11.95 monthly.
If you have been considering to open an Artfire shop, just a gentle reminder (I am not getting anything from Artfire for this :D) to please do so before the 15th and you would lock your monthly rate at $9.95.
Remember! Before the 15th of August - click here brings you to Artfire registration page.
Ok, Done my part to help you save $2 every month :)

Now, here is sharing with you an Aventurine pendant with wire weaved bail.
Looks easy but spent hours to get the balance weave.
In the process, wasted some amount of wires.

Those round beads are stainless steel beads.
Cute! Look like grapes.

Wire Wrapped Jade Donut Pendant

I have been slack in updating this blog lately but I hope it will pick up soon....mmmm...been saying this for the hundredth times? :) but I hope you don't mind and keep reading or at least look at the pictures posted here to get inspired.....
This is a commissioned jade pendant. Completed just before we went off for our two weeks holidays.

Side view, kind of complicated but not really...just follow the flow.

View of the back...simply a little spiral.

Side view of the back, not as complicated.
Have a great weekend dear readers!

The Two Wire Wrapped Donut Pendants

These two donut pendants are for man.
For all that I remember, I have not done a lot of men jewelry and I hope this two are masculine enough that the owner is comfortable wearing them.
Both donuts are really huge. My first time working with such huge donuts..LOL..
The jade measures about 5cm+ while the rutilated one just slightly smaller.

On my palm and you can see how huge they are.
Maybe I have short fingers :)!

Close up of the weaving and "black needles" within the stone.

......and the other one.

Enjoy your remaining weekend......

Spider Web Wire Wraps and Happy Mother's Day (Belated)

Happy belated Mother's Day to all moms and soon to be moms out there.
As usual, I am always belated lately :) especially in updating this blog.
Anyway, it was a quite Mother's Day for me. Just dinner at one of the boys favorite places.
As mother, I am happy when they are happy. After all, that's what being a mother is about....of course there are other things but HAPPY is a big word for children. I am sure a lot of you would agree...yes! yes! yes!?
There is a saying "We never know the love of the parent until we become parents ourselves".

Enough rambling, here is one wire wrapped pendant I completed recently.
This is a relatively big stone (name and origin not known) that looks like palm oil seed.

It is rounded and has no hole so I spent some time figuring out how to wrap and secure this stone.
I ended up with this "spider web wire wraps" and I am quite happy with the outcome.
Here are more pictures of the pendant. Got the idea?
I wonder how this wrap would work with irregularly shaped stones?

Have a great week!

Pearl Necklace & Studs

For the last few weeks I have been busy with non-wire jewelry related projects that I hardly have time to work on commissioned pieces. Now that I think about it, its more like I've been busy since the beginning of 2011. That's also why this blog have been neglected for long period of time.
Hope to be back more often soon and start creating :)
Anyway, in between that time, I managed to complete a last minute request for a wire wrap pearl necklace and two pairs of earrings.
I jumped several Qs though :)

These studs here are made based on my own technique, for which a tutorial is available here - Wire Wrap Studs Earrings - Simple Yet Elegant.

This pair is a remake from leftover beads, from a stringed bracelet.
Love those teardrops (Garnet & Amethyst) at the bottom.

You may want to check these out:
Studs - no gluing or soldering
Studs oh Studs
Studs - Variation (with bows) by Louise and Don
More Studs
Dangle Variation
The Tutorial

Blooming Pendant

How time flies and its almost mid January already.
I have not been able to post since school started for the boys earlier this month and I am swarmed with work since 2010 ended. I foresee lots of traveling (for work) these two or three months.....
Anyway, no matter what, lets start the year with this bloom :D
Hope this year would be a smooth one, filled with blooms of happiness and success.

 

Have a beautiful Blooming Year 2011 :)

Related Blooming Pendants:

Discovery of Nectar

Another Flora Pendant

The First Flora Pendant

The Second Flora Pendant

The Third Flora Pendant

My Last/First Post for 2010/2011 - New Medium

Happy New Year 2011!

I hope year 2011 will be the best of best for you and yours.
Best in health, best in career, best in prosperity, best in love, best in luck, best in everything.
PEACE to the world!

No! I have no New Year resolution.
Mostly I will continue on with my 2010 resolutions.
Still a long list to go.....

Actually I have hard time keeping my eyes open at the moment.
....feel so sleepy but I got to finish this last/first post before the clock strike 12:00, 2011.
I can hear fireworks already.

Here is something I am looking forward to this new year...metal work + wire work.
My first time working with copper sheet!

Started off with an easy project - Peas in a Pod...
Google for it and you'll find lots of inspirations for it.
Took me about 3 hours to make these three Peas in a Pod pendants.
No heating or soldering, just hammering to harden the sheet and fold 3.
For now, I think it is easier than wire wrapping...but wire wrapping is still my first love...<3

 

Not sure how thick the copper sheet is but its rather thin...wish it is a wee bit thicker.

Will need to hunt for it next year :)

Getting inspired already :)?

Here I come 2011.

Swirly Square Pendant - Not as Easy as it Looks

This swirly wire wrap square pendant looks easy to make but this is really one of the more difficult one.
Wasted lots of wire on this.
This final pendant is the 4th try.

This is done freehand-no mandrel.
Main tools are flat nose and round nose pliers. Oh! hammer too.
The most difficult part is getting the sharp bend for all 4 corners and ensuring the same for every round of wire.
Well, it doesn't have to be 90 degree but as sharp as possible would be best to get the squarish look.

The first try ended up like half round, half square - not square and not round!
After some hammering, the bends do look a bit rounded but thankfully still squarish.

Back of the pendant.

One of the casualties.

HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Do You Still Remember This...?

...Clay Jeani, Pearl and Turquoise from Szarka?
Finally managed to take pictures of this completed necklace today.
Completed this more than a week ago but yeah! took me a while to snap these pictures.
Anyway, I used up almost all the pearl and turquoise and of course the Clay Jeani Pendant.
The finished piece is quite heavy but love it nevertheless.
I'll leave you with the pictures.....

Hmm...I should have made matching earrings and bracelet from the left over pearl and turquoise.
Well, that's for another day :)
Thank you Szarka for everything.

They (Butterflies) Discover Nectar

I started this post yesterday but left before I can complete it.
Now, its almost 24 hours later - how time flies!
Continue on from yesterday.....
*******
Two butterflies and two flower pendants.
Perfect match!
Here's some facts about butterflies.
Butterflies only sip liquid food. These can be nectar from flowers, liquid from rotting fruits and.....(not so nice) also rotting animal flesh or animal fluids (yucky!).
Sipping is done using a tube-like proboscis.
This is their 'tongue' and it is long and flexible.
When not in use, this 'tongue' coils up into a spiral (mmm..love spiral).
These pendants were shipped out yesterday and I hope the new owner will love them.

Butterfly Pendant tutorial:
Wire Wrapped Butterfly Pendant Tutorial at Etsy

Related Posts:
Simple Butterfly Pendant
Copper Butterfly
Butterfly Pendants by Student - Emily
My First Butterfly back in 2008

Another Flora Pendant

Actually, this wire wrapped flora pendant was completed last weekend. However, I was busy the whole week that I didn't get around to posting it till almost another weekend again!
Stones are combination of Tourmaline, Cherry Quartz, Rose Quartz (Focal) and Czech Beads (Leaves).
This one is my favorite so far although I have wire wrapped similar one back in June.
Hammering was kept to minimum as the 19ga wire is already hard enough.

 

Weekend is just a few hours away so here is wishing you a wonderful floral weekend! :)
Related Posts:
The first Flora Pendant
The second Flora Pendant
The third Flora Pendant, 7 petals

Wire Wrapped Flora Pendant - 7 Petals

Its almost Friday, 5 days since my last post. Mmm.....wish I can post more frequently.
The between posts is getting wider and wider.
This picture been sitting on my desktop for the last 4 days and I kept getting distracted although I kept telling myself to post it - everyday.
Tomorrow I'd be away whole day and by weekend I'd be busy with family matter so I am posting it NOW :)

This wire wrapped flower pendant looks familiar? Yeah, here's my first one. Only, this time around there are 7 petals instead of 5.
Another one similar to this design is the next project.
Hope to finish it this weekend.

Religious Pendants - Wire Wrap Cross

Not very productive the last few days but I managed to complete these two custom order wire wrap crosses.
I use 19ga wire for the frame of this swirly wire wrap cross while the swirls are 20ga wire. The focal is a piece of coin pearl. Don't you just love those swirls - inspired by Erin.
I have a tutorial for this cross at my Etsy shop here - Wire Wrap Cross Pendant

This second cross is inspired by Iza. This time around the stone is tourmaline and the size of the cross is a wee bit smaller, as per request. Don't try this out, or else you will get addicted to the weaving :)

Here is wishing you a great weekend and happy creating.
Related Posts:
Aquamarine Weaved Cross
Peridot Weaved Cross
Cherry Quartz Wire Wrap Cross
Different Kind of Monstrance
Monstrance with Rays
Blue Themed Wire Wrap Cross

Gaga Over Green

This one takes longer than expected.

Or am I procrastinating? :)

Tend to do the easier ones first and for the last few weeks I have been busy with works.

For this piece, I spent a lot of time choosing,

un-choosing, matching and un-matching the green themed stones.

This is the final result and I am not even sure if this is the best match.

This necklace consists of several components. Here are two of them.
The green adventurine wire wrapped pendant and beads cluster consisting of various gemstones - peridot, jade, rutile quartz and green agate.

The main part, the heart shaped wire wrapped pendant, adorned with the various stones including peridot, cherry quartz and prehnite.

The chain part, wire wrapped gemstones including moonstones, green agate, jade, clear quartz, prehnite and Swarovski crystal for a bit of sparkle.