Silver wire wrapped bridal necklace with lavender purple stones

I get many requests for custom orders, but a couple of months ago, I got a very special request: my friend, Timothea, asked me to design her wedding necklace. The happy bride-to-be is tying the knot in May and asked me to make a one-of-a-kind piece for her.

Timmie was open to any type of design, but did want me to include a purple stone because her dress has a purple sash. I showed her some different ideas and she chose a teardrop-shaped lavender focal made of crazy lace agate. The stone is dyed; the purple isn't its natural color, but she was more interested in its appearance over the purity. I used silver plated wire for the rest. Again, no materials were expensive, but beauty doesn't have to be costly.

Last year, I designed a bracelet and fancy headpiece to wear to my friends' wedding, but this was actually my first go at making a full-on bridal necklace. Before choosing a design, I studied a photo of Timmie's dress and looked at some pictures of other existing wedding pieces. Timmie's dress is pretty simple with a plunging neckline, so we decided to go for a longish Y-shaped piece to mirror the outline of the bodice. I eventually came up with this design:

Yes, I twisted and created every one of those curls in the filigree design. I don't even know how many Swarovski crystals were included, but I went through almost an entire pack of 144! I originally planned to use just one purple focal... but this is for a wedding. Why not go for two?

The biggest challenge was finding a way to center the stones in those filigree frames -- but to hang the stones in a way that they'd stay secure and not dangle and flop. I ended up threading the wire all the way through the stone and working that portion of the wire into the filigree design.

I have to say, Timmie was the most laid-back bride -- definitely NOT a bridezilla. I sent her photos showing her the piece during each stage of its creation and she kept encouraging me to continue. It felt good to have so much freedom and creativity.

The necklace is now safely in Timmie's hands as she counts down those final days to her wedding. Congrats, my friend! It was an honor to make this for you.

Check out more of my wire wrapped jewelry designs -- or request your own custom piece -- at Naomi's Designs or MayaGirl Creations.

Silver wire wrapped abstract necklace with spirals, squares and clovers

This past week, a customer made a really exciting and interesting request: he asked if I could make a replica of his girlfriend's lost necklace, which he'd originally purchased in Nicaragua.

He's not the first customer who's asked me to design a piece similar to a lost item, but this was, so far, the most complex and detailed "copycat" jewelry I've made to date. I love a challenge, though, and was happy to try my best!

He sent me the photo of the necklace on his girlfriend, while my version is on the mannequin:

While they're not exactly alike, I really tried to capture the spirit of the design. The original jewelry maker created smaller squares and tighter spirals, while mine are chunkier. I really wish I had the name of the specific person who came up with this pattern because it's a beautiful piece. I was just the cook here, but not the chef, so to speak.

I've been making wire wrapped jewellery for over five years, but am still amazed at how many different things can be made with wire. The possibilities are endless. I enjoyed following someone else's vision, but I much prefer coming up with my own creations.

Check out my jewelry at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Copper wire wrapped jade necklace with Swarovski crystals

This year, most of my friends are turning 40. What can I say? 1974 was a great year. Anyway, it was recently the 40th birthday of my college roommate from sophomore year and I wanted to make her something special.

Though this friend is a doctor, she's also an artist -- and double-majored in bio and art back in school. Her specialty was doing sketches and still life drawings; she even once sketched a picture of our messy dorm room.

However, my favorite story has to be when she tried to steal a stuffed monkey from one of the guys who lived on our floor. She kept taking his doll and he kept taking it back; they were just joking around, but it turned into a whole thing where we were trying to help her hide it from him. Finally, she stuffed the monkey in a drawer and handed him back a perfect sketch of his toy. It was very funny at the time!

I knew she'd appreciate receiving something handmade so I created this necklace:

It's a simple design; the pendant is jade and it's wire wrapped with 20 gauge copper and Swarovski crystals. I really like how the spirals turned out, though. It looks a bit like an art-deco design.

My friend liked it, too, and called it one of my "masterpieces." This is high praise coming from someone who's so talented! Perhaps she was just being polite, but I think if anyone appreciates the work that goes into making something, she does.

Check out my jewellery at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations. And check out my novel REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD on Amazon.