jewelry making

Since the jewelry class I took with my sister this spring I've been sporting my creations and thinking about how I could go about making jewelry on my own outside of class, the difficulty being the equipment needed to accomplish this and the space where this would be ok. Being that it is illegal to house a tank inside an apartment and no area to use the blowtorch needed to melt the metal for soldering and for making the metal bendable after hammering it. But soon I'll be able to pursue this new interest of mine, metal working to make jewelry. I just need to get the tank & torch, a small crock pot for the cleaning solution, flax, maybe a small electric powered buffer/sander. 

adding leather

I'm adding leather to the materials I use to make my necklaces. So far I've only made two things with leather. I want the leather to be either leaves or feathers. I'm not sure what to do to the leather to add the detail so it isn't just the outline shape which is what I have so far for one and the other one I sewed a line through the middle. but I know I don't want to tie a knot behind the leather. So I could start with the middle of the necklace string being at the bottom of the leaf detail and sew up and the ends would be the normal ends of the necklace. I could cut the detail out but I'm not sure how the leather would hang after that, but I could try. And the other one I though about was use a wood burner to add detail, but I'm really not sure how that would turn out or just skor it.

HURRAY!

guess what?! I sold the coral Indian necklace on my etsy shop! Yay! Such an awesome feeling. Praise the LORD! God is good! Now I feel like I can go bead shopping again, maybe. I've made a pact with myself to not buy anything, material possession wise for two paychecks and I got paid today so for another 2 weeks. And to be better/more deliberate in paying off debt (student loan & credit card). So I've decided $250 of each paycheck goes to that. It was Gods leading, like instantaneously feeling the need to do this like a week ago. So I have a plan and with Gods help in the self control area to pay off our credit card & student loan in a year. Which when it is finished will I'm sure feel awesome. I'm happy with my packaging of the necklace I sold. I decorated it at the post office with drawings of feather leaves and I threw in an extra something. It's a surprise, but I felt lead to do so. So, maybe it will lead to more sales, I don't know, but being generous feels nice. I feel that when you have the idea to so more for someone or not, you should do more and God will bless you with joy. So, yay! God also gave me the opportunity to eat lunch with a homeless man named Stewart so if you would like to pray for him, thank you.

bracelet

I made a bracelet. My first since I can remember or since I started making jewelry again. It caught on the gas pump today and broke off. sad. but in memory of it here is a picture before is broke.

spear necklace

I'm not quite sure what to call the shape of the long bottom middle bead, a spear, pointed long, arrowhead (kind of)? This is the second necklace I've made today after another bead shopping day. Silk string, stone beads, knotted string to stabilize beads in place.

Necklace # 12

Went bead shopping again today with a friend. My third time to go recently. We went to two different bead stores, "Bead it" again and "legendary beads" for the first time. I liked how legendary beads labels all of their different stone beads as to what type they are, because I don't know. I picked up dome silk thread with the end that is twisted wire to use as a needle to get the beads onto the thread, pretty sweet. I knotted above and below the beads except for the brass tube beads (because the hole on those is too big) to get the beads to stay where I wanted them. I like the mini buffalo bead on this one.

6/1

here is my newest necklace I made another one last Saturday hanging out on our friends porch chilling on a bench car seat, from the back of a suburban. The other one was red coral and two light blue glass beads this one is 5 wood beads.

mini bunting necklace

My newest necklace I finished today and started last night watching House on hulu. The light blue 6 strands of cotton string are braided with the triangle beads woven into the braid so that they don't move on the necklace. I reinforced the beads with 3 more strands strung through them, then that friendship bracelet knotting technique along the backside of the end beads. The length of the necklace is 14" long. I like the simplicity of it and I'm in love with bunting right now. Recently learning that it is called that. I used to just call it flag banners. but they are awesome.

Lilah Shepherd Jewelry

I've been itching to make some jewelry lately. and after my friend and i went to the Bead it store in Austin, Texas. that is surprisingly large inside compared to what it looks like outside. they had a pretty good collection. A little pricey but that is just because I'm used to buying from bead fairs where the price is closer to wholesale than retail. but I bought a bunch of beads and I'm already on a roll with making necklaces. The necklaces remind me of my abstract illustrations.