Mystic Moons

Swirling coils of sterling silver wire surround a mystical stone, trapped in a netted silver bezel. The stone, Luna Agate, has that appearance of many moons swimming in a purple sky.

The stone used for this pendant was cut and polished by Ed, from http://stonesinmotion.etsy.com.

I wanted to keep the wirework simple on this one. Ed did such a wonderful job on this stone I didn't want anything to overshadow it.

This pendant is available in my Etsy Shop.

One of my Etsy Friends: DoubleDDesign

Normally I don't feature other artists on my blog, but I have become such good friends with another artist that I just couldn't help wanting to show off her stuff and help her out.

 


We first met when I bought a couple of packs of loose stones from her about a year ago. I didn't realize she was having a sale, so I went ahead and paid her full price. A few minutes later I received a note from her saying that she had refunded part of my purchase price because of her sale. I was touched by her honesty because I have known many other artists who would not have made such a caring gesture.

After that we just went our own separate ways. Then a couple months later she contacted me again. She wanted some custom pendants made as gifts for her friends and family.

Through that sale we became good friends. I have since learned that she is a caring person, both in business and her personal life. I believe that when a person is good, it comes through in their work. It certainly comes through in Michelle's work.

Her shop on Etsy, DoubleDDesign, is filled with wonderful works of art. Her jewelry is both subtle and bold. Each piece seems to tell a story. Her attention to detail, even on the smallest pair of earrings, is a testament to the wonderful person that she is.

Blog Spammers

Recently I have had a lot of spam comments left on my blog posts. I do my best to delete them as soon as possible, but to be honest, I hate having to do that.

I just want to take a moment to remind people who are rude enough to spam other people's blogs that it is not a good way to advertise your products/business. All it does is clutter up people's comment areas. It's aggravating to the person whose blog you are posting on, and it is annoying to the other people who are reading comments that actually pertain to the blog post. Annoying people will not attract customers to your business. It drives people away!

I love it when people make a comment that relates in some way to the content of the blog they are commenting on. Even if it's just a couple words to say they understand, or they agree/disagree with something that was said in the post. But to do nothing more than post a link to some other site after an extremely generic comment is unacceptable.

I don't like having to turn on comment moderation. To me, it makes it seem like I don't trust my readers. However, because of the few people who have been spamming my blog lately, I'm turning it on anyway.

Going Overboard!

I decided to play around with something I saw on Eni Oken's journal. She did a piece that had a star shape around it that was wrapped with wire. It was an awesome piece so I just had to challenge myself to figure out how it was done. This is what I came up with.

As you can see, since I was just playing around, I went a little overboard. I decided to combine it with a couple of Eni's other techniques, Netted Bezel and the Herringbone Weave. All together it is a little bit too much for this one little moss agate stone. But I had fun making it. *s*

The one Ms. Oken did was much better, of course. I didn't really try to keep the points on mine even because I was just playing around. Also, hers was much more intricately woven.

I do want to note that this one will not be posted for sale. It was just an experiment for me. However, if enough people like it, I may offer it as a contest prize later this summer.

Ammonite Wrap Pendant

This is just something I've been experimenting with. My daughter loves things shaped like ammonites, so I thought she'd like a pendant like this. I've got the front to where it looks decent, but I'm still having a little trouble with the back (last photo). I'm not so sure I'll be able to get the back to look the same as the front, but I'm going to keep trying a few more times anyway, I think.

Spiral Button Post Earring Tutorial

I have my third tutorial up in my Etsy shop.

This tutorial teaches you how to make a delightfully versatile post earring finding (instructions for the teardrop charm are included for those new to wire work).

Quick and Easy Donut Wrap - Free Wire Work Tutorial

I wanted to do some free tutorials and I decided this one was perfect for the first one. It's pretty easy to do, but looks great when finished. It's also easy to change around so you can do a lot of different things with it.

If you want to see the tutorial, Click Here


Have fun creating!

You can find more of my tutorials in my Etsy Shop.

You may use this tutorial to make jewelry for sale. If you do so, please link back to Gailavira Jewelry ( http://www.gailavira.com or http://gailavira.blogspot.com ) in the item description.

Ahh, Sweet Time... Alone!

Right now I am enjoying one of my rarest pleasures.

Time alone.

A chance to be all by myself and not have to deal with hearing the TV, kids nagging, screaming, running through the house. The phone ringing every five seconds.

I had forgotten how good it feels to wake up before the sunrise and just be alone. I used to do this all the time. I would wake up and immediately start working on my jewelry. For over a month now I haven't had any time to be alone and clear my head. My work has seriously suffered because of it. I haven't really been able to make anything new that was worth listing in my shop because of this. Hopefully that dry spell will be over soon.

For now though, I think I will just be content to drink a cup of tea and watch the cats sleep.

Tutorial #2 - The Caged Bird's Song - Wire Pendant

I finally finished my second tutorial.

Click on image
to go to tutorial.


The Caged Bird's Song has been one of my most popular pendants on DeviantArt.com. http://sylva.deviantart.com.

Because it has been so popular I have decided to make a tutorial teaching how to make this beautiful pendant. This tutorial features full color photos and clear step by step instructions, as well as a few extra tips.

This pendant works well with round beads. It is also an excellent way to cage irregularly shaped tumbled stones that have not been drilled.

I still have a few more tutorials I'm planning on releasing. As soon as I get them done they will be posted here. I am also open to requests. If there is something in one of my shops, or on my deviant art page that you are interested in learning how to make, just let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Next in line? Button post earrings that can be worn as they are or used as a base for other designs.

Have fun creating. *s*