Following the lead of Ms. Cilla Watkins of Tell Your Girlfriends, I posted a quick sign-up to "Pay It Forward". The first 3 people to comment on my blog would receive a handmade gift from me. In turn, they would blog, and send a gift to the first 3 responders on their blog...and so on. What a neat concept! I sent a brief list of questions to the recipients, i.e, what colors and metals do you wear, wrist size, etc. Once everyone responded, I got to work.
First up is Ms. Kari Asbury of Hippie Chick Design. She said she liked blues and purples - a favorite combination of mine, as well. I made her a bracelet of sterling silver and 3 beautiful blue swirled lampwork beads from Sue Kennedy, along with some purple lampwork beads, a deep blue lampwork nugget bead, and a sterling silver diamond-shaped filigree bead.
Click on pictures for a larger view.
Next up is Ms. Lisa Lodge from Pine Ridge Treasures. She preferred "classic-styled" jewelry in silver, and typically wears bracelets and earrings. I had these gorgeous filigree lampwork beads from Sue Kennedy - one of my all-time favorite bead styles. I also had some tear drop shaped beads from Unicorne - the matte finish on both bead styles complemented each other so well - so I set off to make Lisa a bracelet.
Next up is Ms. Stephanie Stamper of Rainy Day Designs. I happen to know that she has 3 children, and she answered that she liked brass, copper, and silver. Well, I had JUST replaced my old disc cutter and was still in "metal mode" at the time. So, I got to work and made her an ID necklace with one brass disc, one copper disc, and one sterling silver disc. After stamping her children's names on their respective discs, I antiqued the copper and silver discs using liver of sulfur. Luckily, I had recently received Kerry Bogert's Rustic Wrappings book - which included tips and recipes to antique the brass, which does not react with liver of sulfur.
Once the tags were made, I made a bail from sterling silver wire and attached the new pendant to some Vintaj chain and clasp. I like how it turned out!
I had fun with this and I hope the recipients enjoy their gifts!
I will be headed to ARTBliss Workshops tonight for a full weekend of jewelry-making classes with Kerry Bogert and Stacie Florer! I have been looking forward to this for months now and cannot believe it is finally here! I am equally excited to meet all of the "virtual jewelry artists" whose blogs I read daily and share comments on Facebook!! I started to pack last night (lots of materials and tools to bring), but did not get very far! I. Must. Pack.... Now.!!
Have a good weekend and thank you for stopping by!
