“Cute earrings. So
much fun stuff – it’s
getting very wild around
here.” ~Phaedrakat
As you may have noticed from today’s featured Gallery post, as well as from previous ones (see Popcorn Polymer Clay Earrings for another example of a recent Gallery feature), these photo spreads are included here at the blog to provide you guys with creative jewelry making ideas and inspiration.
Please use the comment section at the bottom of the page, to discuss the items presented… or to let me know what other projects / techniques you would like to see and learn more about.
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Hot, Hot, Pink Polymer Clay Zebra Print Earrings:
It’s getting hot out there baby! Time to let your wild side out with these crazy cool Zebra Print Earrings with Hot Pink accents! At a length of about half way between your ears and your shoulders, these dangling earrings will dance and flirt around. Drawing all sorts of attention and causing a real commotion! And a girl can always use a little extra attention… Right? Even though these handmade polymer clay earrings look pretty fancyfree, a lot of care was put into the making of them. They were created first by building a black and white polymer clay zebra cane, which was then sliced, cut into tiny shapes and then baked until the pieces were good and strong. Then they were carefully sanded and coated with a durable UV Resin coating. Giving the shapes strength, depth and a high glossy shine. The Hot Pink earwires and jump rings were made by hand from high quality enamel coated copper wire that is great for even sensitive ears, since the coating is a non-reactive barrier between the metal and the skin. The total length of these Hot Zebra Earrings is 3 inches (7.5 cm) from top to tip. Price: $25 (US) – If you are interested in purchasing the Hot Zebra Earrings shown in today’s gallery post, then please do send me an email. Be sure to include your full mailing address so I can work out the shipping cost for you. |
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| ** Did You Know… Members with current subscriptions to the weekly tutorial videos are always entitled to a 10% discount when purchasing 6 or more back issue packages in a single transaction. If you are interested, let me know which back issues you would like and I will send further instructions on how to complete your order. |
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These earrings are really fun! Cindy, do you do anything to harden the color coated wires that form the ear wires? I find my color coated wire is relatively soft and I am concerned that the ear wires will lose their shape.
@carolyn: Carolyn, I’ve made some earwires from color-coated wires and you’re right, the wire doesn’t seem to work-harden very well.
I’m probably not telling you anything you don’t already know, but I just got a new nylon mallet last week, which doesn’t flatten or scratch the wire. I tried it on a pair of earwires that were already made up and it did seem to firm them up a bit. Have you tried this?
The other side of the mallet is rubber. I’m honestly not sure what the difference is between using a nylon, rubber, or leather mallet.
@Linda K.: I’ve used all the different types of mallets when working with leather. On the wire I’ve only used the nylon and rubber … my leather mallet is old and has ridges where it would mar the wire. Thanks for this reminder. There are so many tools that work for both leather and PC.
Thanks guys for the compliments!
@carolyn: The wire I get is half hard, so I don’t have any problem with it getting out of shape. If yours is dead soft then a nylon mallet is probably your best bet for hardening. You could also run the wire through a pair of nylon pliers several times to harden it before shaping it. That would help.
@Cindy L: That’s what I do, too. Then I use my nylon mallet if I want to harden certain areas more. I sometimes add “padding” like Linda mentioned if I’m using wire with a coating that I’m afraid is too fragile for the mallet.
Love the earrings, Cindy! They’re so much fun — I’d definitely wear these! Like everyone else, I love the bright punch of color against black & white. It’s certainly HOT!
Didn’t know where else to put this info: Polymer Clay Superstore has extended their 50% sale on Studio clay! I ordered some last week. It seems we might not be able to get it at our usual stores any more, so this is a great on-line source … and a 50% sale is well worth the shipping costs.
These are great fun and I love the contrast of the pink wire.
Oh, I almost forgot to say how pretty these earrings are. I really like the use of one bright color to liven up the black and white.
I’ve read that some folks who work with color coated wire tap the piece against an edge of a table for a while if they can’t lay it flat and hammer it. If I understand it correctly anything that “works” the copper hardens it, and hammering does the best job as long as you don’t mar or scratch it. I’ve used a regular hammer on the Non-tarnish Silver copper wire with no problems.
@Koolbraider: You make a good point. Before I got my nylon mallet, I used to sandwich my wire between layers of beading mats, which are the same fabric as vellux blankets. That way, I could use my block and chasing hammer without damaging the wire. It’s much easier to use the nylon hammer.
@Linda K.: Good tip! You reminded me about the Vellux… When I started beading, I wanted more bead mats, but didn’t like the high price. I recognized the fabric as Vellux, but couldn’t find any when I searched fabric stores. I had a King-size Vellux blanket with a small stain on one edge, so I pulled it out of retirement. I cut away the stained side, and turned it into a twin! (No need to hem, the edges won’t fray.)
I used the rest of the material for all kinds of things. I made bead mats of all sizes, and lined boxes for travel kits, shallow drawers for projects, and quite a few other things. I’m so glad I had some of this fabric. Did I miss it in the fabric stores, or is it just hard to find?
@Phaedrakat: I’ve bought the bead mats in a couple of my favorite bead stores. They’re only about $1.50 each, so I have them in several colors. I’ve never looked for vellux in a fabric store, so I don’t know if anyone carries it.
A little beading tip: Use a Sharpee to mark off inches (or centimeters) at the bottom of the mat, so you can measure your progress without pulling out a ruler.
@Linda K.: When I went looking for more bead mats around here they were about $3. Not bad, but I wanted several of them for different projects and for lining bead surfaces/drawers (as mentioned above.) I didn’t want to spend $20 when I could buy a bit of fabric. Luckily, I had “the blankie” at home. Thanks for the Sharpie tip!
@Phaedrakat: I’ve read in beading magazines about others who have cut up vellux blankets. You did the smart thing. I like your idea about lining your drawers and other things.
I just bought a ‘Wire Whacker’ from my local bead store. You put the piece you want to hammer between these two blocks and you hit on the block with your hammer. That way it won’t damage the wire. it cost $6.00. I had made some decorative motifswith wire for a necklace and it was hard not damaging the wire and getting it hard enough.
@Cheryl Hodges: Cheryl, you’re lucky that they sell the wire wacker in your local store. I almost bought one online a few months ago, but my total purchase was getting too expensive, so I eliminated it.
@Hi Linda K.,: Where online were you going to buy that Wire Wacker? I might be interested in getting one…
Thanks Linda!
~Lisa :)
@Lisa Whitham: I saw the Wire Wacker at WigJig.com.
@Linda K.: That’s where I got mine … plus 3 extras for when I teach. Students love using the Wire Wacker, though I just had them place the wire on one piece and slam the other down on top of it … works just as well as hammering.
sorry, that was not Beadalon but ‘Beadsmith’ . I also bought the steel block from them.
I love Wigjig so will look for the Wire Whacker (never heard of it before).