LadyGypsy.net – the blog of Kimberly Dowd of New Jersey

After a long, LONG drought I started playing with my wire and beads again this weekend. Being under the weather helped, as now that my inners are feeling better I think I’m coming down with a cold. Bah.

Anyway, back to jewelry….

Spirals and loops!

What prompted this two-day jewelry-making binge was a spin through YouTube. I came across a video that explained how to use a wire jig that I never managed to be able to deal with properly. Summary: Hold the wire steady and move the jig!! I was trying to hold the jig down and twist the wire.

Oho!

So I created a bunch of four-leaf “clover” connectors. The wire that I trimmed off became spiral charms for future use.

I couldn’t dare pawn off my sub-optimal connectors on someone else, so I *had* to make something for myself. I grabbed these beads from my stash and created a bracelet I lovingly named “Mountain Dew.”

All the green, none of the toxicity.

I also created some copper findings that will eventually be part of some beaded ID lanyards. And more spirals.

Wirework is hard.

Then I was hit by a surge of bona fide creativity and made some cherry earrings:

Two pair in copper, two in sterling silver.

I was so stinking proud, I actually wrote the specs down so I could recreate them once I come across more red beads.

She got the way to move me earrings

And I’ve been singing this since last night so you should too:

Although I made these earrings a few weeks ago, they were cool enough to photograph. I created them in honor of the lovely Atlantic City Gaming site I launched and currently oversee for the C-P.

Winner winner chicken dinner!

So what’s next? The coworkers have been pestering me to sell my wares, so I may test the entrepreneurial waters with cherry earrings, autumn lanyards, and some holiday items I haven’t thought of yet. I can’t live off of my $25/year BlogHer ads forever, after all. I have ideas for creating stamped jewelry but those supplies cost money and I am cheap.

I haven’t stuck with a hobby this long since I bowled in school.

T-minus 5 days. We bridesmaids are wearing black dresses, and since the colors are raspberry & lime green, we’re wearing green shoes. My shoes are actually David’s Bridal honeydew color. (David’s Bridal blows, by the way.)

So what about earrings?

I made ‘em! I wanted to have green earrings to match the shoes and the hair clip. Each earring uses 8 4mm Swarovski bicones (I used the Green Mix), one 6mm black Swarovski bicone, 4 jump rings and 9 head pins – one for each bead. I did a bunch of wrapped loops, put the bead on the rings, linked the rings together and here we go!

If my bamboo plant ever dies, my jewelry photography is up the creek without a paddle.

Because they’re for me, I cheaped out on the metal findings.

So here’s what’s left for me to do: Brow wax, glue on the fake nails, buy a shaper to get me into the dress (I should have ordered a 12 and had it taken in), get the gift and I think that’s it. Oh, and sell some plasma to pay for it.

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Work. Stress. Nonbloggable. Happy? Monday.

The LinkWithin widget has Misty’s picture when I preview this post. I miss my little black raincloud.

There are a LOT of beading magazines out there. And at one point I was buying every single one. That presented a storage problem here in my bento box sized apartment, so I had to take drastic measures.

Those drastic measures included buying a lime green binder and a bunch of plastic page protectors.

Now after I’ve read the magazines cover to cover and back again, I tear out the projects that I like the best and put them into my binder!

I also keep a notebook for the inspirations I get from everywhere else. If I see a pretty necklace or bracelet in a magazine, I cut it out and paste it into my notebook. I also sketch ideas in there. Some of my best (and worst) ideas come from my own doodling.

So now when I sit in front of my beads on Friday nights (a time I set aside for my crafty endeavors) and I’m drawing a blank, I have some pretty pictures to jump-start my brain!