The HUG ring

Here is another new ring design. This ring has gotten a really nice response over on my Great Horned Owl Design page!  Every body wants one!  How exciting!  These can be made with mixed metals or in larger/smaller gauge wire- the one pictured is the prototype.  Looks like I'll be whipping up quite a few of these in slightly varied designs.

Labradorite Ring

I finished up this ring on Sunday night. I'm getting the hang of making these puppies really perfectly, very little waste of Sterling wire when the formula is worked correctly! This particular ring features a really nice Labradorite cabochon which I chose to match my own personal favorite pendant!  My order from Rio Grande arrived today, including a new pin vise which will be really helpful when I'm trying to make different variations of this particular style.  Prepare, dear readers for an onslaught of this ring design.  I'll try to keep it interesting but I am going to be producing a mass quantity of this type of ring. I'll be presenting them to a local brick and mortal shop in Pawtucket Village RI that sells local artisans work and various bric-a-brac.  I'm also gearing up for the summer festival scene.  I'm going to try to have enough product to take to a show or three for peddlin.   >:-P

                          

                                                 

Moss Agate ring- New Design!

I wrapped this Moss Agate cabochon in 21 gauge square Sterling Silver wire.  This is a new ring design that I've been in the process of figuring out the technique for.  I think I'm finally beginning to understand the formula.  I really, really do hate math.....which is one of the reasons my pendants and rings have been quite abstract to date.  I felt like it was time to step up to the plate and learn a more formalistic technique.  I'm actually super happy with this!  Now that I have the technique down I can tweak it anyway I like to make different and interesting variations.  So, dear readers- I hope ya'll like this new ring style!  There will be many more to come. I've already put in another order for more square sterling silver wire and a handy little gadget called a pin vice. More on that later.  Happy Friday!!!

A quick note on tools for beginners

Last week I purchased a very comprehensive tutorial from Tumbleweed Glass Studio.  They are a husband and wife team who, according to their website traveled the country in and RV full time for five years! I guess that's where the name "Tumbleweed Glass" came from.  I live in a tiny house as it is- I would LOVE to live out of an RV and travel!  Anyway- all fantasy aside for some of the projects in the tutorial I needed to go out and get some new tools.  In particular I was on the hunt for a small anvil (which I did not find) a small butane torch, a rubber mallet and some new flat nose pliers.

So just a note to anyone out there in internet land that is beginning their journey down the road of metal working/wire wrapping/art making in general.  ALWAYS CHECK THE HARDWARE STORE FIRST!

Always, always, always have a look at your local hardware store before you go to some place like "Michaels" or heaven forbid "JoAnnes Crafts."  Here is a prime example why.

This set of tools all came in one package from Harbor Freight Company.  Grand total for 4 different types of pliers and two sets of nippers? About seven bucks.  

 The purple handled pair of pliers pictured below I purchased about two years ago from Michaels. I paid $12.00 for these just by themselves!  

So here they are next to the exact same pair from the set I got at Harbor Freight. They are exactly the same apart from the color.  

Sorry this post doesn't include any interesting pictures of pretty rocks or shiny things....but I just wanted to get this out there-- fancy and expensive tools aren't going to make your art any better, trust me.  One of the wire wrappers whose work I am immensely fond of said once that their favorite tool is a pair of regular old nail clippers.  She thinks they work better than any snipper or nipper out there!  So don't waste your money at the craft store buying purple handled round nose pliers or any other junk like I did.

Last boring example- this set of locksmith files set me back a whopping two bucks.  They are perfect for smoothing down scratchy wires. The nippers pictured were only around a dollar fifty.  Any of these items from a "craft store" would have been MUCH more expensive.  Also, you can always just use a plain old emory board as a metal file.  

Hopefully someone, somewhere out there in internet land will find this blog post, if not super interesting- at the very least helpful.  <3

Baltic Amber Ring

I created this Sterling Silver ring with square wire and an awesome piece of Baltic Amber. 80 percent of the worlds Amber comes from the Baltic Coast. This piece was collected in Russia and judging from the insect/animal inclusions from this region (this piece has a mosquito in it) the amber dates from 44 million years ago! I have another piece that is much smaller that I will be wrapping soon as well.  These are custom ordered rings.  I was really shocked when I received these pieces of amber at how affected I was to be holding something in my hand that is SO beautiful and has been tumbling around on this earth for so long.  The energy of this ring is really breath taking.  Too bad it's impossible to capture that feeling in a photograph.