Wire Work and Beading

Mondays are my 'day off' though it usually consists of the weekly shopping, Drs visits, dentist appointments and hairdresser appointments. Sometimes though, I can fit in a beading lesson. I am slowly getting better and more adept at wire work and beading. I had a lovely few hours at The Beadhive in Jandakot yesterday and managed to get a pair of earrings and a pendant finished. I also bought beads, findings and wire for a bracelet which I admired in the store. There are some lovely samples here and there around the shop and quite a few are for sale. Below are the earrings. I saw the project in a book called 'Making Designer Bead and Wire Jewelry' by Tammy Powley, that I found in the local library, and wanted to give it a go. And a warning and apology for the photos, I must be having the shakes today.

Next I was shown how to wire wrap a large bead and when I got home I made some earrings to match. It was so much fun and so quick I decided to do a purple one too. This time with a few kinks in the wire.

As I was getting all my gear together to head home from the shop I saw another project that I wanted to try. This one looked far too complicated for me but I was assured that once I was off and going it would all sort of happen by itself. That couldn't have been more true. I stumbled for the first 10 minutes or so deciding how many strands to use (more is most definetly better here) and then I was off and threading. My daughter (who loves her Mum very much) said this morning that she couldn't believe I had done it in one night, it looked very professional AND would I show her how to do one? It is about an inch (2.5cm) wide and fits nicely around my wrist. It consists of 6 strands or wire and I don't know how many beads.

Detail of a section of the bracelet.

While my Auntie was here recently my Mum and I took her up to our local beading shop in Armadale, in the Pioneer Village, for a lesson. Mum and I had picked out this bracelet to do on a previous visit. The purple one was made in the shop and the red one at home later that day.

Detail of the 'snail' bracelet as we call them.

While I was in the mood for wire and beads today I found another project I wanted to try. This time from a book called 'Tips and Shortcuts for Jewellery Making' by Stephen O'Keeffe. This is a very in-depth book and for the metal worker rather than the wire/bead worker. It still has some really lovely designs though. My swirls need some work so I will be off to the shop as soon as another day is free but I didn't think it came out too badly. I am also in 'need' of a few more beads.

Hope you are all having a great week,

Kylie