Early Chainmaille Work

These are some of the first chainmaille pieces I made.  I bought bags of stainless steel jump rings from the local bead store.

The first is this bracelet.

 

In the close-up, you can see how it is put together in a wavy pattern.  (apologies for the fuzziness)

I also made this necklace.  It is a choker.

  

And here is a close-up of the pattern.  Basic 4 in 1.

Stacking Green Bracelets

I love wearing bracelets.  With these - I made 12 to wear together using co-ordinating green seed beads and larger accent beads.  I used a stretchy cord to thread them on.  This is the 12 of them stacked.

Some of the bracelets have larger, dangling, beads on them.  Some of them just have two larger green beads on the cord.

All 12 laid out side by side.

And a close-up of some of the accent parts.

Green Glass and Copper Set

I found these great beads that catch the light in a beautiful bright spring green.  I thought they looked really good with copper chain.

I made a necklace and earrings.  I am not totally happy with the earrings, as they tend to twist a lot and get caught in my hair.  But, they do look good together.

The earring bases were purchased, but I made the copper chain.  It is made of 3-ring mobius.

 

 And a close-up of the beads.

Multi-Coloured Jasper - Round Beads

I adore the multi-coloured look of this jasper, and wanted a simple, knotted strand of 10mm beads.

The earrings in this shot were made to go with my previous multi-coloured jasper set, but also work with this necklace.

And, here is a close-up of the beautiful stone beads.

Blue and Black Lariat

This is my second lariat - using the same pattern as the green lariat posted previously.  The beads are mainly black, with some dark blue, silver and clear glass.

This is a close-up of the ends, showing the larger black glass beads.

This is a close-up of the disk.  It is navy, almost slate-ish blue with some silver flecks in it.

Christmas Chainmaille

I saw the kit for these trees at Metal Designz and thought they were too cute for words...  I made pendants and earrings for my mom and sister.  Then, I made a pendant, and three sets of earrings with different colour schemes for me.

Here are all of my pieces:

 The green and brown theme.

The jewel-tone theme.

The multi-coloured theme.

And the multi-coloured pendant.

Light Green Jade - Mix and Match

I took a trip to China a couple of years ago, and fell in love with jade.  So, I was really excited when I found all of these different beads in a beautiful light green jade.

In a previous post, I talked about mixing and matching strands using an "S" clasp.  I had so many options with the green jade, I thought it would work really well with another mix and match set.  Here is the set, with the strands slightly twisted.

Here are the 5 strands and the earrings.

And a further close-up of the different strands.

Scalemaille Bracelet

I have been intrigued by scalemaille since I first saw it.  But, I never had the right sized rings.  When I finally put the sizing together, this is the resulting bracelet.  I am very happy with it!!

Here is a close-up:

Black Jasper - Multi-strand Necklace Set

I wear a lot of black.  And, I mean, A LOT of black.  It is easy, versatile, and goes with everything.  I went looking for some tonal black beads to make into pieces to go with my black wardrobe.

I saw these beautiful black jasper disks and thought they were awesome.  Then, I went to work putting them together into a multi-strand necklace, with a co-ordinating bracelet and earrings.

Here is the set.

This is a close-up showing the different strands of the necklace.  In addition to the jasper disks linked together with dark metal pins, there is a strand of black onyx spheres, and a strand of grey/black glass chips.  There are also two strands of black metal chain.

And, here is a close-up of another one of the jasper disks, showing the pins and beads on each side of the disk for that strand of the necklace and the bracelet.

Orange and Red Mobius Chainmaille Set

I saw this pattern in Step by Step Wire Jewelry a couple of years ago and had to make it.  I really love how the colours look together.

I stepped the necklace, to the bracelet to the earrings by going down one row in diameter with each smaller piece.  I think it keeps the pattern but adds a nice balance.

This is the three pieces together.

This shot shows a closer view of the three different widths in the pieces.

Finally, here is a very close shot of the necklace.

Yellow Shell Statement Necklace

Yellow is one of those colours that makes for great accent pieces, but does not look great against my skin.  I saw these shell beads, and thought they would work really well in a statement type necklace.  There is just enough other colour in them so that they do not totally wash me out. 

I have a great black plaid skirt with yellow accents that this matches perfectly.  I went for a simple design that still took up a lot of space in the v-neck area.

This close-up shows the colour and texture in the shells.

Black Lariat

I wanted something simple, that was both long and a choker.  I had seen this look in magasines, and set about trying to find the appropriate pendants for the ends.  I chose a moon on one end and a series of stars on the other.   It is approximately 58" long.

  

Shown longer as almost a choker with the ends dangling.

Red Jasper Multi-strand Necklace

I loved the brick colour of this jasper.  I put three strands of 8mm beads and three strands of 10mm disks into this necklace.  I usually twist the strands together as I clasp it.  Twisted, it is about 22" long.

The earrings are pretty simple.  I just threaded the beads onto a circular earring form.

This is a close-up of the jasper.

Multi-Strand Seed Beads

I got the idea to make this necklace long before I had a bead spinner.  I must confess, it took a very long time.  But, I am very pleased with the result.  It goes with a lot of outfits, and is an understated statement piece.

It is approximately 24 " long.  It has 6 green, 5 red, 4 orange, 4 blue, 2 turquoise and 2 brown strands.

More Red Coral - Extra Long

I really love how red coral stands out against both my skin and just about any outfit I wear.  So, I bought a lot of the beads.  Those I did not use in my earlier post (here) I used to create an extra long necklace.

It can be worn long, doubled, tripled and so on.  I put a clasp into it so that it can be worn as a statement necklace wrapped many times.  It is approximately 100" long.

I often travel with this piece because it is so versatile.  

Close-up showing the coral chips alternated with red beads.

Black Glass Beads

This is another really long strand of beads that can be very versatile.  However, the beads are glass, so it is extremely heavy.  Thus, not particularly good for traveling.

I alternated larger beads with smaller beads in the pattern.  I also made a matching bracelet and earrings.  The chain is about 72" long.

These are the earrings I wear with the white and black stone set and the green marble stone set shown here and here.

 Here it is shown wrapped triple.

Here is a close-up of the beads.  They are beautifully shiny and make a very nice clinking noise as I wear them.

Black and White Zebra Stones

These black and white zebra stones were just too much fun not to get.  I bought some squares and some 8mm beads, then mixed them with some plain black and some hematite of different sizes and shapes to make this three stranded necklace. 

In this close-up, you can see the zebra beads, as well as all the other ones I used.

Green Lariat

This piece was made after I bought a bead spinner (or it never would have been made).  I fell in love with the disk at a bead store, and I searched the internet for something interesting to make with it.

This is the best idea I found.  There are 8 strands of beads which flow freely through the hole in the disk.  This allows the disk to be placed at any point, making the necklace wearable as a choker, or a much longer piece.

The strands are between 36" and 42" long.

Here is a close-up of the disk.

And one of the ends of the strands.

Red Coral Mix and Match Set

I had an idea when I discovered some simple "S" clasps.  I could make a number of different necklaces, all the same length, and mix and match them.  I made a number of strands with a number of different types of rocks.  Each one is approximately 23" long including the jump ring on each end.

These are some of the strands I made out of the red coral (with a matching bracelet).

Here are the four strands together.

In this shot, the four strands are twisted.

A close-up of the "S" clasp.

And, a close-up of the coral.