Twisted Wire Floral Necklace

Hello! It’s good to see you all again! My migraines have decreased considerably and I’m catching up on a bazillion things that got put on hold the past three months. I had a request for a twisted wire necklace by a lady at the pharmacy who fell in love with this one when I wore it a few months ago::

That one was made with rose colored copper wire and twisting it hurt my hands. However, I found some nice purple colored 24 gauge Artistic Wire on clearance at Tuesday Morning and decided to try it. It’s MUCH easier to work with. Only problem is it’s a smidge thicker, so doesn’t go through some of the beads as well. I reamed out some and found substitutes for others. Here’s the finished project:

I also changed up the upper part as I found the plain wire chafed a bit and the clasp was unhandy. So I added seed beads and put on a magnetic clasp.

Note: when working with lucite flowers, it helps it sit better if you put a seed bead underneath. And, if you’re putting a bicone at the end of a stem, a seed bead on each side will help it sit better, too.

All in all, it is a fun project, although it takes me several hours to put together.

Even though mine isn’t as evenly twisted as this new one, I still like the color combo.

I like this one too… It’s a little more spring-y with the green leaves, don’t’cha think? I hope she likes it!

Thanks for taking the time to swing by today! I have a few fun back-logged posts I hope to crank out for you in the near future. I look forward to seeing you again soon!

Thanks for stopping by today!

~D.Ann

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Cats In Space Handmade Wire Galaxy/Dr. Who Necklace by Guest Designer Wire and Wings

Hello, everyone! My name is Mary C. of WireAndWings.com and D.Ann is letting me take over her blog today as Guest Designer. D.Ann and I have been friends for over 30 years and now we live in neighboring cities. I love making jewelry and since D.Ann and I share a love of Cats and Sci-fi. I recently made this Cats In Space Bib Statement Necklace for her as a surprise gift.

That was when she invited me to come to her blog and tell you about it since my website is currently undergoing transformation and the blog is under construction, too. We decided the Cat Lovers Hop would be a perfect time for this post.

Let’s take a closer look at the piece…

I know! Right?!! The first thing most folks want to know is: ‘How is it held together?’ Well, let’s turn it over and take a look:

I start with a heavy gauge wire frame, hammered to make it stiff. That gives a base to attach the pieces by wire wrapping them to it.

Here are some more process pics:

After I make the base, I start by laying out the larger pieces.

Then I start wire wrapping them in and adding the smaller pieces until I’m satisfied.

Now, let’s look closer at some of the individual pieces…

We start with a space ship rocketing into the galaxy of stars – with planets and nebulae throughout. Why some of the planets even have water! And there’s even a cat in the moon. (I thought it was supposed to be “the cat’s in the cradle and a silver spoon,” not ‘on a silver moon’…” hmmm…) You know why there had to be a cat put on the moon? Otherwise, the mouse would’ve eaten the last little sliver! (You can read a fun article about why people say the the moon is made of cheese HERE.)

Interesting cat fact: Did you know there actually was an Astrocat?! Her name was  Félicette and she went into space 54 years ago the 18th of this month. Google “Cat in Space” and you can read all about her.

Getting back to our necklace – let’s take a look at the other side:

Here we have our Doctor Who references… the Dalek on the timepiece, the sonic screwdriver, a gorgeous ‘nebula,’ a bit of Gallefreyan writing. a key to memory – and, is that, perhaps, the lost moon of Poosh?!!

Finally, there’s the clasp…

Dangling from the handmade clasp is a star, a cyberman and my brand insignia. And, there you have it… the one-of-a-kind Cats in Space Bib Statement Necklace!

Thank you, D.Ann, for letting me take over your blog for this post! And thank you, sweet visitors, for your kind attention. I invite you to come visit my current website (wireandwings.com) and feel free to stop by my Etsy store. You can get to either by clicking on any of the highlighted words. I’m offering a special 15% discount code to  Cat Lovers Hoppers: CATHOP15 – It will be valid until Oct 31, 2017.

I am going to enter this necklace in the Cat Lovers Hop HERE.

I wish you all a lovely hop the rest of the week!

-Mary C of WireAndWings.com

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p.s. any ads on this page are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed by me or D.Ann.

Wire wrapped, beaded cuff with Joan Rivers Classics Collection Bee Brooch

This week’s crafting whim is a change of pace from all the cards of late. It’s a wire wrapped, beaded cuff that I did for a friend.

It is difficult to photograph and I haven’t figured how to get videos to upload, so I uploaded a quick video of it to photobucket. You can see it by clicking HERE. I’m not the best video taker, but it does show the cuff fairly well.

Now a bit of the details…

She had previously brought me two Joan Rivers Classics Collection Bee Brooches that had the clasp broken off and asked if I could fix them. I was able to epoxy new clasps on by adding, of all things, an upholstery tack top to give it stability.

However, as I wasn’t sure of how they would hold up, I told her if they broke again, I could make her a wire wrapped, beaded cuff similar to the one I recently learned to make for myself:

She immediately left one of the pins and asked me to make the cuff.

First thing… to get rid of the clasp! I was surprised at how easily I could cut through the metal. No wonder they broke so easily.

Next, since the base was to be of different wire than I had worked with previously, I went back to my friend, Mary, of Wire and Wings. She taught me how to make my cuff and she helped me get the hammered wire base for this one ready, using 12 gauge wire. If you’re interested in classes, you can go to her website, HERE. She does a FAB job of teaching and is VERY patient!

Then it was just a matter of selecting the beads and crystals, stringing them on and wire wrapping them and the brooch to the cuff base with 24 gauge wire. It gets a little bit fiddly at times, but the end result is gorgeous.

Here are a few more pictures of the finished project:

I hope she likes her cuff as much as I like mine! Perhaps you’ll be inspired to try making one, too!

Thanks for stopping by!

-D.Ann

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p.s. Any ads you may see are placed by WordPress and are not endorsed by me.

Wire Wrapped Stone Pendants

Today was a jewelry day. A friend wanted these stones turned into pendants:

I don’t have a way to drill for a bail, so decided to wire wrap them. I’ve only wire wrapped once before… a piece of  agate for mom:

There’s a fab step-by-step tutorial here that I followed. I used Beadsmith Craft Wire, 21 gauge, square gold and Darice 24 guage gold wire to wrap. They were a little more difficult as the sides were smooth, but I think they turned out ok…

The pics are front and back since I made these reversible. (click on the pics to enlarge)

Hope she likes ’em!

Glad you could stop by today!

-D.Ann