Recycled Blue Jean Necklace

Recycled Blue Jean Necklace with Jasper Pendant

One day I got an idea for a necklace with denim cord and started looking around the internet to find something suitable for my design. I couldn't find anything even close to what was swirling around in my brain, so I decided to make my own. My husband volunteered some retired blue jeans he was saving for summer painting chores. The denim is torn or cut into long strips, which I wound around one another and secured with cotton cord. Some of the detail from a back pocket of my old jeans is woven into the front of the cord, and each end is embellished with rusty orange silk ribbon. The pendant is a freeform green snakeskin jasper pendant with patches of rust brown and blue.

More Curious Bracelets

Turquoise Apatite Bracelet with Copper Focal

As bracelets are my favorite jewelry piece to make, and my recent bracelet post did so well, I decided to do a follow up. The bracelet above is designed around a copper metal clay focal piece by my friend, Kristi Bowman, using turquoise and apatite. I use different shaped accent beads of solid copper and a mala prayer bead from Nepal, added several dangles of turquoise, apatite, coral and Czech glass.

The bracelet below is a result of a sudden impulse to clean off my beading table. Rather than hunt down the proper containers for all these stragglers, I put them to good use in a multi-stone mixed bracelet with some rustic copper components. I am considering a few different names for this piece, maybe Goulash, Dim Sum, or Smorgasbord? Any of which sound better than "Left Overs". Every once in awhile I will design a multi-stone piece because people seem to like the seeming randomness of them. Of course, they are not random at all and it takes time to put together a pleasing arrangement. But this is the first time I did one to clean off my bead table. I may have to make it a regular event.



Mixed Stone Rustic Copper Bracelet

More curious bracelets on Etsy and Artfire.

Shades of Green

Shades of Green

Curated By: ChrysalisJewe...

ArtFire.com

Craft Supplies

Curious Bracelets

Teal Lampwork Bracelet

Time to break out of my winter color pallette and let loose with some bright spring colors! These are two of my asymmetrical bracelets designed in spring colors.

A deep teal lampwork focal bead is featured in this bracelet with aqua recycled glass, Czech glass and green seed beads, with a little touch of ceramic and copper findings.

A freshwater pearl bracelet with three different colors and shapes of pearls along with Czech glass and copper to enhance the wonderful yellow and teal tones of the gorgeous lampwork focal bead.



Teal and Yellow Lampwork Bracelet

Handmade lampwork beads by Alaska Boro Beads.

Sunset Yellow and Blue

Sunset Yellow and Blue

Curated By: ChrysalisJewe...

ArtFire.com

Fine Art Paintings

Primal Colors

Primal Colors

Curated By: ChrysalisJewe...

ArtFire.com

Handmade Jewelry

Embracing the Primitive

I'm still fiddling around with primitive findings, this time with copper. The freedom to use any freeform shape I can dream up is intoxicating! The photo shows some asymmetrical toggles and links; I've also used a number of roughly shaped and hammered drops to add interest to earrings. Two of the toggles have a sort of "keyhole opening" that I found interesting. Some of the textures are achieved using the Big Shot and others have been done by using texturing hammers.

Patina adds another dimension to the copper (or whatever metal you might choose), and I like to use the unexpected results even more than I like to use the predictable ones. I do like the more uniform patina that results from tumbling the treated pieces, but there is a rustic quality when the patina is less even that I also find appealing.




Primitive Orange Ceramic Earrings



Hand Forged Copper Textured Earrings