Funky silver wire wrapped dangle earrings

While I often experiment with making new designs or using different techniques, I sometimes like to return to my old standbys. In this case, I felt like creating some silver wire wrapped earrings:

You can't go wrong with a classic item. These earrings go with any outfit and are modern, but will always be stylish. Even better, they're fun to make! While I do think of these as "classics," I like to see how many new ways I can twist the wire. I'd never before made the triple spirals in earring form, though I've done it for pendants. On the other hand, I feel like I can never go wrong in making anything with a pretty heart design.

I feel very accomplished when I tackle and complete and complex item, like a particularly detailed pair of chandelier earrings. Simple can be beautiful too, though, and I still get satisfaction from making these items.

Check out the rest of my jewellery at Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations. Follow me on Instagram, too!

Silver wire wrapped star earrings with Swarovski crystals

One of the new items I've made are these cute, silver wire wrapped star earrings with Swarovski crystals and squiggles. I wanted to make something that's pretty and playful, and this is what I came up with:

So far, I've made these three sets ... though when I saw a larger version of the blue stars, I realized that the crystals are different colors! One earring is dark blue and light blue and the other is blue and purple. Oops! Right now, I'm listing them as a choice where people can order one set of colors or the other... but I plan to make another pair with correct color combos.

My favorites so far are the hot pink stars. I wore these last week to a friend's birthday party and they got a lot of attention! One friend couldn't understand how I could bend the wire into such precise shapes; it isn't hard with some practice. The earrings are a bit longer than what I usually wear, but they're extremely lightweight.

I'm not sure if I'm going to list these on my kids' line. I think they might be too long for younger jewelry wearers. But they're a lot of fun to make and I'm going to experiment with some more crystal patterns.

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

Funky silver wire wrapped earrings with Swarovski crystals

With a new season approaching, I've been on a bit of a jewelry-making kick. Sales are picking up again and I have a couple of craft fairs on the horizon, so my creativity is flowing! For the past few days, I took a break from making my enamel Christmas ornaments and have been working on some new wire wrapped silver earring designs:

The ones that feature the rainbow Swarovski crystals and spiral within the square are actually an old design which I've updated. I used to make these with nickel wire, but the 20 gauge silver plated is better looking and easier to work with. I like the randomness of the crystal colors. I call them my "party earrings" because the different color stones look a bit like confetti.

The triangle and zig zag earrings are also a tweaked design. I had a pair of similar looking wire wrapped earrings for sale, only these had triangles with fewer turns of the spiral. I've received several requests from customers to play around with crystal colors so I thought I'd try out a few new combos of my own. The red, orange and yellow triangles remind me of the fall or a fiery sunset; meanwhile, the purple, blue and green earrings feature cool colors and look like water.

The spiral squares are a variation on the geometric triangle earrings. It's the same concept of playing with different shapes, but I hadn't yet made anything with this particular combination. While cleaning out my jewelry supply boxes, I came upon a bag of off-white Swarovski crystals called "sand opal" and decided to use them in these earrings. I really like how they go with the peridot green and pink crystal bicones. I think I'm also going to make these earrings with a bolder colored group of crystals.

Fall is my favorite season so I'm looking forward to working and trying out some new ideas. Meantime, check out my shops Naomi's Designs and MayaGirl Creations.

January gallery of handmade earrings

January is only half over, but I've been super busy! I've been on an earring-making spree this month and while I've showed photos of all of these in previous posts, here they are in a gallery. All are available at Naomi's Designs or MayaGirl Creations.

Silver star earrings with pink Swarovski crystals

Back in September, I created many new children's earrings for my shop MayaGirl Creations. However, it's taken me some time to photograph and list them all. This is the pair of silver wire wrapped star earrings with pink Swarovski crystals:

Making a star shape is more difficult than you'd think! You have to get all of the angles correct and all of the points even for the star to look attractive. It took a lot of practice for me to learn how to construct the star, but now that I've got it down, I've found that they're fun to make. There's something satisfying about finishing one and I like how they look. Stars are supposed to sparkle, which is why I added a pop of color with the pink Swarovski crystal bicones.

Stay tuned for more of my whimsical kids' jewelry from MayaGirl Creations! Meanwhile, to purchase my other jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs.

Abstract geometric silver wire wrapped bracelet and earrings

I've written several times about how there seem to be little trends within my jewelry stores. For the past few weeks, it's been birthstone infinity rings, as several customers have purchased them as Christmas gifts. This week, though, it's all about abstract geometric silver wire wrapped jewelry -- specifically jewelry pieces made from 16 gauge silver wire.

I really like this gauge of wire because it's really thick and chunky looking, but it's still flexible enough that I can bend it into loops and swirls. 14 gauge wire is great for making large sculpture-like pieces, while 18 and 20 gauge wire is great for doing intricate jewelry work. But 16 gauge is somewhere in-between. Over the past few days, people have purchased my silver abstract earrings and silver and paua shell necklace -- both of which are made with 16 gauge wire:

I haven't actually purchased this size wire in a while because well, I haven't had a reason to. My best sellers are mainly made with 14, 18 and 20 gauge wire. So I wasn't even sure that I had the materials to make the items ... which would've been a problem since the customers wanted their pieces in time for Christmas.

Luckily, I remembered that I did, in fact, have some 16 gauge silver on hand. A few months ago I was working on a failed jewelry project for which I was using it and so I happened to have a bag full of the 16 gauge! I was then able to use that and put together those orders in time. Whew! Just call me the jewellery-making Santa Claus, LOL. My orders are now in the mail and hopefully on the way, but at this point, they're in the hands of the U.S. Mail Service. Still, I did everything within my power, at least, to get them out with plenty of time to spare.

I'm thinking that I should order some more of that silver wire since it seems to be popular for me again. I just never know which pieces of mine will catch my customers' eyes!

To purchase my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs. Free shipping on Etsy for Naomi's Designs through Christmas! To purchase my children's jewelry, head to MayaGirl Creations. To purchase my novel, check out REVENGE OF A BAND GEEK GONE BAD.

Silver wire wrapped abstract earrings

In an effort to be frugal, I've been using every little scrap of wire that I have on hand. I had some leftover 16 gauge fine silver wire and there was just enough to make two pairs of earrings. This is what I came up with:

I know what you're thinking -- that they look exactly the same, right? Well, not exactly. There are definite similarities: both pairs of earrings are abstract and have a geometric design with triangles and spirals. Both are long, dangle earrings. But there are some subtle differences. In one, the spiral within the triangle is tighter and lot more defined. In one, I added a circle toward the top of the earring. And one pair is about a half inch longer than the other. So yes, they do look somewhat alike, but some people prefer longer statement earrings.

Anyway, I was just playing around with shapes and leftover wire and like how these came out. They're funky-looking and fun! I've been working on my kids' line all week, so I've been up to my ears in stars and hearts and daisies, etc. and needed a little change of pace :-)

I just got some 14 gauge silver wire so I'm going to play around with that and see what else I can some up with!

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

Happy Heart Earrings: Silver Chandelier Earrings With Rainbow Swarovski Crystal Hearts

These earrings have been selling pretty well on my Etsy shop -- probably because two things that most people love are hearts and rainbows. I mean, we all want to be happy, right? And what better way to get some cheer than to wear pretty colors in the shape of love.

The idea for these chandelier earrings came about when I was organizing the billion or so Swarovski crystal hearts that I'd purchased online. I love Swarovski, but they have a really wasteful way of packaging. They put two hearts in their little plastic boxes, so if you want a dozen of a certain color heart, you end up with six boxes (though you can get certain kinds in bulk). Anyway, I'd gone a little heart crazy and literally had hundreds of the things so I decided to do something creative with them -- and my Happy Heart Earrings were born.

Though they're long earrings, they're very lightweight. I like using silver plated nickel wire because it's non-tarnish, inexpensive and durable -- all good qualities when making costume jewelry. More importantly, it looks nice.

I love this lattice design because it looks cool on its own, but it's also a practical template for making jewelry. You can link it together to make bracelets or necklaces or in this case, hang things from it to make chandelier earrings. You'd be amazed by how versatile this pattern is.

To purchase my Happy Hearts or any other item in my shop, head to:
Naomi's Designs

Silver Abstract Earrings With Purple Stones

Often, when I'm making jewelry my pieces kind of "make themselves." Sometimes I have a very clear idea in mind for a piece, but other times, I'll just kind of bend the wire and the design will surprise me. This is the case with these silver earrings.

I had some leftover silver wire -- not enough to make a necklace or bracelet and I didn't want to waste it. So I began playing around with it and ended up with this weird, envelope-looking shape. When I showed it to my friend who was visiting, she liked it and suggested that I add a stone. She chose purple, her favorite.

The biggest challenge in this was getting the second earring to match the first. It's one thing to randomly bend wire and come up with something cool. But it becomes more challenging when you have to copy that randomness and make it look even! It took a few tries, but I finally got it and these earrings were born.

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

Silver wire dangling triangle earrings

This morning, I ordered supplies for my upcoming craft fairs. It's amazing what types of things you can get just to display jewelry. They sell necklace displays that look like disembodied heads and bracelet racks that resemble disembodied hands. I haven't made anklets for this show, but I suppose they have foot-shaped displays, as well. If you want, you can create a creepy Dali-esque set-up comprised of various body parts.

I settled for earring and bracelet trees, as well as some necklace displays (that don't look like heads). I also ordered a tent to provide some shade and make my booth look more like a store. I'm pretty excited about the whole set-up. I'm proud of the jewelry that I've made and am looking forward to showing it to the world.

One of the pairs of earrings I'll be displaying are these fun triangle earrings. I like them because they're elegant and modern, and look like they could be in the MoMA. They're long so they're a little out-there, but aren't completely over-the-top.

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

Silver wire earrings with yellow Swarovski crystals

One of the great things about jewelry is that it's not only beautiful, but often has a memory attached. I'm sure most of us can recall the first piece of jewelry we received or the first that we gave someone. That's what I hope my jewelry does for people. I want to know that my pieces are bringing a positive experience to the wearer and that they'll be able to associate my bracelets or necklaces with an event like say, a friend's wedding or a baby's Christening.

This has got me thinking of some of my favorite jewelry memories. I've never been gung ho about getting expensive jewelry, even when it came to my engagement ring. But I've still always had a liking for fun, creative pieces and do have a few items that are very important in my life.

1. My double heart necklace. This was the very first present I ever received from a boy. I was in the second grade and had a crush on a boy in my class, Chris. Well, I was shocked when he handed me a small package at our class Christmas party. It was wrapped in holiday paper, but since I'm Jewish, he wrote in "Chanukah" wherever it said Christmas. I then opened it and there was a necklace inside. It had a silver chain and a double heart charm that was made out of some kind of shell, I think. I loved it. He put it on for me and for a short time after that was my boyfriend. I've since lost touch with Chris, but I still have that necklace!

2. My Ling Ling necklace. When I was about 3 or 4, my parents took me to see the pandas in the Washington, D.C. soon. I loved them and they bought me a necklace made in the likeness of the panda, Ling Ling. I wore it everywhere. Then one day, I was playing on the monkey bars and lost it -- and I was devastated. I think my father found it -- I do remember him looking for it -- but while I can't recall every fact, I remember the panda charm, clear as day.

3. My Strawberry Shortcake ring. Around the time I was 8, I was obsessed with Strawberry Shortcake. One time, I was on a camping trip with my parents and we were taking a hike through the woods. I saw a shiny object on the ground -- and it was a little ring with Strawberry Shortcake on it! I couldn't believe my luck and pocketed it before anyone else could get their hands on this valuable merchandise.

4. My black "Cleopatra" necklace. When I was 10, my parents took me to Egypt (we traveled a lot because my parents were teachers who had summers off). While we were there, we took a cruise down the Nile and on the last night, the boat threw a costume party. I dressed up as Cleopatra in this blue, filmy genie costume and a crown, and my mom even let me wear my very long hair down (she usually made me keep it in braids). Each of us had to get up and show off our costumes. When it was my turn, I did the whole "Walk Like An Egyptian" dance (it was 1984!) and everyone was impressed. I ended up winning the costume contest and they gave me a choice of prizes; I chose this black beaded necklace that had multi-colored beads woven through it.

5. My engagement ring. Choosing a ring was probably difficult for my husband, Jon, because I'm not wild about diamonds. A lot of people believe that the bigger the diamond, the more he loves you, but at the time, I wanted us to save up money for a home. During out talks about the possibility of marriage, I'd hinted to Jon about what kind of ring I wanted - something with a colorful stone, like an emerald. On the day he proposed, February 14, 1999, he ended up giving me exactly what I wanted: a ring that had a circle of emeralds with a small diamond in the middle. A lot of people, even to this day, think it's a weird engagement ring, but it fits my personality to a T.

So there you have it, so of my own memories about jewelry. My piece for today are my silver earrings with yellow Swarovski crystals. I'd originally made a pair of these for a friend who loves pink and wove in pink crystals. I wanted to make a similar pair with something that looked a little like yellow diamonds.

I used to not be a huge fan of yellow, but I'm finding that I really like the color in jewelry. Yellow stands out and makes things pop. Plus, it looks good with many other colors.

So what are some of your favorite jewelry memories?

To purchase my jewelry (and create some memories for yourself or a loved one), head to Naomi's Designs or Naomi's Studio.

Triple heart silver chandelier earrings with amethyst Swarovski crystal hearts

Purple is onw of my favorite colosr, especially since my birthday is in February and my birthstone is the amethyst. I still love this stone and think that an amethyst looks beautiful in any form.

I really like heart-shaped things, though, so it's no surprise that I adore these amethyst Swarovski crystal hearts. I wanted to do something special with them, something that would show off their beauty.

I finally decided to build a chandelier earring around them. I wanted to make an interestinf spiral design with the silver wire, but something different than what I've done before. I've used the lattice design many times and while it's beautiful, I felt that I needed to branch out. I eventually came up with this curly-cue pattern that's slightly askew, but has interesting angles. I then hung three crystal hearts -- two amethyst and one lavender -- on each earring. It ended up looking really cool, especially when I tried on the earrings. Though my hair was a mess and I wasn't wearing any makeup, I looked fancy. Let's just call them miracle earrings!

As you'll see from my upcoming posts, I went on a bit of a Swarovski crystl heart "bender" this weekend, but you have to love the materials that you're working with. Part of the reason why these pieces turned out so well was because I believed from the start that they'd look good. And they do!

To see or purchase more of my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs or Naomi's Studio.

Silver spiral earrings with green and yellow Swarovski crystals

The spiral is one of the basic shapes you should know if you're going to be a wire artist, but more than that, it's beautiful to look at. Think of how many things in nature are a spiral: the inside of a shell, a galaxy, a hurricane. I love the infinite nature of it, how you can keep going around and around, but the circle doesn't really end.

I wanted to do something simple with the spiral where this would be the primary shape in the piece of jewelry, so I decided to just go with single spiral earrings. However, I didn't want them to be plain silver, so I added a couple of Swarovski crystals to each. I really love blue, but I went with a variant on it, using green and yellow instead. I like the warm, bright colors and think they add just enough flash to the earrings.

To see or purchase more of my work, head to Naomi's Designs or Naomi's Studio.

Giant silver hoop earrings

Sometimes less is more, as is the case with these giant silver hoop earrings. I got the inspiration to make these when I had only a little bit of 14 gauge wire left and I wasn't sure what to do with it. Part of the wire was already bent in a teardrop shape, so I continued with that and came up with this cool earring design. When I tried them on, I loved them. They look very funky and very '80s, and remind me of something I would've orn in my youth.

Though a lot of my pieces are embellished with crystals or pearls, I decided to leave these bare. They're already large and have an interesting shape, so nothing else is needed to dress them up. Trust me, they will get noticed when you wear them! I think hoops are a classic kind of earring that will always be in style. These are modern, but also reflect a past era, so in that way, they're timeless.

For more of my work, head to Naomi's Designs or Naomi's Studio.

Funky spiral silver earrings

These earrings were fun to make and look really cool. There's just something very relaxing about bending wire into spirals and squiggles, and it feels really good when I've made a finished product.

The challenge with making earrings is to get them somewhat uniform, which can be difficult with wire work. But I did my best to keep the spirals the same size and to match the turns in each squiggle. Together, they look evenly matched, though, and when they're worn as a set, you can hardly notice the differences.

Even though these earrings are long and wide, they're very lightweight. When you wear them, you hardly feel as if anything is in your ear. I love dangling earrings, though, because they just make ears look so pretty. That'sprobably a strange thing to say, but I feel a lot more dressed up with longer earrings than I do with shorter ones.

By the way, I got some good news this week: I've been invited to participate in a local craft fair this spring! I'm very excited about getting out there and showing my jewelry to to world ( or at least the neighbothood). More information to follow...

To buy any of my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs.

Silver geometric earrings with blue Swarovski crystals

I made these earrings while my friend Lani was visiting. I asked her what I should make and she suggested that I make something that had crystals in it. So after playing around with 16 gauge sterling silver wire, I came up with this random, but cool design. I then strung different color blue Swarovski crystals across it using 28 gauge silver wire.

I tend to use a lot of blue beads and crystals because that's my favorite color. I especially love when different shades of blue are combined. For me, blue is very relaxing; it reminds me of the sky or the ocean on a bright, sunny day. It's also a color that I look nice in so I own a lot of blue clothing. Not surprisingly my high school crush had piercing blue eyes!

Anyway, silver is a great color to contrast with blue as you can see with these earrings. The earrings are not exactly identical, but I think that this only adds to their uniqueness.

For more of my jewelry, head to Naomi's Designs.