handmade + giveaway

Jewelry. Jewelry was the focus of my handmade gifts this year. It was something I played with earlier in the year, remember, and something i wanted to learn more about. My friend Amy knew this so she took me to her friends bead shop in Logan and while I've been to bead shops in the passed and actually had a game plan (idea) about what I wanted to get, I simply was not prepared for the amount of beads I'd have to choose from. The moment I walked in all was forgotten--I was completely overwhelmed.

Although i had a rough start, I am pleased to report I did make it through the experience and at least an hour into it I was able to find my groove and get the beads I was looking for. I have decided though, that maybe I am a better online bead shopper.


Here are a few of the pieces I made (I made a few more earring sets not shown her, but they were earrings much like what I made over the summer so I thought i would just focus on these. Here's one to give you an idea).

Since I had learned your basic jewelry making skills I was itching to learn something new so I started to play with chainmail. The bracelet in the top right I made for Adam's mom and it's the Byzantine design weaved with 4mm jump rings. Although tedious it was a lot of fun to put together.



The other thing I've been itching to learn is stamped jewelry. I went back and forth for months trying to decide whether or not it was worth spending the money on the supplies, they are not inexpensive, but I figured Christmas was the perfect opportunity. So like most things I do I bought the stuff and went for it. I only wrecked one blank which surprised me (i bought extra in case) and created a few other pieces just for practice--like this one for myself above.

Since I bought a few extra and have a blank left over like the "hope" charm in the bottom right picture I thought it would be fun to do a giveaway to start out the year. So if you are interested in having a name, initials, or your 2011 word stamped in metal make a comment and I'll draw for a winner Saturday January 8th at 8pm MST. After looking at the example above I think I could easily get 5 letters maybe 6 on the blank. So be thinking.

Have a great weekend!!


P.S. if you're not the winner but are interested in getting a hand stamped charm for yourself email me.