Mayan Apocolypse! No...More Sparklies for Christmas

Today is suppose to be "the end of the world" according to predictions of the Mayan Apocalypse. Some of you may be believers but not me.

In fact I read in the paper this morning that the non believers include today ethnic Maya themselves, who are mostly Christian....hmmmm....

What exactly would happen I don't know but I am looking forward to tonight, tomorrow, Christmas, New Year including Chinese New Year, Valentine Day, etc. etc.

Whatever it is, lets hope it will not end today, tomorrow or forever.

Bring some sparks to Christmas and here are more wire wrap sparkly rings for your viewing pleasure.

These are jade wrapped with 14k gold filled wire and 3mm gold filled beads.

Of Failure, Pearls and Sparklies

Ah...I have been slacking in this posting department for a while now.

Inspiration seems to be taking a back seat for the last few months.

Few days ago I tried something "new", well not really "new" but failed miserably.
It was a request for wire names and I can't seems to get the letters right.
I thought it would be easy but I was wrong. Gave up altogether and feel very disappointed with myself.

Well, Christmas and New Year are just around the corner.
There are still few more pieces to work on and hopefully they all turn out beautiful.

At least these here turn out beautifully :)
Stringed pearl necklace with a wire wrap infinity clasp.

 Close up of the infinity clasp.

Again, I have made lots of this sparkly wire wrap rings, if you have been following my postings. Probably the most popular and you are getting bored seeing the same rings again hahaha...

However, this ring is quite quick and easy to make. As such, it will make great last minute gifts, if you are a very last minute person like me.
Hehe! can't resist doing shameless self promotion here.
I have a step by step pictorial tutorial for this ring at my Etsy shop, click the link here - Sparkly Crystal Ring Tutorial

Wire Weave Stud Earrings and Cross - Lapiz Lazuli

I have written about Lapiz Lazuli
previously – Lapiz as Healing Stone.
Well, it didn't get rid of my migraine
headache…yet….because I don’t put it on all the time but who knows.

However, I am still in awe with this dark blue gemstone which is regarded as a stone of truth and friendship and believe to helps the wearer to be authentic and allow self-expression/confidence.

Few months back, I purchased a teardrop and oval shaped Lapiz suitable for pendant and ring. Been meaning to wire wrap them for self but as usual, many ideas ran through my head when I first saw them but once they reached home, they’ll be sitting in the box for many moons to come…haha....bad habit.

These pair of wire weaved stud earrings and cross is commissioned by a friend. I employed the weaving technique for the cross as well as the Herringbone weave for studs.

How do you like the earrings?
Me too…I love it…hehe
Notice the tiny golden shimmer?
They are not gold, how I wish, but pyrites.

Today is my favorite day....yay its Friday!
Don't we all look forward to Friday :)

Twice Around the World (TAW) Necklace

It seems like rainy season is here.
We have been experiencing a lot of rain lately. Mostly in late afternoon.
Just nice to bring down the temperature at night including tonight :)

While you are enjoying a cool night too, here is a recently completed necklace.
A Twice Around the World (TAW) wire wrap necklace.
Stones are Tiger's Eye, red and golden.

If you'd like to learn how to make the TAW component of this necklace, check out the tutorial here.

Somehow, I am feeling very sleepy now.
Must be the weather.
Signing off here, off to zzz land.

Wire Jewelry - Wire Bookmark

Few weeks back I managed to find and purchase some 16g stainless steel wire (soft). Been looking high and low for this wire for a while. You know wire of this size (especially soft one) is really hard to come by so I was very tempted to buy the whole coil.
Refrain! refrain! :)

On the other hand, I have lots of 16g hard stainless steel wire but they are really tough to work with, if not near impossible (for me at least). I think I mentioned this before, so just bear with me. DH use them for his fishing "accessories" and of course arms and fingers are stronger.

Back to this bookmark, I find that this wire size is the best for this kind of wire bookmark. Thinner wire will feel very flimsy even with hammering.
With hammering, this bookmark is very sturdy and would withstand your reading habit.
This one is adorned with pearl and 8mm Swarovski Crystal and the bottom part with 3 short hammered wires.

Wire Jewelry - Earrings, Borneo Ceramic Beads

These are very special one of a kind beads due to its colorful combination.
The handmade nature of the process and the natural individuality of the clay and colors result in variations from bead to bead, expressed in differences of shape, sizes, texture and color.

You wouldn't notice it from the pictures but one of the beads on this wire wrap earrings is actually smaller than the other one. I guess it doesn't matter when the colors compensated for this :)

This pair of earrings is experimental.
All components are handmade with lots of hammering on the 19g stainless steel wire.
The ear hook was OK as I hammered after shaping them.
The toughest part was twisting the wires that hold the beads.
I can only twist them after hammering the wire ends flat so it was really really tough and hard work.
Almost gave up on that.
Glad I didn't break my pliers.

Before signing off, don't forget to check out my Tutorial Giveaway at Magpie Gemstones.
If you you click on this link - http://www.magpiegemstones.com/news.html and sign up for the newsletter, you'll get the chance to win.
Have a great week.

Wire Wrap Stud Earrings

Here's a bunch of wire wrap stud earrings for your viewing pleasure and hopefully will inspire you to create them too.
This time around, they are of mix stones.
Mostly in natural earthy colors.
No reds or orange, the calling for attention type of colors.

From L-R: pearl, tiger eyes, smoky quartz, turquoise and moonstone.

This project is relatively easy to achieve. If you are feeling adventurous and crafty, you can check out my tutorial for the same wire wrap stud earrings by following this link here:

Click - Simple Yet Elegant Wire Wrap Stud Earrings Tutorial

Simple Wire Wrap Rings

When I first started with wire wrap rings, this is the simplest method I started with.
You wouldn't believe how simple
it is until you try it out yourself.
Once you get the hang of this,
add it with your own creativity,
you can come up with a wire
wrap ring that suits your style.

For these rings here, I just added another loop around the beads/crystals.
Decorated the side/shanks with a wee bit of wire wrap loops to make it less boring to look at :)

If you feel more adventurous, check out Szarka's Bingo Ring Tutorial at Magpie Gemstones.
Have a great weekend!

Herringbone Weaved Rings

When I managed to steal some time the other day, I revisited an older project and here is what I whipped up - few Herringbone Weaved Rings.
This is one of the techniques I fell in love with when I first started with this wire jewelry addiction. Eni has a free tutorial for it and it should be available at her JL site.

This ring variation was created by me back then, when I have not seen it done into a ring (now you see them everywhere! Can I say I made it popular?...wink! I am sure there are people who got something to say about this). I wrote a free tutorial for this ring and shared it with whoever were interested back then. You must be one of them who has gotten them...hehe...
Oh...you can't find the free tutorial in this blog anymore. I have since taken it down.

However, the tutorial is still available for Free if you purchase this other tutorial - the Caged Herringbone Weaved Bead. Yeah! my own variation to the Herringbone Weave.

The pearl HBW rings are quite pretty don't you think so?
Note to self - make more of them.
More HBW Rings here - HBW Rings
More Tutorials here - Wire Jewelry Tutorials

Wire Wrap Malachite Necklace & Murano Bracelet

Look at these.

They have been sitting around in the hard drive for a while.

I totally forgotten about them....erm....blame that on "time" again and forgetfulness...hehehe.

Anyway, this wire wrap necklace is of Malachite and "yet to remember the name of the stone". Duh! 

Its pale blue in color....I think the name has something to do with "water".

I'd appreciate it very much if any of you know the name of this stone and care to let me know in the comment section. Thanks.

I ever made an almost similar bracelet before.

The same Murano Glass Bead with some handmade hammered wire charms.

Hammering wire is very therapeutic :)

All the Glitters Wire Wrap Rings

How time flies. July is just a few days away.
In a blink of an eye half of 2012 is gone.
There were lots of plan for 2012 but looks like I have not been able and would not be able to fulfill lots of them. With only weekends for wire jewelry, sewing (yeah sewing! been at it since last year actually and planning to post something soon :) Stay tune), the boys and their activities, shopping, and many many other "hobbies", it is time to look back at my time management :) and priorities. Its going to be difficult, after all we only have 24hr a day.
Anyway, first thing first, here are some more sparklies or can I say Glitters, for your viewing pleasure.
These sparkly rings are wire wrapped with 14k gold filled wire and beads, similar with others made earlier. However, the wrapping for this batch is much simpler and straight forward.

 The pictures didn't do justice to these rings. They really glitter in "real life".

 Now you know why they really glitters in "real life" :)

Two sizes of beads - 8mm and 10mm.
Check out my Sparkly Ring Tutorials here.

Wire Wrap Sea Horse Earrings

The previous pair of this similar earrings here was originally named Seahorse's Tail earrings.
Somehow, this recent pair here looks more like two little snake (Cobra) facing each other.
Don't you think so? Hmmm...didn't plan for this look but I am quite happy both sides turned out alright.
All component of this earrings are handmade except for the crystals and gemstones.

 Look like 2 lite snake

 Here they look like two little birds :)

Swarovski Pearls are Pretty

If I have the choice, I would always go for the real/original/natural pearls.

However, I am beginning to like the Swarovski pearls.

They look so much like the real pearl and all of them are perfectly rounded :)

There are few colors to choose from but I am sure this creamy colored ones would be more popular than the other colored ones....this is based on my experience with natural colored pearls.

How about you? Which one do you prefer?

The first two pictures below are Sparkly Wire Wrap Rings made of Swarovski pearls.

This bunch below are a mixture of Swarovski pearls and natural pearls.
Can you tell the difference between them in terms of color?

Closer view :) Can't tell by the color but their perfect roundness would give them away :)

If you would like to learn how to make this type of ring, check out my Sparkly Crystal Ring Tutorial at Etsy.

Wire Wrap Rings, New Design

Sunday is almost gone and another busy week ahead.
I am not going to say a lot today.
Well, I haven't been talking a lot lately anyway :)
Just sharing two recently completed wire wrap rings.
One new dainty design, which is not that difficult to make if you have tried out my Sparkly Crystal Ring project. Instead of Swarovski crystals, I used 14k gold filed beads instead. Those in the pictures are all jade.
Needs more coordination though, while wrapping the wire around the ring shank to finish off the project. It gets easier the more rings you wrap :)
Feel free to ask if you have questions.

Here is another familiar ring, the Fruity one

Happy Mother's Day; Braided Wire Cuff

Today is a special day for me, my mom, blog readers who are mom, mom to be and mothers from all over the world.
I hope you have a great, wonderful and meaningful day celebrating your achievements and efforts.
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
Here is sharing with you a braided wire cuff completed recently.
I have a tutorial for this at my Etsy Shop if you are interested.

Health Issue and Wire Wrapped Studs

Finally, I am feeling better to blog again.
Phew! what a way to start the year of the Dragon.
Been away for a while due to health issue but now I am regaining back my strength.
The only positive outcome of this is that I lost about 3 kilogram of my weight, the amount of weight that I have been trying to get rid of for years :) ....not so obvious though but I can revisit some of my favorite clothes that got pushed behind the closet for years...LOL...hope they are not out of fashion.
Today and tomorrow, I will be playing with my wires and pliers again.
My hurt hand is "itchy" to play already although there is a wee bit of pain if I twist it around.

Meanwhile, here are some stud earrings, pearl necklace and a set of dangle pearl earrings with wire wrap clovers that I completed before the hand accident and health issue.

 The tutorial for this type of studs is available at my etsy shop here.

Have a great weekend!