Whimsy Rings

I started messing with some beads and wire and, though I thought I was going to make a nest ring, it turned into these instead. My friend told me they look like "whimsy".

My Tree Pendant

As I was digging around in my bead box last night, looking for my friend's stone (for the cabochon posted here), I found several projects I had started but never finished. I started this pendant a year ago (based on the work of this artist) and last night I finished up the wire twisting. There are several more half finished projects in the box I'm looking forward to finishing up so I'm sure you'll see a few more on here soon.





I'm not posting a tutorial on this one since the idea was not created by me and the artist sells her creations (her etsy is here if you want to check it out).

Polished Stone Pendant

A friend of mine who knows I sometimes make jewelry asked if I could take a look at a small stone she has and see if I could make a pendant for her. Last night as I browsed Pinterest I found this pin (originally from here) for a cabochon tutorial. The tutorial is for a round stone but I figured I could adapt it somewhat for this purpose and here is what I came up with:

Beaded Necklace and Announcement

Day 31/31:

First off, we have reached day 31/31. Whew! 31 days of projects is a lot and I'm beat but in a really good way! I got SO MUCH done around my house and off my project list and I'm extra happy about it. I will have to do this again. Anyway, not only is this a completion of 31 Days but tomorrow will also be my 300th post so I think that calls for my very first giveaway! Sound good? Come back tommorow for the details. Ok, on to your regularly scheduled post:

I have a black tie dinner coming up (so excited!) and I needed a little bling to go with my dress. Something pretty and also a little dainty. I made a necklace similar to this once and loved it while it lasted but I made the original with cheap sewing thread and one of the kids broke it with a single pull. This time I used beading thread and doubled the line to give it extra strength.



I used white beads with a bright blue to set it off a bit. The style is REALLY simple to make. It's something I came up with while screwing around a couple years back and it's a good project to keep your hands busy while helping with homework or watching TV. I'll post some detailed pics tomorrow (you can find the tutorial here!) of how it's strung with a couple extra little tips that help while making this. All total I think this took me about 2.5 hours to make.

Pumpkin pendant

I love those moments when inspiration floods into your mind and immediately you are drawn to create. It doesn't matter if it's 3am but it must be done now. So you fly out of bed to get started and try out your idea. Today it hit me on the way to work and I've been a little nuts waiting for lunch to try it out.

Here is my "first draft". I made this over the lunch hour and some bits were more hurried than others but I think it turned out well. I just wish I'd had some yellow wire for the face.

I coiled copper wire around the handle of a crochet hook until it was long enough. The green stem was coiled around a small screwdriver. There's a piece of copper wire through the middle of the main coil to help it hold it's shape and also to help tie it to the stem. The face is made from one continuous piece ending at the bottom of the nose.

I think it would be fun to make a beaded chain for this with copper leaves hanging from it.

How To: Washer and wire necklace

Here are all the supplies I used:
Seed beads
One larger bead for the center
Wire (size must fit through the seed beads)
Two washers in different sizes.
Wire snippers
Round nosed pliers
Rubber tipper flat pliers
String or chain to hold the finished product



Wrap the wire around the washer, keeping it pretty tight. Leave the end of the wire loose for now, we'll use it later to bind the other end.



Hold the bead against the washer as you bend the wire so it's close up against it. This will keep it from "wobbling" as much.



If you have a pair of rubber nosed pliers (available at most craft stores) you can squeeze the wire as you go. This helps to mold the wire to the bead and also keeps it from losing it's position after you're done. If you don't have rubber nosed pliers you can use the regular ones but you'll have to be careful not to crack your beads and it may scar up the wire a little bit.



When you've gotten all the way around twist the wire together to keep it from moving around later. I have two twists in here because I didn't use a big enough piece of wire initially and had to add in a second. That's fine because you won't even see this middle part later. Notice that longer piece of wire hanging off of it? It's very important for a couple of things.



It will hold the center bead for starters. Just pass it through and put it in place. The second washer we add in a little bit will help hold it in the correct spot. If the second washer is a lot smaller than the first (like the copper washers pictured at the top) then you will probably want to put some seed beads on either side of the large bead to help keep it centered behind the little washer.



Just to give you an idea of how the second washer will cover up the tie off spots and help keep the bead in place:



Cover the smaller second washer the same way as the first.



Using the longer wire from the first washer I threaded it through the smaller washer's wire to bind the two together. Be sure that they're tight so they won't wobble later. Then you'll need to pass the wire between the two washers and through the middle of the big one so it comes out the back. Next go ahead and wrap it around one of the big washer's wires on the back a couple of times to keep it close against the back and let the rest of the wire stick up.



Use a pair of round nosed pliers, also available at craft stores, to twist the wire around and make a circle just above the top.



Then wrap the wire around itself to tie it off and make a pretty ending. Continue the wrap until the end is hidden behind the washer. Now you can cut it off with a pair of wire snippers and tuck the end in tight (so it won't poke you while wearing it). A pair of flat nosed pliers are good to squish the end in hard.



And voila! You are now ready to attach chain or string to your pendant.