.....And Even More Wire work! by Caprilicious Jewellery

Hello folks, aww, you came back for another peek at Caprilicious, thank you so much. It's been lovely to have you around all year. Before you go any further let me remind you that the Caprilicious payday giveaway is on for a couple of days more, until the 8th, so you still have a chance to grab those presents ( all for yourself, right? - I totally agree, you do deserve a treat!)
I can see the Christmas clock ticking away relentlessly in the sidebar - only eighteen days to go, it says. If you need some help, I'll take the pain of Christmas shopping away for you, I'll pack it, gift wrap and post out for you with a little card, you only have to say the word.

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Do remember the Christmas post dates, please. I'd hate for you to be disappointed. Get your parcels out on time and all will be well. Last year, I had a flurry of parcels on the last postal day and I was up late into the night with ribbon and tape and wrapping paper and Michael went off in the morning to post the parcels looking like Santa himself with a sackful of gifts!

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This week once again was all about wire. I've come to the end of two reels of wire, one kilogram of copper each, silver plated, and then coated in nylon to prevent a build up of tarnish. I love this nylon coated wire, and it has been a best seller for Caprilicious. Unfortunately it means that I cannot give my pieces the fancy patinas that are so fashionable today, but tarnished silver plated wire looks so ugly, I've had to get over that disappointment quickly. Also, the nylon coating means that I have to be very gentle and even handed with the wire. If I don't pay it sufficient attention, and the pliers slip, it leaves a gouge mark in the nylon which is very unsightly - I've got used to manipulating it almost completely with my fingers and using the pliers to coax it into place and to tuck the ends away at the very finish. 
Anyway, I've got about three feet of 18 gauge wire left to use up next week before I can unpack my new reels from the wire company.

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Sunrise

The pendant design is from a tutorial by Nicole Hanna - I've made it before, ages ago after I won it in a 'Finish It' competition she ran on her website. "What's a 'Finish it' competition", you ask? Nicole writes a tutorial, and sends out only half of it to those who enter. She allows the entrants to finish it any way they choose. She's always complimentary and very encouraging, even if you mangle her tutorial into an unrecognisable mess, and gives everyone who enters the full tutorial, and additionally there's a prize for the best design. 

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The necklace in the picture above was made after a visit to the Newmarket bead show where I bought that rather funky hand blown glass focal bead. The polymer clay colourful beads in the necklace are hollow and bright, made from a technique taught by Orly Fuchs Galen and I thought the piece was very vibrant and circus like, so I called it 'Trapeze'. 

This time, I chose a more sombre palette, inspired by a picture I took early one morning of the park across the road. A slab nugget of blue/black agate, titanium coated druzy and Czech hand cut glass beads were pulled out of the stash and I'm sure you'll agree that this piece is very different from the last one. The original lives in India where the owner bought it because the necklace was 'funky'. This one was picked up a couple of days after I posted it on Instagram.

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 I worked on the wire left on the reel almost manically, trying to end it. The more I made, it seemed like there was even more left to use. I sat in front of the TV, fingers flying, cackling and muttering incantations to myself, cursing the reel of wire under my breath. My fingertips are numb and shredded by the fine wire which cuts into the pulp. Now that my ordeal is over and I've thrown the plastic core away, it seems so crazy, but at the time, I was determined that I would see the end of the reel. ​I made as many pairs of earrings as I could, after all it will soon be Christmas and there will be gifts I need to put together. I am working on Christmas day and I usually take in a grab bag of little bits for all the poor midwives and doctors who have had to give up their day for the greater good. I can announce proudly that I have finished the 20 Gauge wire, and have the dregs of the second reel of 18G - hopefully I can finish that one off by the end of next week, although 18G is thicker and more difficult to manipulate, and hence less fun to play with, calling for simple designs. As you can see, I haven't had time to put ear wires on them and have taken a few quick pictures with my phone for this blog post.

That's me for this week folks. I've started a piece of embroidered jewellery incorporating this strip of ribbon. Just now it is at the fugly stage and it is tempting to just put it aside and go back to the wire. In my experience embroidered pieces usually go through this stage and need a bit of perseverance, so I shall force myself to go back to it although just now the fugliness of it is very off putting.
Have a fabulous week, and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place.
Until then
​xx

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