Little Running Guy Pendant

One of the joys of  working with wire and in being a beginner is that a whole new world opened up to me. I’m allowing myself to explore and make mistakes, something I’ve had trouble doing with other artistic endeavors (like writing).   But for some reason it seems easier with jewelry because the possiblities are so endless and what looks like a mistake now may turn into something beautiful–or at least interesting!   I don’t agonize over it.  Wire is cheap, at least the wire I use (I haven’t ventured into sterling silver or real gold yet).  I save all those little schnitzels and odds and ends that I’m not sure what to do with in a little bag. Every so often I go through the bag and pull out a schnitzel and add it to a piece I’m working on and voila!    The Little Running Guy Pendant pictured here is an example of a mistake I made when I was first experimenting with soldering that I turned into a pendant I like very much.

Lavender Sea Glass Pendant

Every summer for the past five years my husband, our good friends Beth and Fred, and our kids have been blessed to spend a week in the beauty and relaxation that a small  island off the coast of Portland, Maine affords. Over the years, we’ve collected some gorgeous sea glass and ceramic pieces.

Beth and I have had lots of fun with experimenting with creating  jewelry and ornaments with sea  glass and wire. There are a number of challenges with creating sea glass jewelry and I’m admittedly at the beginning of the learning curve.  Unlike cabochons, the sea glass I use for pendants doesn’t come with a convenient hole near the top. So I’m working on inventive ways of wrapping the wire in such a way that I don’t need to drill a hole in the sea glass to hold it within the framework.  Eventually I hope to get good enough at drilling holes in sea glass to attempt one of my finer pieces! 

But in the meantime, here are a few of my latest sea glass pendant creations. Enjoy! 

Copper Seaglass Pendant

Blue and White Beaded Seaglass Pendant

Christmas Seaglass Pendant

I’ve found a few sites that have tutorials in how to make inexpensive light boxes. They vary in complexity and cost. 

Both WikiHow and Digital Photography School use cardboard boxes as their basis.

WikiHow’s has instructions for a simple, inexpensive one and the materials are easy to come by: http://www.wikihow.com/Create-an-Inexpensive-Photography-Lightbox

Digital Photography School has a tutorial as well…somewhat more elaborate and expensive, but of course expensive is relative)….http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-make-a-inexpensive-light-tent

Studio Lighting.net’s tutorial uses a foam board and clamp on lights  http://www.studiolighting.net/homemade-light-box-for-product-photography/

There’s a tutorial at Unique Handcrafted Jewelry for a light box that uses PVC pipes and white broadcloth that costs about $20 to make http://designsbyreese-reese.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-make-light-box.html

I’m also experimenting with my own version using a styrofoam cooler and white paper.

Good luck whichever path you choose!

Rebs

Since it’s Christmastime, I’m making gifts and ornaments. I’ve created a few wire and bead snowflakes which are shown below. I hope they inspire you to make some of your own!  They are easy to make and make great gifts.  Just solder three pieces of wire together at the center, then add beads and wire to your creative content. 

Here are a few I made:

Arizona Snowflake

 I made this snowflake for my friends Bev and Fred who recently moved to Prescott. Note the beaded hook on this one.

Princess Snowflake Ornament

Pink and Blue Snowflake Ornament