Where the heck have you been??

Oh my, where does the time go? It's been too long since I've written a blog post. I hope to get back in the groove of things around here. Sorry I've been gone!

Do any of you belong to a local bead society? I do. It started up almost 2 years ago, and it's really coming into it's own. The last 2 meetings we worked with wire. While we are all jewelry makers, we all have different strengths and weaknesses. Several months ago, we learned how to make seed bead fringe. Not really my style, but it's pretty cool looking!
So, last month we made wire head pins and ear wires. I can not tell you why I never tried to make my own ear wires - just never go around to it.
These are what I made in the 60 or so minutes.

 I had read on a blog a while ago about making ear wires in pairs, by doubling the wire. This way, it doesn't matter how consistent you are from one pair to the next - the pair will always match. Keep them un-cut until you use them, so you won't need to match them up later. This angle shot shows the pairs together!

 This past month, we wire wrapped cabochons!  The top 2 are wrapped with one wire strand. The lower left is done with 2 strands twisted together, then brought up and around from the bottom. The center one (red) is 3 strands, except I kinds baled on that one. After wrapping 26 gauge wire around 3 20 gauge wires, while trying to hold them (because I did not know to bring some sort of clip) I decided I was done doing that! If you look closely, you can see the 26g wire at the very bottom. But, still, I like how this turned out.

These are not my usual style, but I like them. I already made the lower left one into a necklace....I'll talk more about that next time.
All the lampwork glass cabochons, BTW, are from 2 Bead Sisters.

The moral of this little story is to join your local bead society!! We meet once a month, and it's fun to just hang out & be with "your people". Everyone is invited to do a show and tell at every meeting, and receive supportive feedback. Or, if a beginner, they can ask for advice on how to do something. It's really a win-win situation. Then we either have a demonstration (I demo'ed torch fired enamel several months ago), or someone will teach a technique (like the above wire working). All I can say is that I'm glad they started the bead society in my local area.

Again, sorry I've been such a recluse. I promise to be a better blogger in the weeks and months ahead!!