Wire Weaving

Donuts!

A few weeks ago I was working on making pendants from the "donut stones" I'd acquired. The design for these was inspired by Julie Hulick.

Bullhead City Farmer's Market Holiday Extravaganza

I thought I'd share some pictures from my weekend out of town at the Bullhead City Farmer's Market Holiday Extravaganza.  I took off on Friday morning to go to Bullhead City, they scheduled the vendors to be there at appointed times to load their products in as it was a bit crowded in there.

The Mary Kay folks were across from me Saturday.

It was a two hour drive for me so I decided to get a room at one of the hotels in Laughlin which is just across the river from Bullhead City and stay over instead of driving back home then getting up at 4 AM and driving back.  

My neighbors right beside me at this show are Cyndi & Jaimee, they have a small business called Cornerstone Bakery and they've just begun their adventure out selling at different events.  They were a huge hit!

Across from me is this fabulous body products booth.  Unfortunately we were all too busy to visit amongst ourselves much.  I thought they had the best looking display out of all of us!

This little gal has the best smile and I think she sold out.

These two ladies had a fun set up and looked like they were going to have a good time.

I walked around and took photos before the doors were opened and I didn't see anyone around this display but thought their stuff was pretty neat.

These are my friends Steve & Marie's booth, we are at a lot of events together.

A little before the show chit chat going on here at the all handmade towels and goodies stop.

And a couple more before the show photos.  I didn't get to meet everyone but I did get around to take pictures before we got underway.  

When the doors opened at 9 AM there was a line up of people waiting to get in and the crowd lasted until about 2 PM.  It was hard to get around in there so I was happy to stay behind my tables. 

All in all a good day out of town.  We closed up at 3 PM, loaded it all back in my truck and headed back to Parker, Az.  The following morning the alarm went off at 4:30 AM and I was up and gone again for Lake Havasu City, Az to set up and spend the day out at the London Bridge Swap Meet.

It's been a busy holiday weekend!  Hope yours was fabulous =) 

Labradorite Wire Weave Pendant

Labradorite Pendant

This was my first Labradorite pendant in copper! Love the way it turned out -

Bullhead City Farmers Market Holiday Extravaganza

Bullhead City Farmers Market Holiday Extravaganza!

1251 HWY 95. Bullhead City, AZ 86442

9 AM - 3 PM

I'll be out of town for a few days!  

Today is the set up/load in day for the Bullhead City Farmers Market Holiday Extravaganza in Bullhead City, Az. about an hour and a half from my home town.  I like the day before set ups for shows so you can just walk in the next morning and get with it.  The shows are usually two or three days though and this is a six hour event.  No worries, I booked a room at one of the hotels in Laughlin, NV and will just stay over so I don't have to get up so early and travel back.  Mini working vacation...

So, if you are in the Bullhead City/Laughlin area tomorrow, Saturday, November 24, 2018 come visit the show!

I hope your Thanksgiving was amazing, have a great weekend -

Larimar Wire Wrap Necklace

Larimar Wire Weave Necklace

I've been going through my stash of Cabochons and found this little beauty to wrap. This stone is Larimar.

Scientifically, Larimar is a truly unique gemstone, in it's mineral content as well as it's chemical make up. The coloring of this stone is due to copper, much like Turquoise, but this is where that connection ends.

After it's discovery in 1974, it was analyzed by geologists as well as the Smithsonian Institute, and all agreed that the Larimar stone had volcanic origins and therefore belongs to the family of Pectolite. Larimar being the only blue or teal colored Pectolite to this day.

Boulder Opal

Boulder Opal

This is a Boulder Opal that I was asked to make into a pendant for a couple I met at the La Paz County Swap Meet in Parker, Arizona recently. I hope they are happy with the way it turned out, they requested something simple.

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.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

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.

Thanks for visiting my blog today!

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.

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

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!

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

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.

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

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.

Thanks for visiting my blog today -

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!

Thanks for visiting my blog today -