Category Archives: Bracelets

Bracelets, Cold Connections, gifts, Metal Work, Pendants, Philosophy

I Know Who Moved My Cheese

August 21, 2011 Karen 4 Comments

I’m preparing for a few art/craft shows in the Fall and thought I would get a jump on making some small, inexpensive items that could be stocking stuffers. Last year, I made a healthy number of wire bookmarks. There were wire cats. dogs and rabbits. This year I had visions of other wire animals hanging from the shepherd’s hook bookmarks. I was happily working on these when I happened to glance across and see my husband who was reading. Then it hit me. Someone moved my cheese!

If you are not familiar with this phrase, it is derived from the title of the 1998 book by Kenneth Blanchard Who Moved My Cheese? (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Who+moved+my+cheese) Companies and educational groups bought this book by the dozens and used it to make employees cognizant of the fact that times are changing and we need to be prepared to learn new skills and to problem solve. Many of us who were “encouraged” to read the book felt we could have gotten the idea with a simple memo, but hopefully it made a difference to others. The full-day workshops on the topic were a bit much.

My “cheese” realization” came when I noted that my husband was engrossed in a book on his IPAD II and no longer needed a bookmark. With the onslaught of electronic readers, I had to rethink the number of bookmarks I might need this year. Many of my friends and customers who are readers no longer need bookmarks.

It was fortuitous that I realized I might not need so many bookmarks this year before I made a hoard of them. I garnered my bookmark energy and set out to find something else small that I could offer at the art shows. I’m currently working on a few very small pendants/charms that could go on a chain, bracelet or a BOOKMARK. (Surely, that cheese didn’t all move away.) Unfortunately, these little things take a bit longer to make, but I’m sure I will get faster as I make more and more.

The charms with a religious theme might work well combined on a bracelet or simply as a single charm attached to a beaded bracelet. Surely something will hatch before long.

In the meantime, I’ll be making just a few new bookmarks and trying to pay close attention to any other cheese that has been moved since last season. Of course, it would certainly be exciting if I had a clue what customers want ahead of time. But where would be the fun in that??? I’ve just got to follow the cheese, but in the meantime it’s important just to realize that it moved.

Bracelets, Fiber, Techniques, Tutorials

Let’s Wrap

July 27, 2011 Karen 2 Comments

I’ve recently become intrigued with wrap style bracelets and the many variations thereof. They are quick and fairly easy to make and the cost of materials is usually quite nominal. I realize these have been around forever, but the resurgence of them within the broader market causes me to rethink their myriad of possibilities. For example, take a look on the Nordstrom’s website and search wrap bracelets. There you’ll find some rather expensive ones ($128 and up) that don’t look much different than those you see that I’ve made.

There are some good free online tutorials that show the process for wrap bracelets. For example, The following link takes you to the DIY tutorial for the bracelets pictured above: http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1t8Exa/honestlywtf.com/diy/diy-wrap-bracelet/

These are made with leather, ball chain and waxed linen thread. They’re easy as pie.(not that making a pie from scratch is that easy . . . ) I started making them with the regular silver colored ball chain and then found a package of the colored chain at Hobby Lobby. My customers like the colored chain. I also made, but failed to get a picture before it left home, a bracelet with beads instead of the chain. I simply strung beads, crimping at both ends, and used them in the place of the chain. This is a bit trickier, but provides many color and texture choices. I also made one wherein I used colored cord from the fabric department from . . . you guessed it, Hobby Lobby, . . . in place of the chain.

The second tutorial is slightly more complicated, but still easy. I watched a video on the Auntie’s Beads site http://www.auntiesbeads.com/Wrap-Bracelets-Video_p_9111.html) and then made the turquoise and leather bracelet below. I used 6 lb. test Fireline (from the Walmart fishing department) to make my bracelet. This style provides many options for variation.

I made a bracelet that looks just about like the above, but used a different technique. I hand sewed the seed beads between the leather pieces, again using Fireline. The one below wraps around the wrist four times.

Finally, I “borrowed” the idea for the braided bracelet from the Nordstrom’s website. They show a braided bracelet made with two pieces of leather, using the ball chain as the third braiding element. I didn’t have round leather and used multicolored cord. There’s really nothing novel about the braided version, but I had not thought of using chain it it before. You can just barely see the orange ball chain in the picture below but it’s there. Now I’m wondering about a plethora of other things that could be braided with the leather or cord. Any ideas?

This may not be the kind of wrapping some of you were thinking about from the title. But I just can’t do the other RAP. If you can, go right ahead without me, but I’m sticking to this kind of wrapping and that’s a wrap for today.

Bracelets, Creativity, Earrings, Necklaces, Pendants, Wire Work

Loopy Loo

July 2, 2011 Karen

Notice that the title does NOT include any person’s name. I would not want to be accused of calling anyone “loopy” nor would I choose to be called that although those of you who know me might say it occasionally fits my personality.

I finally wrote the tutorial for the Loopy Loo Bracelet design. You see this pictured in sterling silver below and I’ve been making this bracelet a while. At the insistence of a good friend I finally decided to share it and offer the tutorial on my etsy shop as you see in the listings on the right.

clip_image002 While writing the tutorial, I realized that I had not fully explored the potential of this design. I used the SCAMPER creative thinking tool previously mentioned in another entry and tried new things with the loops. I “minified” the design using lighter gauge wire and a smaller cylinder for the loops. This resulted in both a smaller more delicate bracelet plus a new necklace armature. Although the one in the photo is medium sized, I also like the tiny loops I put in an earlier necklace in the second picture. Hmm . . . I seem to be stuck on purple!

Thinking again about SCAMPER induced possibilities, I “modified” the shape of the loops a couple of different ways. The first turned out to be a pendant where I flattened the circle of loops to frame a bead.

I also turned them a bit differently and made earrings.

I made these from 20 gauge wire and feel they would be better in a heavier gauge. They aren’t holding their shape as securely as I would like. I do, however, think they are a good design and I’m going to redo them.

Who knows what this Loopy Loo design will bring next? I’m pleased to be working with it again and hope to exhaust its possibilities before moving on. Any ideas????

Bracelets, Necklaces, Philosophy, Wire Work

Which Came First. . .

June 12, 2011 Karen

. . . the design or the beads? I’ll bet you thought I was asking about the chicken and the egg.

Something initiates most new ideas, inventions, problem solutions and designs. Artists who say they’ve lost their muse might benefit from the examination of how their art begins. With musicians, the question is often “do you start with words or with melody?” The fiber artist might query whether the fiber drives the design idea or the idea hatches and initiates the search for the right fiber. Does the author select a setting or environment to write about and then create characters or vice versa?

Jewelry designers might well consider the above question “do my better pieces start when I’ve become fascinated by the possibilities for designing with a particular bead OR do I develop a design and then search for what gemstones would compliment it?”

For example, the bracelet on the left started with the square bead. Although you can’t see it in the photo, it is not perfectly flat and I wanted to show off its character. This bead led to the adaptation of my previous dimensional design and required the development of a square, as opposed to oval, face. You may recall the former, shown below, from past blog entries. The tutorial for this one is in my etsy store.

The bead has come before the design several times when customers have brought me rocks or gemstones collected during their travels. It’s often a challenge to make the right design to show off their treasure.

Other times, the design comes first. You’ve previously seen the double wire necklace series. These copper armatures require just the right size and shape beads for elaboration. Since each armature is a bit different, the bead requirements vary from piece to piece. The necklace below, found in my etsy shop, features heishi shaped moonstones and garnet rounds. I played with other beads before finding the right ones for this design.

Of course the bead and the design may come together at one time. Is this the perfect marriage? Do your exciting pieces begin this way?

At this point you may be saying “who cares?” Art just happens. If your art flows freely, you don’t need this analysis, but what if it doesn’t. I think we all go through periods, whether long or short, of inactive inspiration. These are times when we wait for a great idea and it doesn’t come. Wouldn’t it be nice to know that a little analysis of previous work could prove helpful? It doesn’t work for everyone, but it might work for some. During those “dead idea” times, I’d try almost anything!

A careful analysis of my own work reveals that the design usually comes first. I spend a good deal of time playing with wire and that’s how most things hatch. The problem often occurs in the search for the perfect complimentary beads. Sometimes my impatience during this search causes me to use the wrong beads and then the design falls flat. I hope to become a little more patient during upcoming searches.

I’d like to believe that the artist’s muse doesn’t really run away, she just needs a little time to rest now and then. Yet, it wouldn’t hurt for us to give her a little nudge through analysis.

Bracelets, Creativity, Necklaces, Philosophy, Tutorials, Wire Work

Royalties

April 19, 2011 Karen 2 Comments

Do you turn the television off these days when you hear a segment about the “royal” couple? Are you tired of seeing hats with big brims and feathers that blow in the wind? Will this all end after the young British couple is finally wed? At the very least, surely the stories will slow down. . . but I may be hoping for too much.

Even though I’ve avoided the opportunity to wonder about the bride’s dressmaker or whether she will wear flowers in her hair, I have conjured greatest if I could just design a few of the jewelry pieces for the wedding. Hmm . . . I wonder how the queen would look in a funky metal piece like the one below?

Alas, I guess we’ll never know. (I think a little metal something would be quite charming on one of those hats!)

I did think of that royal couple this week when I opened the mail and found a royalty check from one of my books on creativity. I’m still amazed that people buy something I wrote in 1994 that was published in 1996. It just goes to show that I’d better watch what I say that is published since those words hang on and on.

After receiving that check, I wondered how to perpetuate a jewelry design such that it paid off for as many years as that book. The closest I could think of would be the payoff from tutorials. As you probably know, I have two bracelet cuff tutorials in my etsy shop and, like the books, they bring me some cash from time to time.

I considered whether a design that lives several seasons or even years is a type of royalty. A boutique customer requested a freeform peyote cuff last week. This is something I haven’t made in years, but it still has life.

Now, if I can just remember how I gave it that life!

I can’t say this example is a good analogy to the book royalties since I do have to do the work again. The books and tutorials don’t require anything further.

There is, of course, that option of writing a book about designing jewelry. Yet, I remember how long it takes to put a book together, the pain of dealing with a grouchy editor, the long wait before it goes to press and the tiny percentage an author receives from each book sale. It seems to me that the next time I think I want “royalty”, I’ll just put a floppy hat on my head and go out for a stroll.

Bracelets, Necklaces, Philosophy, selling, Wire Work

It Just Takes One

March 30, 2011 Karen

Have you ever had a grand idea during a meeting and no one applauded? Perhaps you created something new and no one thought it was wonderful.This seems to happen occasionally with my jewelry designs. I create something new and the first few customers hardly look at it. I may have thought it would jump right up and grab them, but it didn’t. After a few showings wherein the new design hasn’t gotten attention, I begin to fear that I was wrong. I think that it really isn’t so cool after all and I move on. Later, there is that one person who likes the piece and buys it. My friend from Magpie Gemstones says there’s a person for every piece. I guess I should believe her.

The interesting thing about having one person really like your new design is that it can give you confidence. That’s what it does for me. I finally sold one of my chaos necklaces, shown in an earlier blog, to a boutique owner and she sold it the next day. Now she has ordered three more and another boutique customer also wants to see it. Go figure! I think it the old “if she can sell it so can I” attitude.

The same thing happened with my handmade chain necklaces. Nothing much happened with them until one store owner tried one and now she has ordered more. Although I’ve shown pictures of this design previous I’m included one of the newer models in this blog.

Another boutique customer purchased a cuff bracelet with a square face. I’d had this for a couple of months and no one had been interested in it. She sold it and ordered two more. Now I think I should be more positive about this design.

I’m beginning to think that the new designs are sometimes ahead of the season in which they will sell. Another possibility is that the colors I’ve used in the piece are just not those that the current customer needs. That shouldn’t mean that no one will want them. I guess its all about confidence and patience. I should be confident in a design that I think is good and patient enough to wait for the right customer. It just takes one!

Bracelets, gifts, Metal Work, Necklaces, Pendants

Commissioned Pieces

March 6, 2011 Karen

I recently had the fortunate experience of making some special jewelry as a gift. Although the request came from someone I do not know well, the gift was for someone I do know well. This made it much easier. The unique thing about this commissioned work was that the only parameters were to create something the recipient would like within the price range given. Since I know which pieces of my jewelry the person receiving the gift already has, I was able to make something she would not have seen before. It was also fortunate that the giver trusted me and there was no need to email preliminary photos back and forth. Below is a picture of the recipient wearing her new sterling silver and rodochrosite jewelry.

I regret the photographer didn’t show her pretty face with the pieces, so you’ll just have to trust me that she’s a pretty lady. She doesn’t wear many bracelets, possibly because she is a musician and choral director. We wouldn’t want some bracelet to go flying into the choir as she makes a grand motion. That’s why this bracelet has a firm clasp. You can also see that she has a relatively small wrist and custom pieces for her size are a necessity. It was good that I knew all this information prior to making her pieces; otherwise I might have made a dangling bracelet that could have gone flying as she directed.

I guess that what I’m trying to say is that it’s a really good idea to find out all you can if you are asked to make a special piece. Along with inquiring about what colors, stones and metals the person likes, the person’s style, size and even occupation and hobbies might be important. I’m pleased that the recipient of these pieces is happy with them.

Bracelets, Necklaces, Philosophy, Techniques

Adventures in Chaos

February 24, 2011 Karen 2 Comments

It’s OK to read today’s entry. The title could indicate that this will be a discourse on something like the cultural or religious battles that take up much of today’s news casts or a diatribe on our current economy while I sing my own rendition of “it sure isn’t like the old days”. Yet, (thankfully, you say) it pertains to none of the above. This actually is about jewelry design.

Scholars and wordsmiths would likely frown upon my use of the term; yet, the pieces shown today and the manner in which I made them best depict my own definition of chaos. Wikipedia tells us that this term chaos “in Greek mythology and cosmology referred to a gap or abyss at the beginning of the world, or more generally the initial, formless state of the universe”. The term is used in mathematics and science in reference to a specific kind of unpredictability. The latter definition is probably closer to the way I use the word today.

The bracelet shown on the left reminds me of chaos. The wire wrappings are very unpredictable as are the placements of the charms and beads. This is not my original design. It came from a bead magazine I picked up and I certainly regret that I cannot provide the source and the originator. (My apologies to the artist) The magazine has been misplaced.

I used the original bracelet form to create a necklace shown here. I think this piece turned out to be even more interesting than the bracelet. I included silver wire in with the copper which had been given a liver of sulphur bath. Then I hung the beads and charms as chaotically as I could manage. It reminds me a bit of a bird’s nest made by an inept sparrow.

The pieces have the appearance of chaos, but I most enjoyed the freedom of this unpredictable process used to make the pieces. Once you have the basic armature, you begin doing the loose wire wraps that go back and forth, in and out and in between. During the process I just kept shaking my head and thinking this is NOT going to work, but I stuck with it. Then I found it difficult to go ahead and hang the dangles on the loose wrappings. The final venture was wearing the pieces out in public. When the first person stopped to look at and compliment my necklace, I had to feel of it to be sure they meant the chaos necklace. Yet, by the third or fourth compliment, I was prepared to go back home and make another one.

Since, however, I am somewhat of a business minded woman, I think I’ll wait and see if this necklace actually sells before I decide it is a winner. Compliments and money exchange don’t necessarily go hand in hand.

I am intrigued with other ways to use the idea of chaos within design work. Of course it can extend to earrings, rings and pendants in similar form to the pieces shown here. How else might chaos be shown through the designs? That requires some incubation and I’ll let you know if anything hatches. Until then, I hope your life is NOT chaotic, but if it is maybe it will turn out alright like my jewelry pieces.

Bracelets, Metal Work, Necklaces, Pendants, Wire Work

Adventures in Silver

February 9, 2011 Karen

I’ve previously mentioned the astonishing price of sterling silver. Today it is listed by Rio Grande Jewelry Supply (http://www.riogrande.com/news.aspx) at $31.18/ounce. Ouch! It hurts to order sterling silver wire, but I’m making it a practice to look at the current price per ounce on the day my package arrives. It is usually higher the day it comes than the day that I ordered it. I keep thinking it will make me feel better . . . I’m not sure that’s working.

The next step after ordering that sterling silver wire is cutting it. I’m getting much braver and last night, making the bracelet shown here, I actually forgot about the price. Later, when I looked up the amount of wire used and the price for the silver I was extremely glad I didn’t mess up the bracelet!

The armature for this one is an attempt at another style, besides the wave, that is slightly adjustable. This one has some play in it.

Supported by successful feelings about the bracelet, I worked on a sterling silver necklace this morning. It features fused silver pieces in the front and I completed it with a hand made chain. (I AM going to get those handmade jump rings to be my friend . . . soon. I hope. It’s amazing how much better a job I do when I put on those silly reading glasses. (The optometrist told me what would happen to my eyes after age 40. He forgot to warn me about 60.)

I also finished a much simpler sterling piece where I soldered a bezel to sheet metal and then soldered a small part of that metal to a wire armature. I purchased chain for this longer necklace.

Finally, the last photo shows one of the mixed metal pendants I mentioned in another blog entry. It has a pretty modern look which isn’t normal for me, but it’s a start on the mixed metal layers!

Now that I have completed a few sterling silver pieces, the next step is to price them and then see if there are customers out there who don’t mind paying more for this metal. If so, there will be less pain the next time I place an order for sterling silver wire and sheet metal. If not . . . well, I guess I’ll be sticking with copper.

Bracelets, Color, Metal Work, Necklaces, Pendants, Wire Work

Spring is in the Cold Air

January 21, 2011 Karen 2 Comments

Yesterday was one of the coldest days we’ve had this season in South Texas. Although I am seldom chilled while hammering, torching and working with my tools, yesterday was an exception. I was trying to imagine warm Spring breezes blowing across the bluebonnets and women in cotton dresses and floppy hats out enjoying the day. Alas, it was a very big stretch to say the least.

If you are a designer or type of merchant who makes changes in merchandise with the seasons, you may be experiencing my difficulty. At the height of a given season or perhaps even before that season begins, we need to switch gears and plan for the next one. So here goes. I’m layered in warm clothes from head to toe and I have the Spring palette of colors laid out to work with. It just doesn’t seem right, but it IS necessary.

Luckily, the owner of Dovetails of Wimberley gave me the Casual Corners catalogue displaying the Spring line. I’m using it to help plan jewelry to go with the garments. Take a look at the beautiful mixture of colors shown in the catalogue.

Inspired by these photos, I began to play with the fiber I had on hand. This included yarns, ribbons and cording.

This gave me a better understanding of what colors coordinated and might work best in beads.

I’ve begun now to work with the beads matching these colors that I got from Magpie Gemstones (www.magpiegemstones.com). I can show you the one new bracelet below and the lapis necklace that just went into my etsy shop (www.dreamcatcherdesigns.etsy.com).

I used a new style armature for the bracelet and think it will be nice for those customers who have enjoyed the wave bracelets. This one is not as wide and displays more gemstones and pearls.

The lapis necklace is a piece that finally hatched. I made the pendant at least two months ago and then it sat and sat on the work table waiting for further inspiration. The blues from the Casual Corner catalogue finally led me to finish this piece. Just a few charoite beads help set off the color of the lapis and make it look more like Spring.

Today, the sun is out even though it is still cold outside. I guess I’ll have to continue to imagine the warmth of the Spring breezes. I think I’ll go put on a floppy hat to get in the right frame of mind.

Dreamcatcher Designs