Weeks 9, 10 and 11, Year of Jewelry

I'm a bit behind in my posting.  Here are my entries for the 9th, 10th and 11th weeks of The Year of Jewelry Project.

This is made with three lampwork beads from my sister, Melissa Blanton of Laurel Mountain Glass and the two copper elements at the bottom are my first attempt at wire weaving.

 

These earrings represent my very first attempt at soldering sterling silver.

 

Another necklace with my sister's beads and handmade copper elements including the clasp.

 

Week 8, Year of Jewelry

This necklace features three lamp work glass beads and handmade copper elements and clasp.

Year of Jewelry, Week 7

Back again with another piece of copper with a heat patina on a torn piece of polymer clay.  This one looks completely different.  I took last week's to the melting point to get the red color, but I was more gentle with this one.

Year of Jewelry, Week 6

I like the look of distressed metals, and this piece is really distressed.  I tortured a piece of copper with a torch until I got this amazing red and gold patina.  The black polymer clay backing piece has torn edges and is textured to look like lava rock.  The copper is riveted to the clay.

Year of Jewelry, Week 5

These weeks sure roll around fast!  Here is my entry for Week 5.  It is made from a piece of copper with a naturally occurring patina.  Then I laced around the edges with green leather and also made the cord from it.

The Year of Jewelry Project, Week 4

Free-form and loose are not words usually associated with my work.  Precise and controlled more accurately describe my typical style, so I am using this weekly project to try to expand out of my comfort zone.  I wish I could take full credit for inventing this piece, but the general design of this necklace, particularly the squiggly base and a couple of the charms were "borrowed" directly from a pin by Dia Daniels in the Feb-March 2011 issue of Step by Step Wire Jewelry. 

Close-up of charms

Handmade clasp

The Year of Jewelry Project, Weeks 2 & 3

I made this polymer clay pendant and the earrings to go with it using a Retro Pixelated Cane (from Bettina Welker's tutorial).  The pendant was made by die forming using one of Dan Cormier's dies.  I needed the earrings to be long in order to show the transition from light to dark, so I used a custom cutter I made.