Wirewoven bail for I Might Make That! Monday

This is going to be a super-quick post, since I really need to devote my Sunday evening to working on a paper for class. I found a really cool wirework tute--I can't remember how I stumbled on it--to share. The site is called Shaktipajdesigns, by Perri Jackson).

The instructions are not for making the entire pendant, which would be far beyond a beginner's talent anyway, but for how to weave wire in tight spaces, and she makes the wirewoven bail for the pendant as her example. The tute, as a PDF, is here. Lots of wire-hardening tips and loads of very nice pics to help you see what she means!

Post earring roundup for I Might Make That! Monday

"Easy Peasy" post earrings from For the Love of Beads

Yikes, I'm discovering that this Monday feature is now competing with my Monday-night class for my precious Sunday hours. (Because, of course, I could do my reading and other homework over the course of the week, but inevitably put it off until Sunday night. Ditto this blogpost.)

Anyway, enough whining. I have been on the search recently for some earring tutorials. Tutes for ear wires, whether you mean French hooks, old-fashioned kidneys, or something more arty, are fairly easy to find. But frankly, I prefer to wear post earrings (either simple studs or something with a smallish dangle.)

Tutes for post earrings are much rarer. Most of what I found in my Internet quest involved buying posts with flat pads like this and then gluing a cabachon, half-drilled pearl or even a cute button onto. I have some of those findings, and yes, they're fine, but not terribly original.

Here's a roundup of some different looks.

The pic at the top shows some square spiral post earrings from the blog For the Love of Beads. I wasn't familiar with this blog, but the author is a glass artist. She has some other tutes, many of them lampwork-oriented, at this link.  (She throws in some hot dish recipes, too!)

Spiral Wave earrings by artless

In a similar squiggly mode are these earrings at left. They are called "Spiral Wave." Here's a link to the tute, which isn't free, but the price is only $3. The designer's name is listed as "artless."

And continuing on the spiral theme (I'm not going to post a pic for the next one, because I've mentioned the site before), WigJig has a tute for simple spiral posts here.

The next tute isn't a free either, but it's absolutely lovely. A steal at $6. The artist is the very talented Nicole Hanna.

Nicole Hanna's stunning geometric post earrings

If you're not familiar with Nicole Hanna's blog, she's very funny. This link will take you to the site for purchasing instructions to make what she calls "Geometric Post Earrings."

Below is a free pattern I found on Craftsy. I love this one.

Gailavira's Beaded Spiral Post Earrings

The designer is Gailavira. The link shows it in several variations.







And I'll finish up with this one. It does start with one of those flat-pad post findings, but it's unusual enough to include here. The designer uses poymer clay and nail polish to create an unusal finish for these studs.

Chic Metal Earrings from Quiet Lion

And if I do wind up making my own ear posts, I now know how to use a cup bur to file the ends, thanks to a great post by Pearl of Beading Gem's Journal on sanding and filing.

Slipping under the wire with fun wire projects for I Might Make That! Monday

Pinwheel ring by Dale Cougar Armstrong,
pattern courtesy of Wire-sculpture.com

The best-laid plans of mice and bloggers... I had planned to write my Monday blog post last night but fell asleep watching TV about two hours earlier than I normally go to bed, which I guess was my body's way of telling me I seriously needed some shut-eye.

But hey, there's still a few hours left in Monday, so I'll sneak in under the wire. I recently discovered the site Wire-Sculpture.com, which  sells jewelry-making supplies but also offers lots of wire and jewelry-making tips and videos (some are free, some are not.)

If you sign up for the free e-newsletter (scroll down to the bottom of the home page), you'll get access to exclusive patterns that are not among the free offerings. This lovely swirly ring above, by Dale Cougar Armstrong, was the pattern I got. I just love her pieces--I have her book Wirework--which is way above my ability, but this ring is described as beginner-level.

Do check out Wire-Sculpture.com. It's nice to support sites that make the effort to include educational content along with the merchandise.

Graceful wirework tree and more for I Might Make That! Monday

Source: translate.google.com via Elise on Pinterest

First, the abbreviated version of why I missed posting last Monday:
1. Power failure from massive storm that makes national headlines thwarts plans to write post in advance before leaving on vacation.
2. Hotel in vacationland woefully misrepresents its WiFi accessibility. Plans to use the week to catch up on blogging and answering email are abandoned.

I am now back at home, having spent yesterday evening emptying my refrigerator of the rotten food caused by a three-day outage (others had it far worse, so I'm not complaining.) As I type this Sunday evening, another massive storm is heading our way, so for all I know, I will be without power again before the night is over. When I went to the grocery for fresh provisions this morning, I only bought enough for a day or two; the grand restocking will wait until later in the week.

But back to our original programming.

I spotted the above lovely wirework tutorial on Pinterest recently. The hyperlink will take you to the Google translation of a Russian site. As always, the translation is a little hinky, but there are terrific photos to guide you. I especially like how the artist shows its origin as a sketch, which I never think to do. I wish I could tell you the name of the artist--if someone speaks Russian and can decipher for me, please include it in the comments!

And because I missed last week, here's a bonus feature. This link has a lot of great info about using alcohol inks on jewelry. (Scroll down to the bottom for the info about how this ring was transformed.)

Although the link above is for a specific brand of alcohol ink, here's a link for how to make your own.
(Pinterest has loads of other DIYs.) I'm interested in playing with alcohol inks and patinas because I think they can make ordinary gold- and silver-plated findings more interesting.

A housekeeping note: I recently discovered that the archive of I Might Make That! Monday features (the button in the top right corner of my blog) is currently not functioning. I'll have to rebuild the page. My apologies. I'll try to have that rectified before the next entry.

More buggy beauties for I Might Make That! Monday

Steampunk bug bead tutorial by Christi Friesen

A couple of months back, I did a roundup of eek-free beaded spiders for my Monday feature. It got a lot of page views--who knew it would resonate? Then a few weeks back, this book popped up on a lot of craft sites. I think I spotted it on CraftGossip and was going to blog about it, but then Mortira at Inspirational Beading and a few others beat me to it.

Beaded Bugs by Nicola Tedman 

So instead, I'll blog about some other cool insect beadwork I've spotted on Pinterest, Etsy, Artfire and elsewhere. Some are tutes and some are here for inspiration. (So amusing to discover that Googling "beaded beetles" turned up dozens of blinged-out Volkswagon images but no decent scarab patterns!)

So let's start with the top photo. It's Christi Friesen's steampunk bug made of polymer and clock parts. Most polymer work does not interest me, but I love the look of mixing it with metal. The free tutorial is very detailed, with lots of photos.

Here's a free flat-peyote pattern for a butterfly its designer calls "Three Roses."

Beading pattern from The Glass Butterfly

I like that it shows enough detail that you could do very realistic color gradations if you wanted.

Here's a cute pattern for a beaded ladybug pendant from Craftsy. It's not free, but here's the link to it.

These butterfly earrings are from Anthropolgie (no longer available). No tute, but with the right filigree component, I think I could concoct something similar.

Pearl of The Beading Gem's Journal did an excellent roundup of dragonfly jewelry tutorials last year, so I won't duplicate her efforts. 

The beauty below is not a tutorial, but I'm a fan of Ornan Volokh (a/k/a Snivli) and her blog Beads Fantasy and I have featured her work before. (You'll need Chrome or Google Translate, unless you happen to read Russian.)

Winged Insect byOrnan Volokh/Snivli

Everything below is offered up as more design inspiration. 

Beaded grasshopper by Spirys

Copper lacewing insect hairpin
by Sue Runyon Designs via Artfire

Source: etsy.com via Annie on Pinterest

A beaded leather bib necklace from lovisetto's Etsy shop. She has several variations for sale. 

PhD Beads makes jewelry out of real insect wings and resin.

P.S. My apologies if this post is displaying funny. Blogger seemed to be having issues when I wrote this, and the type was not looking normal in the page previews.

Anyway, for newcomers, the archive of my IMMT!M feature can be found by clicking the link in the top right corner. 

Mystery bead and wirework necklace for I Might Make That! Monday

Well, this post will be a tad different from my usual Monday offerings. As I mentioned back in December when I first started this weekly feature,  I wanted I Might Make That! Monday to be my personal to-do list of bead and jewelry projects.

I have all kinds of bead necklace designs and tutes saved on my hard drive, but it's never easy to find things. Take the necklace above. I know that I downloaded this pic at least two years ago, because it was in a folder marked "Jewelry files from Dell" and I retired my PC and went Mac in 2010. The photo was labeled "free project_15" but the image has become detached from the instructions, which I can't seem to find.

Since many of you subscribe to the same e-newsletters and surf the same sites that I do, does anyone recognize this lovely necklace? I offer it here, tutorial-less, because I think you might be able to figure out how to make it without instructions.

I just love the proportions of it--the way the loops frame the cylinder beads, the way the double tiers provide substance. I'd love to give credit to the artist.

(For first-time visitors, the archive of past IMMT!M posts can be reached via the link in the top right corner of my blog.)