Day 31

Not Tao 3 Earrings:

The Not Tao family of designs is similar in look to the Tao family (see Day 19) except the outer rings are trapped in place by two other rings instead of just one.

 

Materials used:
2- silver earwires
10- 20 gauge, 6mm colored copper jump rings (black)
10- 18 gauge, 7mm silver jump rings
4- 16gauge, 3/8in anodized aluminum jump rings (pink)

Instructions:
Follow the instructions for Not Tao 6 http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.cgi?key=138697 just don't add the 6th rings to the units.
Connect the earwire directly to the one of the 6mm rings

Experience Level: Beginner
Approximate Time: 20 minutes

These are cute and very light. By changing the ring size, Not Tao 4 and Not Tao 6 can easily be made using the same technique. The design would also look nice in a variety of color combinations. A single unit would make a nice necklace pendant as well.

Day 30

Fairy Wing  Earrings:

This is another cute little design that someone else had made that I thought I could recreate rather easily.

 

Materials used:
2- silver earwires
6- 20 gauge, 4.5mm silver jump rings
12- 20 gauge, 6mm silver jump rings
2- 18 gauge, 10mm colored aluminum jump rings

Instructions:

Step 4

Step 1-  Close 4 of the 6mm rings and open 2 of the 6mm rings. Open 3 of the 4mm rings. Open the 10mm ring.

Step 2- Weave 4 of the closed 6mm rings onto an open 6mm ring and close.

Step 3- Weave another open 6mm ring through the same closed 6mm rings and close.

Step 4- Separate the 4 4mm rings into 2 pairs. One pair on the right side and one pair on the left.

Step 5

Step 5- Working from the side closest to you, weave an open 10mm ring between the 2 middle rings, through one of the right rings, both left rings then the other right ring and exiting between the middle rings on the side farthest away from you and close. 

Step 6

Step 6- Weave an open 4mm ring onto the top middle rings.
Step 7- Weave another 4mm ring through this same path and close.
Step 8- Weave an open 4mm ring through these two 4mm rings and add an earwire before closing.
Step 9-  Repeat steps 1-8 for second earring.




Experience Level: Beginner
Approximate Time: 20 minute

If the AR is not right on these, the fairy's wings do not stay up. It took me a few trials before I found the right combination of ring sizes. The picture I saw looked like it used all the same size rings, but I couldn't figure out how to do that. I would like the design better if the fairy and her wings stood out a little more. I will probably keep playing around with different size rings (as I acquire them) to see if I can find an even better combination.

Day 29

Persian Tri-Star  Earrings:

Essentially it is 3 links of Persian Teardrops instead of 2. Other than that, I don't really have any information about this weave, except that it looks pretty cool.

 

Materials used:
2- silver earwires
6- 18 gauge, 4.5mm silver jump rings
54- 20 gauge, 7mm silver jump rings
4- 16 gauge, 3/8in anodized aluminum jump rings
2- silver loop pins
2- 8mm glass beads

Step 4

Instructions:

Step 1-  Close 4 of the 7mm rings and open 4 of the 7mm rings. Open 3 4.5mm rings. Open 2 3/8in rings.

Step 2- Weave 4 of the closed 7mm rings onto an open 7mm ring and close.

Step 3- Weave another open 7mm ring through the same closed 4mm rings and close.

Step 4- Separate the 4 4mm rings into 2 pairs. One pair on the right side and one pair on the left. 
 

Step 5

Step 5- Working from the side closest to you, weave an open 4mm ring between the 2 middle rings, through one of the right rings, both left rings then the other right ring and exiting between the middle rings on the side farthest away from you and close. 

Step 6

Step 6- Starting underneath the unit weave an open 7mm ring through all three rings and exiting through the top and close.

Step7

Step 7- Weave another 7mm ring through this same path and close.

side view

Step 8- Turn the link on its side and weave a 4.5mm ring onto the outer left 2 rings and close.

Step 9- Make 2 more links following steps 1-8.

Step 10

Step 10- Weave a 3/8in ring onto the outer rings of each link (the end without the 4.5mm ring). Weave another 3/8in ring through the same path, making sure that the smaller rings is sandwiched between the two 3/8in rings.
Step 11- Open the 4.5mm rings and weave the earwire onto one and the double loop bead pin onto the remaining two links.
Step 12- Repeat steps 1-11 for second earring.

Experience Level: Intermediate
Approximate Time: 1 hour

The picture that I used for this design looked better than how my earrings came out. The 3 links are not tight enough to remain evenly spaced on the larger rings when hanging; gravity pulls the bottom 2 links downward. I thought adding a bead would help push them apart, but it really didn't. They look great when flat on the table. I think I will keep the Persian teardrop weave in mind for bracelets or necklaces.The larger rings would look good with a double looped bead running through them...if  can ever figure out how to make those!

Day 28

Dragonscale Earrings:
When done properly (not as I have done) this is a really cool looking weave. The trick is getting the right combination of ring sizes.

 

Materials used:
2- black nickel earwires
4- 18 gauge, 5.5mm colored copper jump rings (black)
28- 18 gauge, 8mm black nickel jump rings
28- 18 gauge, 11mm black nickel jump rings
2- black nickel headpins
2- dragonfly charms

Instructions:
http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.cgi?key=7902
Make a looped bead for the dangle. http://www.howtojewellery.co.uk/2008/02/10/how-to-do-a-wrapped-loop-using-a-headpin/

Experience Level: Advanced
Approximate Time: 30 minutes (for the one I finished)

My earring looks nothing like the ones I was trying to copy, so I only made one. This is what I was going for. For the life of me I just cannot get the AR right. I tried a dozen combinations and most of the time they were too loose and sloppy (like the picture). I did get one that I thought was going to work but after 3 rows it was so tight that I couldn't add any more rings. It was very frustrating. I will keep trying. I really like the way the are supposed to look.

Day 27

Spellbinder Earrings:

Looks difficult, but really it's just 4 rows of European 4-1 woven in a loop, with a larger ring run through each edge.

 

Materials used:
2- silver earwires
100- 20 gauge, 4mm silver jump rings
4- 20 gauge, 10mm silver jump rings
2- 9mm glass beads

Instructions:
http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.cgi?key=94975
Connect the earwire to the wrap using 2 rings.

Experience Level: Intermediate
Approximate Time: 1 hour

I made a necklace pendant using this method and thought reducing the size and turning them into earrings would be cute. I used the same metallic looking blue-green beads that I used on Day 6. Only a small part of the bead has the metallic look, so I have to keep turning them so that the metallic part shows through the opening. I really needed to use beads that don't have holes for threading. When the beads turn the holes show too. Maybe I could find some really small marbles or decorative glass to use.

Day 26

Full Persian Chain Earrings:

A nice weave that looks like rope. Once learned, it's fairly easy to construct.

 

Materials used:
2- silver earwires
4- 20 gauge, 4mm silver jump rings
48- 20 gauge, 6mm silver jump rings
2- silver head pins
2- 9mm glass beads

Instructions:
http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.cgi?key=168
Add a loped bead to the bottom and an earwire at the top.

Experience Level: Intermediate
Approximate Time: 1 hour

The hardest thing about this weave is getting it started. Trying to get all the rings facing the right way and keeping them that way while I wove on another ring took some time and patience. Once I got a few links done it got easier. I found with the second earring that if I stuck an opened up paper clip in the rings to help keep them separated while I wove on the first set of rings it really helped. 

Day 25

Celtic Flower Earrings:

Similar to the Celtic star but with different ring sizes and a few extra rings.

 

Materials used:
2- brass earwires
70- 18 gauge, 5mm metal jump rings (40 brass, 30 matte gold)
20- 18 gauge, 8mm shiny gold jump rings
10- a8 gauge, 11mm brass jump rings

Instructions:
http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.cgi?key=153441

Experience Level: Intermediate
Approximate Time: 1 hour

I first made this design with all the same colored rings, but didn't like it. So I tried again with 3 different metal finishes. I still think it could be improved upon. To really see the intricacies of the weave, a more drastic difference in colors would be better.

Day 24

Japanese Ball Earrings:

Looks like a difficult weave, but it really isn't. It is just a unit of Japanese 5-1 that has been folded in on itself to form a ball.

 

Materials used:
I think I used 52 rings on just the one earring that I made
cute little gem bead on a looped head pin

Instructions:
http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.cgi?key=108607

Experience Level: Intermediate
Approximate Time: 20 minutes

I didn't use the right rings for this one, but it was the only size on hand that I had enough rings to make even one earring. It came out too loose and sloppy. The tutorial suggested using a bead as "stuffing" to help give it a rounder shape. I would have tried it but this was the second epic fail weave of the day and I was just really tired. I think I will try the bead stuffing idea as well as use some colored rings next time. I was afraid to try more than one color of ring initially because I wasn't sure I could keep the pattern straight. If I use one color for the double connections and another color for the single connections it wouldn't be too hard. I will play around with it and post follow up pictures of any of the designs that I rework (assuming I was able to make the rework work...)

Day 23

Centepede Earrings:

Quick and easy units that can be used in varying amounts to create any length of chain.

 

Materials used:
2- hematite ear wires
16- 20 gauge, 4mm silver jump rings
10- 18 gauge, 11mm silver jump rings
10- 6mm black nickel beads.

Instructions:

Step 2

Step 1-  Close all of the 4mm rings and open all of the 11mm rings.

Step 2- Weave a bead and 2 of the 4mm rings onto an 11mm ring and close.

Step 3- Weave a bead onto an 11mm ring. Working from the front, weave that ring through the left 4mm ring bottom to top and through the right 4 mm ring bottom to top. Before closing, add 2 4mm rings.

Step 4- Repeat Step 3 3 more times. On the last ring, instead of adding 2 4mm rings, add ear wire.

  

Step 3

Experience Level: Beginner
Approximate Time: 20 minutes










Another very adaptable design. It would look cute in a variety of bead colors or combinations; as well as ring sizes (as long as the beads can slide on the wire) and colors. This weave has just enough bend to it that it would make a great choker style necklace. I just might have to try that...

Day 22

Helmish Aura Earrings:

This is a design that uses three different weaves; Aura, Helm Chain and Mobius.   

 

Materials used:
2- copper ear wires
38- 18 gauge, 5mm copper jump rings
32- 18 gauge, 8mm copper jump rings
6- 18 gauge, 11mm copper jump rings

Instructions:

Step 1- Make 2 sections of Aura units. http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.cgi?key=19829

Step 2- Connect the 2 Aura units together in the style Helm Chain. http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.cgi?key=17586  

Step 3- Make a 3 ring Mobius Ball and connect to the Aura units. http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.cgi?key=8588

 

Experience Level: Intermediate
Approximate Time: 40 minutes

This was an easy design that can be adapted by using different ring sizes and combinations of colors. Instead of the Mobius Ball at the bottom, a bead loop or charm would look just as nice.

Day 21

Angel Earrings:

I saw these on another website and thought they would be easy to duplicate.  

 

Materials used:
2- hematite ear wires
14- 18 gauge, 5/32in anodized aluminum jump rings (2 black, 4 light green, 8 light purple)
4- hematite head pins
4- 13mm bugle beads (black)

Instructions:
Before you begin, make dangles with the head pins and bugle beads. http://www.how-to-make-beaded-jewelry.com/headpin-loop.html

Step 2

Step 1- Open the green and black rings, close the purple rings.

Step 2- Weave 4 closed purple rings onto an open black ring and close. Separate the small rings; leaving a pair on the top and a pair on the bottom. 

Step 3- Weave an open green ring onto 1 pair of purple rings; going from the right ring back to front and the left ring front to back. Before closing add the ear wire.

Step 4- Repeat step 3 with the bottom pair of purple rings. Before closing the green ring add 2 bugle dangles.   

Experience Level: Beginner
Approximate Time: 20 minutes

These are cute enough, but I don't really love them. I just wanted something that was quick and easy to do. I don't like the bugle beads very much. They are cheap plastic ones, but they are all I had on hand and I didn't feel like going out to get good ones. I might just head over (tomorrow) to the good bead store and look for some metal dangles to hang from these. Hopefully they will have something that looks better.

Day 20

Inverted Spiral Earrings:

This weave is a great spiral. It does not need an anchor to keep it from untwisting!  

 

Materials used:
2- silver ear wires
104- 20 gauge, 4mm colored copper jump rings (52 silver, 52 black)
2- 20 gauge, 6mm silver jump rings
2- 6mm glass beads

Instructions:
Here are the instructions for the weave: http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.cgi?key=151951
The beads were just slipped onto a ring before closing it.

Experience Level: Intermediate
Approximate Time: 2 hours

I have been working on this weave for at least a week now. I just couldn't get it to work out right. I really wanted the design to be all one color, but I could not figure out which rings to attach where! I really had to make it two colors like in the tutorial. Unfortunately, the local craft stores only had the right sized colored rings in small quantities. In order to get enough of one color I'd have to spend about $20.00. Then I found a bag of black rings that had enough in it. I wasn't too thrilled about using black, but I loved the way they turned out! I tried several loop beads as dangles before I settled on these. (I know...I used them in another design a few days ago. But that one didn't turn out so good and I never finished the earrings. I'm thinking of changing the bead in that pair to a cute little mauve and gold one.)  

Day 19

Tao 3 Earrings:

A really easy hybrid weave.  

 

Materials used:
2- hematite ear wires
16- 18 gauge, 1/4in anodized silver jump rings (10 black, 6 red)
2- 18 gauge, 5/32in anodized aluminum jump rings (black)

Instructions:
I followed these instructions: http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.cgi?key=5251

Experience Level: Beginner
Approximate Time: 20 minutes

I didn't really have the right size rings for this one (seems to be a daily theme around here!), but I added a second center ring to make it a little tighter and more stable. If the ring size is right, this design would look good in just about any 2 or 3 color combination, as well as mixed metal combinations.

Day 18

B²+1 Earrings:

This is a variation of a variation of a variation of a weave. I'm not really sure where it started, but it was really easy.   

 

Materials used:
2- silver ear wires
96- 20 gauge, 7mm silver jump rings
2- 18 gauge, 13.25mm anodized aluminum jump rings (silver)

Instructions:
I followed these instructions: http://www.mailleartisans.org/weaves/weavedisplay.php?key=784 (follow the link for the B² instructions)

Experience Level: Beginner/Intermediate
Approximate Time: 1 hour

This is an easy enough weave, but the AR needs to be right. Too big and the rings are all floppy, too small and you can't fit everything together. The rings I used are a little too big, but it doesn't look terrible. My center ring is also bigger than the one used in the tutorial, so I added several links to make it 6 points instead of just 4. I would love to try this with different colors or possibly a double looped bead in the center. (If I can ever figure out how to make that work...remember Day 5???)

Day 17

Roundmaille Earrings:
This is a 5 row sheet of European 4-1, where the edges have been stitched together with a 6th row.    

 

 

Materials:
Since I was not able to complete this weave yet, I am not sure how many rings I will be using.

Instructions:
I followed this tutorial to make the Roundmaiile: http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.cgi?key=6239

Experience Level: Advanced
Approximate Time: yet to be seen

As you can tell this design is currently a failure for me. I easily completed the Roundmaille weaving, but got stymied by how to connect the bead and earwires. There is not enough room to connect a small bead loop to the bottom of the Roundmaille. I tried to run the head pin up through the entirety of the Roundmail and loop it at the top. (In this picture the bead is not connected at all.) The problem with that is that the bead loop and the Roundmail need to be connected to the earwire. If the Roundmaille is not connected to the earwire gravity pushes it down and it does not sit right. I will have to play around with this one to try and solve my dilemma. Maybe I can connect the bead loop to the bottom before it is stitched up. Any ideas??? Let me know.

Day 16

Japanese Serpent Earrings:
I have heard this weave called by several names; Japanese Serpent, Japanese Wave and Stepping Stones. I'll call it Japanese Serpent because that's the first name I heard. This is a very simple weave that takes no time at all to do.  

 

 

Materials used:
2- silver ear wires
68- 20 gauge, 3.5mm silver jump rings
16- 18 gauge, 5.5mm silver jump rings
4- 18 gauge, 11mm silver jump rings

Instructions:
This would be easy enough to make just by looking at it, but after searching a few minutes I did find this tutorial: http://kwartzlab.ca/mediawiki/index.php/Stepping_Stone_Weave

Experience Level: Beginner
Approximate Time: 30 minutes

This is a very simple and versatile weave. If you look at the tutorial, you'll see that it is different than mine. First, they only used 2 ring sizes. Second, they doubled all the horizontal rings and the inner vertical rings, but only used single outer vertical rings. For earrings I chose not to do this because it would add to the weight. You will also notice that the large rings are slightly larger than mine. In fact, just about any ring size could be used for this; you would just need to increase the number of surrounding rings to reach halfway around the larger.) This is also a design that would adapt well to a variety of colors or metal combinations.
Today's Mental Note: Make sure you have enough rings for a project BEFORE you start. (Do you see where the missing ring is?)

Day 15

Butterfly Earrings:
This is a weave that originally was a chain. I deconstructed it to make single units for the earrings.  

 

 

Materials used:
2- silver ear wires
16- 20 gauge, 3.5mm colored copper jump rings (4 pink, 4 red, 4 teal, 4 blue)
10- 18 gauge, 5mm black nickel jump rings
16- 20 gauge, 6mm silver jump rings


Instructions:
I followed this tutorial to make the single units- http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.cgi?key=24024
Then I added several single rings to attach it to the ear wire.

Experience Level: Beginner
Approximate Time: 20 minutes

I like this weave and thought it would make cute earrings. Unfortunately the wire gauges I chose were not tight enough to give the design much stability. The butterfly wings should not droop so much. The original design offers more stability because there are extra rings attached to the wings to chain the units together. This also spreads the wings out and makes them look less sloppy. I think I will play around with different rings until I find the right combination. I should also practice taking better pictures.
Mental note for the day: Don't work with small rings over your computer keyboard...

Day 14

Helm Orb Earrings:
This is another weave that has captured circles (similar to the Floating Circle earrings). The circles are folded in on themselves to form a ball.  

 

 

Materials used:
2- hematite ear wires
44- 18 gauge, 5mm oxidized silver jump rings
12- 18 gauge, 8mm oxidized silver jump rings
8- 20 gauge, 8mm silver jump rings
8- 18 gauge, 11mm oxidized silver jump rings

Instructions:
This was the easiest tutorial that I found- http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.cgi?key=24027

Experience Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Approximate Time: 2 hours

This was a very difficult weave for me. First of all, trying to find rings that would fit together nicely was a challenge. I really wanted to use all the same color rings, and hoped that I could use the same ring for both of the medium sizes (like the tutorial said might be possible), but it just didn't work out. Luckily the silver rings are tucked away inside and can't really be seen. I was also worried that I would run out of small rings and I did! I needed 4 more. I just made sure that the missing rings couldn't be seen in the picture. I'll finish the earrings off when I can buy some more small rings.
Another issue was not having a lot of room to close the small rings. My pliers slipped off and sent rings flying quite a few times (maybe that's why I didn't have enough...) That is also why these earrings took several hours for me to make. I spent so much time fiddling around with those small rings; it was very frustrating. That being said I will probably try to make a few more pair in different metals.

Day 13

Barrel Twists Earrings:

This is a very easy weave that can be done with a variety of wire gauges and ring sizes.

Materials used:

2- gold ear wires

2- gold head pins 

2- 5mm gold beads

42- 18 gauge, 6.5mm colored copper jump rings (26 gold, 16 green)

Instructions:

Before you begin, make a wrapped bead loop. http://www.howtojewellery.co.uk/2008/02/10/how-to-do-a-wrapped-loop-using-a-headpin/
I followed this tutorial for the barrel twist units. http://www.mailleartisans.org/weaves/weavedisplay.php?key=761

Experience Level: Beginner

Approximate Time: 45 mins.

This is a very versatile design. In the picture it looks like I used silver, but it is actually gold. It could easily be made with silver and any other color combination; or monotone for that matter. I haven't tried it, but I imagine they could also be made with gradually increasing or decreasing ring sizes. The inspiration pair of earrings that I saw only had 2 links of barrels. I felt they needed to be a little longer and looked better with a small dangle at the bottom. I used the gold beads because that is what I had on hand. They would look darling with any kind of size appropriate charm.  

Day 12

Celtic Star Earrings:

This pair of earrings has two components; a Celtic Star pendant hanging from a chain of Celtic Visions. 

Materials used:

2 silver ear wires

Celtic Star Pendant-

10- 20 gauge, 3.5mm silver jump rings 

48- 20 gauge, 4mm silver jump rings

26- 18 gauge, 6.5mm colored copper jump rings (2 pink, 12 blue, 12 teal)

Celtic Visions Chain-

24- 20 gauge, 3.5mm silver jump rings

4- 20 gauge, 4mm silver jump rings

14- 20 gauge, 6mm silver jump rings

Instructions:

I used this tutorial for the Celtic Star http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.cgi?key=27644
And this tutorial for the Celtic Visions http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.cgi?key=3331

Experience Level: Intermediate

Approximate Time: 1 hour 15 min.

I have tried to make the Celtic Star pendant before with little success. I couldn't get the AR to work out and the star was too loose and floppy. I have since expanded my collection of rings and this time was able to find a combination that worked out a little better. I first had the pendant directly attached to the ear wires. It looked fine, but I wanted something a little dressier. I searched through the list of chains and found the Celtic Visions had several of the same elements as the star. Depending on the wearers taste, lengthening the chain by adding more links would not be too difficult.