Showing posts with label wire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wire. Show all posts
Playing with jump rings
I bought some cheap colored jump rings ar Michaels a while back, just to experiment with chain maille techniques. I finally committed to opening the packaging and putting some of the links together.
These links are of poor quality, not suitable for wearing, but they come in packages with 5 different colors in them, so if you want to practice a pattern before doing it in earnest, the different colors are very useful. I don't think I could have done this with all one color without practicing with the color rings first. I'm also beginning to see the merit of rubber jump rings. About half the rings in this piece do not need to open, and if they were made of rubber, it would have enough give so that one could put on a bracelet without a clasp.
Peruvian Necklace
Over a year ago, I went to a bead store and fell in love with some Peruvian clay beads, and found some gemstones that went with them, and a large donut to hang in the middle. With the finished product firmly in mind, I came home, stashed the beads away and forgot all about it.
Today, my aunt Ena came over to visit with my mother and me, and to craft. Ena was stitching together some knitted afghan panels, my mother was upcycling more Christmas cards (she will be leaving tomorrow with over 50), and pulled out some copper wire and went to work.
It came out very much as I had imagined it would. I think this one will be entered into the county fair this year.
Today, my aunt Ena came over to visit with my mother and me, and to craft. Ena was stitching together some knitted afghan panels, my mother was upcycling more Christmas cards (she will be leaving tomorrow with over 50), and pulled out some copper wire and went to work.
Purple wire
I went with a friend to a couple of bead stores in Maryland yesterday, and spent way more than I am willing to admit. However, sitting down yesterday to create something new, I ran across a spool of purple wire I bought before Christmas last year, and felt that it was more important to use that than play with my new toys.
There is nothing really special about it other than the purple wire, and the matching earrings. This is my first time making ear wires, and it wasn't hard. I suppose a lot of people couldn't wear craft wire in their ears, but nothing really bothers mine. It's just another ensemble to wear to my Red Hat functions.
There is nothing really special about it other than the purple wire, and the matching earrings. This is my first time making ear wires, and it wasn't hard. I suppose a lot of people couldn't wear craft wire in their ears, but nothing really bothers mine. It's just another ensemble to wear to my Red Hat functions.
Ego rollercoaster
This morning a phrase jumped out at me from the Washington Post - "Your cat is not as cute as you think." The article was talking about YouTube videos that really aren't worth watching, but being the kind of self-absorbed person that I am, I decided that it was time to do something other than vanity projects with my cat doodle.
I needed to muster some humility anyway, as I was going to the fair, primarily to demonstrate my craft (wire working) in the Home Arts building, but also to see how my entries did in the judging, and to watch the Demolition Derby.
I did much better than I thought! This weekend, I will photograph/scan my winning entries and post them for you, but the short story is that I got three blue ribbons, a red ribbon, and two white ribbons. The competition was stiff, too.
Anyway, while I was demonstrating my wire skills, I made this necklace:
My point in making it was to demonstrate the many techniques I use in wire working, winding and cutting jump rings, hammering for strength and texture, wrapped loops and wrapped beads, and making my own closures. So much for humility!
I needed to muster some humility anyway, as I was going to the fair, primarily to demonstrate my craft (wire working) in the Home Arts building, but also to see how my entries did in the judging, and to watch the Demolition Derby.
I did much better than I thought! This weekend, I will photograph/scan my winning entries and post them for you, but the short story is that I got three blue ribbons, a red ribbon, and two white ribbons. The competition was stiff, too.
Anyway, while I was demonstrating my wire skills, I made this necklace:
My point in making it was to demonstrate the many techniques I use in wire working, winding and cutting jump rings, hammering for strength and texture, wrapped loops and wrapped beads, and making my own closures. So much for humility!
Cog charms
I'm playing in a charm swap, and I just got a new punch yesterday, so I decided to use my punch to make my charms.
It is an odd punch. Most punches can't make a shape with a hole in it, but this one does, twice - it make two sizes of gears. Unfortunately, in order to do that, the punched piece doesn't fall out of the bottom like most punches; you have to shake it to get the cog out. For that reason, and because you can't see the entire outline of the shape from the bottom, it is a little harder to use this punch, but not so hard that you should avoid buying it if you want it. Just expect to waste a little cardstock making sure you have a whole shape.
Anyway, I only needed the little cog for this project, and I managed to get over 120 cogs from a single sheet of cardstock, so I can't complain too fiercely about waste. It took four cogs punched out of SU gray cardstock to make each cog. After I glued them together with matte medium and let them dry, I heat embossed both sides with a mixture of gold and silver embossing powder of two different thicknesses. This gave me the tarnished/corroded look I hoped for.
I tried different wires and colors of beads, but I found that colored beads tended to draw attention away from the cog, so I stuck with clear glass beads. The glass bead helps, too, in that paper beads don't generally hang well because they are too light.
Like the Maya Road bird, this might be a little too unfussy for most people's tastes, but I usually error on the side of "too little". If my cogs can't stand on their own, adding more stuff to them won't make them better, it will just hide them. I hope that they aren't so bad that they need to be hidden!
It is an odd punch. Most punches can't make a shape with a hole in it, but this one does, twice - it make two sizes of gears. Unfortunately, in order to do that, the punched piece doesn't fall out of the bottom like most punches; you have to shake it to get the cog out. For that reason, and because you can't see the entire outline of the shape from the bottom, it is a little harder to use this punch, but not so hard that you should avoid buying it if you want it. Just expect to waste a little cardstock making sure you have a whole shape.
Anyway, I only needed the little cog for this project, and I managed to get over 120 cogs from a single sheet of cardstock, so I can't complain too fiercely about waste. It took four cogs punched out of SU gray cardstock to make each cog. After I glued them together with matte medium and let them dry, I heat embossed both sides with a mixture of gold and silver embossing powder of two different thicknesses. This gave me the tarnished/corroded look I hoped for.
I tried different wires and colors of beads, but I found that colored beads tended to draw attention away from the cog, so I stuck with clear glass beads. The glass bead helps, too, in that paper beads don't generally hang well because they are too light.
Like the Maya Road bird, this might be a little too unfussy for most people's tastes, but I usually error on the side of "too little". If my cogs can't stand on their own, adding more stuff to them won't make them better, it will just hide them. I hope that they aren't so bad that they need to be hidden!
Wired bracelet
I was sorting out my beads yesterday, looking to see what I could use to make my entries for the county fair this year; I thought I'd whip up a little something while I had everything out. I also had a 3 in 1 wire tool I had picked up recently, and decided to give it a test run while I was at it.
I want to say right off that the 3 in 1 tool was a huge waste of money. It did none of the three things it was supposed to do very well because the other two functions kept getting in the way. I do not recommend a tool like this, no matter how hugely inconvenient it is to keep swapping tools (which is why I bought it).
The thing that distinguishes this multistrand bracelet from others like it is that there is 24 gauge wire in the whole piece, rather than thin beading wire or cord. This was nice because I didn't need to use a needle, and it is firm enough to rest well on the wrist. The single large bead adds weight to the clasp side so that the strands stay on the outside. The only thing that I don't like about the bracelet is the rough wirework - the hook is lumpy, and the winding is crooked, and there are barbs sticking out - these are all problems with the wire tool I was using. I will try to fix it with my other tools, but I expect that I will need to make a better one for the fair.
I want to say right off that the 3 in 1 tool was a huge waste of money. It did none of the three things it was supposed to do very well because the other two functions kept getting in the way. I do not recommend a tool like this, no matter how hugely inconvenient it is to keep swapping tools (which is why I bought it).
The thing that distinguishes this multistrand bracelet from others like it is that there is 24 gauge wire in the whole piece, rather than thin beading wire or cord. This was nice because I didn't need to use a needle, and it is firm enough to rest well on the wrist. The single large bead adds weight to the clasp side so that the strands stay on the outside. The only thing that I don't like about the bracelet is the rough wirework - the hook is lumpy, and the winding is crooked, and there are barbs sticking out - these are all problems with the wire tool I was using. I will try to fix it with my other tools, but I expect that I will need to make a better one for the fair.
On the run!
I'm going to this art retreat next week in Key Largo. I'm going to visit my mother first, so I will be flying down tomorrow. You won't hear from me for a little over a week, since I won't have a computer handy (sometimes it is good to step away). What's that you say? I've already been AWOL a week already? Yes, I'm guilty of making little gifts for the other artists at the retreat. I asked a few people for ideas, and got some great ones, but the best ones were from my neighbor, because she has seen me do all kinds of crafts for years, and knew what she would like if I was giving her a gift - one of these wire crochet necklaces.
That is a dozen necklaces, and my scanner bed is probably not the best place to show them off, but there they are. This is what I've been doing all week. I may make more while I'm at my mother's - I have to bring my wire supplies anyway for one of the classes at the retreat, so bringing a few more beads is no big deal. My sister says that some of them are a little short (they all fit around my neck, but some people have bigger necks, I guess), so I should probably have a few longer ones in the mix.
I miss you, and hope to be full of cool things to share when I get back!
Wire Crochet
Whew! I was pretty busy with my Passover company these past few days, but now I am ready to play some more. Here is something I've been tinkering with:
I bought some wire crochet necklaces a couple of years ago, and liked them so much, I thought I would try to make some myself. This is done with 28 gauge wire, and relatively small bead. I think I would like it a little better with 26 gauge wire, and more large beads. I might leave the seed beads off altogether, although I like the contrast that they add. I'm also very open to opinions - I plan to make a few more of these in different colors, and would love some more ideas about how to proceed.
I bought some wire crochet necklaces a couple of years ago, and liked them so much, I thought I would try to make some myself. This is done with 28 gauge wire, and relatively small bead. I think I would like it a little better with 26 gauge wire, and more large beads. I might leave the seed beads off altogether, although I like the contrast that they add. I'm also very open to opinions - I plan to make a few more of these in different colors, and would love some more ideas about how to proceed.
