Long Time No Blog

As usual, I'm running a little late with everything. That includes keeping up with my blog. So, here's a quick update on a couple things that have happened in the last few months.

I released two more tutorials since the last one that I blogged about. Both of them are available in my Tutorial shop on Etsy: http://gailaviratutorials.etsy.com


Odyssey Pendant Tutorial


Lace Pendant Tutorial

I've also opened a new shop for the holiday season. This is where I'll be listing all the cute little stocking stuffer items that I had been putting in my main shop the last couple years.

http://stockingstuffershop.etsy.com

Etsy StockingStufferShop

Newport Aquarium

I spent the day yesterday at the Newport Aquarium (Newport, Kentucky) with my daughter and my mother. It was a long day, and a long drive, but my daughter loved it. When I came home and emptied my camera I saw that I had taken 955 photos! lol

Ok, so not all of the 955 photos turned out all that great, but about 253 were at least passably decent. Of course, that's still a bit too much to post here! I've narrowed it down to the best 25 shots. Hope you enjoy them.

The Carnival Pendant Tutorial is Finally Finished!

Available in my Tutorial Shop on Etsy:
http://gailaviratutorials.etsy.com

At certain angles, the pendants made in this style remind me of the tilt'a'whirl my friends and I used to ride at the fair every year when I was a kid. At other angles, for some strange reason, I just want to tie dye them. They make me remember all those times when I would burst out laughing for no reason at all, and keep laughing and laughing and laughing. For me, they evoke a feeling of sheltered innocence. The kind of freedom you feel as a child running through the county fair, looking for the next “thrill” to ride, or twirling round and round in circles until you become so dizzy you fall, laughing with glee.

So far I have not been able to duplicate, exactly, any of the designs I have made in this style. For that reason, please do not think of this tutorial as directions that are set in stone. They are really more of a set of techniques combined in a certain way to achieve a certain type of look. These pendants can end up elegant and graceful, fun and spirited, modern and industrial, or anything in between!

You will need the Basic Weaving Techniques tutorial (available free on here: http://www.gailavira.com/tutorials/basicweavingtechniques.pdf) as a reference for this lesson.

Skill Level:
Very Advanced

Material List:

* 25’ of 28g Round Dead Soft Wire
* 7” of 20g Half Round Half Hard Wire
* 54” of 20g Round Dead Soft Wire
* 1 25mm round cabochon

Tool List:

* Chain nose pliers
* Round nose pliers
* Wire cutters
* Flat nose pliers
* Bent nose pliers
* Ruler
* Marker
* Tape (optional)

New Tutorial - Woven Cage Pendant

I've finally done a new tutorial. This is one that received many requests over on jewelrylessons.com, so I figured I had to do a tutorial for it soon.

This lesson teaches you to make a woven cage to show off your beautiful focal beads. There are many ways to alter the final look of the cage.

Skill Level:
Advanced

Material List:

•24” of 22g Round Wire (dead soft or half hard)
•13’ 28g Round Wire (dead soft)
•1 5’ headpin 20g or 22g
•1 10mm focal bead
•9 4mm spacer bead
•1 accent bead (size depends on your personal taste)
•8 2mm beads


Tool List:

•Wire cutters
•Round Nose Pliers
•Bail making pliers or mandrel that is the desired size for the bail
•Needle file or wire rounder



I hope to have time to work on another new tutorial sometime this week. If I do, it will be for the technique I used to create the two pendants below.

Learning New Things

It's been a while since I've updated my blog, posted a new tutorial, or really even added new jewelry to my Etsy shop. That's because I've been learning new things.

See, when I get started on something new, everything else seems to fall by the wayside (don't worry, it's only temporary). For the last month or so I've been playing with polymer clay. Before that, I was teaching myself how to do metalwork. Hopefully I'll get around to taking pictures of all the stuff I've made so I can put them up here soon.

Next week I'll finally be working on a new tutorial! Problem is, I haven't decided yet which tutorial I want to do first. Should I do one for my Carnival Pendants, or my Woven Cage Pendant first? Eventually I'll get them both done, but deciding which one to do first is such a pain in the butt!

Oh, don't forget to check out the Last Chance Sale section of my Etsy shop! Everything in there has been marked down to half off it's price. That's means you'll be getting them for at (or slightly below) the wholesale price without having to buy in bulk. None of these items will be renewed again, so once the listings expire it will be your last chance to get them. At 50% off their regular prices, it's a great deal!

A Day at the Carnival?

I've been working on a new design lately and it's just so much fun! With lots of swirls and twirls, coils and loops and... well, you get the picture. Making them has been a very enjoyable challenge. It's been fun deciding where to put each swirl, and figuring out how to get them just right. It's even more fun looking at the finished products. They remind me of riding the Tilt-a-Whirl ride at the county fair.

For more information about each piece, click the links below the pictures.


Midnight Carnival - Sterling Silver and Black Obsidian Necklace




Love's Fortress - Sterling Silver and Rose Quartz Necklace




Spring Carnival - Sterling Silver and Green Aventurine Pendant

New Artfire Studio for my Tutorials

A lot of people have been telling me that I should open an Artfire studio for my tutorials. Well, my customers asked, so I listened! Now you can purchase my wire jewelry tutorials on both Artfire and Etsy, or web-site, whichever you prefer!

Gailavira Tutorials
Gailavira Tutorials on Etsy
Gailavira Tutorials on Artfire

New Tutorial - Eternal Sanctuary!

Eternal Sanctuary

Wire Pendant Tutorial







This lesson teaches you to make a woven rosette pendant with a single center bead, reminiscent of a pearl hidden safely within its shell.

Price:
$8.00

Skill Level:
Advanced

Materials:
• 9” 20g dead soft round wire
• 8’ 28g dead soft round wire
• 4” 26g dead soft round wire
• 1 6mm round bead


Tools:
• Round Nose Pliers
• Flat Nose Pliers
• Wire Cutters
• Needle File or Wire Rounder (Cup Burr)
• Ruler
• Fine Tip Marker

Available in my tutorial shop: http://gailaviratutorials.etsy.com.

New Tutorial! Woven Ear Cuffs!

This tutorial teaches you to make a simple, but very stylish, wire woven ear cuff. The cuff made in this tutorial is shaped as more of an oval to make it more comfortable for most people. However, if you would prefer a traditional round shaped ear cuff, that is also possible with this tutorial.

The ear cuff in the second image is the one illustrated in the tutorial.

Skill Level:
Easy

Material List:

* 3” 20g wire (either dead soft or half hard will work)
* 3’ 28g dead soft wire
* 1 4mm bead

Tool List:

* Chain nose pliers
* Round nose pliers
* Wire cutters
* Flat nose pliers
* Needle file or wire rounder
* 6mm mandrel or a piece of a 6mm wood dowel

© Donna Spadafore, Gailavira Jewelry
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, if possible.

File will be sent to you in PDF format.

Please include the email address you would like the download instructions sent to in notes to seller during checkout. If no address is specified, the download instructions will be sent to the address provided by Etsy.