Hmmm am I a no-reply blogger?

I think I've fixed it. I followed the directions at this site Fluster Buster

So, craft room cleanup and organization.

I'm about halfway through. I started back at the beginning of August, worked 2 days, long enough to make a huge mess in my dining room, then promptly caught the WORSE (put me to bed for days, and huge headache that wouldn't quit) sinus infection of my life...my usual ministrations didn't even touch it. I was so sick that after about 10 days I finally went to the doctor. (For those who know me...I NEVER go to the doctor.) Well suffice it to say, even with the antibiotic, I was sick for over a month, and am now only just feeling better. Every time I felt slightly better, I would work a little bit on my room or the mess in our dining room (tiny bit), and I would be sick again. ugh.

My poor family has been quite supportive and long-suffering. What a mess. My hubby helped me over the weekend, and I feel like my head's above water now.

Sorry no pictures, I'm too ashamed for the world to see the mess. Perhaps when my room is presentable. I'm hoping to finish in a few days.

Cheers.
Sheryl

Knots, swirls, squiggles, and tangles

So I've been looking at nautical knots, zentangles and other spirally, squiggly drawings and things. I really want to include them in my jewelry making. We'll see. Its been a while since I was here last. Sorry for the long delay. I'll try to upload a picture or two of what I've been working on.

Glass blobs pictures. Guess I forgot them a while back

backside

backside of another

newest necklace

guess what that silver band is

coiling--1st try. bracelet

earrings to match

front side

front side of another

very large pendant

1st very large pendant I made

nautilus shell ring

silver colored beads along shell, moonstone in center

side view basket weave

I had this piece of left over copper, and just messed around until
this developed

shooting star

clear glass large blob with viking weave

So, what do you think?
zsmom

Cinderella’s Pumpkin Carriage Tutorial part 2

Here goes nothing.

I got to this point and had intended on molding the bracelet around of a mandrel at that point. But it just cried out for some embellishing since it was “Cinderella’s Pumpkin Carriage”. I mean, what type of carriage was only copper colored?

Remember, I started with componenets

wire-wrapped them together

 This is where my problem started. I had some silver plate copper 26 gauge round wire, small silver beads, and some blue/purple (depends on the light) cubic beads.
Hmmmmmm. Looks like I could use viking weave in the center to make the beginnings of the carriage body. When I did decide to embellish it, I went all the way.

So here is the carriage body

Viking weave with silver beads placed in the loops

Side view. Yes, it sticks outward. Convex shaped

If that wasn't enough, I began thinking about the way a pumpkin has little tendrils that curl like springs, and hey, my carriage needed tendrils.

Tendrils and wrapped silver colored wire right side

This is how I added the tendrils. I wrapped the 26 g around a piece of 12 gauge copper wire

right side complete

Left side. Pretty!

This is what it looks from the inside

finished--sorry for the poor picture, I didn't have a good light source and it was raining

~22 cm long, just right for my wrist

close up of the carriage weave

I'm  so proud of my work.

So what's the problem?
Now that it's completely assembled,I'm in a quandary about finishing it into a bracelet. It's too pretty to bend, but it's too big for a necklace component.

So people--I'm asking for a consensus. Should I finish it as originally planned--a bracelet? or as something else?

By the way, this part 2 came out better didn't it?

Peace
Zsmom

Using MS Word for blogging was stupid...

It may be a while more for part 2 of my Cinderella Pumpkin Carriage tutorial. I found out I can't just cut and paste from a word doc. to blogger. Dumb me. I'm exceedingly frustrated, and I really wanted to have a simple way to do it. I ended up having to download the word doc to google drive and then cut and pasted, and yet it still didn't transfer the way I wanted it to.

I'll have to go back to creating in blogger. Back to the drawing board.

zsmom

Cinderella’s Pumpkin Carriage Tutorial part 1

Cinderella’s Pumpkin Carriage Tutorial

So, I was doodling and came up with a pretty wire design for a cuff bracelet using round wire. As I began to form the frame using dead soft 14 gauge round copper wire, my daughter, Sarah, says, “Hey, that looks like Cinderella’s carriage as it turns from a pumpkin to the carriage!” Thus the name of my piece was born, but in the end it also caused a quandary.
First –a rough draft—it came about because I wanted a very fluid piece.   I made the small components first, and taped the longer wire together to allow me to bend them at the same time. I used a mandrel for the beginning curve. Then used a larger mandrel for the big curve. Then back to the smaller curve. 
While the wires are still taped together, I turned the little loop with round nose pliers. 
So far this is what it looks like. 
So using my pattern, I checked the curves—uh oh—a problem. 
My little loop doesn’t line up.
I readjusted the curves and continued following the pattern. 
Continuing the pattern. 
Little more to go. 
a bit more at the end. 
 I had to cut the extra wire length. (on my notes I subtracted the extra I cut off to update my measurements in my notebook.
sorry for the blurriness. I forgot to file the cut ends to smooth them until now. 
My next one I make will be filed before I begin bending it. 
I had to use my palm to bend the last part of the pattern—a small loop.
then pressed the last way with my index finger.
 Now all the components are made. I lined them up. Looking good! 

I used a fisherman’s fly vice to hold my frame. Thanks Dad for the suggestion to use it. 
closer view—time to wire-wrap the connectors. 
  I used ½  round 21    
gauge copper.       
Now the other side.  
Now it’s all together.
…What to do now? See part 2.