My jewelry making adventure started with a broken stretchy bracelet and the curiosity to see if I could figure out how to fix it. My first spool of stretch magic quickly disappeared - and my tools and techniques rapidly expanded.
I still love making bracelets. My first were chunky and dramatic - but I soon realized that as much as I loved the look, I was quick to take them off because they were heavy and would bang on my keyboard. As I explored, I found myself making bracelets with beads, wire, or both, that were lighter and comfortable at work and at play - but still dramatic.
Here are some of my wire bracelets. The first features citrine, freshwater pearls, and opals. I love this bead combination and have used it in many different pieces - earrings, a necklace, a pin, a pendant, and a bracelet for a friend.
Here is one with beads made of abalone shell, freshwater pearls, opals, and jade. Creating these rippled frames and using the wrapping technique allows me to make something beautiful, structured and random.
Another, made for Valentine's Day, features red crystal beads, pink opals, glass beads, and freshwater pearls. Freshwater pearls - my favorite - are a wonderful bridge for different colors and meld beautifully in the rippled frames.
And a copper one with blue glass beads, opals, and peridot. With this one, I used a lighter gauge of wire (18 gauge), which allowed me to create loops in the frame. The others are made with 16 gauge wire, which is stiffer although perfectly suited to ripples, waves, and spirals.
I still make stretchy bracelets, although I prefer small beads to the chunky beads I started with. I make them large enough to wrap twice around my wrist - creating the effect of stacked bracelets, without the weight.
I still love making bracelets. My first were chunky and dramatic - but I soon realized that as much as I loved the look, I was quick to take them off because they were heavy and would bang on my keyboard. As I explored, I found myself making bracelets with beads, wire, or both, that were lighter and comfortable at work and at play - but still dramatic.
Here are some of my wire bracelets. The first features citrine, freshwater pearls, and opals. I love this bead combination and have used it in many different pieces - earrings, a necklace, a pin, a pendant, and a bracelet for a friend.
And a copper one with blue glass beads, opals, and peridot. With this one, I used a lighter gauge of wire (18 gauge), which allowed me to create loops in the frame. The others are made with 16 gauge wire, which is stiffer although perfectly suited to ripples, waves, and spirals.
I still make stretchy bracelets, although I prefer small beads to the chunky beads I started with. I make them large enough to wrap twice around my wrist - creating the effect of stacked bracelets, without the weight.
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