Recently in All that Glitters is Good Category

Mom came to visit last weekend and we tried some new things. We put together a saltwater etching setup, and it actually worked, somewhat to our surprise ;-)

We called it our “6th Grade Science Project”….

We tried brass and copper, and got good results with both, although we did learn that if you’re using Sharpie markers for the resist, you should use a black one, and use a regular old-fashioned felt-tip type, not one of the new retractable super-fine-point jobbies. See the November 2008 issue of Art Jewelry for all the juicy (ha!) details.

We also played with pliers and made some great chain jewelry. I started with an article from the March 2009 issue of BeadStyle and very quickly had an awesome necklace. It’s an easy project, although I didn’t like their version of the earrings once I had put them together. I just eliminated the bottom two sets of rings and was much happier with my results.

I get all my brass and niobium jump rings from SpiderChain, and I recently discovered her other site, Silver Weaver. What a feast for the eyes and imagination! Having previously realized that the tiny niobium rings are great with larger sterling rings in Japanese 6-in-1, I was inspired to try a variation that I saw on Spider’s site. I’ve worn this bracelet almost every day since :-)

Now that Spider has more sizes of niobium, we’ve ordered some of each size. I can’t wait to see how Byzantium or some of the other patterns work up with them! (And yes, obviously I talked myself into trying a different color mix! This batch is “fire,” and we ordered some “water” and “peacock” in the larger sizes and I honestly cannot decide which I like the best.)

In my fit of creativity last week I also finished up a bracelet that I started quite some time ago.

The larger links are sterling that Mom and I made and the tiny ones are niobium (the “air” mix) from Spiderchain. It’s a Japanese 6-in-1 weave and I finished it off with two foldover clasps right next to each other.

This is super-comfortable and I’ve been wearing it almost every day since I finished it. The only sad news is I’m almost out of those luscious little niobium rings, so it’s time for a reorder! (Okay, I guess that’s not so sad after all, is it? The big question is whether I’ll be able to talk myself into a different color mix. I love love love these colors but all the others look so pretty too….)

Try, try again! It took three tries to get these links and things to work together, but I’m really happy with the end result.

I originally wanted to make a “chain” with the twisted brass jump rings joining alternating Swarovski rings and gold-filled stampings, but the jump rings weren’t quiiiiite big enough. So I fiddled around some and came up with the first effort:

This looked pretty good on the board, but had a tendency to flip around when I actually wore it. The backs of the Swarovski rings are shiny silver—they look chromed—and the proportions weren’t quite right, either.

The MO and I discussed it over lunch (hey, gotta take advantage of a captive audience! plus he has good taste) and that led to the second attempt:

This was very much the look I wanted, but the sizes just didn’t play well together. The crystal rings kept hopping up too high (as you see in the center one) and as much I wished this would work, it just didn’t.

I went back to the best part of the first attempt, the dangle, and tried again. This is the end result and I love it.

I was worried that the rings would flip, but they stay put for the most part. Turns out the earrings are particularly fab. They’re just approaching too heavy for me, so they’re not all-day-wearable, but they move well and of course they’re SHINY….

After looking at the pictures again, I think I want to try my original chain idea but just with the crystal rings and the big jump rings. Looks like I’m going to have to buy some more beads!

Look what I found on sale at FusionBeads....

Yummy!! No, I don't know what I'll do with them. Yes, I want them to be here already.

1. Gems, 2. Gems, 3. Gems, 4. Gems

How gorgeous is all that?! A few weeks ago when the MO was out of town on business, I was clicking through tv channels and happened across something called Jewelry TV.... Oh my. If they had been selling their finished jewelry at that point, all this could have been avoided, because I wouldn't have looked twice, but no, they had to be selling loose gemstones. Really yummy ones. In grab bags.... So yeah, I caved. AND I'M SO GLAD I WAS WEAK.

An amethyst sink? SIGN ME UP!!!

MSN Video: The Roach Broach

Rhinestoned roaches. Wrong on so many levels....

(After the commercial and the weird intro about melba toast and soylent green.)

Just look at these goodies!

My moms & I ordered together from Fire Mountain to get the quantity discount, and I got the shipment today. Some stuff was backordered, but still a gorgeous selection! I love love loooooove beadies....

In this picture: red aventurine, peach aventurine, red jasper, rhodonite, mookite, unakite, autumn jasper, jade, and jadeite. The red stuff isn't really quite as red as it looks (on my monitor, at any rate) but it is all beautiful. We tried to get stuff that "goes together" and we did a much better job than usual. In real life, the aventurine, jasper and rhodonite look quite smashing together. Also got some Swarovski crystals in what turned out to be fairly random colors that don't really go with the gemstones after all, but you can't really call a swaro bead ugly no matter what. So I guess it's time to put together a Bead Party and make some stuff! Woohoo!

Tonight, a little surfing trip on TMI.... How could I not keep exploring after I found an industrial wire weaving machine? Sometimes the MO should be very glad we're not jillionaires with a warehouse worth of garage space....

Pix from Saturday's Bead Party are on TMI: http://themagpieinstinct.com/2005/11/bead_party.html