Artisan Tourmaline Fringe Earrings with Bali Sterling Silver Beads

 I had these gorgeous multicolored tourmaline "fringes" with lots of cute sterling silver coils under each little sparkly bead laying around for months on my working table. They didn't work out in my original design as I envisioned, and I couldn't find a place for them for a while. Recently I went through my stash of Bali sterling silver beads and these saucer shaped beads with dots aroung the edges seemed very promising. They turned out perfect! And they have nothing in common with my original design, except for the fringes, of cause.

I'm in Belle Armoire Jewelry Magazine!

Hooray, I was featured in Belle Armoire Jewelry Magazine, Winter 2011 issue!

It's surprisingly rewarding to see my name in print for the first time.

There is also two pages of step by step instructions pictures.

I  made PDF tutorial of this technique also available for sale in my etsy shop (with a few changes) :
Woven Vine Bracelet Tutorial

New photos of old stuff

I'm so incredibly lucky that I have a very talanted photographer Irina (who happens to be my friend) live nearby! She recently offered me to photograph  my artisan jewelry and I gladly picked some of my most stubborn pieces that I found so hard to photograph myself. I tried, honestly, but I didn't have a single decent picture of them.

Here is what Irina come up with. Aren't these photos beautiful? Can't stop looking at them! Thank you, Ira!!!

Green Tourmaline and Sterling Silver Ring

http://www.etsy.com/listing/29537204/the-greener-side-sterling-silver-wire

Amphora Necklace, Amethyst and Citrine in Sterling Silver

http://www.etsy.com/listing/62566729/artisan-amphora-necklace-amethyst-and

Woven Snail, Black Spinel and Sterling Silver

http://www.etsy.com/listing/60695197/black-spinel-and-sterling-silver-artisan

Lemon Quartz and Sterling Silver Teardrop Earrings

http://www.etsy.com/listing/26044348/lemon-quartz-and-sterling-silver

Lemon Quarts and Black Tourmaline Sterling Silver Chandeliers

http://www.etsy.com/listing/28810999/black-petals-wire-wrapped-chandelier

Black Agate and Sterling Silver Ring

http://www.etsy.com/listing/60011988/sterling-silver-and-black-agate-artisan

Half Circle Oxidized Copper and Turquoise Necklace

Half circle is one of my favorite shapes for jewelry.
Oxidized copper and turquoise combo is another one of my absolute favorites.
This textured woven half circle is adorned with bright turquoise beads that form a V-shape (that happened unintentionally, but I like it). Lot's of twisted wire in wrapping give the necklace rish, interesting texture.

Labradorite in Woven Frame - Sterling Silver Wire Wrapped Necklace

I love labradorite, it's probably the most favorite stone of mine. I put this dark labradorite briolette into a woven circle frame, that I made from sterling silver wire. I came up with this style of wire wrapping some time ago, and made several pieces using this tecnique already, but I'm still not tired of it.
I love the subtle flashes of different colors in this briolette, and faceting adds some shine and vividness to this dark stone.
Oxidized and hand polished.

Copper Circles and Turquoise Wire Wrapped Necklace

Oxidized copper and turquoise is one of my absolutely favorite combinations. I'm pretty happy with how this necklace turned out - I like its simple lines and beautiful wire wrapped texture. I's delicate, but still bold.

Oxidized and selectively polished, as usual.

Foxglove Earrings

These dangling sterling silver studs are created out of sterling silver wire and sheet. I cut, textured, shaped and smoothed tiny little sterling silver flowers, balled the wire with my torch for stamens and leaves, and then attached them all to delicate sterling silver chain pieces, suspended from simple ear posts. They turned out really lightweight.
Oxidized and hand polished.

Lacy Loops Handmade Artisan Bracelet - Copper and Carnelian

This bracelet was one of these unintended projects when you get an inspiration from a completely ordinary thing.
I was making some copper S-links out of copper wire and I suddenly realized that the wire I was cutting into little pieces has a really cool shape. So, I stopped cutting it and instead shaped it a little, hammered and wire wrapped with some pretty carnelian beads. Added a hook - and a new bracelet was born!
I of course oxidized it and then slightly polished to show texture. It is on a delicate side, probably wouldn't survive rough handling, but I'm still pleased with how it turned out.

Pearl Fan Necklace

Who knew green pearls would look so wonderful with oxidized copper!
I combined various gauges of copper wire with organic looking Biwa pearls to create this rustic necklace. Hair thin copper wire holds the lustrous freshwater pearls firmly in place. The fan is suspended on solid copper ladder chain and fastens with handmade decorative clasp. I deeply oxidized the necklace and hand polished it to accentuate the wire work.

Labradorite Necklace with Lapis and Garnet in Oxidized Sterling Silver

I had a very busy summer and unfortunately was neglecting my blog for a while.

This is my latest creation. Handcrafted asymmetrical sterling silver necklace with chunky faceted labradorite nuggets and handcrafted sterling silver and semiprecious stone charms hanging from my handmade toggle clasp. It is designed to be worn with the clasp on the front. Oxidized and hand polished.

Handmade Redwood Cone - Copper Electroformed Pendant

There is a huge redwood tree growing near my house. I found this little perfect cone on the ground and managed to cover it with thick copper shell. It wasn't easy due to the intricate shape of the cone, and it took quite a bit of time, but finally - here it is! A beautiful piece of nature, captured in copper forever.

Oxidized and polished to show its depth and beauty.

Peacock Tale Necklace with Turquoise in Copper

Deeply oxidized copper and blue-green turquoise are probably my favorite combo, I created many jewelry pieces using them over time! Peacock Tale Necklace is a very special design for me, it features intricate basket weaving with wire and hammered copper spirals, all suspended on solid copper chain with a handmade clasp. This beautiful handmade necklace has ethnic feel to it and is designed to turn heads.

I oxidized the necklace in Liver of Sulphur and polished it by hand to create beautiful warm highlights.

Zebra - Beaded Ring

I came up with this design a couple of years ago and Zebra was the first among numerous colorful designs of this kind and it is still my favorite. Striking monochrome stripes will sure get noticed.
I use tiny Japanese seed beads for this ring. It is flexible, but holds its shape really well comparing with regular peyote beaded rings. The ring is slightly domed in its wide part and looks and feels awesome on!

Biwa and Keishi Pearl Earrings in Sterling Silver

I love unique and natural look of organically shaped pearls! Rugged surface and nice lustre make them so attractive in handmade jewelry!

I chose golden colored stick pearls for this pair of earrings and complemented them with a cluster of peacock colored heishi pearls. All pearls are wire wrapped in sterling silver wire and suspended from my handmade ear wires along with two fancy chain dangles. I oxidized all the silver and selectively hand polished it back to shine.

Ice in Copper - Handmade Electroformed Beach Glass Pendant

I wanted to try copper electoforming for a long long time. I simply adore the warm look of copper, it's probably my favorite metal. And the idea of being able to cover almost anything with it seemed very attractive to me ever since I learned of electroforming process. (Well, actually I learned about it first from the school physics class ages ago, but that doesn't count.)

Copper electroforming is a process of depositing a layer of copper on an object with a help of low voltage electicity. It can take many hours or even days to build a substantial layer of metal to cover a piece, literally atom by atom. The result is a thick layer of pure solid copper, that will never wear off like plating can sometimes. It can be sanded, polished and otherwise treated like solid metal.

So, I was learning and reading about the whole process (thanks to the generous people from Russian speaking community at http://community.livejournal.com/electroforming btw). Finally I bought a couple of chemicals, conductive paint, borrowed a few pieces from my children's Snap Circuits game and unused power converter from my husband and started experimenting. After a few days of frustration I finally started having lots of fun with covering stuff with copper.

Here is one of the first pieces that turned out really well - a piece of white beach glass covered with a strip of copper all around. The copper grows unevenly and I really like its unique texture. To accentuate the beauty of this uneven surface I gave the pendant a nice hot LoS bath and than sanded it with very fine sand paper, following with polishing cloth.

Garnet Fans Woven Necklace in Oxidized Sterling Silver

I love how these beautiful faceted marquise shaped garnets look with oxidized sterling silver!
To create this piece I hand forged and hammered sterling silver wire and then attached the stones using hair thin sterling. The edge is wire wrapped with tiny sterling silver beads, and then everything is suspended on thin rollo chain, adorned with little faceted red garnet rounds. Necklace is finished with a spring clasp and an extension chain to adjust the length.

I oxidized the necklace in Liver of Sulfur and selectively polished it back to shine to create depth and contrast.