Jewelry Inspired: Funky Copper Disc Choker

Copper

I added a little somethin’-somethin’ to my Artfire Studio today. This copper choker has been sitting on the bench for some time begging to be finished. I bought these copper discs – no word of a lie – 10 years ago. I used to buy a fair bit of Estate sell-offs back when ebay wasn’t so saturated. I admit at the time, being new to the jewelry making game, I wasn’t aware of the size when I bought them. 15mm just didn’t compute in my brain as being on the large side. So when the lot arrived – almost 100 – I had no idea what to do with them. They seemed so big and flying saucer like…

So they sat in the supply pile for well, a decade. Then this summer I decided to pick up some copper headpins, and see if I could make one of my signature funky chunky bracelets.

(Oh and I decided to pair up the discs with a 3.3mm bicone copper bead to add some dimension…)

I wanted the piece to be really solid so I started putting the discs really close together on the links of dash dot sterling silver chain (I love this chain by the way – although it is expensive it is really heavy duty, perfect for projects like this). It definitely was solid…however by doing this it did not have much bend…kind of hard to make into a bracelet. Since I already started it, I didn’t want to dismantle and start again, and I knew I had a fair bit of beads, so I decided to turn it into a choker.

So I got the beads put on and then, there it sat for a very long time. About three months! I just couldn’t decide how to finish it. Although I had assembled the discs on a heavy gauge sterling silver chain, I did not like the way the sterling stood out against the copper for the extender chain portion of the necklace. I probably could have oxidized the chain, but I was lazy. Instead I found some really heavy duty vintage copper chain to finish off the piece.

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I put a fairly long extender chain on it so that it can be adjusted to wear in a variety of ways. I also like the dramatic effect it has: the large beads at the front, and the slender sleekness of the chain trailing down in the back…I really love how it feels like a puzzle in your hands.

This is a piece for someone who wants to make a bold statement, and own a truly one-of-a-kind. I know I could never get these beads again. They are assumed “vintage” although I cannot confirm this…

Weekend Promos for the SATeam

I have been so neglectful of the blog as of late; I hope to rectify that soon now that a smooth rhythm seems to be in place now with my little girlies. To think Ava is 2 months old already! Anyway, my fabulous Etsy Team, the Starving (Jewelry) Artists are doing a promo this weekend. I unfortunately cannot participate but check out our team blog to see what my teammates have to offer. But as usual, my shop always offers free shipping worldwide, at par pricing for Canadians, and additional discounts on more jewelry if you buy $50 or more. Check out my shop for more info..oh and we have a shop chain going now, so you can easily click through participating SATeam shops. You’ll see it on my Etsy Intro!

I feel like the shop is really lacking right now, I’ve been trying to find time to make new shiny things all week however organizing the house has been occupying my thoughts/time. When it hasn’t been done in over two months…I feel like I cannot think with clutter looming!

OH! I am really excited about the new Artfire layout; that I am able to customize my Artfre Studio to match all my business branding. Now, there is a lacking shop! Hopefully the lazy days of summer will mean more beautiful things made and therefore listed on Artfire, too. Not to mention the badly needed website I need to do! *cringe* It never ends!

I’m going to start featuring other artists/crafters here as well, so if you’d like to be featured, be sure to follow me on Twitter so I can get to know your work. If something catches my eye I will be in touch! I have a few of you in mind already… 🙂

100 Days of Creativity: Day 77

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Today’s creative endeavour is a companion to yesterday’s anklet. Cute and simple dangle earrings in tiger eye and faceted garnet:

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Needless to say, I am starting to run out creative steam…but on I push regardless if it’s just a simple pair of earrings. I commited fully so on I plug each day until I simply can’t anymore…but on that note, I must get up and move…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 76

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Today was helping DH clean the house day. I know I know, it’s Sunday but lately I have just decided to do the cleaning when the whim hits me. So this afternoon when I had a moment I decided to put together an anklet, again in anticipation for soon-to-be-bare-legs. This one contains tiger eye tubes & faceted garnet beads. It’s completely adjustable giving the versatility to wear it a variety of ways as well as no fuss with getting the size right. As usual I fashioned the anklet with a safety chain. Simply slip over your foot; that way if the clasp becomes undone, you won’t lose your anklet. I learned this lesson from many a lost ankle bracelet. 🙂

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Tiger eye is associated with astrology as the planetary stone for those born under the sign Gemini; & is commonly associated as a birthstone for those born under the sign of Leo.

Tiger eye also contains many metaphysical properties. For centuries people have believed that the unique properties of gemstones hold specific healing powers & awareness. Tiger eye is said to be associated with the correct use of power, clear thinking, courage, enhances protection, grace, grounding & integration of spirit with worldly energy, integrity, personal empowerment, practicality, the ability to see clearly and without illusion, & willpower.

Red garnet is deep transparent cranberry red with some inclusions, and is the birthstone of the month of January. Garnet is associated with astrology as the planetary stone for those born under the sign Scorpio.

Garnet is said to aid in career success, energy, inspiring romantic love, sensuality & intimacy, passion, past life recall, positive thoughts, and self-confidence.

100 Days of Creativity: Day 75

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Woot! Day 75! I can’t believe I have been able to keep this up for 75 days! Although my goal is 100 days of making at least one piece of jewelry a day I certainly wouldn’t mind stopping here…especially considering all that I have going on right now. But I will keep plugging away as long as I can. Today I was still inspired by the sun, so I made this cheerful sterling and fossil beaded anklet. I still had a bit of time left so I pulled together a cute pair of dalmatian jasper and fossil bead earrings. Simple, yes. Affordable, yes. I have built a reputation on good quality, affordable jewelry, so although this may seem like boring old bead stringing I think it is a must to offer. Sure there are many other aspects of artisan jewelry I would like to delve into but time & economy are against me right now. So I will stick to what I know and what I am good at. 🙂 As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke… 😉

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I love the versatility and affordability of fossil beads. Cut & dyed limestone in many cheerful colours. I prefer it over fiber optic glass actually. Cheerful yet earthy. Happy Saturday. I hope it has been sunny where you are…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 74

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Happy Spring everyone! It was a gloriously sunny day here today. Hard to not feel optimistic on a day like today. My offering for today’s creativity, was purely aesthetic. I wish I had some spiritual reason for pairing these stones together, but it was totally just because I liked how they looked. This bracelet contains hematite donuts, dalmatian jasper and lemon agate:

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The dalmatian jasper is fun huh? Reminds me of so many things…ice cream with cookie bits? Jersey cows?  Hee hee…It’s believed to have gotten its name because the spots resemble those from the dog of the same name.

Off to start my Friday night! Tomorrow is another milestone…day 75! 25 days to go. It has been a rewarding & fun journey…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 71

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Today was a fairly easy design day as I simply finished up the last two pieces in the garnet & pearls series. I think I needed the break, anyway. I’m feeling a bit unmotivated as I deal with some emotions stemming from my mother’s death a few months ago. Strange how those things come up at different times. So today, I put the finishing touches on a pair of earrings to match the necklace & bracelet I made yesterday, as well as a pearl cuff bracelet accented in the 4mm faceted garnet:

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Even after all that – I still have some of these garnet beads left! The smaller sized beads are definitely deceiving. 🙂

100 Days of Creativity: Day 70

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When I started to think this morning about what would be my inspiration for today’s creations, I decided to take direction from my destash pile of beads. I have these 4mm faceted garnet beads to use up. One of those, I needed some for a creation awhile back & over bought…sooo…thinking about it, I didn’t want to make the same garnet pieces I made back in January for a birthstone theme, I really wanted to pair these up with something more light. Since we are heading into wedding & formal season,  I decided to pair them up with some freshwater pearls. This is two of four pieces that I started. These two, a bracelet and necklace, are finished & I’ll complete the other two tomorrow:

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Interesting info: garnet is the birthstone for the month of Janurary and also the planetary stone for those born under the sign of Scorpio. Pearls are the birthstone for the month of June & also the planetary stone for those born under the sign of Cancer.

Till tomorrow…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 69

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Today was mookaite day. I felt the need to add a couple more affordable pieces to my Artfire Studio, and mookaite came to mind. This bead stands really well on its own therefore I thought it was the appropriate choice for these pieces. Mookaite (also spelled moukaite) is a form of jasper native to Australia. Stone variance from a reddish brown, tan and cream colored.

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You can see by comparing the first and second pair of earrings, there really is a neat variance to the colour of the stone. Truly one of my favourites to work with. As far as lore goes, mookaite is believed to aid in in embracing new circumstances, acts as an emotional protector, encourages the desire for variety & new experiences, enhances decision making & helps us when dealing with negative situations. Indeed, a fascinating stone.

100 Days of Creativity: Day 68

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Wow day 68! I will be so proud when I make it to Day 75 of this! I was in a bit of a funk today…I am not100% sure why. I don’t feel tired as in, I need sleep tired, just slow. I think I need to cut out the bread products for awhile and detox out the gluten. That would help. I also had such a negative experience with a potential new supplier yesterday. I really hate being a hard ass, but business is business, you know? I think I really need to start critiquing online businesses. One thing that’s great about buying from Etsy is that there is feedback. Doing a google search & finding these online stores really is buy at your own risk at times. I was also thinking I really need to thank all the suppliers I have, big & small for the great service they offer. How often do we let people know when they are doing something right & that we appreciate it? Okay, mental note to self to do this…

Back to today’s creation. Today when I woke up, the sun had this haze coming over the horizon that reminded me of the summer. I was also up early unable to sleep due to a bit of back pain so it really felt like I was on a trip getting ready to start a day of exploration. So the piece I was inspired to make, is entirely in white and accented in silver. I love white & silver toegther. So clean & fresh, like a summer blouse or a white washed house against clear blue skies on a tropical isalnd…ahhhh…are you feeling me or what?

Here’s the bracelet, done entirely in fiber optic cat’s eye & accented in lead-free pewter & sterling silver:

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With that, I must start my Saturday night. DD is in front of me, singing me a song & dancing. Must go enjoy the simple things in life that makes us smile… 🙂

100 Days of Creativity: Day 67

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So, the sun today really had me thinking of summer. As the snow slowly melts I was looking at our back deck thinking about sitting out there soaking up some sun. We bough DD (almost 18 months) a wooden playhouse yesterday. Can’t wait to put it together. That energy really made me migrate to the colourful beads. Anything turquoise/aqua & white really makes me think hot weather. So this is my contribution to my Artfire Studio for today:

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All fiber optic cat’s eye accented in sterling silver. Makes me want to go sip lemonade in the shade or a pina colada on the beach!

I need not say it is Friday night & I so do not want to be working…so I say so long farewell for now…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 64

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I took the day to relax. My body was so tired & the hormones were making me feel kind of weepy. This is the first day I have felt any kind of altered state hormonally & I guess I am allowed at almost 38 weeks. So it was a nice day just hanging out with my 17 month old & sneaking in a couple pieces of jewelry. It’s hard to just lay around for me…esp. considering that’s all I will be doing for 6 weeks after this baby is born. Sit and nurse. Sleep when baby sleeps…I look forward to it and yet I don’t want to get bored with sitting around ahead of time…thank goodness for supportive husbands!

So this is what I came up with today. Again, simple pieces but I like how they turned out as they had my signature funky style:

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This bracelet has 25mm shell beads & caramel mother-of-pearl. I added these sterling silver coil spacers to give it a bit of funkiness.

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I took these wood beads & made a necklace that can be worn longer on the chain or as a choker. The wood beads are on a thick gauge wire so that they stay in this “U” shape regardless if worn long or choker style.

I continue to amaze myself because I can honestly say at this moment I am fresh outof ideas…then tomorrow comes & something just comes to me…let’s see if I can still keep that going tomorrow…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 63

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Today I struggled to get motivated. Definitely my body is slowing down…but I did get a couple of bracelets made. Really, I am starting to amaze myself that I can keep going, but I just can’t sit around & wait, you know? 🙂

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This cuff bracelet captures my earthy side! 10mm moonstone beads need nothing but themselves to make a bold statement.

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I am really happy how this turned out. Very soft. This bracelet contains violet pearls & moonstone chips. Maybe I should be wearing it, since moonstone is supposed to bring on easy birth! This piece is the birthstone, planetary stone & mystical stone for those born under the sign of Cancer or in the month of June.

100 Days of Creativity: Day 62

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Finally! A beautiful day! Felt like spring & the sun came out…a great way to start daylight savings time. Only, it doesn’t make me motivated to stay in and make jewelry. I did however, get 4 pairs of earrings made. Simple designs, mind you. I always feel unfulfilled when I just make simple pairs of earrings. Then today I had a sale in my Etsy Shop of a similar style…so I guess that’s all the confirmation I need that it’s well worth doing! 🙂

It was the day of the hoop earring. I made these gold-filled hoops with a cloisonné bead theme:

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Then these chip bead sterling silver hoops featuring turritella agate & red tiger’s eye:

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I’d love to get my hands on more turritella agate. I love the beautiful pattern of the stone. Anyway, I have a terrible crick in my neck so I have to keep it short & sweet tonight…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 61

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I am totally finding it hard to concentrate tonight! Sloooooow like molasses I am. But it is Saturday night so I am excused. On an up note, I had a very productive jewelry making day. Played around with sterling silver chain to make some more delicate classy jewelry that seems to be so popular; at least from my customers…

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I am annoyed with this weather. Garnet is really hard to photograph since it is a dark stone, and with it being cloudy so much it makes it even tougher. I am too lazy & too pregnant to dig the light box out of the garage. I wanted the first thing I made today to be an anklet as I already had in my Artfire Studio a necklace, bracelet, earrings & ring. I also thought of making a headpiece but that is just too much work, therefore too much sitting for me right now. So I am keeping with simple. I just had a handful of these 3mm garnet beads left. Nice to make more room in the bead box…

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This necklace was inspired by the 13mm Swarovski crystal rings. A supplier of mine had these and I thought I would get two to play around with them, maybe use them in earrings. Only, once I got them home, I had no inspiration as to what to do with them! So they sat in the bead box for 3 years. I think they make a great focal point for this hematite & sterling silver chain necklace.

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These last two pieces, are my favourites of today. I adore black & white, and the black carnelian beads with freshwater pearls in these matching earrings & necklace are elegant, classy & sassy!  Yep, still milking those 10mm black carnelian beads. 😉

100 Days of Creativity: Day 60

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I could have made more jewelry today while this piece was in the tumbler but it was so dark I figured it wouldn’t be worth it since I couldn’t get a decent shot anyway. I started this one last night & finished it this morning:

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It was hard to get a decent shot but it truly a fun, funky ring. It contains a 10x14mm faceted quartz bead wrapped in 20 guage sterling silver wire. I make these rings on a whim for fun so I don’t pay much attention to size. This one turned out to be quite small even for my fingers; size 4. According to a fellow jewelry maker, size 7 is the most common size for rings. Ooops. I have a size 5 ring finger myself. But, it’s made & hopefully it will appeal to someone with small fingers who has a hard time finding rings to fit. Great for a teen, as well.

100 Days of Creativity: Day 59

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I felt compelled today to use up my sea green quartz beads today. Tada:

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The necklace uses up these pretty faceted quartz beads in varying hues of green. They measure 10x14mm. Accented with 4mm green quartz beads. These are not naturally occuring colours; these are dyed, but oh so pretty.

With the leftover 4mm beads, I decided to make a cuff bracelet. These paler green colours go really well with silver; so I paired them up with 3mm corrugated sterling silver beads.

I’m not exactly sure how I got these two pieces done today; sitting is a bit of a challenge right now! All I can say is a thoroughly enjoy doing it… 🙂 You can take a closer look at these pieces in my Artfire Studio.

100 Days of Creativity: Day 58

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I am so impressed I actualy made a piece of jewelry today. Seriously…it feels like there is a bowling ball wedged in my pelvis! Sitting for long periods of time is definitely not going to happen so I put togther these cute & yummy earrings this morning:

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I so want summer to come…can you tell with these colours? ‘So cheery & bright & yummy looking. 🙂

Anyway…I must get up or change positions or something…