 |
my first attempt at earrings. i got the idea from earrings i saw on a store website. i rushed out to buy the materials the same day as my karate holiday party, and thankfully i got them done just in time to wear. they're snowflake obsidian with 24 gauge silver-plated copper wire and store-bought sterling silver earring wires/hoops. |  |
also got the idea from some i saw elsewhere. i've made several versions of these and given them away. they're made of store-bought sterling silver chain, 24 gauge silver-plated copper wire, and store-bought earring wires. |  these are very similar to the first ones, made of garnet, 24 gauge silver-plated copper wire, and store-bought earring wires. |
 these are made of sterling silver store-bought chain, 24 gauge silver-plated copper wire, moss agate and hematite beads, and store-bought earring wires. |
 |
these are apparently an ancient egyptian design i learned to make from a book i got from the library. these are made of 20 gauge copper wire i got at the hardware store for like $3 for 40 feet! it did take forever to make and put together though, and it's the piece i'm most proud of. | ||||
 |
grapes! these have a hand-made chain in the middle made of 24 gauge silver-plated copper wire, to which i stuck all the various beads. at this point, i didn't have any head pins so making them was a pain for these earrings since there are so many beads involved. it also doesn't look the best close-up. the earring wires are store bought. |  |
these are like the earrings above except with garnet instead of moss agate. also the store-bought silver chain is different. |  |
these i made with store-bought silver chain and formed the beads to be in the shape of a diamond. in a rare moment of creativity, i actually came up with this design myself :) |
 i like chain-mail for some reason, so i made this bracelet over a few weeks, working on it little by little. it's made of 16 gauge silver-plated copper. i couldn't find cheap 16 gauge silver, and the silver-plated stuff was a lot more affordable, especially for something with this much wire. |
 here is a bracelet made of 16 gauge silver-plated copper wire with purple beads. i couldn't pound this one with a hammer as it would break the beads. |
||||||
 |
i had just bought some 16 gauge silver-plated copper wire, which is significantly thicker and harder to manage than 24, and was basically practicing making shapes. i found this anklet design in various books and sites. i also bought a chasing hammer and anvil and practiced hammering this to create a different look. |  |
at this point, i've got solid sterling silver 16, 18, 20, and 24 gauge wire and earring wires which i found cheaply on an internet shop. this is made from a silver chain, which i bought and cut up to form the four rings. then i added the beads using 24 gauge sterling silver wire and sterling silver earring wires. i wish i had come up with this design myself but i totally copied. (everything from this point on is made from solid sterling silver wire unless otherwise noted.) |  |
i'm using up the remains from the silver chain i bought for the previous earrings here. |  |
these are basically the same chandelier earrings with store-bought silver chain and 24 gauge silver wire and earring wires. just the beads are different. these were made as a gift. |
 |
these are essentially the same as the previous except that the chain used i actually made myself from 24 gauge sterling silver wire and i actually made the earring wires myself too out of 20 gauge silver wire :) |  these are made from 20 gauge silver wire that i shaped into these swirls and pounded to harden. i saw someone wearing earrings kinda like these and really liked the idea. i thought they were a pretty unique idea and very simple. |
 these are little flower designs i made but have no clue what to do with. they're made from 20 gauge silver wire. |
 |
i wanted to make a jangly dangling bracelet for my mom and thought i had an idea that would work. i ended up redoing this damn bracelet over and over and over again and gave up on it for quite a while. but when i showed the work-in-progress to my mom randomly, she actually liked it so i finally finished it. it's made of blue ovalish beads and pink freshwater pearls on 24 gauge silver wire. the clasps were made of 20 gauge silver wire. |
 |
these i made in san diego for my mom. i bought these cloissonne beads earlier cuz i thought they looked really chinese and figured my mom might like them. they're just made of 20 gauge silver wire, and the earring hook was hand made as well. |  |
these i also made while i was down in san diego visiting. i had brought my drawer/box of supplies with me. the beads are clear glass with what look like tiny strips of black thread or something inside. i just thought they were neat looking and so decided to make some basic simple earrings with them. they're made of 24 gauge silver wire and a store-bought silver earring hoop. |  |
these earrings are based on a pair that my mom had when i was really young. i always thought they were neat and recently heard my mom mention how she used to really like those. so i got the idea to try to replicate them. this is my attempt. i hammered five pieces of 18 gauge silver wire with a chasing hammer on an anvil to create the flat strips which widened at the ends, and used 20 gauge silver wire to create the earring hoops. one side effect of hammering those strips is that they're now like knife sharp! |
 this i made with the leftover chain i had bought previously. the chain and store-bought earring hoops are sterling silver, and i think the beads are glass. i haven't decided which configeration i like better, so maybe i'll just wear them like this for a while and see if anyone notices ;) |
 |
i made this necklace for my mom for mother's day. i think it's the first necklace i've made since my current jewelry-making kick (so it's been a long time). she had mentioned previously that she wanted a long necklace. i chose these bluish-purple beads cuz i think they pretty much match with everything. they're also kinda iridescent and swirly so i thought they were pretty. the chain i made from 20 gauge sterling silver wire. i made a latch for this, but then i realized it was long enough to fit over your head so decided to do away with it. i can always add it back if my mom decides she wants to shorten it or just plan wants a latch. i hope she likes this cuz i used a ton of wire and pretty much all of these particular beads to make it. it also took several hours (i now remember why i don't like to make necklaces). still, i'm pretty happy with the results. |