The Gift Of Jewelry

One perk of knowing me well -- or maybe it's a curse; I'm not sure -- is that at some point, you WILL get some free jewelry. Though several of my friends have purchased pieces from me, I never pressure anyone to buy from my shop. I do, however, frequently give out jewelry as gifts for birthdays, holidays... and just because.

Some may think it's "cheap" for me to give something handmade rather than to buy, but it probably costs me MORE when it comes to the cost of labor and materials. Also, we're all adults now. Most of my friends are in their late 40s or early 30s, and already have everything they need. I do give things like gift certificates or clothes, but I figure that I can also give something unique that's from the heart.

I'm not always successful when it comes to choosing a piece that's appropriate for the wearer. I have a pretty good idea of my friends' styles, but sometimes I do miss. All are appreciative, though -- and it's really fun to see them wearing my jewelry, like when my friend Amy wore one of my enamel necklaces to a play we recently attended:

My friends and family have been very supportive of my burgeoning career as a jewelry designer. I just want to show them how thankful I am to have them cheering me on!

Check out my jewellery at Naomi's Designs or MayaGirl Creations.

Wire wrapped lapis lazuli necklace and earrings

Two things have been happening this year: I've been getting a lot more orders from Europe and Australia. I've also been getting many requests for custom pieces. The second matter is especially fun for me because while I think I'm pretty creative, it sometimes helps to get some influence from another person.

The latest custom order came from a woman who purchased my wire wrapped lapis lazuli necklace. She wrote to me asking if I could design a pair of matching earrings. She didn't have a specific vision so I suggested that I create earrings that have a similar, but not exact, design. This way, there would be a little contrast between the jewelry pieces. She agreed and I came up with this jewelry set:

I like working with lapis because the blue color is so striking and the surface is so smooth. It just feels good to have it in your hands! I wrapped it copper because I love the way the wire looks against the stone.

I'm always open to new ideas, so keep those custom orders coming! You help keep my creativity alive!

Check out more 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 lava pendant with brass and copper spirals

It's been a while since I've made one of my favorite types of wire wrapped jewelry: the classic wire wrapped lava pendant. This one was made with brass and copper wire, which I twisted into a series of spirals.

The challenge in making this was layering the wires. I usually use only one type of wire; I then loop the end to make the bail (the part where you thread a cord or chain so the pendant will hang) and create the rest of the design using that one piece. This makes it easy for everything to stay in place since the entire wire is attached.

In this case, I layered the brass wire over the copper. The hole was too small to make a double bail so I wrapped the wire around the loop at the top and then made the design. I was a bit worried that the wire would fall off or come loose, but I secured it tightly enough that it stayed in place. I even took it for a little "test drive" when I went to class the other day and my teacher noticed it.

Right now, I'm trying to make another lava stone necklace using blue and turquoise wire, but the color wire has a different texture from the plain metals. Because they are anodized, the color wire is a bit tougher and not as easy to maneuver. I tried to do a spiral design this morning but am not happy with the result. Oh well, time to try again!

Meantime, please check out the rest of my handmade wire wrapped and enamel jewellery at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Abstract enamel pendant in blue, pink, purple and green

For the past couple of months I've been working on the same enamel necklace. It was getting tiresome, so I took a much-needed break and made a couple of smaller abstract pendants. These aren't nearly as complicated as my work-in-progress, but they're pretty and well, FUN to make. The latter is what is most important to me.

I still need to polish and clean the other pendants, but here is the first: a blue, green, pink and purple piece. It looks a bit like a rainbow in the sky, though I wasn't really trying to make a particular design: I was just playing around with the silver cloisonne wire ... and it turned out that way.

I've been trying to mix things up and use different colors, but I always seem to go back to blue enamel. What can I say? I like blue!

On another note, I learned today that my jewelry teacher has had some interesting students over the years, including Jenna Bush and Scarlett Johansson. Johansson took the enameling class during her senior year of high school, so this would've been right around the time she did Lost In Translation. My teacher says she joined the class with a friend and that both girls were really nice.

I'm not a big "Fan Gurl" when it comes to celebrities. I wrote for a TV magazine for 14 years so I dealt with actors on a day-to-day basis and the novelty got old quickly. Still, it's cool to hear you're sitting in the same room where someone so well-known once sat. Maybe my teacher's future students will be saying that about ME in a few years!!!

Meantime, check out my wire wrapped and enamel jewelry at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Photo Gallery: Gold Wire Wrapped Jewelry Designs

I know I haven't posted a lot of new items, but don't worry -- I have several projects in the making! I just finished a new enamel pendant, so expect an "Adventures In Enameling Class" post sometime soon. I hope to finish and photograph it this weekend.

Meanwhile, here are some of my favorite gold wire wrapped jewellery pieces to kick off Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer. Gold equals the sun, which makes me think of summer and well... okay, the connection is a bit tenuous. Still, you can never go wrong with a classic like gold!

My jewelry can be found at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

Photo Gallery: Funky Wire Wrapped Spiral Rings

Those wire wrapped rings I made this week reminded me how many rings I've made in the past couple of years -- and how many have been based on a spiral design. It's amazing how one shape can yield so many different looks! Here are a few of my favorite wire wrapped spiral rings. You can find them all at Naomi's Designs or MayaGirl Creations: