For Mom!

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My mothers birthday is coming up. March 4Th is the wonderful day. I love birthdays and I adore my mommy. I was trying to come up with something to give her. I usually give her jewelry so I wanted to come up with something else. I pulled out a few swarovski crystals and some sterling silver beads. Then I pulled out a small hummingbird charm that I picked out for her. She collects hummingbirds as you would notice immediately if you ever visited her house.


I put them all together and made her a cellphone charm! I know she has never had one and I think she will think it's cute if nothing else. She will appreciate the thought and the materials at least. I am hoping she will really like it as it something new that she hasn't had before. When I make her card I might post that here too even though it's not actually jewelry.
The picture isn't great because it's scanned as opposed to photographed, but you can get the idea.

Week - 8 Romanov Bracelet

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I am still sick so I anticipated making a very simple piece this week. However, after making the Romanov ring, the idea for the bracelet just wouldn't leave my head. I didn't have anymore tiny blue beads for the center of the byzantine sections, so this time I added tiny ruby red check glass beads. It was less labor intensive than I imagined it would be. You will not the clasp doesn't match the metal of the bracelet. This is of course because I am just practicing with this bright aluminum metal and and recycling and reusing findings as I see fit for each weeks projects.


This bracelet will look absolutely stunning when I do it in Sterling silver with swarovski crystals in place of the red beads. I think I am also going to try one with a few different colors of check beads in it as an example of a mothers bracelet. I think it would be beautiful for any other to have the birthstones of her children in the center of the Romanov sections. The extra sections could simply have sterling silver beads in their centers or I suppose in theory be left empty. With the right ring ration I imagine the shape could be kept even while it is empty. However my personal preference would be to put SS beads in there as I think it would be elegant and beautiful.


The earrings match the bracelet perfectly. They are the same size rings and the tiny red beads are the same as well. In future attempts, I may add a dangle to the bottom of the earrings. It might give them a little more movement, but I am very pleased with how these came out.
I almost forgot. 20g bright aluminum 1/8" ID.

Week - 7

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I am back on time and on track for week 7. This is not a theme piece and in truth I don't even know what the theme is this week. I am sick and have still been really busy with another project right now so this was a quick piece for me. I had not tried the Romanov design yet so I thought I would give it a try. I feel very fortunate that it worked out the first time with just a little experimentation on my part. I just sat down to fidget with it and so did no research as to ring size or anything. It is slightly bulky to wear, but I am used to wearing my 4 in 1 ring which lies flat. The roundness of it took just a little getting used too but I enjoy wearing it.


I am still working with the same set of rings so the measurements and materials of the rings has not changed. The bead in the center of the Romanov chain piece is a light blue check bead even though it came out somewhat green on the scan. There really isn't much else to say about this piece other than I am really eager to try and make a matching bracelet. I don't know what I will be tackling THAT project though.

Week 6

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Week 6 is an accessory to week 5's piece. I am finding myself very busy lately so I needed to have a coupe of quick projects ready to go. Since Valentines day is coming I created a strap to compliment the mesh bag. It is the perfect accessory for a romantic night on the town. I will be giving it a test run on Wednesday the 14Th.




To make the strap, (which is necklace length as it is designed to be worn in the fashion of a necklace) I strung red and purple check fire polished glass beads on beading wire. I used wire as opposed to thread or fishing line because I wanted the added strength. Both ends of the strap have complimentary findings that are attached to the bag so that straps can be switched about with ease.

It was a fun quick project but I am really happy with the result. I was saving all these mixed sizes of beads and not really sure what I was going to do with them. I am very glad I held onto them now!


Week 5

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I am late posting week 5 and week 6. I may even be late with week 7 but I am not completely sure yet. The pieces have been getting done, but events going on in my life outside the Internet have been making me late with posting. However, I have pictures and updates ready for pieces for week 5 and week 6.




Week 5 is another prototype for mesh bags made from Chainmaille. Again it is 20g 1/8" ID rings. I really like this size of ring for these small bags. The rings are not too cumbersome to work with, but at the same time the provide a mode of privacy for whatever is inside the bag. The bags themselves are so silky and wonderful feeling. The piece I displayed for week 4 was a bag I wore to the renaissance festival. It took the abuse of hours and hours of merrymaking. I was however disappointed that I didn't make it large enough to even hold business cards.




Needless to say when I got home I started a new design. This is still a work in progress as I am not 100% happy with the design yet, but I am getting there. I used various findings that I had around the house to try different methods of keeping the bag closed and to attach the changeable straps. This is why the metals don't match. I am still in the experimenting stage.
However, I really enjoyed the project despite the fact the added size almost doubled the time it took to craft it. But now it is the PERFECT size for holding ID's, Driver Licence, Business Cards, Money, Credit cards AND Hotel Room keys, or Cruise Credit Keys.