I used to always give away my artwork to friends and family, and at some point I decided that if I was never going to actually have any of my artwork, I should have a record of it and take a picture. I was then eleven years old and had just been entrusted with my very first camera.
This red and gold beaded necklace features a St. Benedict medal that I was so excited to find.
St. Therese good-deed sacrifice beads (I wrote a blog post about good deed beads some time ago). For some reason, 2013 was the year of the St. Therese beads!
This chainmaille project is so beautiful-- a long choker necklace made with the 2-in-2 weave, with silver plated and blue enameled copper. Each ring (as always) was woven individually.
To match it, I made a Byzantine weave bracelet.
Remember how I said that 2013 was the year of the St. Therese beads? This was a custom order for 60, SIXTY, sets of beads. Above is my best friend and my little sister, who helped with detailing the beeswax to make the beads slide better.
I love the Czech glass beads that my customer requested!
Yep. That's a LOT of beads!
This was another set-- I think I made ten-- and the Czech glass is interspersed with Swavroski pearls.
A cool chain bracelet with that bead flower I use in so many designs...
An intricate copper necklace with lots of swirls and fun green leaves...
Here's another chainmaille necklace!
I wish these weren't so expensive to make-- I'd have several in every color in stock if I could!
The metal in chainmaille is just so fluid!
This was a gift; a fun lightweight necklace for a music-loving friend.
This... I don't remember making this or what it was for, but I have pictures by golly! It's supposed to be a headpiece with fun dangling chains.
However, 2013-me also took a picture of it on a lampshade.
2013-me also demonstrated how it could be turned into a statement necklace. Remember when overkill chain necklaces were all the rage?
One of many, many Evenstar sets I made that year.
I've been trying to carry this practice over with the jewelry that I create, because there are many custom items or craft fair sales which I will never see again. So I snag a snapshot before sending the jewelry away.
Tonight, while waiting for my YouTube video to upload, I dug around in some old files and found a few memorable pieces that no one but the recipient has yet seen!
These are, so far as I can tell, all from around 2013.
(I did unearth some from a full 3+ years ago, but the quality is... well, let me direct you to what I considered some pretty cool jewelry in 2009... I started to actually develop good craftsmanship in 2012, but that's back when I blogged fairly consistently and actually posted about small custom work.)
(I did unearth some from a full 3+ years ago, but the quality is... well, let me direct you to what I considered some pretty cool jewelry in 2009... I started to actually develop good craftsmanship in 2012, but that's back when I blogged fairly consistently and actually posted about small custom work.)
This red and gold beaded necklace features a St. Benedict medal that I was so excited to find.
I've been considering making more religious jewelry like this; most stuff you find is a simple cross or medal on a chain.
Braided cuff, and rings, in black and silver.
St. Therese good-deed sacrifice beads (I wrote a blog post about good deed beads some time ago). For some reason, 2013 was the year of the St. Therese beads!
This chainmaille project is so beautiful-- a long choker necklace made with the 2-in-2 weave, with silver plated and blue enameled copper. Each ring (as always) was woven individually.
To match it, I made a Byzantine weave bracelet.
And two matching earrings for the set.
I love the Czech glass beads that my customer requested!
Yep. That's a LOT of beads!
This was another set-- I think I made ten-- and the Czech glass is interspersed with Swavroski pearls.
Even more sets-- these jet black beads were for three brothers.
A cool chain bracelet with that bead flower I use in so many designs...
An intricate copper necklace with lots of swirls and fun green leaves...
Here's another chainmaille necklace!
I wish these weren't so expensive to make-- I'd have several in every color in stock if I could!
The metal in chainmaille is just so fluid!
This was a gift; a fun lightweight necklace for a music-loving friend.
This... I don't remember making this or what it was for, but I have pictures by golly! It's supposed to be a headpiece with fun dangling chains.
However, 2013-me also took a picture of it on a lampshade.
2013-me also demonstrated how it could be turned into a statement necklace. Remember when overkill chain necklaces were all the rage?
One of many, many Evenstar sets I made that year.
And this is a Christmas tree ornament! I formed the copper wire, hammered it, and filled it in with beads.
That's it for the custom work of 2013! I have nearly three times as many pictures from the custom work of 2014. Keep an eye out for that blog post in a couple of weeks.
Over my Christmas break, in between visiting with friends and family, I spent a good deal of time in the garage working on jewelry.
Last summer, my dad partitioned off part of the garage into a workspace, and now it's a full-blown studio! AND I GOT A TORCH!!!
I took one jewelry class (Metals 1) that previous spring, and the biggest thing I took away from that class was a focus on craftsmanship and technique with hand-tools and a willingness to just dive in and, you know, play with a 2,000 degree flame.
My Christmas present was money towards a propane+oxygen setup for the Smith Little Torch. Between the torch and all of the necessary supplies and safety items, I wiped out my summer's profits, but hopefully all in the interest of great things to come.
Back in January I filmed this vlog, edited the video, and managed to stick all of the files on the wrong harddrive. Now I've dubbed it-- so feel free to join me in a tour of my amazing studio!
