Craftgrrl - Where Crafters Unite!

Earrings to match a bracelet

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 16:04:00 GMT

Posted by: irynan.livejournal.com

Hi all.

Couple days ago, I posted pictures of a bracelet that I've made. I'm not wearing necklaces, but I like to wear jewelries in set. That's why I usually make earrings matched with a bracelet.

( Read more... )

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Chain maille bracelet with pearls

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 21:14:00 GMT

Posted by: irynan.livejournal.com

Yesterday, I finished my first wiring project :) I made chain maille bracelet with pearls beads. I made it from scratch :)

( Read more... )

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Poodle in Pendant Form

Fri, 13 Jul 2012 16:55:00 GMT

Posted by: ethora.livejournal.com

Meet the Elphies:

Elphie is a 4 year old toy poodle that we adopted from a rescue organization about 5 months ago. I have totally fallen in love with her (she is so super sweet, even though she has had a tough life and a difficult beginning in our household), and last night I suddenly got the idea to make myself an Elphie pendant. As I usually do with new design ideas, I used copper wire before recreating the final piece in sterling (which I will eventually oxidize to match Elphie's gray fur). The stones here are carnelian and black spinel. I like the faceted spinel for the nose because it looks wet. When I make this in silver, I'm going to use smooth round and slightly smaller black beads. I'm also going to make her ears a little shorter:

( Better pictures of pendant, and Miss Elphaba's wire wrapped broomstick, behind the cut )

I'm pretty happy with the way this piece turned out, but not so happy with the quality of pictures I was able to get of it with Elphie. This is because whenever my hands go anywhere near her (which I have to do to take her picture) she must lick them or be pet by them while wiggling in delight. It took about 30 tries, but I finally got one only relatively blurry. :)

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Golden rainbow lucky number moon trees (Plus a moon-tree crafting tutorial)

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 11:14:00 GMT

Posted by: ethora.livejournal.com

So I finally did it; I finished my first (and probably only ever) solid 18k gold moon tree pendant!

I hope that the gold market falls drastically (and soon) because a) it will mean that our economy is doing well, and b) I will get to play with more yummy buttery 18k gold wire! There's really no other wire that feels like it. I've had this wire sitting around for a couple of years, feeling scared of it and looking for just the right stone/s to use with it. Then, on 7/7, this rainbow moonstone called out to me. Do you see the little 7 in the stone? I like the number 7.

Here is my favorite moon tree of all, though: ( Read more... )

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It's a full moon out tonight!

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 23:40:00 GMT

Posted by: memoryanddream.livejournal.com

I've been doing some more trees in my "Full Moon" series lately. Especially ones that are unique, or one-off versions in a variety of materials and colors.

Teaser:

( more behind the cut! )

I'm working on a few more unique variations right now as well! Trees have always been my favorite and it's why I've made them for so many years.

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Ukuletree

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 21:30:00 GMT

Posted by: ethora.livejournal.com

Today I got the idea to create a "ukuletree" pendant. It's a long story. Anyway, I used copper wire and tiny mother of pearl beads. I have some ideas to refine this design, but I think I'm happy with the way this prototype turned out:

Little Bear seems to like it! :)

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Tue, 19 Jun 2012 02:48:00 GMT

Posted by: pseudonymeter.livejournal.com

various wire wrapped key pendant necklaces
( larger )

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Full Moon Tree of Life Pendant Trilogy

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 20:20:00 GMT

Posted by: memoryanddream.livejournal.com

I'm most known for my Tree of Life pendants and one of my most popular has been something a little different; my Halloween Moon tree. This bare-branches piece features an orange moon peaking out from behind black wire trunk and branches. Recently, I made two additional versions - one in silver with a white moon and one in silver with a blue moon. This rounds out a full moon "trilogy" if you will. I love how they look.

So, for the contest, I thought I'd share my tree trilogy with the group. :)

Once In A Blue Moon + Under A Full Moon + Under A Halloween Moon
(click image for larger version)

Thoughts welcome!

Edit to add: More info on them can be found on my blog HERE.

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Dragonfly hair pins!

Wed, 02 May 2012 03:26:00 GMT

Posted by: perrrfect-angel.livejournal.com

I've looked at "Spin Pins" for years now, contemplating the design and how... well, PLAIN they are. Thought about buying some of theirs and how I'd improve them. Then I saw another type, where instead of two wires spinning into your hair, it's only one spiral, with a sparkly gem at the center. For whatever reason, this made me realize that I could =try= using the 16 gage copper wire and a set of bailing pliers to test my thought. It was plain, my test piece, but gave me the confidence to try something more... attractive.

Click photo for the link to the FB album, giving more photos and details.

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I've tried my hand at weaving and fell in love

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 23:43:00 GMT

Posted by: big-girl.livejournal.com

I'd say it's been about a month since I decided to try wire weaving and now I can't stop. This ring is my favorite. I wear it all the time.

( Read more... )

Thanks for looking!

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Girls

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 22:46:00 GMT

Posted by: sashetta.livejournal.com

wire 1.2 mm, wire 0.5 mm, wire 0.3 mm

( more )

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Tree Chalice Candle Holders

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:08:00 GMT

Posted by: ethora.livejournal.com

I crafted a couple of copper tree chalice candle holders. We used the one with no stones already (it holds a tea-light), and it works beautifully. Looking forward to having the beads to finish the stone tree so that I may watch the light glow through...

( More pictures behind the cut... )

Thanks for looking, and may you enjoy a crafty week!

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Wire Crafting

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:33:00 GMT

Posted by: fabunobo.livejournal.com

This wire and beaded chandelier caught my eye today. It's commercially available for sale. I love everything about it except the color. I've been hunting for a petite-funky chandelier for my upstairs hallway for ages. However, dripping blood-colored chandelier beads are a bit too Twilight for my tastes! I'm more of the Anne Rice school: I usually spray paint everything black or metallic silver! Hee hee! I emailed the merchant asking if it came in other colors, and it does not.

Plus, I am like HELL to the N_O do I want to pay $60 for something that it took some Honduran child ten minutes to glue together in a sweatshop at a nickel per hour. I figure there has to be a way to make something myself. Which brings me to the reason for this post.

Does anyone have any links to some wire crafting resources? I've used wire and pipe-cleaners in my doll crafting but have never used “sturdy” wire to make something on this level. Any tips or links would be much appreciated!

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Wire weaving

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:55:00 GMT

Posted by: xlovlyxmayhemx.livejournal.com

I've seen this things everywhere being made and sold online. Anyone know of any tutorials of how to make this? It appears to be wire weaving of some sort.

Thanks in advance for any help.

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Working with metal/wire

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Posted by: anniejackson.livejournal.com

I want to incorporate some metal into some clothes I'm making and I have a couple of questions. Or, a website which would answer these questions is just as good! :)

1) Can you sauter (I don't know how to spell that) all metal wires? Or only some types?
2) If you have wire that you can bend into shapes, are there any treatments you can do to strengthen the wire once it is in the shape you want so that it does not bend out of shape?
3) Any pointers on how to bend wire precisely (ie not just randomly holding two ends and bending but actually being specific) without toolmarks showing up in the wire? Is it possible or do you just have to live with the marks and do your best to be gentle so they are less noticeable?
4) Any tips for flattening metal wires? I am guessing I just hammer it on a hard surface but is there a way to soften it a bit first or other methods to make it easier? And are there some wires I shouldn't bother doing this with?

And finally, I'd love links to good suppliers, locally all I can find is wire at a craft store which comes in 3m rolls and is 5euros. I'm not feeling like this is a great deal...

Thank you!

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The peacock

Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:38:00 GMT

Posted by: eyeswideshut28.livejournal.com

I got to spend the whole day in the shop yesterday kid free. I started on quite a large sculpture, but I'm really happy with it. I't just needs beading and stringing and I'll put it up on my site. Here is a sneak peek:

It's close to 3 feet high. The bird will be "clutching" a sconce with a dish for candle/birdfood.

Made from reclaimed electric fencing wire.

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dealing with wire ends

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:33:00 GMT

Posted by: enjoy-your-day.livejournal.com

Hello! I have a wire-working question! I looked through the "wire" section in the FAQ, but nothing addressed this specifically.

I am making a sculpture for a school assignment, and I am planning to work partially in wire. ..hm, turns out this is hard to explain without describing exactly what I'm doing, so: the sculpture is inspired by/based on the structure of a millipede, and I am using many short lengths of wire to represent the legs.

I'm trying to figure out what to do with the ends of the "legs" to make them feel more finished and smooth than they would if I just left them as sharp, roughly cut ends.

I kind of want to avoid resorting to simply curving the ends under or doubling the wire back on itself and twisting.

I'm using 20 and 26 gauge craft wire from Joann's. (I'm probably not going to worry about the ends of the 26 gauge; it being so tiny, it wouldn't make much difference). I think it's copper but I can't be certain, as the label doesn't say what exactly it is. I was thinking the best thing to do would be to melt the ends of the wires just to round them off, but I don't know how possible that would be. Would a soldering iron (or something similar?) work for this?

Any suggestions?

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Wire rainbow skully necklace

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:29:00 GMT

Posted by: industrialhippy.livejournal.com

A request from a friend

( larger pic & materials under the cut )

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Wire & star necklace

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 23:55:00 GMT

Posted by: industrialhippy.livejournal.com

Here's a necklace I started a couple of weeks ago, then I ran out of wire and had to wait until the bead store was open to get some more. It was a Sunday when I ran out, and my bead lady doesn't open until Tuesday. I had to wait 2 whole days! haha. so yeah, now it's done and here it is -

( Materials & more pics )

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Stringing questions...

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 22:15:00 GMT

Posted by: webmyrcury.livejournal.com

Hello! I have yet another question, and so this is yet another text-only post. Maybe if you gals stop being so awesome with crafting advice, I'll have to find somewhere else to ask all my stupid questions, and then I'll be able to post less text-only and more pictures! ^_^

(However there *will* be pictures of this project and various others coming soon! Don't lose hope!! :D)

OK! On to the question!

I'm starting work on a windchime of sorts for my mom. She was heartbroken when this 40-something year old vase that my Aunt gave her got smashed when we moved. I tried to fix it, and the superglue let go after a while. Mom, in her sadness and frustration, threw the pieces away. I salvaged them, and now have wire wrapped the larger pieces. I plan to hang them from a central metal loop thing, and make it into a windchime or at least a suncatcher. Its looking pretty so far, I just have to figure out what string will be strong enough, and how to get it to hang straight. Also, I've still got these GORGEOUS crystal beads that I cut from a yardsale-find necklace. They refract the light and make rainbows all over! Very nice. I'm going to hang some of those on the string with the glass pieces. ♥ It should be lovely! ♥

Now! The only thing is... that damn string!! I've been using monofilament (??) line, (you know, like fishin' wire! all bluish and see-through), and then crimp beads to hold it in place. BUT! The crimps keep cutting the string! And if that doesn't happen, then the weight of the glass pieces just pulls the string through the crimps, and it all comes undone... :( So I was thinking about using tigertail. But I really wanted the string to be transparent, y'know?

So does anyone have any thoughts on what sort of string might be best to use? Recommendations as far as crimp beads vs. crimp tubes? Something better to hold the things in place? Should I just tie knots? Is this a bad idea all together? Anybody got advice on making this sort of thing, things you've learned that I should keep in mind?

AWESOME! THANKS!! hehe. Sorry 'bout the long-and-rambly-post. ^_^;;

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Another Bracelet

Fri, 01 Sep 2006 16:20:00 GMT

Posted by: missamorphosis.livejournal.com

I really enjoy making these, and I think this one turned out really pretty. I used purple wire with lavender pearlized glass bead chips, and crocheted them all together. I'm hooked on wire!

(x-posted)

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