I'm not really fond of stud earrings as they aren't comfortable when I have the phone receiver to my ear. However, they do appeal to those who don't like dangles.
The good part about making your own is the ability to get the right length posts. Sometimes bought studs do poke because the posts are too long.
One of the easiest ways to make studs is to construct them from 20G wire using a spiraling technique. Having said that, Jeanette Blix Ryan's stud earrings tutorial on Beading Daily (you need to register for free to get the download) will need some practice if you are not experienced with wire.
Her design has the post in the middle while the end of the wire after scrolling for the spiral is used to form a smaller spiral on top of the first one for dimensional interest.
The little round accents in the middle is actually balled head pins which are cleverly wire wrapped
on the posts just behind the spirals. You could also use ordinary head pins and 4 mm gemstone rounds for the same look. The butterfly backs can be bought from many bead suppliers.
If you don't mind the spiral being "off center" for stud earrings, then check out Emi Harrington's video tutorial for an easier version.
Signe Albertson who now lives in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area describes her mixed media style as similar to collage.
Signe also adds, "Having a background in acting and theater design, I find inspiration for my jewelry from many different areas: classic Hollywood films, art, music and literature. "
The stunning result is her collection known as Signe Style. She is able to bring together different jewelry making skills such as wire work, polymer clay, hand knotting and metal smith techniques.
Her stunningly bold and mostly one of a kind designs are created using a combination of precious metals, glass beads, crystals, wood, polymer clay and gemstones.
Bird in Garden
She explains her design philosophy, "When creating a piece of jewelry, I think about creating a picture that tells a story or evokes an emotion. I want each piece to express a point of view and, I hope, reveal something about the wearer."I think she succeeds admirably in her goal!
Riveting is a fabulous way to make cold connections - i.e. join metal pieces without using any heat like from a torch. It is much better than using glue as the connections are secure.
On a chilly April 15 back in 1912, the great White Stars ocean liner, Titanic sank on her maiden voyage. The ship labelled as "unsinkable" had tempted fate. 1518 people perished.
The enduring fascination with this tragedy will peak once more with many planned events as the 100th anniversary approaches.
On April 11, Guernsey's Auctioneers will be selling off more than 5000 Titanic artifacts as a single collection. One of the items is this bracelet below. This very personal of belongings is a poignant reminder of this devastating event.
This auction is controversial as is the company which is selling the artifacts. The artifacts were collected via submarine from what is essentially an underwater grave site - something some people prefer it remain undisturbed. Having said that, artifacts are often salvaged from other wrecks which also involved the loss of human life, so the Titanic is no different except in the scale of the disaster.
There are conditions to this sale. The collection cannot be broken up and must be available for research, education and public display. So it will most likely go to a museum.
April will also see the re-release of James Cameron's 1997 Titanic movie in 3D format.
Perhaps it's been a while since you watched the movie. But do you remember that beautiful blue diamond necklace worn by the fictional heroine, Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet)? Check out the movie trailer which shows several scenes featuring this necklace.
The Heart of the Ocean necklace was created specifically for the movie. The London based Asprey and Garrard designed it using a blue cubic zirconia set in white gold.
There really was a blue gemstone necklace on board the Titanic but it was a square cut blue sapphire. It belonged to Kate Florence Phillips. It was a gift from her married lover, Samuel Morley. Both were fleeing to America to begin a new life. This love story is believed to have inspired the movie.
Morley did not survive the sinking. Placed in a lifeboat, Kate made it with just a nightgown, the necklace, keys and a purse. She bore his child, conceived on the crossing. Likely due to the shame of being an unwed mother and a husband-stealing one at that, Kate neglected and abused their love-child. She eventually died in an asylum.
Their daughter, Ellen Walker, lived until she was in her 90's. After Ellen's death, her ashes were scattered near the area where her father was lost. Ellen Walker had tried for years but failed to get her father's name put into her birth certificate. For some reason, she sold that necklace years before her death. More of Ellen's story is here.
Much of the jewelry that went down with the Titanic were small items. However, Lady Duff Gordon (played by Rosalind Ayres in the movie), a noted London fashion designer, had a $50,000 strand of pearls on loan from her jewelers in Venice. It was placed in the purser's safe which went down with the ship.
Also lost were her emerald and pearl cross earrings shown in her picture below. These were Duff Gordon family heirlooms, a wedding gift from her husband.
Even though Halifax was the nearest major seaport with rail connections, the survivors were taken directly to New York because the captain of the rescue ship, Carpathia, had to turn southwards to avoid the icebergs.
The grim tasks of body recovery and burial were left to Canadian cable ships and the city of Halifax. 150 bodies were buried in various city cemeteries including that of Irishman Joseph Dawson who was a coal trimmer in the ship's boiler room.
Although James Cameron denied Dawson was the inspiration behind the movie hero, Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio), busloads of young female fans nevertheless wore down the path to his gravestone which is simply marked, "J. Dawson". They left flowers, movie ticket stubs and so on there in the aftermath of the blockbuster movie.
One of several permanent collections of Titanic exhibits is located here at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Many of the artifacts were donated or loaned by the descendents of mariners who not only helped recover the bodies but salvaged floating debris as mementos in an old maritime tradition called "wreckwood".
A particularly poignant and moving exhibit at this museum is this pair of toddler's shoes from the body of an unidentified little boy. Unlike other personal belongings on the recovered bodies, no relative claimed them. They should have been burned along with other unclaimed items in order to deter souvenir hunters. But the police officer in charge was so overcome, he couldn't bring himself to burn the tiny brown leather shoes, so he kept them. Many years later, his grandson donated them to the Maritime Museum.
Halifax will inundated with visitors this year due to the anniversary. One interesting event is a historic dinner theater production called Titanic :The Fated Voyage . The tasteful production aims to set the right historic mood for the audience with the first class lounge setting, period songs and music and an authentic menu - the same that was served to the actual passengers on that fateful night. The cast of 8 will play real and fictional characters in the 3-act show.
I absolutely adore making earrings. There are so many different designs to come up with and what's more, they are fast projects. There is nothing like instant gratification, is there?
It's sometimes useful to be a jewelry maker because all the stuff we accumulate for the craft can be used for home decor projects too. Laura's clever tutorial to label bottles in the bathroom and medicine cabinet is just such a project. What a terrific idea!
Did you like my past post on how to recycle computer keys into jewelry? Well, this tutorial feature goes back to pre-high tech days - the keys come from old typewriters! These add considerable vintage charm to jewelry!
Wire name writing is a super technique to try because the resulting necklace focal is created from one long piece of wire without any soldering!
There are no easy short cuts - practice is required. You should use thicker and firmer wire to form the letters- do not use soft temper. The harder tempers will keep the shape better as you go along. Making your letter formations smaller sized will also help. I learned that the hard way as I had a go myself (see link below).
Broken skateboards need not be sent to the dump. Not if Derek Keenan, the artisan behind MuKee on Etsy can help it! He reclaims old skateboards and gives them a new lease of life as jewelry!
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