Week 38 - An experiment, failure and recovery

My time for playing right now is minimal so when I experimented on a ring and it failed, I was unhappy! I created this double prong set ring, thinking it would be a good thing; I didn't mess with the design too much, I was more experimenting with the setting, wrapping, etc. I got it done and wasn't unhappy with the results. I put it on and said OUCH! What the heck? Took it back off and released the crystal I had chosen to set had a deep point that was stabbing me when worn. Bummed, I took a picture but didn't get to post it. This morning I said oops, time to get posted! And said hey, what if... I popped out the prongs and searched through my stash, finding this flat back stone that fit the setting, yeehaw! I need to tumble it for awhile to see if it tightens up more, but the lesson learned on this one is if you aren't happy with the results of something, consider changing it :)

Week 37 - Double wrap

With the success with the coating on the swarovskis last week, I was anxious to play a bit more. After getting the stuff up for my show, I played a bit. This is my first attempt at doing a double wrap, it was alot easier than I expected! Its not perfect (I put one too many wraps on one side so my bottom prong is crooked), but I'll definitely do more, this is fun! I want to try different shapes and sizes.

Week 36 - Wrapped vintage swarovskis

This week I've been working like a wild woman doing classic stringing in prep for my october show, but I did take a little time and experiment with wrapping some of the swarovskis I had posted for sale in July. I'm rather pleased with how they came out! I'll be doing more of the pendants; the rings were purely an experiment, not very wearable.

When I bought the swars I wondered if the backings would come off if tumbled, and I found they do. Ann, a member of my bead club, experimented with putting a coating on the back to see if it would not come off, and it worked, woohoo! She tumbled overnight and they came out just the way they went in. This grouping I had done before doing the coating; the backing stayed on fine wherever there was wrapping, but the little tips in the back did get the coating rubbed off, proving I need to put the protection on.