YOJ 2012 Week 13 & 14

So this lovely couple contacted me...each one separately. They have their 25th wedding anniversary today. First the husband contacted me and asked me to make a spinner ring for his wife. A few days later the wife contacted me and asked me to make the same spinner ring for her hubby! And they were both doing this as a surprise for each other. It was a LOT of fun keeping their secret from each other, conspiring, coordinating, sneaking behind their backs to make sure they had the right messages on the rings, and that the rings looked very similar :-))). The 831 on their rings is a code that has a special meaning for them both. The gold spinner and the silver spinner symbolize the masculine and the feminine...thereby signifying them both.

This is the wife's ring:

And this is the husband's ring:

Both are made with Argentium Sterling Silver sheet, sterling silver wire, and 14K Gold-filled wire. And I have stamped the messages on them.

Hubby also gave his wifey a pair of earrings...these are made of absolutely clear quartz crystal drops, and sterling silver. I antiqued the silver black and tumble polished it for high shine.

 

YOJ 2012 Week 12: Picasso Jasper heart pendant, fine silver

This is a Picasso Jasper heart that I have wire wrapped with fine silver and sterling silver. I have added a small Ruby bead to it. The stone got a bit scratched while wrapping....and I read later that this stone is very delicate and soft, and can get damaged easily. Next time I'll be more careful. It took me a long time to make this, because the stone and the wires were not in any mood to cooperate with each other. However, I do think it turned out nice. After taking pictures I can see that I need to file the wire ends on the curls more...and I'll do that before listing it on my Artfire store.

YOJ 2012 Week 10: Amethyst ring

To buy this ring, go to link below:

 http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product_view/fleurviolettejewelry/4537368/Amethyst_sterling_silver_handmade_ring/Jewelry/Rings/Metalsmithed

 

 

 

Continuing with my stint with metalsmithing, I decided to use a sterling patterned wire I had bought eons back. And created this bezel setting for an Amethyst cab. Then I antiqued it with LOS to bring out the pattern, and tumbled polished it for hours to get a high shine. This is a US size 9 ring. I love the ring. And because I have not made such a thing forever, no one in my family believed I had made it....they thought I bought it. LOL!!

Week 9: Spinner ring with 3 spinners

This is a size 5 ring. The main shank is made of 18 gauge sterling silver. It is 1/2" wide. The  words stamped on it are, "love and angel blessings". It has 3 spinners on top on it. Two are sterling silver 16 gauge, and one is 14K gold-filled 14 gauge. 

I hadn't done silversmithing for a while, and really enjoyed making this! There is going to be a few spinner rings even after this, and a couple of bezel set rings.

YOJ 2012 - Week 7 Pottery from the past

To buy this, go to:

http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product_view/fleurviolettejewelry/4386346

To buy this, go to:

http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product_view/fleurviolettejewelry/4386346

I made this using the new wire my new friend Nicole Hanna told me about (her blog link is in my blogroll). It is copper wire, painted with antique bronze, and then enameled. I LOVE how this wire looks. It is a lot harder to make this kind of pottery with it because it is not as soft as pure fine silver wire. But I sure do love its looks, and the price doesn't hurt either :-).

This piece is based on the earthenware pots we used to have when I was a child, growing up in India. We stored water in them to keep water cool. We called this kind of a pot "Surahi".

I couldn't find any ready made chains in this finish/material. I was trying to find those to keep the price of the piece down. As it is, this type of weaving and shaping with this wire took a long time and plenty of blisters, I didn't want to add more to the labor cost by hand making the chain as well. However, I found no chain that looked just like this wire, so I created my own with 24 gauge wire of the same kind, and cream colored fresh water pearls. I have kept the chain long because this kind of a pendant does not look nice on a short chain. I have not really measured the chain, but the pendant falls around the heart or just below. The chain is so long it does not need a clasp, so instead of a clasp, I added a BIG white fresh water pearl, and made a scroll on it with the wire I am so in love with.

So...what you think?

I have been wanting to learn pottery for ages now. But no time for that. So I will use wire to do my own pottery :-).

Oh...and the last 2 pictures...that was just something I was playing with in Photobucket edit mode after seeing Nicole's black and white picture with color splash :-D.

In case you are wondering where I got this lovely wire from, I got it from Etsy...this store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/UnkamenSupplies?ref=top_trail  The owner Ralph is a really nice and friendly person. Very helpful too! :-).

YOJ 2012 - Week 4 Fine silver woven trinket box

 

 

 

I had intended this to be a long bottle shape, somewhat like the first one I did, only longer and narrower, with a pointy bottom. You can see the first one here: http://fleurviolettejewelry.blogspot.com/2010/07/message-in-bottle-necklace.html But I had forgotten how I had shaped it, or how I had woven it. So I ended up messing up the shape and the weaving. 

I knew this will not turn into a bottle...and I had to turn it into a lidded box.So I thought it was time to be brave and try the hinge and clasp shown in Mary's trinket box tutorial here: http://theangstyartist.blogspot.com/2010/08/trinket-box-101.html I was quite terrified, but this was going to be no bottle...and if I had to salvage my fine silver, I needed to get brave and try the hinge and clasp. So I did. Thank you Mary for your fantastic tutorial!! I made a lid, and when I started making the lid, I remembered how I had woven the first bottle. So the lid weaving is different from the bottom weaving. 

The hinge alignment is not perfect.The box and the lid don't fit too good.

Many mistakes, but I still love this tiny little shiny box. Just looking at it makes me happy. It has a very happy feeling about it. I will keep doing this till I do it better. Because I love vessels, doors and windows! :-D I don't know why. Maybe because each holds within or beyond it, the promise of something probably fun, exciting, beautiful?

The box is made entirely of fine silver (pure silver). The bead on the clasp is a Ruby. The chain is sterling silver. The clasp is handmade.

YOJ 2012 - week 3 Agate pendant with woven bail

This time I did not pick up an old unfinished project. Instead I picked up an old bead I had bought years back. I had this woven bail in mind for it, but the bail turned out a tad too big for my liking. However, I decided not to undo it, because first, it doesn't look too bad, and second, I am still trying to get back into the flow of jewelry designing and creating once again. It is really easy at this time for me to just give up and stop. So I am going to keep it as it is :-). The bail is made with fine silver wire, and a sterling silver Sea Horse charm hangs in front. The tiny beads on the bail are Carnelians. the main focal bead...I think is an Agate. I bought it so long ago, I don't remember what it is. If you have a clue, let me know. I am guessing Agate because of the banding.

YOJ 2012 - Week 2 Goldfilled wire and unknown beads bracelet

In carrying on with my "Turning a New Leaf" resolution, and finishing all unfinished projects, I fished this piece out. Someone had given me these beads some 3 or more years ago to make a bracelet for her. I know...shameless of me :-((! But what happened was, I had these beads in my purse. The purse got stolen. Then the purse got recovered. Then I started to lose all interest in everything possible, including jewelry making, and even though I had started this bracelet, I never finished it...just like many other pieces. Now that I have solemnly resolved to hereby complete everything, I dug this out too. I hope the owner of these beads is not too mad at me. Of course I will not charge her a dime for this. But I sure do want her to have this. And I hope she likes it, and receives many blessings. I don't know what these beads are. They look really pretty though. And they are quite light. So this is my YOJ week 2 project.

Turning over a new leaf in 2012

I haven't been making jewelry for the longest time. And when I would try to, I would end up leaving projects incomplete. I have a whole graveyard full of stuff that need to be completed. So I decided to turn over a new leaf this year...and decided to get back to making jewelry again, and completing all my past projects. So I joined YOJ to motivate me. I had made this leaf with PMC, and then did nothing with it. It was made from a leaf from a tree just outside my home. So I fished out the leaf, and added a Ruby brio, and several Peridots to it. Added a chain, and made a clasp for my first piece for YOJ 2012.

Click on the picture to see it enlarged and clearer.

A Mary Magdalene Ring

I don't know if Mary Magdalene really existed. And if she did, I don't know how she really was, or how her life was...etc. But I do know I am very intrigued by her! Very! I like the stories about her....things I read, things I hear about her. She is fascinating, an enigma. I was told by a very intuitive friend that Garnets and pearls together signify Mary Magdalene. And recently a lovely woman, who is very intuitive herself, and very close to Mary Magdalene spiritually, asked me to make a Garnet ring for her. I asked her if I could add a tiny pearl, and ask MM to weave her energy and blessings too into the wire weavings. She said yes. And this is the result below. Made of sterling silver, fine silver, garnet, a tiny pearl, and a tiny sterling silver bead.

Two handmade jewelry gifts I cherish with all my heart!

I cherish all gifts given to me, but here I will talk of two handmade jewelry pieces I got from two friends who are very special to me. They are both amazingly creative jewelry artists. Both make totally unique pieces...that are their very own style. And they both are huge inspirations to me.

1) AMETHYST PENDANT
Last year....in 2010, Shay made, what in my opinion was her VERY best piece until then. I really loved it, but knew I could not afford it. And guess what Shay did? She sent it to me as my birthday gift. I was speechless. Her work is so different from most, and yet her style is very her. I can recognize her work anywhere! I will not speak more about what she made...let her piece speak for herself. It a lovely silver and Amethyst pendant. She hasn't made jewelry for the longest time due to pain in her hands. But now her hands are getting better, and we will soon see beautiful pieces being created by her once again. And here are her links:

http://www.ShayStone.blogspot.com
http://www.AllThatIAm.etsy.com
https://www.facebook.com/ShaysBook

2) LEAFY BROOCH
This year I was blessed again with another beautiful gift! This was from Mary. I often just go to her blog when I am feeling sad, low, uninspired, or plain and simple just to drool over eye-candy. She is very dedicated to the wire arts, and is always challenging herself to make something different, better. I love everything she makes, especially the vessels! Various shapes, sizes of vessels made entirely of wire weaving. You have just got to see her work! And I often wondered what should I buy from her, because I always wanted to own one of her pieces. I had never said this to her, but one day she just emailed me and asked me if she could send me a piece she made!! I was once again left speechless! Here is the piece she sent me...one I had looked at for many consecutive days, marvelling at the simplicity, elegance, beauty and craftsmanship...a leaf brooch. And here are her links:

http://www.theangstyartist.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wired-Elements/127714920578975?ref=ts
http://www.etsy.com/shop/wiredelements

If you aren't already familiar with the work of these two jewelry artists, I will suggest you head off to their blogs as soon as you get the chance! :-)))

My second Artfire collection: For the Sun God -- Yellows and Oranges

This is for the Sun God :-))). I love you very much Mr. Sun. You are awesome! :-))) Please click on the "View this collection" button so you can see all the gorgeous pieces made by various Artfire jewelry artists.

Sunny Yellows and...

Curated By: fleurviolette...

ArtFire.com

Vintage Fashion

Puffy Marquis Champagne Quartz, Tourmaline, 14k goldfilled, handmade, wire wrapped earrings

I fell in love with these gorgeous puffy marquis champagne quartz briolettes when I saw them at the Intergem gemshow. Bought myself the whole strand :-). And this is the first thing I have made with these brios. I have them listed at my Artfire store:

http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=1523378

Garnet and Gold-Filled Wire earrings.

Got sold today itself! :-)) I wrote this blog entry this morning, wrote about it on Facebook and Twitter, and a wonderful gentleman on Facebook bought these and my bio-lemon drop earrings :-)). Thank you Andrew! :-))

I was going to make hoops, but then 1/4 way (yes, exactly 0.25 of the way ;-) ) I decided I wanted to try a spiral earring instead. So I first made these spiral earrings in 14k Gold-filled wire, hammered it, and was going to leave it at that. It looked pretty good that way. But 2 days later I changed my mind (of course), and now we have Garnet beads woven/coiled on the spiral frame. These are beads that I totally fell in love with. They are absolutely gorgeous, and one of those things I went over my budget to buy.

Tourmaline, Green Gold, sterling silver, gold filled, woven, wire wrapped earrings

To buy these or to see more pictures, go to http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=24908216 I am offering free shipping during May and June for celebrating the opening of my new Etsy shop for wire jewelry.

These earrings are 3" long from the top of the ear wires to the bottom of the green gold drops. They are 1.1" wide at their widest part. The green gold drops are 15mm long, and beautifully faceted. The tourmaline beads that border the frame are micro-faceted and glitter in light. I have blacked the sterling silver wire, and used 14K gold-filled wire for design inside, and for the hand made ear wires. The combination of black and gold looks very dramatic.

The stones are so beautifully faceted and of such high quality that when you wear them, they catch and reflect light absolutely divinely! To me this is very important when buying most faceted stones. They should reflect light really nicely.

I have tried them on with regular dresses for the day time, and really "dressy" party dresses for night time, and strangely they look perfectly great on both kinds of outfits. They give a very feminine and elegant look.

PLEASE NOTE:
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I always change the ear wires to new ones before selling them.

I am still learning how to photograph gemstones properly so my photographs really don't show how remarkable all these stones are.

Healing properties:
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Tourmalines are said to enhance understanding, increase self-confidence and amplify psychic energies. It is also said to dispel negative energies, fear and grief. They help with concentration and communication. They energize you, and also relax your body and mind, and relieve you of anxiety. It is said that Tourmalines help with arthitis pain and heart disease.

Peas for Mary

This pendant is made for a wonderful person called Mary. The pea pod is adapted from a tutorial on peapods at http://www.rings-things.com/ (go to the design link, and then to the "sweet pea" tutorial). Or, go to http://www.rings-things.com/gallery/thumbnails-55.html and click on the Sweet Pea tutorial. For some reason I can't get to the direct link. Dave (owner of the Rings-Things store) has graciously given the direct link here in the comments...see if you can get there by clicking it. For some reason I cannot. At any rate, its a great online store for jewelry supplies, tutorials etc. Take a look around over there :-).

I have changed it a little by twisting the shape of the pod instead of keeping it straight, so the pod twists to the left. And I did not making any holes...instead I soldered the wire and made tendrils with it. The sheet is sterling silver and the wire is fine silver.

Tourmaline Movable Ring

Made of sterling silver. The band on top is movable, and is roller printed with the veins of a dry leaf. The stone is Tourmaline. Size 7.

Jade Necklace

Made with Orange Jade central briolette, fresh water pearls, tiny white and honey Jade beads and sterling silver and fine silver wire.

YOJ week8: Not on theme

Been really busy...more than ever. With orders (yayyy!) and other things in life. So the theme was Argentina Culture. But I couldn't find the time to to research and make something with that. I did find time to create this tiny little (tiny little by my standards...because I work on bolder designs mostly) pendant. It is Sponge Coral with Sterling Silver.