What started it all???

I was searching the internet looking for instructions for making a pair of earrings for my father's "lady friend". I used to make bead jewelry (eons ago), but none of that was really catching my fancy. Then I saw a pair of beautiful earrings made of jump rings. I could do that! I had worked with jump rings many times before and already had lots of the tools needed. From there it exploded! By "it" I mean "everything". I researched designs, bought supplies, made a few pieces, got an Etsy account and opened a shop.
But how do I motivate myself to come up with new designs? I don't want to just make the same few pieces over and over again.
Answer: I have decided to take part in a "Pair-A-Day-For-A-Month" Earring challenge. I'll make a new pair every day for all of January. Follow along with me to see if I can really do it. If I can, maybe I'll start a "Bracelet-A-Week" project next!

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Before & After

I told you I would work on my "epic failure" earrings and post the results, eventually. Well it is finally eventually.

I'll start will Day 17 - Roundmaille Earrings
I really like this weave and was hoping I could make a nice design out of it. And I think I did!  :)

Before
After

I traded out the black (with red and green streaks) glass beads for some that are mauve dipped in gold sparkles. I also added a heavy bell cap to the top of it. I ran a long head pin through the bead and all the way up the roundmaille, and then through the bell cap and looped it. The earwire were attached directly to that.

Day 21 - Angel Earrings
I didn't like the looks of the dangles at the bottom of these earrings. The bugle beads were cheap and tacky looking.

Before
After

I found these nice little metal pieces (not sure what they are really for) to connect to the bottom of the angel. The hole was just big enough to run the bottom ring through. There are actually 3 metal dangles hanging from each one, but it only looks like two in the picture. The holes at the bottom of the metal pieces are unnecessary but, oh well, they still look better than the bugle beads.

And my favorite! Day 24 - Japanese Ball Earrings
I liked the looks of the Japanese Ball from the tutorial I was following, but mine just didn't work so well. I really wanted to figure out how to make it look better.

Before
After

I love the way these turned out! I got rid of the silver and gem bead at the bottom and added a hematite barrel bead top and bottom. I ran a head pin all the way from the bottom of the lower barrel bead, through the ball and to the top of the upper barrel bead, closed with a double wrapped loop attached to the earwire. I also took the advise of the tutorial and put a bead inside the Japanese Ball as a filler. It really did help the ball hold it's shape. This would look spectacular in different colors (red specifically).

You might notice that Day 28 - Dragonscale Earrings are missing. Well, I'm still trying to figure that one out. I specially ordered some rings that are specifically for a Dragonscale bracelet. I got the rings several days ago, but just started the earrings today. So far they look ok, but I'm not holding my breath. I'll post pictures when they are done.
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