Wednesday 11 December 2013

Guest Post - Erika's Beautiful Jewellery

Hello everyone, just in case you think you have clicked onto the wrong site, fear not, I am just guest posting for the lovely Helen!  Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Erika and I’m from over at Eclectic Enchantments.  Hopefully I will do a good job and you wont be disappointed at having to read a post from me.

Today I thought I would share with you my greatest passion in life, jewellery.  Around a year ago I started to make my own, just stringing a few beads together.  Steadily my obsession grew and grew and now I just can not stop.  Jewellery design has so many facets to it that I find there is always something new to learn and I thrive on trying everything I can.  

Within the world of jewellery making, I found that sheer bliss envelopes me when I work with wire.  I am not joking, my husband actually told me that I do my wire work with a huge smile on my face, although he was concerned that I almost lost an eye once or twice, so came home one day with safety goggles for me!

To me, wire work is, as corny as it might sound, letting the wire speak to me.  I might have an idea in my head, or sketched out in my journal, but once I actually start manipulating the wire, it takes on a life of it’s own.  One of my favourite pieces of wire work is my rough emerald bracelet in copper.  The emeralds are real and simply stunning, there are no words to describe their beauty.  It was a real treat to work with them.  
The copper is a fantastic accent to the green and works in perfect harmony.  Even over time as the copper changes from a rose gold like hue to a deep antique shade, they continue to look amazing side by side.
This bracelet was made with around twenty different lengths of copper.  I plaited, twisted, bent and shaped the strands until I had the desired design.  



Earlier this year my friend saw something online and challenged me to make something similar out of wire.  She has a fascination with dragons and the image she sent me was of a dragon’s eye.  At first I sat there staring at the computer screen thinking my friend was slightly bonkers, how on earth was I going to meet this challenge.  Then by pure chance I came across a jar of clear glass pebbles, this sparked an idea and I set to work.  
The hardest part of the design was to fit the pebble in the wire surround without it popping out every five minutes,  I eventually figured out a way and was really pleased with the finished piece.  I added  Swarovski crystals to catch the light, a little sparkle never hurt anyone!

The final wire work I would like to show you today is actually two pieces, rings.  I haven’t had a great deal of experience with any jewellery making technique, having only been doing it for a year, but when the opportunity arose for me to buy a ring mandrel, I got rather excited.  These are the first two rings I made.
The ring on the left is silver plated copper with a clear quartz gem stone.  I adore this stone as it is shaped like a little hot air balloon and faceted in such a way, that you could be mistaken in thinking it might be a diamond.  Since this first attempt I have made a couple of versions that are an improvement, but they got given as gifts to people so I don’t have a picture.



The second ring, although bulky is one of my favourite pieces that I have ever made.  The main reason for this is the gemstone, labrodorite.  Such an amazing and underrated gem, when you move it around in the light colours bounce off of it.  The design I have used here is influenced heavily by the film Titanic.  The swarovski crystals in deep navy blue that form a heart around the labradorite and give a look of luxurious elegance.

I hope I didn’t bore you too much and you have enjoyed reading my guest post for Helen! Thank you so much for taking the time to read and for sticking around when you realised I wasn’t the lovely lady you all follow.

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14 comments:

  1. Wow, copper and green look stunning - really great colour combination, but I also like a blue heart shaped one.
    Fantastic job.
    So, are these pieces for sale somewhere?

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    1. Oh Agata! Really I can't believe that you think they are suitable for sale! Really your comments have made my day thank you! At the moment they aren't, but I may have a bit of an announcement in the new year.

      Thank you!

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    2. They are stunning, I definitely think they should be for sale :-) X

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    3. You are all so lovely, wow. I am so taken aback by these comments, thank you! x

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  2. I love Erica's jewellery. I totally think she should sell them :-)

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    1. Indeed!! Think there would be a few people who would buy them :-) xx

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    2. I am quite literally, speechless! Thank you. x

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  3. Savi, wow, thank you so much, what a lovely thing to say. Honestly thank you!

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  4. I love that eye it is beautiful, the picture you took seems to make it just capture the light! Erika you are so talented. Thank you Helen for hosting a lovely guest post :) x

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    1. You are both far too kind. Thank you , it means so much to hear that you like something I have made.

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I absolutely love it when someone leaves me a comment, I will always reply back when possible! You can also follow me on twitter for more beautiful chatter: @Helsy_1983