Pink & Black Agate Necklace

Today's necklace is a piece my husband Rick made recently.  He's used a copper base that he hand forged to fit the agate and I love the way it came out.

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Tiffany Stone Wire Weave Necklace - Bertrandite

I have a gorgeous wire woven Tiffany Stone cabochon pendant necklace to share with you today.

The cabochon have been wire woven using copper wire and a few accent beads.  It's been antiqued and polished to bring out the beauty of the copper then treated to protect and maintain the finish I've given it.  

Tiffany Stone is also called Bertrandite and is mined in only one location in western Utah.  A beautiful sought after stone that is opalized Flourite or Opalite.   

Wire Weave Tutorial, Burro Creek Agate

I see by the date on my last post it's been 4 months since I've posted content here.  I apologize and hope you'll forgive my absence, my husband and I have been working on making jewelry and out selling during our beautiful Arizona winter season.  Our season has come to an end with the day time temperatures now in the 90's.  It's time to keep making and learn and experiment with new things!

Today's post is a picture tutorial of how to make this wire woven pendant.  I haven't made this type of pendant very long and I'm enjoying the process.  I'm learning new weaves for it and how to incorporate different fancy designs for the front of the pendant through experimentation and practice. 

This is a side view of the finished pendant, the stone is a Burro Creek Agate that is local to our area.  It comes from a wilderness area located between Kingman & Prescott, Arizona.

The tutorial assumes the maker already knows how to do the different weaves I've used.

On to the tutorial:

I hope you enjoyed the picture tutorial and have fun working on a new pendant of your own.  Any questions or comments I'll respond to as soon as I can.

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Tri Color Steampunk Claw Necklace

I have a necklace to share today that is from my husband Rick's Steampunk Collection.

He's made it using copper, brass and some silver tone rivets.  When I first saw it I thought it looked like a claw or even a tooth.  I love the way he can take a piece of what looks like scrap and make something cool and quite unique!

This piece is for sale in our ArizonaCopperCraft Etsy Shop too.

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Copper Wire Weave Necklace in Azurite & Malachite

I mentioned last week that I'd made this necklace from a tutorial I'd discovered on Pinterest and thought I should share it with you today.  You can visit Rukodel's blog for the full tutorial.

This necklace is made using Azurite/Malachite semi precious gemstones and Copper Wire.  The new technique I learned is really fun to do and learning from this tutorial by Rukodel was very rewarding for me.  I love the finished piece.

The finished necklace inspired me to make a matching bracelet and earrings.  I had Azurite Malachite in round gemstone beads so I figured I'd play some more.  I didn't get a photo of the earrings, I do like how they turned out but they seem a little heavy to me.  One day they may become a couple more bracelets like the one above.

Aqua Terra Wire Weave Necklace

I have my second wire weave pendant today!

I took a class online earlier this month to learn how to make wire woven pendants.  More info about that in this blog post.  This particular pendant is Aqua Terra Jasper and has a very small hole drilled in the top making it difficult to make a fancy bail for.  And, it's time to learn new skills and techniques!  I used a tight basket type weave for the bezel portion pictured below.

For the bail I went back to the figure eight weave I'd learned in the first class because I really like the look.  After the pendant was finished I made a matching necklace chain using Aqua Terra Jasper stone beads and copper wire adding in some fancy figure eight links.  The next step in the process is antiquing and polishing.  I love the way antiqued copper looks so it's my preference for most jewelry pieces I make.  The very last step is to treat the copper to maintain and protect the finish I've given it.

There you have it, my second wire woven pendant!

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Copper & Brass Steampunk Necklace

I have another one of my husband Rick's amazing projects to share with you today!

This is a Steampunk inspired necklace he made using copper and brass.  He's added gears, pieces and parts as well has rivets and eyelets.  It's on an antiqued copper rolo chain and in our ArizonaCopperCraft Etsy Shop.

Edited to add, this item is no longer available in our Etsy Shop - sold 1/21/17.

Entangled Bead Wire Bracelet with Aqua Terra Jasper

Today's Project -

A bracelet using Aqua Terra Jasper, Copper and a new (to me) wire wrap/weave technique from a tutorial by a very generous artist I first saw on Pinterest.  

You can find the tutorial at Rukodel's blog.  The tutorial is actually for a beautiful necklace which I've made and haven't shared yet.  From that I was inspired to make this bracelet.  

Here it is all stretched out.  I used a large oval Aqua Terra Jasper gemstone for a center focal piece then added smaller round gemstones tying it all together with triple wrapped links and finishing with a copper lobster claw closure and extra copper jump rings on the other end to make it adjustable in length.  I love Aqua Terra Jasper and I'm quite happy with my finished project.

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Crazy Lace - Laguna Lace Agate Wire Wrap Necklace

I've been fascinated with Crazy Lace Agates lately and discovered there are also Laguna Lace Agates that are equally as beautiful.  The natural colors in some are really stunning.

Here's a little information I found online:  Crazy lace agate, also known as Mexican agate, is an attractive, white, opaque stone, patterned like a beautiful, multicolored paisley cloth you want to wrap around you. It is a cryptocrystalline quartz, found in Mexico.

For this stone I made a fancy wire wrapped bail and for the necklace chain I added three Crazy Lace Agate round stones on each side.  It's all done in Copper that's been antiqued and polished then treated to maintain and protect the finish I gave it.

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Freestyle Wire Wrap Copper Bracelet

Today I wanted to share a neat freestyle wire wrap/weave bracelet my husband Rick made with you.  He's used square wire for the body of the bracelet and added round wire for adornment.  It's been antiqued and polished to bring out the natural beauty of the copper then treated with ProtectaClear to maintain and preserve the finish.

Unisex Twisted Bracelets in Copper

Today's Project!

I'm still working on learning new techniques in jewelry making.  Today's project is a video tutorial via University of YouTube by Lan Anh Handmade.  I'd seen this bracelet before and thought it was really nice, in one of my Facebook groups there was a link to the tutorial by a generous artist who is willing to share her gifts & talents.

I used copper wire because that's what I have the most of and what I like to work with.  I've done this type of weaving before so I chose to use dead soft wire in 18 gauge and 20 gauge.  My sweet hubby Rick found some dead soft 22 gauge copper wire for me in our stash so I switched to a little finer wire after my first experiment.  

So far I've made five of these and feel like I still need practice to get the shape uniform.  As with everything the more you practice your skills the better they'll get.

I'm off to practice my skills & hope you have an amazing day!

Natural Crazy Lace Agate Cross Necklace

I recently discovered carved stone crosses that I could use in jewelry projects.  This is a natural Crazy Lace Agate that's been carved into a cross with a hold drilled in the top so I could make a bail for it and put it on a necklace chain I made.  

The cross measures two inches in length so it's a nice sized piece.  I used copper wire to make a very simple bail to attach it to the Crazy Lace stone bead necklace that I made also using copper wire for the links.  It's finished with a copper hook and eye type closure I've been experimenting with.  The necklace chain is about 26" in length making it a good length to dress up or use for everyday casual wear.  I'd wear it with my jeans and a nice sweater.

The copper has been antiqued and polished to bring out the beauty of the metal then treated with ProtectaClear to maintain and protect the finish I gave it.

This piece will be available for sale on Sunday's at the London Bridge Swap Meet in Lake Havasu City, Az @ Arizona Copper Craft/Connection spaces 400 - 401.  If you are in the area stop by and see us!

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Shield of Faith Copper & Brass Necklace

Arizona Copper Craft is the business my husband and I started a couple of years ago.

Together we make copper jewelry using different techniques we've learned by taking classes at our local community college, purchased and free online classes and of course University of YouTube.  

This is a pendant my husband Rick made we are calling the Shield of Faith series.  He's made several and they are similar in that they are all on a "shield" yet different because the crosses are never the same and sometimes he uses brass and sometimes not.  

When he made the first one I thought they were so neat and asked him to keep making them.  I think they are something our customers will really like and have high hopes for them.  We have some for sale in our ArizonaCopperCraft Etsy shop and also have them for sale on Sunday's till the end of April in Lake Havasu City at the London Bridge Swap Meet spaces 400-401.

Craftsy Class by Dawn Horner

Today's Project -

I've been wanting to learn new wire wrapping/weaving techniques and stopped today for an online class.

In this class by Dawn Horner on Craftsy I learned how to do a figure eight weave to make a bezel and bail for a cabochon (un-drilled stone). This Rhyolite Pendant is my finished project and it gives me all kinds of ideas for other pendants!

I really enjoyed the class, it comes in a video format so you can watch as many times as you'd like or need. She's very thorough and you'll have a finished piece at the end of the class.

Here's the back, I've always wondered about the back of a piece and how everything is held in place.

Now I know!

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Copper Wire Wrap Bail

I've been learning and practicing my wire wrapping skills again.  This is a Red Fire Agate that I added a fancy bail to for a pendant.  I learned how to make the bail from a book that I refer back to a lot.  Handcraft Wire Jewelry by Kimberly Sciafaffa Berlin.

After making the pendant I added an antiqued mesh ready made copper necklace chain.

It's gorgeous in real life and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out!

Copper Cuff Bracelet Decorative Wire

I've been collecting different size decorative copper wire for awhile now.  Mostly to test out how large it is, how wide, how thick.  I know it's usually all there in the descriptions but I need it in my hands to know how I'd like to use it.

My husband Rick was making copper cuff bracelets and looking for some wire to use the other day so I brought out my stash for him to look through.  Isn't this a lovely cuff bracelet he made?  Now I want one!  You know, they say when you make your own jewelry you should wear your own jewelry - right? 

Beginners Wire Wrap Rhyolite Pendant

Last Saturday I decided to treat myself to learning a new technique, a wire weaving tutorial on YouTube by OxanaCrafts.  I'm still pretty new at wire wrapping/weaving and want to learn all I can and improve my skills so I thought one of her beginner tutorials would be fun.

This is actually my second wrapped pendant using her tutorial.  The first one turned out nice so I was excited to try it again and made a pendant for me!  I had a couple of Rhyolite coin beads in my stash of goodies that were a good size for this and I love Rhyolite.

My first photo is a side view where the wire work shows up the most for a good look at the weave.

My second photo shows the pendant as you'd see it on me but the actual weave is a little hidden.  The black cord the pendant is on is made by me too.  I added copper ends to it and use it as my go to "chain" for a lot of pendants I wear.  

Rhyolite is a semi precious gem stone that is formed by volcanic activity, a common volcanic rock that has a very similar chemical equivalent of granite.  I like the different shades of green in each piece and the clear glassy matrix.

Kingman Turquoise Pendant Necklace

Here we are in mid December already and it appears I'm behind in my blog posts!

We've been having fun creating new jewelry daily and out selling in Lake Havasu City, Az on Sundays.  Time flies -

Today's necklace is made using Kingman Turquoise.  I've had the pendant bead for some time and have been kind of putting off using it as I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it.

I added copper spacer beads between the turquoise beads for the first time too, I've seen this affect in beaded jewelry where all the beads are strung together and like the look.  This necklace chain is 24" long, made from copper and has been antiqued and polished then treated with ProtectaClear to maintain and protect the finish.  

Etched Copper Bracelet

I have an etched copper bracelet to share today.  We've been keeping busy with our little business making jewelry and filling special orders during the week then out selling on the weekends.  

This was a special order from a man who'd about worn out his copper bracelet after wearing it for twenty years.  I'm very happy with the way it turned out and met up with him in town at Starbucks on Friday to give it to him.  He was excited to have it and really liked it.  

It's fun to know that your art work is going to be worn and enjoyed by someone.

Who knows maybe he'll wear this one for another 20 years!

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African Opal & Copper Jewelry

We are in the midst of our outdoor event season here in Arizona and it's great to see old friends and meet new ones.  One of those old friends asked if I wanted to go to a gem and mineral show early on a Sunday morning while we were set up in Lake Havasu City at the swap meet.  I really wanted to go but didn't want to leave my husband Rick all by himself so I declined the invitation.

We waited till we were on our way home to stop by the gem and mineral show and with Marie's direction visited the booth where she acquired all her goodies.  

I discovered African Opal that day, also known as Aqua Terra Jasper.  It's a gorgeous pale blue green semi precious gem stone with a cream, brown and coppery matrix.  The more I work with this stone the more I love it!

I think this photo of the bracelet shows the colors better.

And a pair of African Opal earrings to tie it all together.