Turquoise and copper earrings

I love turqouise and copper as a combination. These Little Betties are made using hand forged copper rings, copper craftwire and turquoise glass beads. I was so happy to find at Artbeads.com the antique copper earwires, they really complete the look without the worry of patina.


Light weight and just great for a jeans and t-shirt day. I made a pair for myself and loved how they look on. I will post them on my Artfire store here.

I hope you like them. I enjoyed making them. Love weekend earrings.

Hoop Swirl Earring Tutorial feauting Designer Dana James

Guest blog writer Dana James of Dana's Jewelry Designs has graciously written a tutorial for her gorgeous Hoop Swirl Charm Earrings.
These earrings are the ones I won on her blog giveaway. They are stunning and i know you will enjoy making them!

Thanks to Christina for inviting me to do a guest spot on her blog. I wracked my brains trying to think of something original to write about and obviously I couldn’t think of any good article worthy tidbits, but I did have time to write a tutorial for you. I hope you enjoy it.

Hoop Swirl Charm Earrings

What you need:

• 20 gauge sterling silver of 14 kt gold filled wire (hard)

• 1” wood dowel or something similar in size

• Wire cutters

• Round nose pliers

• Needle Nose pliers (not pictured)

• Jewelers hammer

• Stainless steel block or anvil

• Sterling silver headpins (at least 6)

• Various gemstones, pearls, crystals to use as charms (4-8mm)

• Jewelers metal file

• Ruler (not pictured)

  

Instructions for earrings:

1. Cut two lengths of wire 3” each.

2. Wrap the wire as shown around the dowel to get the hoop shape.

3. Curl wire on one end under as shown to make a curly cue.

4. Wrap the second wire and curl as you did the first trying to be consistent with the first one you made.

5. Match them up to make sure they look similar.

6. Trim any extra wire on the opposite side of the hoop.

7. Lightly hammer earrings laying them flat on the anvil so that they keep their shape.

8. File rough edges on the open end.

Instructions for charms (you will be making 3 pair):

1. Choose 3 sets of beads that coordinate.

2. Thread each bead on a headpin.

3. Make a wrapped loop at the top of each bead with the wire using your round nose pliers.

To use, thread one set of beads on one earring hoop making sure that they so not slide off the curl end and repeat with the other. Mix and match other beads if you like. This is a great way to use up some of those left over odd beads from other projects.

Right Angle Weave My journey into bead weaving

Right Angle Weave (or RAW) is a wonderful weave. It's name describes it - all the beads are at right angles to each other. There are 2 methods - single needle and double needle. RAW goes fairly quickly once you get the hang of it. If you've ever made a beaded daisy chain you should have little problem adapting. One warning, however, it is addictive!! RAW adapts to many shapes and is a soft weave, feeling almost like fabric in it's flexibility.

I found a simply explained pattern for Right Angle weave in the book Beadwork Creates Jewelry : 40 Beaded Designs by Jean Campbell (review to come soon) that i borrowed from the library. It was a pair of beaded earrings called Watermelon Balls and it is just delicate and lovely.

Having a ton of 4mm Swarovski crystals, i decided to try it out. I finally had purchased Clear monofilament thread as well. So to work i went. After two hours i had two sets of earrings. It would have been sooner but i lost a bead and had to search forever for it.

My result was this:

Delicate cluster earrings that just sparkle. I wish it was sunny today so I could have taken pictures outside to capture all the sparkle. They are just amazing. There is another project ..a cuff bracelet i an aiming to create that i found in a Bead & Button magazine that i so want to make and it's all right angel weave! So can't wait to try it out.

here is a video from Jewelrysupply.com that explains the Two needle method of right angle weave. which is what i used.

How to Do a Double Needle Right Angle Weave - Beading - Click here for more home videos

This is so exciting and i am so happy to expand my skills and learn new techniques. I hope you are inspired to try something new and look for jewelry books at your local library and take up a new skill or learn a new technique.