Monday, July 6, 2015

Where have I been???

Oh my, but it has been a while since I have blogged!  Shame on me!

Well, my niece, her husband, baby and their precious pup Griffin moved out of my house and into their new home last week.  Their home is absolutely gorgeous, and I wish them many, many years of happiness in their new digs!

While my blogging has been sparse, I have managed to make a few new things, though, including a few new spinner rings.



The brushed sterling silver, below, is a new favorite texture!


The bracelet below was tough! I was feeling brave and wanted to try and make a sterling silver bangle from 6 gauge wire - the thickest wire I had ever used in the past (silver) was 8 gauge.  Oh my - it was touch and go there for a while - lol!  Lots of annealing was involved in forming this baby.  I thought the hard part was going to be torching - wasn't sure the heat was hot enough with my torch - but the soldering was the easy part!



I wrote a blog post today on the Love My Art Jewelry blog, where I discussed working with copper tubing.  A hollow bangle!  But, the walls of the tubing are not thin nor weak- I had a lot of fun wrangling this into a bangle!


The necklace in the next two photos features a focal made with copper tubing, and a new-to-me technique involving sterling silver cross-pins.  Truth be told, the first few attempts were a complete fail, but I was determined!


I wanted to use that focal piece in a bracelet with wire - but with the cross pins, you cannot put wire through the focal!  So, I had to dig (and I mean DIG) out my beading wire and crimps - a technique I have not used in a long, long, time.  That necklace was 4 different bracelets before it ended up in its final state!


The earrings below are my favorite!  Since the "copper tubes" are not curved and only an inch long, I was able to maneuver the sterling wire around the cross-pins. I also soldered little jump rings to the ends - love this mixed metal look! These remind me of bullet casings.


A few weeks ago, I made a few hollow sterling silver beads - waiting for the "next perfect match" to make a necklace.  Well, they went into this bracelet instead.  Gorgeous purple-hued Ammonite lampwork beads by Sue Kennedy (her shop is here).  My love of "no bead the same in a set" continues! The hollows remind me of clam shells, so I think this is a perfect "Beach" bracelet.


Lastly, one of my favorite new necklaces, featuring lapis, sodalite, sunset dumorlierite, some more hollow beads, and an incredible pewter cross by Vincent Cav (his shop is here). 





I am sure that I have made more jewelry since my last posting, but I don't want to bore you with all those pictures!

Since I usually end my posts discussing the weather (why do I do that??), let's just say it is Summer - Hot, Humid, Sticky...yuck!  We have had an inordinate amount of rain here in Northern Virginia, usually in the form of nasty thunderstorms.  Sarge DOES NOT appreciate this!  Wish I could send this rain to California!

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

xo
Patti

5 comments:

  1. Lots of beautiful new work! I really like the cross pins look - and the hollow sterling beads are gorgeous! I have to mention our weather too because I haven't ceased to be amazed by it since the beginning of spring. There are far more mild, low humidity days this year than I ever remember before. It's really a relief because I can enjoy being outside which isn't usually the case. I hope yours improves!

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  2. Oh, my gosh, Patti, I love that necklace!!! That is the coolest technique with the tubing and the cross pins!! I love all the things you've made even with a house full! Since the weather has been nice and hot and humid (have you been outside yet today?!) I'm sure we'll be seeing lots of gorgeousness coming out of your studio! Glad to see you're back!

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  3. All of these pieces are lovely...I love the sterling silver brushed spinner ring....Gorgeous! We would never be bored with any and ALL of your photos...really! Thank you for sharing your work!

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  4. Hi Patti,
    I am guilty of not blogging unless I am revealing a challenge or announcing one. I really need to change that. Your post are always full of gorgeous pieces that you have created a real treat to see. I love all of the pieces, but the last one is my favorite.
    Therese

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  5. Hi Patti, you have been busy. Your cross pinned pieces are fabulous.

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