Copper earrings

I've been having fun making copper earrings the last while. 

Earrings are very interesting to make as there are quite a few things to think about.  Do you make them copies, or do you mirror them.  It can even be fun to not make them identical but just a little different.

Just a little different

Making copper earrings takes a little more time as you can't just buy the hoops as you can with  silver or gold ones.  So I made a jig in the wire thing-a-ma Jig making it possible to make matching pair at a time.

I love them and have decided that I would make even the silver and gold hoops the same way.  Making my earrings totally home crafted.

twisted wire dangles

Buying a few sample packs of different wires, gauge and shape, has let me experiment with different looks as well. Twisting a square wire makes the dangles in the twisted dangle earrings reflect light adding a little more bling.

Adding Czech crystals also adds that nice bit of bling catching the light. 

You can check out more of the latest Terry creations at https://twistedcoppertop.com

Now onto fixing a bracelet I made the other day.

"It's always helpful to learn from your mistakes because then your mistakes seem worthwhile. "  Gary Marshall

A new store site

Two weeks ago my son put together a new store site for myself ( https://twistedcoppertop.com ) and a natural skin care crafter named So Fresh Products (https://sofreshproducts.com).  I've been having a ball setting it all up and trying to make it look attractive.
It all started with a conversation at the local pub after work on a Friday night.  Sitting next to a very nice lady who just so happened to need a storefront to market her homemade skin care products.  She said "I need", I said "so do I" and Tyler said "I can do that and it might be fun".  So now Tyler has a business that can get us little crafters, inventors, or the guy that just wants to get a web page out there for a reasonable cost (https://fromthe.blue).

But back to the Twisted Copper Top store.  The hardest thing is trying to get the photos just right.  Clear, interesting and that show off the jewelry that I have been making as of late.  I must have spent hours trying different angles, stages, and camera filters.  I even tried the scanner to see if they looked better.

scanned picture

I tried 2 different cameras, my phone and discovered that the best was my little old (20 years?) instant camera on the food setting took what I thought were the best photos.  Days playing with different props, and lighting, keeping a record of what I was doing.

using an old crock pot as a prop

Finally to find a simple solution in a glass pitcher, a lot of tissue paper, and a bright sunny location.  These were a few of the photos that ended up in the web store.

I liked the background

nice and clear

It was interesting to find out how much time and effort it takes to manage and upkeep a simple web store front, almost a full time job.  With no distractions; I miss people dropping by and visiting and the communication that you have in a real store front.  But the nice thing about this is that I can do it from anywhere and the adventure is about to begin.

In the middle of all this renovating, we (my son and I) also decided to do a bit of purging.  A bit turned into a bit more and and a bit more again.  It felt great once it started and became easier as the purge went.  Things that had been stored in cupboards, closets, and under beds for the past years ...... gone.  Every Sunday for the past 2 months Tyler and I took 2 carts to the Salvation Army (thank goodness it is only 3 blocks away) twice.  Between Sundays I would have the 2 carts filled again.  

A lot of my fabric went to the Century House and to the Trout Lake Community Center and believe it or not I have just 2 boxes left of my favorites left.  No more hording a stash that I am never going to get to.  Over 10 boxes to a good home where they can get used.

Terry at 16 years 

The other big purge was my photos.  Having 11 photo albums that I couldn't remember the last time I took out to look at; I sat, had a cup (many over the weeks) and scanned all of my old photos, by date, into the computer.  It was a awesome thing to do.  I'd forgotten a lot of things and places and people over the years.  I was so nice to remember everything.  Some a little sad but the majority was fun, laughter, and good friends.  

Terry's rock garden in the making 1999

I was a little worried about throwing out all the originals but after thinking about it.... I never looked at them and at least this way I can put them as my screen saver and smile and enjoy them on a regular basis.  And just think 11 binders (2 more boxes) out the door.  I remember at 16 being able to throw everything into the old Chevy II, including the cat and off I would go.  I am so looking forward to being a gypsy again.  But maybe not in a Chevy II this time. lol

I'm back

Life has been good and very busy the last few months.  I finally finished painting and cleaning the apartment and it looks great.  It took 3 weeks to finish the kitchen.   Ceilings were the hardest though and boy did they need it.  I'm not sure that they had ever been painted before.

Painting the ceiling.

I had to be careful with the first coat of paint as to much back and forth with the roller and the stucco started coming off.  Oh well, 6 rooms and 3 coats later and all done.

Next came the kitchen; only able to sand, clean and paint 3 cupboard doors at a time; just not enough space. So in between paint drying on the doors I was able to get 2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, and the hallway finished.  All hard work but total worth the stiff and sore muscles, occasional bruise ( a bit of a klutz sometimes) and sore feet (my own fault from not putting on shoes to climb the ladder).

Doors off getting painted

Nice clean and painted.

The light grey of the walls turned out beautiful and amazingly change color with the light.  Paired with a bright white trim and accessories, the rooms look classic and clean. 

We also changed out the bathroom vanity making them a lot more modern and updated, even the faucets, which are so cool.  They have LED lights in them that change color according to the temperature of the water.  How cool is that.  

our faucets

The condo goes up for sale tomorrow and a new chapter of the 'life of Terry' begins.  I am so excited. 

So... stay tuned, I promise to try and post on a regular basis for updates.  Besides we have a lot of crafty things to do and try. 

Purple Agate Pendant 2

Making the cage to hold the agate was a little harder than I thought it would be as I wanted to make sure that it would never fall out.  The half hard copper wire is a little harder to make good 90 deg folds than perhaps a dead soft wire but is much stronger.

Creating the cage on the back

Taping the existing wrapped wire to the stone helps keep things in place.  A few coils makes the back very pretty.

Holding it all together

At this point I started deviating from the original design.  Making coils and wrapping wires, trying to balance out the piece by eye.

Changing the location of the drop bead, and adding an extra coil to the bottom looked more natural to me.
It turned out beautiful.

finished back

finished front

I tried a few different cords and chains with the completed purple agate pendent and decided that only a made to order chain would look best.  Having a few of the beads I used for the drop off the pendent I added them to the chain with a few accent beads to create the perfect accompaniment.

just a little bling

handmade links and clasp

Don't you love how you can wear it front or back showing?  I wore it out to dinner last night and received numerous compliments, I'm keeping this one for myself.....it is purple after all, my favorite color.

Purple Agate Pendant

Purple Agate Pendent

I thought I would try the design and plan method for a beautiful purple agate slice.  So getting out the note book I traced the stone and tried to design a few wire wrap variations.  I'm not very good at the design part of jewelry making and so far have just designed as I went.  Here are the variations I came up with.

page 1

page 2

I rather liked the center design on page 1 and added a few beads to it and a few notes to keep the ideas straight in my head.

Pretty stone slice

I was so pleased the other day as I was digging in an old box looking for model car paint for my mom when I came across a small jar of agates in different colors and sizes.  New things to play with.

Having decided on the design and planning how it went together was a different story.  Easy enough to say that this is what you want the pendant to look like but you have to make sure that the stone stays in place.  Unlike a bead that has a hole you can string a wire through, a cage is need to make sure the stone doesn't fall out.

Out comes the wire box, the tools, and get organize so you don't have to dig for anything. I like to have things at hand.

Time to start

Then I guess, just dive in.  Wrapping the two 20 gage wires is a little harder than you would think and I found it difficult to be consistent in my tension.  I have a tenancy to wrap tighter and tighter.

Following the design, (ok I did deviate a bit) until it was time to make the cage.

ready for wrapping

making the cage

That was as far as I got on Thursday and hoping to work a little more on it today.  Will let you know how it comes along.

Longarm Retired

After 8 years of working on the longarm, I decided to sell it.  It was a hard decision but one that I had been thinking about for quite some time.  I am so glad that a very nice quilter from Mission bought it and is excited to be starting a new passion for herself.

I'm also excited that I am on a new aspect of discovery for myself and have a huge list of things to try out over the next while.  A little wire work, a bit of glass fusing, a bit of bead work, add some painting, learning to use the serger and maybe a course or two should keep me busy for a while.  Quilting is still on the list as well and I am still enjoying volunteering at Century House quilting a few times a week.  I'm also hoping to hone my skills at machine quilting and creating a few fiber arts pieces that I have had designed and not had the time to get to.

My son picked up a video camera the other day so I am hoping to make a few "how to" videos to post on this blog as well as You Tube.  So keep tuned and check in from time to time to see what's on the board.

Terry