the winner of December's contest is...

...Another month and end of another contest...this time the winner is

Widad Mogral from  Banglore, India

Title: Fleeting vision

Technique used: Beading

Description: This is an illusion necklace with a large focal bone bead which was given a fake mother of pearl finish using nail polish. I have illustrated the technique in my blog here http://weecrafts.blogspot.com/2010/12/faux-mother-of-pearl-finish-jewellery.html . The necklace was made using four pieces of silver coloured tiger tail and fake pearls. The pearls are held in place on the necklace using crimp beads.

 blog: http://weecrafts.blogspot.com/

Congratualtions Widad !! Your work is as Whimsical as it could be and a great technique too...

A special mention goes to Anandhi Rajan, from Bangalore for maximum utilisation of the materials given in her design

Great Work both of you....!!

Will meet you all in the New year (with lots of freebies - yes tutorials & giveaways)

Wishing everybody a very very Happy New !! Hope this New year brings happiness, good health, and peace of mind to all of us

Cheers

Wire Wrapping basics

They say that it is never to late to learn the basics...after all its only when we get our basics right we attain perfection. I remember doing a post in April (a 3 part series on knotting, looping & wire wrapping) and in connection to the wire wrapping post  here is a post on how to get the basic techniques right everytime.
From where did I get this sudden spark : From a post on Start Wireweaving, One Careful Step at a Time written by Jean Campbell (senior editor of Beadwork )for the Beading Daily Newsletter.
Here are the snippets along with my own tips

		1) The first thing to do is get yourself a set of good basic wire working tools Chain-nose pliers, round-nose pliers, and some sharply pointed flush cutters. As time goes on you may want to add other items to your tool kit, but you'll use these three workhorses for just about any project. My Thought : If you dont have access to tool tip lotions, use a crimp plier to hold wire when shaping. You'll never get bite marks on the wire ;)
		2) My Thought : If you are lucky (have access to) copper, brass, and craft wire,use them. They each give a rich look to the pieces, are easy to work with, and won't break the bank. Unfortunately the only decent wire available in India is Aluminium or coated Aluminium wires :( But they work well too.
		3) wire projects are just a compilation of a few simple techniques.  The first is a simple loop. Ithe most important thing to keep in mind is that you want the end result to be shaped like a balloon on a string rather than like a "P". My Thought :Here is a simple technique on how get the loop perfectly. Hold the plier wherever you want the loop to start. bend it at right angle to the wire you are holding in your hand. grab the tip and curve it in three stages for a perfect shape. Still not clear check this out
		4) The second is a wrapped loop. My best advice is to go slow and back up if your loop isn't round or your wraps are crooked. Instructions? check point 3. Continuous wraps lead to coils - To make a coil, use one hand to hold the end of your wire against a mandrel. With the other hand, wrap the wire around the mandrel in tight loops. To remove the coil, slide it off the mandrel and cut. Add vertical loops on either end to use the coil as is, or cut the coil at certain intervals to make jump rings or split rings. My Thought : There are two types of wraps - 1) wrapping on a piece of wire (shaped -refer to point no. 3). This is to add bulk or texture to the shape. It also holds together portions just as in the case of soldering. 2) only coils without a base (refer point 4). Can be used to make jump rings, ring bases, pendants, earrings, as is. The trick to achieve perfect coils is to turn the loop and not the wire while coiling
Combine all this and a little creativity (and of course lots of practice/patience) and you are on your way to become a successful wire jewelry designer. Good Luck !!

BTW Guys this is my 50th post
So Thanks a lot for all that support :)
And wishing all a Very merry Christmas

Cheers

How to make a Kakatiya Bracelet

In the first week of December I had been to Warangal for a short vacation with my parents. Though it was a little disappointing to see wonderful architecture in ruins, the trip gave an wonderful insight into the art and craft of the Kaktiya Dynasty. Historically known as Orugallu and also Ekashila Nagaram(City carved in single stone), the heritage of warangal is fascinating. The Warangal District is also home to the famous Cherial scrolls and the Brass work of Pembarthi. But everywhere I went - regardless of the site, I found little touristy types racks selling knicks knacks...Whats so special about that you might ask...isnt that the case with all tourist destinations. Yes indeed...but what I found quaint where these rows of Colorful  thread that were hanging everywhere.

First I thought they had some religious importance - Like a "Thayathu - or amulet" to ward of evil and didnt really look at them on the first day. When I saw more on the second day, I took a closer and found that they were bracelets - simple woollen thread bracelets....

They were super cute and very pretty.....So I came I made a couple...and decided to call them the "Kakatiya Bracelets" after the great Kakatiya dynasty who once ruled there.They are extremely simple to make..so here is a tutorial.

Materials:  Coloured knitting wool/ embroidery skeins, beads and spacers

1) measure the circumference of your wrist and add 6" to it. ( you can make it shorter if you want, but his determines the length of the tie up). Take 2-3 strands of that length depending on the hole in your beads. I am using multi coloured embroidery thread here.

2) Slide a big bead into the center(I am using a lamp work evil eye bead). knot at both sides to keep the bead in place

 3)add other beads and keep knotting then as you go on.Mine has 3 beads and 2 spacers, you can add how much ever you like. The beaded portion should cover the front half of your wrist.

that's all...its done now...simple right...these are easy (fast) to make and will work as great party favours or you can have your guests can just sit around after lunch and bead one for themselves. Just have lots of colored wool and beads and its a good time pass.

Cheers

reinvention using chain mail

In my second collection (of Sayuri) I made a couple of pieces based on chain mail. Charm bracelets, long chains....the bracelets sold like hot cakes but the chain was not very encouraging. so I stopped making chain mail based jewelry until i read a recent newsletter for making chain mail based jewelry. The article promised that after reading it I will never look at chain mail the same way and thats precisely what happened. Equipped with this new knowledge I intended to work with CM once more and the opportunity came in the form of an old floral hairpiece that belong to my grandmother.

Called kodi mullai or malli mottu (jasmine bud) in tamil. It is a hair comb shaped like buds of jasmine in gold colour with 3 stone studded florets of 5 petals each on its base. The last time it was in full piece was 30 years back when my mother wore it in her hair during her wedding. I last saw it 15 years back when my mom used it in a traditional dress competition. Couple of weeks back My mom found it while going through her old stuff and noticed that the florets had fallen out and were missing. When I tried to wear it in my hair I realised that it was too big and that I didnt have enough hair to hold it. On closer inspection I found that it was not fully gold as we had originally thought but an amalgamation of brass, copper and gold plated buds. Giving it to the goldsmith didnt make sense. I looked at it for some. took my pliers bent the back(comb) to make a bail, cut and stuck some white faceted stones (with gold bases) to the points which originally housed the florets, added a strand of pearls and made it into a bracelet.

I was really scared of what my mother's reaction would be as it was her heirloom. but to my surprise she really liked it and felt that it was more useful this way. To compliment it I tried using different types of chains, gold beads but nothing worked. Finally I made a simple chain mail necklace and strung it to together. Viola my first self made metal necklace... I love it...n here it is for all of you to see and comment.

My special Thanks to Pearl of The beadinggem journal for featuring this necklace in her blog

Cheers

Designed from Giveaway beads

Recently I won a Giveaway of Lamp work beads from Gail & Karen, Canada (www.beadandsave.com) which was hosted by Pearl of Beadinggem. It had about 24 lamp work beads as well as 6 white glass bead caps and 2 black rhinestone spacers.Though I have not been able to use all of them as yet (want to save now for future use),

I have created a few designs out of these beauties. Very classic and bang on it was indeed a tough job to accommodate them in my design. so here's what I made out of them...and they are available for sale too...check em out

Cheers