Wire jewelry

The top necklace was done with wire loopies and beads put together with the eye pins. I added a lobster clasp so I could make it a double choker, if I wanted to wear it short instead of long. The nice big beads you see on it is from other pieces. You will be surprised what you can do with old, unused pearls, beads, and stuff like that. I take stuff apart all the time so I can assemble new things. I often feel the need to assemble. It is amazing what I can do with some wire, jump rings and "s" connectors.

The second necklace is a bunch of squiggles put together with the beads that I put together with eye pins. I used some jump rings and little "s" connectors. I wrapped some contrasting colored wire some of my squiggles. I give a quick tutorial on how to make the squiggles in the post after this.

The third necklace was made for a friend at work. It is just a bunch of bits and pieces put together. You just need some jump rings. Look at the picture. You can click on it to see a larger pict. I put some chains side-by-side. It is a great look when it is on. You might want to put a couple of small charms on there. I have something like it that I use as my lanyard for my school ID. Except for the gear (Tim Holtz), a lot of the little pieces are from jewelry shows I go to and from Joann's. You don't need to buy expensive things to put together. You just need to find fun and funky pieces. The silver man face beads that I use for various pieces like my copper book necklace is now sold at Joann's by Blue Moon Beads. I originally bought them from Artchix and on the Internet. When you can find old pieces that might not have all the pieces or broken clasps, take it apart to make your own signature jewelry. I have a whole box of extra stuff, if anyone would like to buy some to give this a try. Awhile back, I got a lot of stuff from an estate sale.

The bottom picture is of a bracelet I made myself this weekend. I took one of my squiggles and added some beads put on with the eye pins. There is a lobster clasp at one end. I wore it today and it looked fab on me.

I thought I would post these ideas for all of you creative people. We are all tightening our belts with this economy. If you have friends that you want to give a nice giftie to, you might want to consider making them a " __________" (put your name here) original piece of jewelry. You would be surprised how many people compliment me on the above pieces. So easy to make. The best part about it is that they are not symmetrical. They don't match! I got started on this wire binge because of a swap that is nearing its end. We are doing a private swap with 10 people where we create charms and part of the chain. We trade with each other and then put the chain together to make a necklace. You could also use the charm and piece of chain in separate pieces. The squiggles are for the chain part. They also would make great charms, if I added something at the end like beads or poly clay charms. It is so addictive when I am sitting there watching TV. Good thing I have a lot of wire on-hand.

BTW, if you want to start doing some wire wrapping, I recommend Creating Wire and Beaded Jewelry by Linda Jones. She has some great basic wiring techniques in there. Do not get this if you are an advanced wire artist. It is great for people starting out or want more ways to use wrapped wire.

Email me if you have any questions. Feel free to click on the picts for a larger view. Plz comment.