More Etched Metal Jewelry

I have been busy making etched metal jewelry. 

I haven't done it for a long time,

but when I was asked to do a jewelry project in the local high school

I thought etched metal would be lots of fun. 

In order to prepare I made a variety of pieces 

and ended up with lots of necklaces - long and short necklaces

- with bigger etched pieces and small etched pieces 

- with pieces of squiggly wrapped wire or not

- and mounted on a cotton cord or a wire circle.

and one bracelet.....

I can't wait to see what the students create!

Squiggly Bits Jewelry

I used heavy wire to make these new bracelets

that have a squiggly bit of wrapped wire in the middle. 

I do find bangles hard to make due to the different sizes of hands and wrists.

Especially since I have such small hands and wrists and 

therefore I can't use mine to measure.  

I decided to try some similar style earrings

which due to their size were a bit tricky with the heavy wire. 

Necklaces were thought about..... but haven't happened yet.

Yukon Flora Jewelry

My summertime jewelry has been a long time coming,

but I finally finished a few pieces. 

I collected leaves from wild plants growing in the area, and then

used them as stamps to decorate pieces of reclaimed metal. 

1st pair - stamped with Willow leaves

2nd pair - stamped with leaves from Jacob's Ladder

3rd pair - stamped from Yarrow leaves

I then displayed them on cards that included 

the name of the plant I used for stamping. 

I also made a few long necklaces....

...and still have a number of stamped metal pieces ready to make more jewelry. 

But, today I was happy to be able to take these pieces to

 Acacia Vintage  - a lovely little local shop that sells a few of my creations. 

The Long Version

I am keeping busy preparing for 

an upcoming local craft sale. 

A post or two ago, I shared some short necklaces I had made

and now I share the longer  versions  that can be worn 

3 different ways. 

As a long single strand or a shorter double stranded necklace,

or as a wrap style bracelet. 

Such fun to make, and fun to wear!

Home From My Holiday

We had a wonderful holiday exploring some of Washington State. 

I loved travelling by bicycle and ferry!

We were very fortunate to have beautiful weather for most of our journey,

but on one very wet day of cycling

I forgot to move my camera to a waterproof area of my bag, 

and it did not survive the day.

Even though I don't have many photographs,

I have many many wonderful memories that I will hold precious for a lifetime.

 Since I have been home I have been slightly obsessed

 with making crocheted necklaces...... may need to make some bracelets yet.  

A Perfect Fit

Making jewelry out of antlers has been on my 

want to try list for a long time. 

Here are the 7 pieces that I managed to finish.

I have some more on my work table,

but need to get a new drill bit after breaking the one I was using. 

These ones are made from moose or caribou antler. 

 I really like that they are uneven and chunky.

I cut and shaped some reclaimed metal to make the bails, 

and connected them with a piece of brass wire that I hammered. 

I decided on using simple black cords to hang them on 

And then tried them on. 

I think they fit perfectly!
 (or just as I had imagined anyway) 

Bikes & Biking

My daughter was in a bike race last weekend - and I drove her support vehicle. 

It was a beautiful sunny day,

but the pictures do not tell the tale of the ever present head winds.

Besides the strong head winds, the hills were big and the miles were many.

She rode for 11 hours - and in my books she is a winner

I enjoyed riding with her as she prepared for this day, 

and with so much biking on the brain, 

bikes showed up in my creations. 

Then there was an old bike tube laying around the house

that also grabbed my attention.

So I used it to make covers for some small notebooks. 

This bike stamp I carved a few years ago has become one of my favourites, and tends to show up in lots of places!

But for now - it is a beautiful evening

 - so I am heading out for a bike ride!