Ringing in the Holidays

Preparing for two more up coming craft shows.  I am very excited about these.  They are a great way to grow.  I am also very blessed that I have a husband who supports me on my endeavors.  His first way of support is to buy me books to expand my knowledge on what ever I am taking on.  He also understands you need tools to work with.  I never start with top of the line tools or materials.  You need to learn and develop your craft and as you mature so can your tools and materials.  I learned that with my dog grooming business.  You can by the most expensive scissors but unless you understand how to properly use them then they are worthless.

The newest challenge I wanted to take on was rings.  I developed an adjustable ring.  This has it's advantages.  It is much easier for someone to order and be sure they are able to wear it.  The flaw with this design is the wires used to make the rings will become brittle and break after repeated bending.  The adjustable rings I started with were the spiders created for Halloween.

If the rings are adjusted to size and remain in that position they will will last a very long time but I wanted a design that was not only more sturdy but more pleasant to look at.

There are many wonderful pages, teachers and books one can turn to when learning this craft.  I chose the book "wirework" an illustrated guide to the art of wire wrapping by Dale "Cougar" Armstrong.  This book gave several variations and included a dvd.  Amazon prove to be a good place to find a mandrel for sizing the rings.

I was so excited once I got all the pieces and parts.  My first attempt was a five wire design.  I felt like I was wearing mittens and trying to type.  It was a crazy juggling act.  Trying to hold the wires and wrap and fold.  Not a pretty sight.  RETREAT!!! Back up and regroup. haha  After studying the book again I chose another design.  This one went much better and I learned the benefits of the ring mandrel.  I used the cheaper crafting wire like you buy at Walmart to learn the procedures.  When I felt I had a grasp on the steps I used silver plated wire and glass beads and swarovski beads and a few seed beads.  I let my wire whimsy go where it wanted and here is what I came up with.

After a few days of practice I did go back and attempt the five wire version again.  Here is what I came up with.

I am excited with these results.  I have much to learn and I am looking forward to experimenting more with the new found creations.
This Saturday and Sunday (November 5th & 6th) I will be at a craft show in Dover, Indiana and I am looking forward to the feed back on these rings.
Challenge yourself to learn new things about your craft.  This helps us to grow not only in our craft and creativity but also as a person.