April: What Everyone Got & May: Whaddya want?

Okay Ladies, it's that time again . . .  what do you want for May? This time, I'm going to be all in-command and take charge-y. Therefore, I decree that if you haven't let me know what you want by May 15, I will pick something that I think will look fantabulous on you and that's what you'll get for the month. Sound reasonable? And for those who already told me they just want me to pick for them, you have until May 15th to change your mind about that. . . ;)  

And now onto the good stuff. Here's what everyone got (or should be getting in the mail) this month. Also, for May inspiration/ideas, I included pictures of jewelry that I made this month for myself or for other people.  

Heather W.

I couldn't quite make what Heather originally wanted, so I made the following two pairs for her to choose from. Heather originally wanted a pair of earrings like the ones on the top, but that were the deep blue color of the ones on the bottom. 

Tami

Aura actually designed Tami's necklace: silver czech glass and grey seed beads

Aura

Little silver beads on waxed cotton 

Marjean

Labradorite and Moonstone

Amy

A black version of the navy blue crystal/pressed glass necklace I designed a few months ago

Trish
Moonstone and pearl

Heather S.
Mixed seed-beads and hand-painted glass

Sonya 

Sonya wanted a set, so this is her April and May together

fancy jasper

fancy jasper and leather

Myself & Others

mixed gemstone leather wrap bracelet

moonstone, amazonite, glass,  rings

moonstone and chalcedony drop earrings

aquamarine/cat's eye  and amazonite earrings

turquoise and silver waxed cotton necklace/bracelet

raw emerald wire-wrapped link necklace

turquoise/indicolite crystal and mangesite earrings

cats-eye/crytal and amazonite/crystal earrings

rhodonite/crystal and red jasper/crystal earrings

Goldstone/carnelian and silver bracelet

Yellow turquoise/crystal  and olive "new" jade/crystal earrings

raspberry freshwater pearl earrings

crystal, pearl and silver lariat

seafoam jade, aventurine and leather necklace

How I Done it

Hey girls. I thought it might be fun to post a simple photo explanation of how I made your rings. (Or at least, I like seeing how jewelry is made, and Aura assures me I'm not alone in this.) So, here it is.

First off, some of the supplies: I used 20 gauge square wire for the shank, and 22 gauge half-round wire to wrap the shank. Wire cutters and a file to file the edges of the wire so they don't poke you. The gem you picked, a snap-tite setting, a ring mandrel, a hammer, and flat-nose pliers.  (Not pictured, a pin vise and masking tape .)

The first step is to set the gemstone. You do this by using masking tape to secure the gemstone, and masking tape to secure the setting. Then you center the setting over the gemstone and gently press down until the stone snaps into place.

 Then you cut about a foot of the square wire and use your fingers to straighten it.

You slide the wire through the prongs of the gemstone setting until it is centered in the middle of the wire.

Then you wrap the wire around a mandrel, about one size larger than the finished size will be, hammering it with the hammer to help it hold it's shape.

 When wrapping the ring, you feed it through different available slots between the prongs of the setting--you can see how that works a little better in this picture. . .

Next, you put the remaining unused portions of the wire in a pin vise, and twist it several times to create texture, then wrap the wire around the setting a couple times, and then around the shank of the ring a couple times.

Lastly, you cut some of the half-round wire and wrap it around the bottom of the shank, to keep the wires together, and to help it glide onto your finger smoothly.

Voila! The finished product. Surprisingly easy, 'eh? 

If anyone wants to try to do this themselves, come on over (If you can). I've got left over supplies you can use. 

Until next time . . .