I have a very dear friend who recently purchased a necklace for an upcoming trip she is to take. The necklace had no matching earrings. So she purchased some beads and findings and asked me to make them for her. I was delighted and said of course I would be happy to. That was before I saw the findings.
My first attempts were not working. I was struggling as the tiny...very tiny...little loops on the circles do not open. They are fixed in place. I usually do wire wrapped loops and attached them during the wrapping process. Even with all my tools and both of my hands I could not get my loops attached to these little fixed circles. And I realized that my wire wrapped loops were too long for the top hanging bead. Drat!
I was certain that I would not be able to make these earrings and that was very disheartening to me. Hmmm...this is the modern world with internet! I Googled YouTube and found a nice easy to understand tutorial on how to make "chandelier earrings". With renewed confidence I went back to the jewelry table and tried my new-found method. With only a few tries I was able to get one little bead attached to one little circle. I destroyed a few of my sterling silver headpins in the process but persevered. Having a couple more hands...maybe eight like an octopus might have...would have helped. Success! I am pleased with the results and managed to make a matching pair of chandelier earrings for my friend. I do believe the person in the video has had a lot more experience and therefore has perfected her looping techniques. I will keep trying.
This is much more my comfort zone. A lovely beaded headpin with a wrapped loop which attaches it to the fixed larger loop on the Dogwood charm. However, I am glad I tried something out of my comfort zone as that is how we improve our skills. It felt so good to actually create something with beads and findings.
Summer is glorious here in the pines. I do hope you are enjoying your summer/winter doing what gives you bliss. Are you learning any new techniques or crafts?
Welcome to my new followers and thank you all for commenting. I really enjoy reading them and visiting your blogs. Happy Hearts are Creative Hearts. Creative Hearts are Happy Hearts. Happy Creative Hearts Dear Blog Friends...
I admire your ability to work outside your comfort zone. The earrings look beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThey are gorgeous! That is exactly the reason I have never tried jewelry, I don't think I would have the patience for little ity bity wires and beads, but you girlfriend can do anything!!!
ReplyDeleteCarol
What a GOOD friend you are to go to so much trouble to help your friend with her earrings.
ReplyDeleteI wrote recently on my blog (and then removed it as I got nervous about it) about the transferring of a bead from one necklace to another. The bead I found on the wrong necklace was a small turquoise faceted one with a wire running through the middle of it.
The wire was flattened on one side of the bead, and on the other side it curved back to the bead making it's loop. It was very secure and took some doing to get it OFF the wrong necklace that had NO beads on it. The other necklace showed the missing spot where that little turquoise bead was supposed to be.
It was upsetting as I could NOT for the life of me figure out how it got from one necklace..to the other. I don't suppose you would have any idea..?? They were never in a drawer together as they hang on hooks beside my dresser..separate hooks. :) Rattled nerves here.
your perseverance certainly paid off with a beautiful pair of earrings. Your friend must be delighted with these
ReplyDeleteWell done on persevering with the earrings, they came out beautifully in the end
ReplyDeleteYay for google tutorials. I am hearing you. The challenges, the comfort zone, the achievements. Great job!!!
ReplyDeleteOh my-- you did such a beautiful job in creating earrings for your friend- what a labor of love and friendship:)
ReplyDeleteYour new necklace design is lovely also-- it's easy to see that your passions lie in making beautiful jewelry.
Thank you for taking the time to visit me--- I love hearing from you --xoxoxo
Vicki
Well done! And doesn't it feel good to learn new techniques? The earrings are Fab!
ReplyDeleteOh, my heavens... I am so impressed with how gorgeous these turned out and your desire to make it work. You would take no prisoners!! It always amazes me that there is an answer to every question on the internet. No wonder encyclopedias have become a dinosaur! And your wirewrapping is wonderful. I have tried jewelry making and I know it's not that easy so cheers to you!!
ReplyDeleteThey look beautiful! Your friend will be very pleased with them.
ReplyDeleteThe necklace is gorgeous too!
Ohhh dear Sherry, they're magical! But first of all: how's your husband and you doing? Is he holding his pace? I know that to be so hard, when you love doing so many things and just want to keep on going.
ReplyDeleteBoth the earrings and the necklace are so gorgeous. I espcially love the necklace, am totally in love with it and would wear it almost every day! It's so sweet and feminine and gorgeous.
Good on ya that you tried such a difficult and out of your comfortzone technique! I'm proud of you. At the moment I'm learning how to crochet and how to sew with the sewing machine. Dear me, I know exactly what you were going through :) I'm also learning a new to me embroidery technique: Hardanger and other open/cutwork embroidery. My niece asked me to make a baby-album for her and oh my, I'm so needing 8 more hands plus more experience too!! Isn't it fun though to learn new things? It's so much fun when after some trial and errors it's actually happening and you're making something you thought you could never do? We're so lucky to have google and youtube at hand.
Big hug to you! And thank you for your sweet visits and comments, they're heartwarming and very much appreciated. xx Wendy
The earrings you made for your friend turned out just beautiful. Good that you stuck to it! I'm sure she'll love them, Sherry. Your necklace is beautiful as well! Love pink with the silver...so pretty! xoxo
ReplyDeleteYour perseverance won the day as these are gorgeous and I bet they hang nicely too. Love that necklace with just the hint of pink to it. Hugs Mrs A.
ReplyDeleteSherry, Thank you soooooo much for my lovely surprise!!! You are such a sweetie and so full of creative ideas! Now I want a beautiful butterfly stamp to play with :)
ReplyDeleteThe earrings you made for your friend look lovely; I'm sure she's proudly wearing them.
Hope Mr. C is well on the way to full recovery!
xoxo Jane
You always amaze me!! when it wasn't working, you found the video that helped unlock your creativity and made stunning earrings!!
ReplyDeleteHope you and the Mr. are doing well!
xxDaniella
What beautiful earrings you made, I bet she was thrilled! Pretty necklace too. ~Diane
ReplyDelete