Do I need an “Easy Earwire Maker?” They are selling them on JTV right now.
Nope. Too many other bills in January. I added it to my wishlist. I also like the gold and silver plated earwires with the ball end that I’ve been using. Wonder if I could use ball end headpins to make them with this gadget? Hmmmn.
I also want this book:
It’s already on my wishlist!
Yesterday was Christmas Day. My grandchildren were in Cleveland with their other grandparents, so I spent the day at Mama’s House, making earrings.
I am pleased with my peacock pendants. The first one is hung from a strand of re-spun sari silk from India. The second one makes a pretty good Christmas ornament, don’t you think?
and the person who bought it actually came to pick it up and paid me!!! (I have three pieces that are waiting for their future owners!)
This is Mookaite from Australia, just like the burgundy piece I have for sale at the Wildflowers Shop in Elkin. Mookaite can be burgundy, pink, rust, gold, white or a combination of any or all of those colors! This piece is mainly rust and gold, so I wove a Kumihimo braid of rust and gold satin cord. I’d hoped to finish it in the fall, but had to find just the right antique copper findings!
This one is threaded on a single strand of perle cotton.
I love these buttons so I ordered more!
Here’s my craft experiment for today:
Actually, it’s my experiment for yesterday, since it’s well past midnight!
I found these beads in an assortment I ordered from Amazon. I tied them together with 6-strand DMC embroidery floss, my favorite red, #321. I triple knotted them (overhand knots,) and trimmed the ends to fray like an old-fashioned quilt tack. The “tail” of one end, I tied back on itself. The other “tail,” I left long to form a loop. I didn’t want the 6 strands to separate when I used the loop as a fastener, so I braided them. Then, I triple knotted them around my thumb to make the loop (2 overhand knots and one slipknot.) I secured the knots on both ends with a drop of clear nail polish. I am debating if I should dab each of the button knots.
Anyway, I am pretty pleased with it. It sure looks like me since I am crazy about strawberries and red gingham! 
When I posted this necklace on Facebook, an old college buddy identified it as, “For Cynthia,” what her brother-in-law thought it was called. I’m still smiling. Of course I had to ask my daughter’s mother-in-law, (I call her my sister-in-law. We share grandchildren, after-all!) Cynthia, what she thought. She said that’s what she thought it was called when she was a little girl, and it still made her smile!
Good old forsythia, or “yellow bells” as it’s called here in Western NC, is one of my favorite harbingers of spring!
Inspiration was two-fold. The flower was first, of course, and the second was a cherry blossom kit I’d purchased form Elizabeth Girod at Fire and Fibers: http://fireandfibers.com/item_2578/Cherry-Blossom-Necklace-Kit–Pink-Flowers-Tree-Branch-Spring-Antique-Brass-Picasso-Czech-Glass.htm
When I saw Elizabeth at the Intergalactic Bead Show in Charlotte a week ago, I bought one of her branches and told her about my idea. I had tiny yellow flower beads I had purchased several years ago from Bead Lush, a shop also in Charlotte, NC. The green leaf beads I found at Joann’s recently. I used 26 gauge brass wire to secure the beads to the stem.
Even though, I’m not a “yellow girl,” I think I have to keep this one for myself!
When I wear it, I can celebrate, “For Cynthia!”
I just finished this glass gem necklace and posted it on the page, I Made This by Hand on Facebook. Look there for more details. It’s my first listing!
Once upon a time, I don’t know how long ago, I found, and I don’t remember where, some beads that reminded me of Easter eggs and jelly beans. So, I made a bracelet:
I think the beads are dyed agate. They are simply strung on clear stretchy cord, and the knot secured with clear nail polish.
I dug it out, yesterday, and wore it with an aqua top. I wasn’t going anywhere special, just to pick up groceries and a pizza, but it just made me happy to wear it!