Cabochons

I LOVE cabochons - gemstone, lampwork, polymer - all of the them.  In my attempts to practice my bezel soldering, I acquired some beautiful lampwork cabs from Sue Kennedy at Sue Beads.  Two of the classes at ArtBliss this year focused on soldering, one of them included cabs. It is so much easier to do with a teacher there!

This lampwork cab below- made by Sue - features a beautiful, transparent green glass with swirls.  In our class last year, we added silver embellishments to the design.  While I kinda like how this turned out, I see so many flaws.  I sawed around the back plate free form - intentionally. It's not perfect...I will freely admit that sawing is also something I need to work on!  I kept wishing I had a Beth or Evie McCord (EB Bead and Metalworks) as my neighbor, as I am convinced that either one of them can expertly saw anything in their sleep!

I also wanted to experiment with solder paste.  I will not be using that again too soon! LOL!  I made the silver balls from scrap fine silver and added what I thought was the tiniest amount of solder paste to the balls....there is excess solder on this backplate near those decorative balls that I just cannot remove - and I have tools for this! :)  

I am pleased with the bail, though!  Dear sweet Mom loved it - so I had some jade beads in my stash that matched this cab perfectly. So, Mom got a new necklace and earrings.

I have more cabs in my stash and I WILL GET BETTER! :) 

The next one I made is a very simple design. The colors in this glass just POP!

This was a gift for another person I know who was very recently struck with Cancer.  Have I mentioned how much I HATE the "C" word?   In November, she had a bad cough..thought it was a cold.  It was not a cold.... Prayers to her please!

This necklace had to be 100% handmade...so the link is another one of Cindy Wimmer's designs from her new book, The Missing Link.  I have made this necklace design before...for another woman struck with Cancer, and her friend whose father also suffers from this horrid disease.

I added a heart to remind her that she is loved by many.

Life is good...life is short...hug your loved ones!

Thanks for stopping by!

xo

Patti

A Little Bit of Progress

I have been diligently working on creating jewelry with the lovely beads so generously donated to me by Maryse Fritzsch-Thillens of GlassBeadArt on Etsy.  Here is what I have made so far.

I began with this pair of earrings.  LOVE the sunny colors in these beads!  They matched perfectly with a pair of lampwork headpins I recently acquired from Sue Kennedy at Sue Beads.  So, I soldered a copper jump ring, added some texture and wired these babies for earrings.

I absolutely love this next pair - I soldered more rings - this time in silver.  I am so drawn to the color blue...

The next pair are my mother's favorites - it is not often I see pure white as a base in lampwork, and I am not sure why.  But, the colors added to the beads really pop with this gorgeous background.

Peachy orange rounds - so pretty when wired in copper, don't you agree?  Lately, my earrings have been wrapped with large loops - I have been having some fun with adding texture to these loops.

More gorgeous blue - I used my texturing hammer on these - I hardly ever use this hammer and I do not know why!  Each blow of the hammer brings such nice faceting to the silver.

Pretty, deep burgundy color on these beads.  This is my first toggle soldered in this fashion - I like it!

This focal bead from Maryse matched PERFECTLY with these lovely artisan lampwork beads by Spawn of Flame (I LOVE her shop name!!!) The silver in that focal has such a cool flash of iridescent purple.

Last up is this bracelet - which gave me absolute fits!  I started this bracelet design in early December, but could not get a focal to work with the bars of silver I had formed.  Well, then I received Maryse's beads - and this one was a match made in heaven!

I twisted that 10 gauge wire at the tips - I am into texture lately, and this little twist at the ends provided just the touch I was looking for!

I have listed everything in my shop - 100% of the proceeds to be donated to Miracle Horse Rescue.

On another note, my blogging is going to be here and there for the next couple of months.  I am in the process of moving.  It's a local move, but a move none the less.  It's new construction, so I am at the mercy of Mother Nature (weather) and the Contractor.  But, we are shooting for early February.  I've done pretty well on my packing so far (Purple Heart, Good Will, and Salvation Army LOVE me).  But, I figure I need a solid week just to tackle my jewelry supplies.  I am saving that for last, as I need that creative outlet available to me when I need to de-stress.  Best part of this move is I get to relocate to an actual studio space, instead of my freezing cold, unfinished basement.  Very exciting for me!

So, if don't hear from me, it's because I am knee-deep in boxes!

Hope everyone is staying safe and warm in this deep-freeze of a Country.  Hoping all pets are warm, too!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

xo

Patti