New Aventurine Wire Wrap Cuff

I spent some much needed time in my office today working on a few new things I hope to have completed and in my ETSY shop soon. One project that I was able to complete today was an Aventurine wire wrap cuff bracelet.





It's for smaller wrists and mainly a practice to see what I could come up with but I like the asymmetrical design and the color of the aventurine chips against the silver metal. I would like to do a few more in this style with different beads and colors for the upcoming seasons.

I will try to post more later this week with pictures of my new creations. I should have some extra time since my husband will be out on a 4 day hike with his best friend.

Cheers,
Beka

New Template

I will be working on uploading a new template. If you stop by and there are issues, weird things or alien writing on my blog, it's probably due to that.

Now that my hand is better, I will be working on more projects. Please stop by to see new pictures to be posted soon!

Thanks for all your patience!

Cheers,
Beka

Almost There!

Good news! My thumb is almost completely healed up! I have more range of motion now and little pain. I should be back to crafting in almost no time at all! (which is great because I feel like I am slowly slipping into insanity >.<) In the mean time, I have been reading some excellent beading and jewelry making books from the library. Here are a couple I highly enjoyed:

If you enjoy making wire jewelry, I highly recommend Wire Style by Denise Peck. There are some simple and refreshing tutorials in her book. The instructions are pretty clear and easy to follow.

I also recommend Elegant Wire Jewelry by Kathy Frey. The projects are simple yet complex and have step by step instructions accompanied by instructional photos which make the instructions easy to follow.

I'm afraid that is all for now. I have a large, fuzzy cat who is begging for my attention as well as a big pile of dishes.

Cheers,
~Beka

Still Out For The Count...

So a few days ago, I hurt my thumb while working on some of my projects. (And who says that crafting isn't dangerous!) Well, I brushed it off as a minor thing and went right back to work the next day. Today, I woke to find it severely sore yet not really swollen or bruised which was lucky. Because of this, however, I am not able to work on my projects and they will be delayed for a while until I heal up. Hopefully, it won't be too long but I'm afraid to say that my stubbornness made the situation worse.

It's been driving me nuts not being able to work on my projects but I managed to get some great jewelry making books from the library to help satisfy that urge. At least I can still type and write (the injury is on my non-dominant left hand) so I will be able to continue work on my novel.

The lesson here kids...take care of your injuries, even if they set you back a day or two. that way, you won't get to the point where it sets you back twice that.

Cheers,
Beka

New Thank You Matchbook Notebooks On Their Way!

I have a new design that is just about finished but due to an injured thumb, they will take me a little longer than usual to complete them. They are so cute though and very spring/summery!



These will be great to say 'thank you' to friends/family at a party or to your loyal customers! They're also just a sweet way to say 'thank you' to anyone in general. There will be 10 white pages inside each book for notes or a personalized message.

I cannot wait to get them done. They are so adorable!

In other news, I just found out that my husband and I will be going to Edinburgh for about a week and a half which means I will need to close my ETSY shop for the duration of the trip. We leave August 7th and won't get back until about the 17th. I'll be putting up a notice in a week on the shop notice board to make sure everyone is informed. Aparently, we are going during the time they have a very large festival going on so I'm excited to research that. It's going to be a great trip. Neither one of us has been to Europe so this will be a great learning experience!

Cheers,
Beka

Pendants!

I've been on a pendant kick lately I guess because it seems that all I want to do is make pendants! I figure why not indulge and see what I come up with.



The silver one isn't finished yet. I still need to hammer it and choose beads to make charms for the loops along the bottom. The black wire looks great but can be a pain to work with since it can be easily scratched to show the metal underneath. While working on the black wire pieces, I was really loving my nylon pliers. If you don't have a pair and you make jewelry, I highly recommend you get a pair.

I'm hoping to get these guys close to finished at the end of the week so I can list them up this weekend in my ETSY shop.

Cheers,
Beka

New Pendant And More To Come!

I've been fiddling with black wire the past couple of days and came up with a start of a pendant. I like the combination of the black with hues of purple. I'll be working on making the beaded necklace part over the next few days.



I plan to work with the wire some more to come up with some other designs. My husband and I will be home this weekend (thank goodness) so I'll have some extra time to experiment.

That's all for now. I'm waiting for the guys to finish getting the new batch of brewed beer set.

Cheers,
Beka

Going Out Of Town...Again...

Yes, we're going out of town again. This time, we're going to the coast...the Tillamook area to be a little more specific. I'm really excited about it because I love Tillamook cheese, yogurt and ice cream. We're also going to do a nice hike in the area. It'll be nice to be at the coast again. It's been awhile since we're been to the coast and it'll be nice to get a dose of salty coldness.

I've been working in the office upstairs and have a few peices that will be ready to go up on my ETSY shop either tomorrow or when we get back from our short trip. Here is a picture of one of the pieces:



I also have a couple wire wrapped hoop earrings and a free-form wire cuff bracelet that are just about done. I will post pics of them when they're ready to go!

That's all for now. Time to go pack up!

Cheers,
~Beka