YOJ09-17 Chalcedony Effervescence Pendant

Chalcedony Effervescence Pendant (2009)
Sterling silver, fine silver, chalcedony
L 3.0 cm x W 1.2 cm
Cold connected, flame worked

I went to the Toronto Gem Show today – and I was by myself!!  Woo hoo!  That meant I had the freedom to be able to browse, and chat with friends, and to shop.  I was looking for some things for my upcoming classes at Haliburton, but in the end decided that what I’ve found online is still a better bargain.  But… I couldn’t resist a strand of chalcedony brios I came across.  In a table full of stuff that looked like it was dyed, I found one package that had a beautiful opalescent glow.  So, despite being on a buying moratorium for the past three years, I decided those beads had to come home with me.  Even the sales lady commented about the package, saying that if I hadn’t bought it when I did, it wouldn’t have been around later – someone would have snapped it up.

Tonight I picked out one of the beads, and made this little pendant.  It looks somewhat similar to the pendant I made in Week 8, so I’ve giving it a similar name.

More photos:

YOJ09-16 Beaded Channel Ring

Beaded Channel Ring (2009)
Sterling silver, constructed, cold worked
Size 5 1/2

My lack of energy is starting to concern me.  If this keeps up I’m going to haul my carcass off to the doctor and find out what’s going on.

For now, another simple offering this week – a beaded channel ring.  The tutorial for this ring was published in “Contemporary Bead & Wire Jewelry” by Nathalie Mornu and Suzanne Tourtillot, one of two projects I contributed to the book.

YOJ09-15 Beaded Puff Heart Pendant

Beaded Puff Heart Pendant (2009)
Sterling silver & gold-filled beads, fishline
L 2.8 cm x W 2.5 cm x D 1.0 cm
Beaded, right angle weave

This week’s project is part one of a larger piece I’m working on for an HSTA faculty exhibition to be held at the Rails End Gallery in July.

This is the first time I’ve ever tried my hand at straight beading, and I have to say that I’ve developed a very healthy respect for the people who do this type of work.  This heart was created using a pattern by “Laura” published on the 3DBeading.com site.  I initially had the foolish idea to try it using wire, but gave up after about 5 steps.  Fishline is definitely the way to go. I would love to repeat this pattern using rubies, but there’s no way to thread the fishline into the itty-bitty holes the multiple times the pattern requires.

It turned out a little bigger than I originally wanted, but the impact on the overall design will be minimal, and may actually make the final piece more interesting.

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YOJ09-14 Lame-O Earrings

Lame-O Earrings (2009)
Sterling silver, Preciosa crystal

I’m feeling completely tired and shagged out.  And I haven’t even squawked!

I’m working on meeting a print deadline this week, so my focus is not on jewellery.  I do have an idea for my next major undertaking, and did work a bit on that over the past few days, but it’s still in the prep phase, not the construction phase.

So now it’s Sunday, and I don’t want to be late two weeks in a row.  So I’m posting a pair of lame-ass earrings, constructed in about 1 minute.  Don’t have the energy for anything more this week.

YOJ09-13 Kaleidoscope Pendant

Kaleidoscope Pendant (2009)
Fine Silver, sterling silver, Swarovski crystal
L 5.5 cm x W 4.7 cm x H 1.0 cm
Cold-connected, formed

For the first time this session, my entry is one day late.  It proved to be much more challenging to construct, as I kept changing my mind about what I wanted it to look like.

This piece also doubles as my entry for the Etsy Wire Artisan Guild‘s April theme “Kaleidoscope”.  The technique is drawn from a tutorial written by Perri Jackson, a friend and very talented wire artist who makes very intricate pieces from very thin gauge wire.  Ever since Perri asked me to test the tutorial for her, I’ve been mulling over an idea in my head for a piece that adapts the technique.  I’m not ready for that project yet, but “Kaleidoscope” is an intermediate step.

Perri’s blog features more of her spectacular work, and is well worth the visit.

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YOJ09-08 Effervescence Pendant

Effervescence Pendant (2009)
Sterling silver, fine silver, blue topaz
L 5.4 cm x W 2.5 cm
Constructed, flame-worked

Having made the decision to make more production pieces, I’m picking out stones from my stash and setting to work.  This week’s piece reminds me of the “Use it Up” pendants I made back in YOJ 2005-06.  I fished a piece of 15 ga. square wire out of the scrap bin and balled up the ends, then bent it into shape and added this 8.96 carat blue topaz brio.  It looked too plain, so I embellished it with 2 and 3 mm sterling beads.

Even since my friend Anna did the flower arrangements for my wedding, I’ve been mindful of the principle of using odd numbers for groupings.  She explained that it’s more pleasing to the eye to see 1, 3, or 5 things together, rather than 2, 4, or 6.  To some extent that principle is at work here with the three larger beads, and groups of 5 beads.

After I got it out the tumbler this morning, I tried it on.  The beads looked like fizzing over top of the brio, and made me think of what my kids refer to as “bubble water” – soda water.  So, it has the name “Effervescence”.   *grin*

My husband likes the pendant, but then again, he prefers any pieces to which I’ve take a torch.  The pendant wears well, but I’m not completely happy with the result – decorative beading is really not my forté – so I may it try again.

More photos:

Found a freebie :-)

Does anyone besides me occasionally do a search for their own name on Google? (C’mon… admit it…LOL)

Actually, I was doing it to check how many sites are linking to mine. In the process I stumbled across a link to my Beaded Channel Ring tutorial, published in Lark Books’ Contemporary Bead and Wire Jewelry. So, give it a try!