Feather with Love

I found this fascinating challenge on the Bead Soup Cafe's (BSC) face book page. The hostess posts an inspirational picture on BSC's main page, along with a short blurb to get everyone inspired to create something. This is the fourth in a round robin event for the Non-Blogger group, though bloggers can take part :-)  Then on Feb 10th, Posting Day, everyone who has signed up posts a picture of each item they have made. This time round the challenge was a as you can see to make something inspired by the bright colours of a red macaw - a bit of a challenge as these primary colours are difficult to wear all together at once!

I decided to keep it small, simple and picked up on the "love" part of the challenge with a pair of heart shaped earrings made from silver wire. Once the wire shapes had been made - a marker pen made an excellent mandrel for the outer curve - I wired on some red glass bicones from Dubai's amazing Chinese emporium Dragon Mart to suggest the body of the parrot and made a pair of dangles using similar blue bicones and a little hint of yellow via a couple of seed beads. Et voila:

 Now I've cracked the shape I think I'll make a few more in other colours for your truely using sterling silver wire! About 8-10 cm of 0.8mm wire is required for each earring plus a headpin for each dangle and another couple of similar lengths of thinner (0.5mm) wire to attach the red beads. The latter depends on the size of the beads used. If you are doing this yourself don't forget to file the wire ends so they don't tear your ears when inserting.

Handmade Thursday

I love earrings but have always shied away from making my own hooks until recently when I bought a book* offering a myriad of wire earring ideas. I own a beautiful pair of sterling silver earrings that I bought in Sweden several years ago that consist of a single wire bent in half with a loop at one end from which dangles a tiny silver ball. Inspired by them and guided by the book here are my first entirely-made-by-me earrings!

Take ten centimetres of wire, turn a tiny loop at one end, add some beads, bend the wire at right angles in the middle above the beads then use your fingers to smooth one or both sides into a pleasing curve. Finish off by carefully filing the tip of the wire smooth so it won't tear or scratch your ear.  Also ensure that the loops face the same way on each earring, I noticed when photographing this pair that mine don't quite match!

These wires are silver plate as I didn't want to waste any expensive sterling wire but I am so pleased with the result I think I now trust my self to remake them in sterling silver.




For more Handmade Thursday ideas click on the image to the right

* The book is called 101 Wire Earrings by Denise Peck and is published by Interweave ISBN: 9781596681415

From Texas Oaks... Earrings Grow

Capitol Gardens, Austin TX

Texas is not flat grassland as I found out soon after the plane landed back in mid-August. Austin is in Hill Country - rolling limestone hills covered in ancient oak trees and very pretty. The trees and some earrings worn by a young lady serving at Bead It have inspired me to attempt some 3D beading for the first time.

The Bead It lady had on a fantastic punk-style collar about 10 - 15 cm wide in wire and mainly black seed beads rather like a spiders web in construction. The outer edge had a spiky fringe and her earrings matched this. I liked the 3D effect of the earrings so was inspired to have a go at making something similar but more twig-like to represent the oak trees dotted all over the city of Austin.

Once I'd worked out that in order to get the "branches" hanging downwards, construction had to start from the top it was comparatively easy to make my first "twig" and took about 90 minutes. The second was much quicker, simply following the pattern of the first.  Here's approximately how I did it:
1. Using a long length of fine fishing line (about 65cm/26ins long) I threaded on one silver crimp tube (simpy for decoration and to provide a cover for the final knot), twenty five brown seeds and one green one (all approx size 11). Then by-passing the green bead rethread back through all 25 browns and the crimp tube to the top of the "main branch". Slide everything so that the non-working end is about 8 cm long and add a locking bead to this end to prevent the it being pulled through. Pull tight but not too taut, as you'll need to be able to create a little space between the beads for the thread to exit from at intervals down the work.
2. Add a silver jump ring, preferrably soldered to prevent the fine tread slipping off when worn. and thread the line back through the top 4 beads, add 4 brown seeds plus one green. Skip the green and thread back to the main part. Lay the work down and pull up your first "twig" to the main work.
3. Pass the thread down through the next bead in the main part. Try to exit on the opposite side from the previous "twig". Add 6 browns and one green. Bypass the green and thread back through 4 browns then the two remaining brown seeds back to the main branch. Pull the thread to ease the twig up agaisnt the main branch.
4. Thread the line down another 5 beads in the main part and again exiting on the opposite side to the previous "twig" construct another multi-branched twig as in step 3.
5. Go down one more main bead, exit on the opposite side of the work to step 4 and construct a simple twig as in step 2.
6. Thread down through 5 more beads on the main, exit on the other side and repeat step 3.
7. Thread down through 4 beads on the main part, exit and add 3 brown seeds plus one green. Bypass the green and thread the line up trough the entire main branch to the top. Its easiest to do this in stages, gently pulling everything together as you go.
8. Remove the locking bead and thread both ends, through the jump ring and down through the crimp bead. gently ease the crimp and topmost bead to create a small space. Wrap one end of the line around the exposed threads and tie a surgeons knot using both line ends. Add a dab of nail varnish or glue to the knot and once dry thread the line ends into the work and trim. (I forgot to pack any clear nail varnish or glue in my travelling jewellery kit or make-up bag so will finish off the ends once I get home!)
9. Make another to match and add a silver earring hook to each ensuring if possible that they lie in opposite directions - don't worry if they don't, nature isn't always symmetrical!

Looking at the completed twigs I wonder if made in white with pastel ends they could be coral or would green with red ends look good for Christmas?