Copper wire wrapped enamel rainbow necklace

With practice, I'm getting better at making champleve enameled pieces. When I add the enamel to the grooves, it no longer overflows and the colors have become a lot less wonky. I now know that I need to add a base color (usually white or clear glass) in order for the top layers to come out right -- but I'm also getting the feel for how many coats to add so that the glass surface remains flush with the metal frame.

My latest creation, this copper and enamel rainbow pendant, was actually made as a test strip. When making enamel jewelry, you can never be 100 percent sure how a color will turn out after being fired in the kiln (you are depending on chemical reactions, after all), so we make test strips to get a feel for how colors will look. In this case, I laid out a layer of silver foil beneath the colored glass and wanted to see how the colors looked against the silver. Good thing I did the test because the pink turned yellow and the yellow turned orange! As my teacher pointed out, "cool colors" like purple and blue look great with silver beneath, but for "warm colors," like reds and yellows and pinks, you need gold foil.

Anyway, I liked the rainbow stripe design, especially with the shimmery silver beneath, so I decided to turn this test strip into a necklace. It's simple, but very colorful and I think that the silver undertone adds a complexity to the different hues. I especially like how it looks in the sun when you can see the sparkle in the foil.

I'm always experimenting with projects and have many that don't turn out well -- but sometimes I end up with a happy accident!

To purchase my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs or MayaGirl Creations.

Wire wrapped and enamel rainbow jewelry photo gallery

I usually don't discuss current events on this blog, but in honor of it being Gay Pride Month -- and in honor of today's important Supreme Court decisions -- here are a few of my favorite rainbow-colored wire wrapped and enamel jewelry pieces. Check out the rest of my collection at Naomi's Designs or MayaGirl Creations.

Chandelier confetti earrings in rainbow colored anodized aluminum

Yep, I'm still on my anodized aluminum kick, though after today's labor-intensive project, I think I may need a little break. Here is my latest creation: chandelier confetti earrings made of rainbow colored anodized aluminum:

I love how these turned out, but they took hours to make; I worked on them all day, in fact. The most time-consuming aspect probably had to be the filing of each one of those little abstract shapes that are dangling from the base.

I think that these earrings are so much fun, though! I call them confetti earrings because the dangles remind me of confetti that's thrown at a party. I like that they're so colorful because they're just so ... happy! You can't help ut be in a good mood when you look at all of those bright colors.

To purchase these earrings or my other jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs or MayaGirl Creations.

Wire wrapped rainbow jewelry designs

Looking through my jewelry collection, it hit me that I've made a lot of rainbow inspired pieces. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised by this as I've always loved rainbows. I always check for rainbows after a storm and often dream about them. In one dream, millions of rainbows filled the sky until the sky was nothing but colors. I was told that this symbolized good luck. I hope this is the case!

When I was 17, I traveled cross country with my parents over the summer. One evening in Colorado, my mom dragged me out of the shower, my hair still full of suds. I was angry until she took me out to our hotel room terrace, where we spied a gigantic full double rainbow looming over the mountains. It was amazing!

Another great rainbow that I saw was when my husband and I were in Iceland and visited Gullfoss Waterfall, which are beautiful double falls. It was February and the falls were frozen, but a semi-permanent rainbow stretched across the sky.

I guess these images have stayed with me because the rainbow often turns up in my jewelry. Here are a few of my rainbow pieces:

Wire wrapped rainbow charm bracelet:

Wire wrapped rainbow infinity ring with Swarovski crystals:

Rainbow daisy bracelet:

Rainbow wire wrapped filigree bracelet:

Wire wrapped rainbow heart earrings:

Anodized aluminum bracelet:

Enamel pendant with rainbow accent:

To purchase my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs. To purchase my children's jewellery, head to MayaGirl Creations.