Silver wire wrapped spiral daisy ring

Customers often ask me to tweak my already-existing items to fit their needs. I recently had a woman purchase one of my silver wire wrapped daisy flower coil rings.

However, instead of wearing it as a coil, she asked if I could redesign it with the daisy sitting right on the band:

Believe it or not, this ring is made with a single piece of wire. My main concern when designing it was to make sure it looked neat -- and that there weren't pieces of wire and wraps sticking out all over the place. Basically, I wanted the daisy to look as if I had been soldered to the band... even though it was wrapped.

It took some trial and error, but I'm pleased with how it turned out. The daisy is actually quite secure on the band and really cute! I made the daisy a little bigger than I had with the coil ring version so it would be front and center:

After successfully making this daisy ring, I played around with other designs where the ring's main feature was centered on the band. So far, none have turned out so well. I've tried using small Swarovski crystal pearls, but I think they're too bulky for this kind of ring. The pearls are sticking way out and I don't like the way they're sitting on the wire. I think pearls would work better if I strung the band through the pearl; I'll have to experiment. I think this design could work with crystal bicones; I'll have to see. But I at least know I can make these pretty flowers rings! That's the fun of making jewelry; even when my attempts don't work, I enjoy trying.

Check out the rest of my jewellery at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

"Antiqued" wire wrapped abstract brass ring

A few weeks ago, a customer asked me to replicate an old wire wrapped coil ring which she'd lost. I enjoy doing custom orders, especially when the piece of jewelry means so much to the person wearing it. Anyway, she sent me a sketch of her ring, which was a simple, but beautiful, symmetrical wire design:

She asked me if I could use very thick brass wire, so I got some in 14 gauge. I've never used this before, but I actually really like it. It's softer than 14 gauge gold or silver wire and makes a nice, chunky ring.

Though she really liked my version of her missing ring, she had another request: that I use chemicals to make it look like an antique since her old ring was a vintage piece. I've worked with ferric chloride while doing champleve enamel jewelry, but have never antiqued any jewelry. I was upfront about this, but curious as to what would happen if I soaked the ring in an acid bath. Here is the result:

No, it ain't pretty. It looks a bit like moths got to it or something. Fortunately the customer had a good sense of humor and understood that this was just an experiment... though she did refer to this ring as an "acid trip," LOL. She ended up purchasing the ring, anyway, and I made her a normal version of it.

I'm always up for experimenting with new materials and techniques -- and in this sale, I got to do both! So even though my antiquing didn't work out, the project certainly wasn't a failure.

Check out more of my wire wrapped an enamel jewellery at Naomi's Designs or MayaGirl Creations.

Wire wrapped jewellery gallery: spiral jewelry

One of the first shapes I taught myself how to make when learning how to make jewelry was a spiral. When making wire wrapped jewelry patterns, the spiral is essential. It not only looks really cool, but serves a purpose because a) spirals are strong and hold jewelry together well and b) helps you close off the end of the wire in an aesthetically pleasing way. You can do so much with a spiral, from making simple wire wrapped spiral earrings to elaborate spiral designs. When it comes to this one shape, I'm never at a loss for ideas! Here are some of my favorite wire wrapped spiral jewelry pieces:

Hot pink wire wrapped daisy flower earrings:

Silver wire wrapped spiral necklace:

Blue wire wrapped spiral ring:

Silver abstract asymmetrical wire wrapped spiral necklace:

Wire wrapped rainbow spiral bracelet:

Copper wire wrapped Middle Eastern style necklace with spiral fringe:

Simple spiral earrings:

Silver spiral Native American style ring:

To purchase my jewellery, head to Naomi's Designs. To purchase my children's jewelry, head to MayaGirl Creations. Also, check out my novel REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.

Smells Like Teen Spirit: More Wire Wrapped Ring Designs

Though the Great Neck Street Fair wasn't as profitable as I'd hoped, one thing I did learn is that my wire wrapped coil rings are a bg draw with teens. I had so many young girls coming up to my booth to try on my rings. Unfortunately, they either felt my price was too high or my rings were too big. The good news is, I've had a really good sales week on Etsy so the universe worked itself out a bit. A young woman purchased five infinity rings from me for herself and her friends for their high school graduation. Meanwhile, last month, a woman had purchased one of my infinity rings for her daughter's sweet 16 while a collage age girl bought one of my other wire wrapped coil designs. So I'm definitely getting that younger market. Lesson learned -- make more of these rings and make sure that I have them in teeny tiny teen sizes when I sell at fairs. My next fair is next Saturday. I'll be selling my jewelry at the Lexington Craft Fair in Jackson Heights, Queens, NY. This event benefits the Lexington School For The Deaf so there will definitely be a lot of teens around. The traffic probably won't be as high as it was at the other fair, but at last year's Lexington event, I had my best sale of the year. I think it was because people come there wanting to buy so that they can support the school and because there are fewer vendors. Hopefully, next Saturday will be another beautiful spring day and I'll sell yet more stuff. That said, I'm gearing up for the fair by making yet more coil rings. I'm going to make more infinity rings in sizes five and six, but am also trying to make more interesting designs. Lately, I've been adding some gems to my rings:

I think the one with the Swarovski crystal heart will appeal to teen girls so I'm going to make a bunch of those in smallish sizes. I don't mind the work, though, because these wire wrapped coil rings are fun to make! To purchase my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs. To read about my travel adventurs, head to Naomi The Traveler.

More Wire Wrapped Ring Designs

Here are some more of my wire wrapped ring designs. I basically use the same design as a base; I make a coil ring by wrapping the wire around in a circular motion. The shapes are created at the beginning and end of the process, i.e. I first make the spiral, do the wrap, finish the bottom portion of the ring. I then add the stones. Surprisingly, it's the last part -- the adding of the stones or crystals -- that takes the longest because I'm dealing with 28 gauge wire, which is very fine.

My friends say that a lot of my work looks Middle Eastern, That's definitely an influence, but I think I'm inspired by designs from around the world. I'm traveling to Nigeria soon so it'll be interesting to see what kinds of ideas I get from there.

Anyway, my rings are below. To purchase them or other jewelry from my shop, head to Naomi's Designs.

Silver wire wrapped ring with infinity symbol and spiral

If you've taken a look at my Etsy shop, you'd see that until now I haven't had rings for sale. I found them difficult to make and size and thought that earrings, necklaces and bracelets were more interesting. Lately, though, I've been on a ring kick.

After making my silver ring in metalsmithing class, I'm feeling more confident about the process. Granted, my new rings are made out of 18 gauge silver plated copper wire and are not carved and soldered; they're twisted, but I'm feeling more confident about designing and shaping them.

I love the idea of an infinity ring because the idea of a ring being a circle shape represents something never ending. That's why you have wedding rings and promise rings, etc. So I liked combining that concept with the round spiral and infinity symbol. All mean "forever" and I think this would be a great promise ring to give someone as a gift.

I also think it looks cool. I like the funky, abstract design and the geometric nature of the piece.

I'm still experimenting with more wire wrapped ring designs, so stay tuned!

To purchase my wire wrapped rings or other jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs.