About Apatite and Zincite Crystals and Gemstones

Well, as promised, I've found some time to return to the new pendants and share something about their crystals. I think you'll enjoy the information and I thank the sources for their information. Please visit my etsy if I temp you! ;)

UPdated... these pendants have both been sold...


Meet.... Apatite and Zincite:

Perhaps this doesn't look like a Koi to you, but I assure you She is... all 'coi'. ;)

Sterling silver wire and beads surround the most amazing Neon Apatite and Zincite crystals! Intricate wire details and design make this a truly one of kind piece. The frame is 18g sterling silver wire with 24g and smaller in accents. A mix of 1mm and larger sterling silver beads are woven in and surround two Neon Apatite rough gemstones. They're stunning in color and AAA quality. A small but outstanding crystal of rare Zincite is tucked in along with a couple of peacock blue freshwater pearls.

Koi: Koi, or Carp, are a fixture of Japanese culture and art and play important roles in both Chinese and Japanese myths, legends, fables and stories. In many of those stories, Koi are transformed through their efforts and perseverance, able to climb waterfalls or become dragons. The Koi fish represents perseverance in the face of adversity and strength of character or purpose. The Carp also represents wisdom, knowledge, longevity, and loyalty.

The 'story' of Apatite:
The name is derived from the Greek apatao, meaning "I am mistaken," because for a long time, it was confused with other stones. It is often confused with Aquamarine and Beryl which are both harder then Apatite. Apatite was not yet known in ancient mythology, it's often fascinating strong blue color only became famous in modern times. It also exists in white, yellow, green and orange. Apatite is said to encourage intuition during meditation and can stimulate memories of the past. When placed on the throat chakra, apatite produces a feeling of warmth and harmony and helps in overcoming problems.
~Healing Crystals and Gemstones From Amethyst to Zircon
ISBN 1-56852-442-0


Apatite is associated to Aquarius.
It belongs to the family of phosphate minerals.
Hardness 5
Found in Sri Lanka, Burma, India, Canada, Mexico, Brazil

I chose these gemstone for this Koi because of all the symbolism involved. "I am mistaken" ... one does not have to be 'hard' at heart, harsh in voice or tough in thought and action to create transformation and change. A 'new' form of individual thought patterns can create a better world, full of hope, harmony and wisdom. I chose Zincite to accompany the Apatite because it requires 'the fusion of man made and Natural' efforts to exist. Rare when such a unity can come together in the creation of such beauty.

Our human efforts to exist within ourselves, within our technologies, moving forward in personal evolution, while still honoring our past... in itself, is a rare blend of our being. We are each a 'drop in the sea'... and yet the sea can not exist without 'us'. We are humbled in Nature and yet Nature can not be 'grand' without 'us'. We are as rare, miraculous and special as any of the gemstones I use in Creation.
And as glorious science would tell us... we ARE, the gemstone.

~So enjoy Ourselves, as a Magical Koi~
~Slip away... between the the mesh~
~A fusion of life, endeared to the chest~

I thank the sources for the shared information and encourage your visit to their sites for further learning about these rare crystals...

The story of Zincite:
Borrowed from http://www.towercrystals.com/zincite/index.html

Zincite crystals of this caliber only come from the Zinc smelters of Poland. Red Zincite Crystals are the most sought and are getting very scarce. The naturally occurring conditions necessary to grow these crystals were created inside of zinc smelters so they are a fusion of natural and man made. Zincite crystals are no longer being produced due to changes in the smelting process. Some of the green and blue specimens actually will fluoresce under a black light.

Borrowed from: http://www.man.li/zincite.htm
Zincite can activate the lower chakra. This mineral provides help for synthesis of personal power, creativity and physical energies. Since our Zincite Crystals crystallised from the gaseous (fire) state directly to the solid state without ever becoming a liquid (unlike 99,9% of all other minerals which have been at some stage liquids in their thermal history). Since fire is the cognition of the transformation of the hard-physical to the hard spiritual, red Zincite getting big importance in our time of collective transformation into the cosmic Aquarian age .

The metaphor of a zincite crystal is that out of all the tragic, all the devastation and trauma something beautiful, valuable and desirable emerges! All that occurs follows a way and what happens follows a higher goal.

~ This piece of rare zincite is 'falling through' the 'Meme'brain'... and I won't explain why I named it what I did..., just know that it's all about creating new Uni-Verses. ;) Sharing ourselves in new ways with new patterns for growth, prosperity and social interactions. Best of all... it's all about the culmination of the human spirit into the 'greatest time' that human-kind will ever engage. We are re-discovering ourSelves....

Thanks for visiting Perfectly Twisted Jewelry!
Please contact me with comments or questions!
IzzyzGumbo@gmail.com

Tutorial Beginner: How To Create a Twisted Wire For Wire-Wrapping Jewelry, Using a Pin Vice

Most wire wrapping projects use either square or round wire. There are many techniques which can be applied to the wire before the wrapping process. One of them is to add a 'twisted' or filigree look to square wire. This is a short, free tutorial on how to create a twisted wire to use for your wire wrapping projects. Click on any of the images for a closeup view of the tools and wire used.


This is a pin vice.





There are a few ways to create a twisted look to square wire. The old fashion way is shown here and best used for 'smaller' projects. If you are twisting a foot or two of wire, this method is good to use, but if you are twisting many many feet of wire, then an alternative would be to use a drill head or similar type tool. In this tutorial, we are using a Pin Vice and flat nose pliers.

The pin vice I'm using is two sided and each 'bit' is designed for certain gauge wires. The most common gauges for wire wrapping jewelry are 21 or 22 gauge, dead soft wire, either square or round and 'half' round banding wire. The pin vice I have will work with most wire from 24g to a larger 18 gauge wire. If you are purchasing a Pin Vice or Pin Vice set, make sure that you get the tool appropriate for the gauges you work with.

1. To create a twisted look, you are best to begin with square wire. I normally use what's called Dead Soft wire. It's easier to work with when wire sculpting or wrapping then 'hard wire' is.
Twisting the wire will create more strength in the wire also.

2. The 'tools' used are flat head pliers and a wire twisting tool called a Pin Vice. As shown in the image, the wire slips through the pin vice and is held in place by screwing the head 'closed' around the wire. Working with 2 or three inches at a time is best.

3. Use your pliers, clamp down and hold the 'end of the wire. Holding the vice with your other hand, begin to manually turn the tool either toward you or away from you. Keep the twisting as consistent as you can. Count them per the 2 or three inches you are working with. The more you twist, the tighter the look.

4. After you have the desired 'look' for 2 or 3 inches, stop, loosen the vice, slide it back along the square wire, exposing another 2 or 3 inches of untwisted wire. Tighten the vice and move the teeth of your flat nose pliers to hold the wire now, at the intersection of the previously twisted wire section and the section to be twisted. Begin the manual twisting process again.

5. Continue these steps until all the wire length is twisted. You will notice that the new wire has much more strength to it then the previously untwisted wire. This technique adds a great look to wire projects but is also great to use when building bails. If your project is small and you are using thin, soft wire and need to add strength to the bail, the twisting method works quite well.

Pin Vices are not that expensive and can be found at most jewelry supply shops. I think I remember purchasing mine from Wire-Sculptor.com for less then $15.00

In one of the tutorial videos I've studied in the past, I also saw a technique where twisting could be done with an electric hand drill and pliers. The same concept applies. Make sure you hold onto the loose end of the wire tightly in your pliers, using a small hand drill as the 'vice', clamp down on the end of the wire and close the bit around it. Then turn the drill 'on' or using a finger trigger, begin the drill head on 'slow'. It will start to twist your wire at a pretty decent speed.

Enjoy! I hope this helps you get started with Twisting Wire.

New Beaded and Wire Wrapped Earrings

Okay, I TOLD you I did something more than eat this holiday weekend right??? ;) Click to enlarge any of the images and excuse my poor photography.. I try.

These are a pair of beautiful Chalcedony drops which I strung up with oodles of Iolite chips and silver 1mm beads for some sparkle. They hang just about 2 inches long from the top of the earring hooks to the bottom of the beads. These and all of the new items below, are listed in my Etsy shop now, so please... DO SHOP! :)

These are fun for the holidays which I might be getting into the mood for. Normally, if you can believe...
I'm a 'Bahumbug'. Yes, true. ;)



My fave stones and some of the last that I have. These are some luscious Larimar drops in sterling silver. Hard to see in this image, but the stones are a bit 'deeper' then they appear here. There are four bands of 21g square wire around each of them. One secures the back, two wrap the sides and the first band secures the front of the stone. I'm not sure if I mentioned this for those new to wire, but ... many of us, I'd bet to say even most, secure the stones without adhesives. This is what makes them so wonderful to be hand made. The wire is the only thing holding them in place. To wrap a secure stone and make it attractive to show off the stone is always part of the goal for me. I've only been doing wire wrapped jewelry for the past couple of years off and on. I'm ready to get back into the groove of it and continue my learning. I added a link to JewelryLessons.com which I encourage you to check out! There are many wonderful, affordable tutorials there along with oodles of free tutorials provided by many wonderful artists. I hope to get my tutorial writing skills along with my wire techniques up to snuff enough to contribute there sometime soon. Meantime, mosey over and have a look. OH WAIT, go to my Etsy listing and shop for these amazing earrings first! lol! ;)



Amber's Twist...
Have I ever told you about liquid band aids? The best dang thing you will EVER discover if not. Wire people need this.. it's in the 'ouchy' section of the grocery store. Get the store brand it works just as well as the 'cost more' brand. I know this to be true. :)

Great for when you're a crazy wire worker and even when the fingers are poked, you continue...

Die hards we are!






This took hours and hours of loving care... most of these dangle bracelets do but they are so worth the time. I love the way they feel, the beads hanging in such a beautiful cluster at the wrist! I did the wire spirals myself which added all kinds of time to this, but... such as the pleasure of things. The spiral frames are done with hammered 18g sterling wire and then coiled in 26g sterling also. The beads are 1mm sterling silver and there are a mix of bali dangles and a Swarovski clasp. This Baltic Amber has a wonderful 'cognac' color which I think blends quite well with silver. It's a very 'rich' look in my opinion, warm and natural.
I love it.

And then here's something cool about Amber....


Wiki:
As reported by the Ancient Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus around 600 BC, charge (or electricity) could be accumulated by rubbing fur on various substances, such as amber. The Greeks noted that the charged amber buttons could attract light objects such as hair. They also noted that if they rubbed the amber for long enough, they could even get a spark to jump.

Amber can be used to make electricity.... who knew? \@shurgs@/
But I dig that little fact-toid, so I share it. :)


Last but not least...
MAW SIT SIT. I love the name of these stones. The black drops are Onyx, but the wonderful little green ones are called Maw Sit Sit and I love them for the name alone... and then yes, they're most beautiful also. Very similar look to Malachite... sick expensive... at least when I bought them. I hope not so today.

the whole strand of beads are 3 to 6mm beads. The ones that I WANTED that were two strands of 8 and 10 mm beads was... well, a four figure number to the left of the zeros... so I went 'cheap' and got a lovely small strand of them instead. Who has $3400 for a few stands of beads??? I'm convinced it was a typo on their site... but don't know for sure. Was long ago that I bought these and if I can find them again for something reasonable, I'll look to shop for more. Sometimes stones get expensive for a minute because they become popular. Sometimes it's because they're rare. These are more on the rare side.

They are similar in look to Malachite, but are a bit 'glossy-er'. Not for buffing, but there's a deeper or more 'neon' glow or something to the green. I'm not sure the image does them justice. Look em' up... you might enjoy them. If I have some time, I'll add some links here soon.
Mean while - I don't have time just now :)
I have to tend to me store else I make no money to shop for beads with!
Huggles you.
Til next time.
xo

Distractions...
I put this here because I KNOW you can tell how large he is by the count of bins he covers...
My Beast KC (Kitty Cat) in the formal. ;) ~click for a lifesize image... lol. And then there's some tail that you can't even see still! 22lbs of 'I rule the house'...
MAW SIT SIT:
Okay, I'm back... here are a few great reads on Maw Sit Sit...
http://gemologyonline.com/mawsitsit.html
http://www.nordskip.com/mawsitsit.html
http://www.penoir.com/stones/MawSit.html

Here's a quick clip:
Maw-sit-sit is an aggregate of numerous minerals found in the famous jade mining region of Tawmaw in the Himalayan foothills of northwestern Burma. The six main components are:
Chromite, ureyite, chrome-jadeite, symplektite, chrome amphibole, and a matrix of lighter minerals. This material is opaque to translucent with flowing veins of green and black. The matrix is dark green to black in color. Veins that are emerald green to intense neon green have occurred. http://gemologyonline.com/mawsitsit.html

Polymer Clay Incense Holder, Dragons and Amethyst

Would you like a cup of tea? I think we should call the rest of this weekend an indoor, movie, cozy wire wrapping jewelry weekend. One of my favorite things is to stay cozy in slippers during a cold weekend, put some great movies or music into the DVD and make pretty things. I love these mornings also because the weekends are my given time to 'blog, bend, play, post, communicate'... etc. All those things we love to do.

Saw the family for ThanksGiving and ate like a horse. Two plates, twice the size of me ended with a helping of the Cherry pie too.... makes for no eating at all yesterday. Dad cooked an outstanding turkey, Geo made outstanding, all the rest of the food. ;) and all the brothers, uncles and related kids were there. Fun to watch them... they grow like weeds. I love my family. :)

Dad took up the carpet and found perfect hardwood floors under it. So that was fun for him to show off too - the house looks great! They're off up the mountain next weekend to cut our Xmas trees. I like natural fresh trees during the holiday... nothing wrong with farmed or artificial either but I dig the smell in the house. mmmm....

Anyway... So yesterday I hung out with just me and gave my numbers the day. Made charts, read up on this thing called the Electro Magnetic Coupling Constant and something else on Notable Properties of Numbers... saw some friends for holiday hugs and kisses and then overfed the animals since it's an eating kind of holiday. :) We're all enjoying.... besides, they were making fun of me again. I busted them mid-mischievous tho, so they get no more turkey. You can witness the whole thing here...
http://13cattails.blogspot.com/

Those little dragons, I made a while ago and have given them all away but for the couple I kept for ME. They're super easy to make and so I think they might be a Sunday project or something I save for next week. These are great fun, very easy and here's all you need to do:

Make a 6 inch weeny rope of clay, one side narrowed to a point. Get the lump of clay into a nice round ball and then begin to roll it out with your hands.

Use the end of a small straw to poke crescents into your roll of clay. Try to alternate them like you would lay bricks. This makes them appear more 'scale-ish'. lol.

Use the end of a small paint brush and stick it up the nose to make nose holes. :)
Gently push a couple of hematite beads into the eye sockets. For these, I used 5mm beads.
Add some other beads as decorations around the head if you like. Be creative with seed beads, 1mm silver or gold beads, use wire wrapped beads or coils.... You can add more clay for 'ears', lumps, wings, legs, what ever you imagine your dragon to be.

Coil the tail end in a creative way as a 'pose' and cook your creation in 275 degree oven for about 40 minutes. Polymer clay cooks through 1/4 inch in about 15 or 20 minutes, so because these are thicker then that, I added an additional 20 minutes. If the clay isn't fully cooked, it can be weak and brittle. After a thorough baking, the clay becomes a very hard and durable plastic. You can sand, paint, spray with a glossy or matte finish....

The tail needs to either be coiled to hold the incense stick so remember this when creating the pose for your little dragon. You can optionally put a lump of clay as a 'rock' base and poke holes appropriate for the sticks. I did this in a few of them and it provides you the place to add more wire and/or beads, small twigs or moss... many things.

I added some amethyst stones on a few of them and just love the look. I used rough Aquamarine on a few, rough Kyanite (which was really cool) on one I kept and a few have various quartz crystals.

Have fun! I'll post new images when I get some more made.
Click that image for a super close up so you can get details. After they're cooked and hardened, I spray some with a matte finish. I tried glossy but I'm not sure I like it as much as the matte. Both are fun for variety and everyone loved them.

Well ladies and gents, I'm off to be with my morning coffee and wake up reading. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

((((Squeeeeeze)))) my big mushy hug to you. I'm gone to the bead table!
xo

Charoite Sterling Silver Wire Wrapped Earrings

I love this detailed wire wrapping but wow does it take time. I'm using 26 gauge square wire here for the wrap rather than round wire and I'm finding that I enjoy using the square wire more. I think I have more control over the bands and they lay flatter... personal pref on that, but for those new to wire, you'll discover that round wire is great for some applications and square wire for others. There are various gauges and colors and metal types to choose from and you will soon come to find your preferences of wire for the various projects you make. I like to use 18g round wire as frame wire. I normally hammer the wire frame to add strength and I like to use 26g as the banding wire and like I said earlier, the wire used here is square. The silver accent beads are 1mm sterling silver as are the earring hooks.

Tiny wires, many hours... These are deceptive in their simplicity for they took a very long time. I found that when wrapping the frames, it was easier for me to make a few wraps, then take my flat nose pliers and do just a quick 'tap' to make sure they stayed flat and tight.

The center stones are Russian Charoite and the color is natural. Can you believe??? I love this rock and have made many wonderful pieces using it.

Click the image to enlarge and get a close look. The tops of the frames are wrapped in a 'cap' style because I felt it gave a nice look and also provides a place to tuck in the back wires neatly.
When building your jewelry, I always like to advise that you give some visualization to how you might 'finish' ends or where you are going to tuck the ends of wire. If you are working from a tutorial, then this becomes less important and you can make note of how the tutorial finishes the ends. But when making pieces of our own design, I sometimes forget to give thought to this because my eyes are so full the bead candy that I didn't normally give much thought to the finish. Over time, I've learned that it's just as important as the focal point. I've been training myself to think of the findings as part of the whole design and it's become much more now then to just 'add a hook'. I've found that I enjoy creating new ways to close up my pieces and I really like challenging myself to find 'neat' ways to tuck away the wire. It adds a stamp of quality to your project and your piece of wire jewelry, when you or your customer can wear it, without feeling the 'scratch' of a loose end!

Wire Wrapping Tutorial: Beginner: How to Make Beaded and Crystal Wire Hair Spirals

This one is really fun and very easy to do. They are completely decorative so don't expect them to actually hold any hair. These add decoration to the hair, a little sparkle, a little pearl, a little crystal... great for party hair or wedding hair or just fun to make with the girls. You wear them by 'twisting' them into a lock of hair. This is an amazing look to decorate an 'up'-do for a wedding or night out. These are small, so you wear several of them, strategically placed for desired hair blinging. Great to sparkle up braids also.  Enjoy!

It's a basic, very wide spiral, using a thick gauge wire and adding some fun beads. Click the images to enlarge.






You Need:
1. Round nose pliers
2. Flat nose
3. File
4. Cutters
5. 4 inch long, round, 18 gauge, soft wire. (hard is fine too)
***You'll need one wire per each of these you want to make.
6. 1 foot of 26g, sterling, round, soft wire.
7. 1 foot of 28g, sterling, round, soft wire.
8. A bunch of small, fave beads, 3 to 5mm.



1. After you cut your wires, be sure to file the ends to get the rough edges off.

2. Then using your round nose plier, create a loop at one end.






Preview: You can create the spiral first and then attach the beads, or you can leave the wire straight and create the spiral as you go. Take a look at the images ahead and get an idea of what will work best for your design.

In this project, I am coiling around the gold, so this for me, is easier to do before I spiral the gold.







4. After creating the first loop, anchor a 6mm Swarovski crystal (or your fave bead) to it using the 26g silver wire.

For something that's going to be in hair, something that catches the light and gives a little sparkle is nice. Wrapping the gold fill wire with silver adds to this also.

5. To anchor the bead: Make a bend in your 26g sterling wire, one inch from the end, bringing the short end together with the long end. Thread the entire wire through the center of the bead. The loop made by the wires coming together will form a 'kink' at the end of the bead and keep it from passing through. Anchor it to the gold loop by wrapping with the short end of the silver wire.

6. Using the long end of the wire, coil around the gold in a consistent and even wrap. Stay close and tight to the gold and coil until you are about 2 inches from the other end. Make sure to tap the end of the silver wrap with a flat nose so that it's not sticking out. Taking a minute to tuck the ends in, makes always for a nicer project.



7. Using the 28g sterling wire now, anchor it to gold loop under your bead. Make a couple of tight wraps and then add a 1mm silver bead. Make a couple of tight wraps, moving 'forward' and add another bead. Work like this until you add as many as you like. In this case, I added 11 of the 1mm sterling beads.




8. Thread a 4mm crystal bead and begin to move in the opposite direction, back toward the spiral center. Add another 4mm crystal, wrapping around the main wire to anchor each time.

9. Add a couple of pearls or some other silver beads or some seed beads... have fun with it.








10. I added two small freshwater pears and then finished it up by anchoring the end of the wrap wire under the main center bead. Neat and clean.

11. Take your round nose and create a loop at the unfinished end of the wire. Gently 'pull' and create a spiral by moving around the center cluster. Adjust with your hands until you get a neat spiral.

12. Push the bead cluster forward just slightly from the end. The next image shows the finished project.

That's it... Twist into a lock of hair and be beautiful. :) Make many of these in fun ways using many types of wire and beads. I used gold and silver but you can use craft wires and copper for more casual hair wear.

Enjoy! Thanks for visiting here.

Wire Spiral Earrings in Gold Fill and Silver!

I like doing these little bead-less wire projects because it gives me ideas on what I can do WITH the beads! Buying earring and bracelet parts are a great way to start or work if you don't care to do wire, but for those of us who LOVE wire... building our own clasps, hooks and other findings can be fun. It gives you a way to create your own designs also. Sometimes I have ideas for something but can't find that perfect clasp or station... so I end up looking to make my own. You can imagine how many ways I can add beads or additional wire to these earrings. I can wrap with fine wire, add gold, silver or gemmy beads, I can hang chain and a bundle of pretties from it... many things! I can also just leave these as they are and they make a pretty, simple and unique pair of earrings.

I hope this gets your creative juices flowing!

Enjoy!

I apparently have spiral@itis this weekend. ~Crosses eyes ;)

Ohhh... ps... speaking of spiral@-I-tis

I just put out some new digital wallpaper. Have I mentioned I'm working on rebuilding the Uni-verse? ;) Click here to my photo Share blog.

Here's a link to my Picasa

Click the images to enlarge. I give these away, so enjoy it on your desktop! Or if it works for you, feel free to use it as a backdrop to your jewelry photos. Kinda funky but fun.

~Does Electricity have a voice Mr. E?

Wire Wrap Earrings Tutorial: InterMed: How To Make Three Spirals, Wire Earrings

These might take a time or two. They're great to use for anything but perhaps the spirals take some practice. I'd recommend craft wire until you get the feel of it. Otherwise, this is my THIRD tutorial! Hooraaay! I hope you enjoy them.

The finished project are the wire spirals in that photo. Useful for earrings of many fun kinds!

Click on any of the images to enlarge.










You'll Need:
1. Round nose pliers
2. Flat nose
3. File
4. Cutters
5. 2 Gold Fill ear hooks
6. 2, 18 gauge, soft, round, gold fill wires, cut to 6 inches each.



1. After your wires are cut from the spool, get them as straight as you can by rubbing them once or twice. This will also add a bit of tension to the wire.

2. File the ends a time or two to smooth the cut end.

3. Take the round nose pliers and create a bend about 1.5 inches down one side of the wire.





4. Then using your round nose plier, grab the end of the wire and create a tight spiral, moving in the opposite direction as your first bend. Pause and see the next image.







5. This is what you should have. Creating your spiral in this direction creates a nice natural soft "S" shape to the wire. You will create about 2 full turns. This will be tightened up later so don't sweat it.







6. Remove the pliers from the loop and grab the loose end of the wire about 3/4 inches down from the loop intersection.


7. Grab the wire with the 'small' end of the plier and create a tight loop, over lapping the wire on the 'top'. Click that image to enlarge and get a good look. Bring the wire around, the best that you can. This is where you might have to muscle it a bit. You are going to create another spiral above the 3/4 inch straight part. This requires that you wrap this wire above it. Once you get the first bend around the center loop, it will be easier to get your flat nose pliers and continue the spiral. See the next image for a glance ahead.


8. Continue to spiral three complete turns and the spiral will grow to almost meet the first one.

9. Once the second spiral is created, take the round nose pliers and grab the top of the loose end. You're about to make the final spiral.







10. Create this spiral moving in the opposite direction as the second one. You are creating the shape of an "S" in between them. Use your flat nose pliers and gently continue that spiral until you meet the intersection of the first two. This will require a little muscle also and patience. You need a firm grip, but gentle enough to not scratch your wire. Take your time and manage control over the shape. Adjust your loop and first spiral as you go. the goal is to create a 'threesome' as evenly as you can.



11. This will be the finished set. Here's a word of forward thinking... when making earrings, and especially so with wire spirals... keep in mind that one earring goes in 'one direction' and the bends of the other, go in the other direction.

It's not harmful if you make two pair the same, or if the spirals are a little off...it's the charm of handmade... but it is something to be aware of.




Now, I didn't 'finish' these because I wanted you to see how many things are possible with this simple design. Click to enlarge that image. I show the backside on the left and the front of the earring is the one on the right. You have a small intersection where you can attach all kinds of fun beads.

You can put a small chain of three or four links on these, string up a number of these beads and create a few different looks. You can also use this technique by using longer wire and adding a couple more turns in the spirals, to create a pendant to match the earrings. Adding a couple more turns will create a slightly larger version of these earrings. Nice for a matched set. Remember that you have that 'straight spine to the back of the earring to attach anything you need. I made these loops at the earring tops larger because I like to wrap with a silver half round wire, but you can optionally make that loop smaller, the spirals larger... have fun with it and try different things for your own look. I'm hoping that this simple multi-spiral project will give you something versatile to play with!

I'll post mine when I get them done. This looks great in silver wire also! Something I like to do with earrings lately is mix the metals. I think the larger gold wire accented with silver half round is cool look. I think that's what I'm going to do...

Have fun and thanks for visiting here! Now I have to remove my beast and finish my earrings. You see why I can be so disorganized? Half my beads leave the table in between her toe nails.... sheesh!















~ Okay, here are my finished pair. I added some half round silver wire in 21 gauge to the top to give some substance and shine there. Then using the back spine and some thin silver wire, attached these two AAA 8mm, Iolite, briolette beads.... ooolala! I hope this project gives you some wonderful ideas!

~ Polish off the paw prints, put into a cute white bowl (yes that's what my 'background' is), get some photos ... and poof! Another wonderful pair of earrings ready for holidays or any daze! ;)
Enjoy and have fun with these.

Wire Wrapped Earring Tutorial: Beginner: How to Make Spiral Swan Earrings

Here is another little earring tutorial that I hope you enjoy. These don't take that long to make, are pretty simple and make a wonderful pair of earrings. It's a versatile wrap because this can be done with many different types of beads, doesn't require a lot of wire and allows you some room to be creative with either side of the earring. Offering a customer a 'two sided' pair of earrings or a pendant wrapped that way, makes for a bonus reason to buy your jewelry! Plus it allows for you to enjoy both sides of the finished stones. Sometimes, it's hard for me to 'choose the front'. ;)

'Swan Earrings' - This will be the finished project. It'll take you about 20 minutes or 30 minutes. Once you get the hang of this, it'll take you way less. You can make many pair of these in a very short time.

Click any of these images to enlarge.













You'll need:
1. Round nose pliers
2. Flat nose
3. Cutters
4. File
5. Two beads with holes drilled 18 or larger gauge (sometimes a visual will tell you if your wire will fit that hole).
6. Two gold filled, round, soft, 18 gauge wire, cut to 4 inches each.



1. Take the end of a wire with the round nose pliers. Get a firm grip about one quarter inch down the nose of the pliers.

2. Roll the pliers toward you as close against the wire as you can. You want as 'round' a center bend as you can get. But don't sweat it if it's not 'perfect'. That's the charm of hand made jewelry. Just try to be careful not to 'nick' the end.





3. Once you have a nice bend and center loop, gently turn the pliers to create a spiral. Once the first turn is made, it will be easier to get the flat nose pliers and continue the bend.








4. With your flat nose pliers, take the wire firmly but careful not to scratch. Hold onto the loose end close to the plier to maintain control and continue to roll the spiral (about 2 complete turns).

5. In this earring, we are leaving a small 'air space' in between the spiraled wire. This makes room for the earring hook to attach later. It also is a nice affect. In some cases, to add strength, we might have used a hammer to flatten the wire a bit, but in this case, the beads are not heavy and the wire is thicker. These will hold their shape without worry.




6. Once the spiral is complete, thread the bead. You are going to bend the spiral end 'up' to rest on the center of the bead. With your eye, gauge the appropriate distance. Normally, this is just a smidge shorter then the length of the bead. Remember, you can always tighten up that spiral a bit if you need.






7. Hold onto the bead with one hand and at the same the lose end of the wire. Take the spiral with the other hand and push it up and tight against the side of the bead. As an option, you can do this bend using the round nose plier to make the initial curve. I just find that if you can bend around the bead, it makes for a more natural line in the wire, in the part I call the 'neck' of the Swan.




8. Now here before you cut to shorten the end, keep in mind that you have some creative room. In this example, we're just going to make a simple single turn loop to close up and add a small spiral. You can optionally leave that wire longer and create a tight, larger spiral to cover the bead center if you like that look.










9. Using the round nose pliers, put a spiral into the unfinished end. Use the steps above to remember how to spiral. ;)




10. Leave a small amount of 'bending' room in the wire. Bend the spiral up and onto the bead. Do you see how this makes either side of the earrings 'wearable'? If you get the type of ear wires that allow for an open 'S' curve in the end (or you make some), then you have a 'two for one' pair of earrings.





11. Add your ear wires, rub off your finger prints and enjoy!










Thanks for visiting!  IzzyzGumbo@gmail.com

New Wire Wrapped Pendants in Silver!

~click to enlarge.

Have you ever had one of those days when your hands just want to bend wire without the plan part? So then your eyes conspire and you sit in a total blank gaze, staring at the stones wondering why you can't figure out a design today...

Then all of a sudden... the roll of a dice! Your hands begin to move, the wire is being cut in some kind of furious whirl, beads are being pulled out of bins, 1/2 round is being cut without measure, scotch tape is everywhere....

Yep, that's what just happened to me again over the past few hours. I twisted up two pendants and mangled another piece that I have sitting in that pile of 'projects on hold'.

These two are what I managed to finish. The images below show front and 'back sides'.

Wire can be a very deceptive thing. You wouldn't think there is over 4 feet of wire in each of these, but there is! I used 21g sterling silver square wire with 21g 1/2 round for binding. Those gauges are within the 'normal' when wrapping med to larger sized cabochon. The banded agate pendant (purple) is approx 2 inches long and just over 4mm in width. The other geode is approx 1.5 inches at it's widest point and it's approx 10mm in depth. With the bails, the length on each is increased about half an inch. My bails, I like to make closed, but large enough that most chains can fit through. I don't make an open bail unless I need to hook the pendant over beads. I'll have to share a nifty trick I learned from Preston ( http://www.wire-sculpture.com). He makes the most wonderful little pendant hooks that easily slip through a closed bail, which you can then hook around a string of beads. BRILLIANT way to use those 2 inch to 4 inch wire scraps you sometimes get when trimming ends.


Overall, chaos no plan times are fun. You never know what will come out of your brain. One of a kind designs for sure... I ended up totally loving these even though I didn't mean to create them today and had no plan when the wire went on.

Sighs... as much fun as that is, please take note when I say, it can be a very expensive indulgence of creative spirit also. I've mangled, had to cut away and wasted many feet of wire over time doing this. It's best to have a game plan when cutting your wire and starting your project. But, sometimes it's just amazing to explore what you don't know is up there. Try it... you might dig it. :)


I hope you like these. They are now listed in my Etsy store! Please see the side panel for a quick link to the listings!