a bridge into bangles

Do you remember when I took a small break from flowers and make this bracelet?  Just a few short days after making that bracelet I made this one.  I love this bracelet.  It's definitely a prototype and I have a few kinks to work out.  But I love incorporating the french beaded flower technique into a piece of jewelry and yet it's still not a flower on your wrist.  It doesn't look or feel like a gaudy corsage which is a big fear of bringing my beaded flowers into jewelry.

I also feel like if I'm going to start making jewelry of any kind it should be jewelry I would wear and love.  This is it.  Now the other bracelet is too but this one just screams me.  My style, my colors.  It has a glorious weight to it with all the copper, steel, and glass.  The clasp is actually on the side of the wrist which I hadn't seen before but am enjoying.

I wore it at all my shows this summer and it didn't catch on anything.  Not my clothes or even my hair.  The petals didn't bend back or become loose which was a big test for me.  I need to have my jewelry sturdy.  It has to pass the Amy brutality test!  And I had a lot of feed back on this piece.  Lots of people were excited about it and wanted to know when I'd have them available for sale.  Which sort of blows my mind b/c this piece is so my style. I really never thought anyone would like my style.

This pic shows my favorite part of the bracelet.  I love the top, but it's this curve here that really truly makes me happy.  And inspires new ideas for future bracelets. 
This week I've had a lot of thoughts on bracelets and have figured out my game plan.  I plan to finish my Day of the Dead project this week.  Then I have a donation for a charity I need to get together and complete, but that won't take long at all.  Then I'm going to sit down and really work on bracelets.  I want to fix the kinks, make a few ready to sell, and maybe even design a new one or two.  I'm excited.  And really can't wait to see what comes next.

Inspired

I feel inspired.  Maybe it's the week off I took from almost everything.  Maybe it's all the rain washing away the long cold spring and inviting lush green life into the world.  Or maybe it's just one of the freak times when I don't have enough hands or hours to try out ideas that I have bursting out of me.  It's been painful not to work all the time on some of my new projects.

One of those projects has been bracelets.  I came out of my last show with lots of knowledge and not sure what to do with it all.  How much to change based on one show.  And honestly even if I wanted to change or add something new to my inventory...there's not a lot of time until my next show to make sure I have a sturdy enough inventory.  That didn't stop me from experimenting though.

For years I've been trying to come up with an exciting idea for a bracelet.  Something that uses the techniques of french beaded flowers and wire work.  Until recently I've drawn a blank.  Last week I finally let myself experiment.  I decided to start simple and instead of a full flower go with two petals.

 I learned so much from this bracelet.  First I made it about an inch too long, but that's easily fixed.  I learned how I can attach my petals to a base wire.  I learned what gauges work well in different areas.  This is a very versatile design that can be repeated in any combination of colors.  I loved adding the touch of colored wire to the band. 

 

Immediately after finishing this bracelet I had ideas for a couple more in completely different designs.  I want to redo this on in different colors so that it will fit...but that's on the back burner for now.  This weekend I finished the second bracelet.  I didn't get a chance to take any pictures yet.  But it's more of splay of petals and a side clasp.  

I'm also completely inspired to make flowers.  I have plans set for another few flowers plus quite a few more wreaths.  About a month ago I discovered that my local art guild has a call for entry's for an upcoming exhibit, Dia De Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.  This got some gears turning.  I first started thinking about a Day of the Dead wreath...but I thought a cross would be more fitting.  But I wanted the cross made out of grape vine.  I want it to look gnarly and rustic and handmade.  

This morning is the first day in ages that it hasn't rained so R and I went down into the field hunting down grape vine.  I came up with this cross and I'm really happy with it.  It's creepy and perfect.  I wrapped it together using smaller grape vine and then stabilized it with copper wire.  A week ago I found some amazing skull beads and bought them.  Last night I made the first flower.  I'm so excited about the potential with this project.  Not sure if I'll enter it into the art guilds exhibit or not.  That depends on how quickly I finish it and how it looks in the end.  Either way I'm super pumped and inspired by this piece.