My Latest Addiction: 24-Gauge Aluminum Wire with Freshwater Pearls

Here's a photo for you:

(Maybe I should call this post "screwing around with my Kodak Easyshare camera.")  Here's another one, which I kind of like even though it's horribly out of focus:

 
It looks very "other-worldly" -- kind of like a glowing cauldron or a magical circle.   A session with my pliers and a lot of swearing produces this (which was NOT taken with the Kodak Easyshare):

(This is copper-colored aluminum wire, by the way.)  I resisted using aluminum wire for a long time, mostly from snobbery.  I preferred gold and silver wire ...  It took me awhile to make the transition, but once I did I was hopelessly hooked.  Aluminum wire is easier to bend, so it can be worked by hand with the occasional use of pliers for the sharper angles and curves.  It's especially great with baroque pearls, such as the ones pictured above, which are irregularly shaped and sometimes challenging to wrap.  And it comes in amazing colors, which I find much more interesting than just gold and silver.   

The paint finish on aluminum wire is easy to mar with sharp metal objects, so I use plastic-coated pliers so it doesn't get too banged up.  (I have a separate set of pliers just for this purpose.)

Anyway, give aluminum wire a try.  You won't regret it. 

Tarot Art and Steampunk Accessories, Courtesy of Jintrinsique

My creative friends inspire and encourage me all the time.  My friend Jen (a.k.a. “Jin”) likes to make art from Tarot cards, such as plaques and magnets, embellishing them with beads, gold paint and other magical things.  Jen, who is an accomplished pastry chef, closed her pastry shop to move across the country to be with her boyfriend (now husband), and she creates food and art with him in sunny Florida.  Here is one of her Tarot-inspired plaques.

Jen and her husband were recently married at the Florida Botanical Gardens, with a steady stream of rain for good luck.  She wore steampunk jewelry she made herself.

… and a jaunty steampunk hat.  The hat led her to create her own steampunk hats, and here are two of them.  They have already been featured in a fashion show, and elicit praise and excitement wherever they appear.  What I love about Jen’s hats are the lush combinations of colors, textures and patterns:

You can check out more of Jen’s Tarot-inspired art at her Etsy shop, Jintrinsique:   https://www.etsy.com/shop/jintrinsique?ref=pr_shop_more

My Musical Jewelry

Some of my bling actually makes a kind of music.  For the past year or so, I have been designing jewelry from metal connector links, and it really is fun.  When I hang the links close together, the necklaces make this sort of gentle clinking sound that is soothing.  Here are some examples:

Have a great weekend !!!

Recycling and Jewelry

I love the idea of recycling, and I try to incorporate recycled elements into my jewelry whenever possible (i.e., the floppy disk hubs).  The African beads in these necklaces are made from recycled brass, using the lost wax process. It is an arduous procedure that involves destroying the mold to retrieve the newly created bead:

 
Here's another necklace made from African beads:

The crimson beads are made from faceted carnelian, which is about as fancy as I get ... with tangerine gold aluminum chain.  And the patterned beads are wood.

In this era when we are told to constantly grasp for more, maybe what we really need to do is transform what we already have; to make it new and fresh.  Just a thought.

Here I am again.  I'm trying to get back into the swing of blogging.  The beginning of a year is always challenging for me, filled with activity.  I hope you're having a better time of it than I am.

Anyway, this seems like a good time to mention my floppy disk jewelry.  About a year ago, a coworker gave me a pile of old floppy disks and asked me to destroy them.  I asked her if I could have the hubs for making jewelry, and she said yes.  For a year now, I have been cleaning, painting, hammering and gluing stuff onto floppy disks, but it wasn't until a month or so ago that I had anything to show for it.  Here's where I am right now:

This has been a tough project.  I didn't realize when I began it that floppy disk hubs are made with industrial-grade stainless steel.  They are not intended for exposure to the elements, so they have to be painted or sealed in some manner to keep them from rusting.  I chose to paint them with an acrylic-based paint.

This necklace is made of floppy disk hubs, black aluminum chain and Swarovski crystals.

As I mentioned, I have other plans for the floppies as well.  This is an ongoing obsession.  So expect to see more of this stuff.

Have a great weekend!

An Extremely Freaky Chain Necklace

Well, I warned you.  This necklace has a little extra "freak" built into it.  When I first started this project, I was very inspired by the great bib necklaces that were everywhere.  I had intended the black aluminum chain to lend a slightly "goth" element to it, although I must admit that the Swarovski crystals are a little too sweet for a hard-line goth.  Oh well.  But that was my starting point.  The lowest circular link in this necklace likes to move around a bit -- sometimes it goes horizontal, although most often vertical.  It's kind of cool and kind of disturbing.  I would like to continue with this concept, and one of these days I plan on making a bib necklace that dangles closer to the cleavage area.  

Curb Chain's Sweeter, Sexier Side

I have wanted to make jewelry with REALLY BIG CHAIN for some time.  About six years ago I bought a length of stainless steel chain at the hardware store and  tried to make some jewelry with it.  It was pointless -- it was too heavy and I couldn't find a clasp that could stand up to it.  About a year ago I discovered aluminum curb chain, which to me is a dream come true -- this chain in particular is very large -- 14mm x 10mm -- yet extremely light.  I dig the whole "combining high with low" concept, so I enjoyed wire-wrapping it with peach freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystals and silver (zinc alloy) beads.  

The chain has a gunmetal finish and is 20 inches long, with a pewter toggle clasp.  This is another necklace that I can say was inspired by my nieces, who have taught me to always have fun, no matter what. Particularly with my jewelry!