New Free Tutorials

As I said in one of my previous posts, I've done several tutorials since I last kept this blog updated regularly. I posted the ones for sale yesterday, so today I'm posting links to the free ones.


How to make a coiled frame for an undrilled stone
This is a very quick and easy wrap for an undrilled stone. It works great for crystal points (both single and double terminated) as well as tumbled stones. The pendant pictures only took about 30 minutes to complete. I've done some smaller ones in less time than that. This is a style that is great for men's jewelry because it's simple and not overtly feminine, but can also be worn by women as well.


Beaded Spiral Earrings
This lesson teaches you to make a pair of dainty earrings that can be worn for almost any occasion.

Cleansed by Fire

I've walked through the fires and have returned
My soul cleansed in the flames of truth
The guilt of days gone by
The confusion
The fear
The anger
The hatred
All have burned in the blaze
The innocence of youth
The love of a child
The light
The hope
Are once again inside of me
And the flame continues to burn

Most Recent Tutorials

I've done several tutorials since the last time I posted here, so instead of wasting time with a super long intro promising that I'll post more often I'm just going to get right to business. Hope you enjoy them.

All tutorials are available on my web-site, http://Tutorial.Gailavira.com

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