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Showing posts with the label steel

The Pieces Come Together

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  The Finished Funky Chunky Necklace https://www.etsy.com/listing/599601461/colorful-chunky-bead-necklace-boho?ref=shop_home_active_1 These polymer beads have been on my work table for months!  They are hollow, light weight and colorful.  I love them but did not have any inspiration on how to finish them.   One evening I happened to pick up my box of steel wire (baling wire from the hardware store) and some leather strips.  Maybe I could use the leather and weave it through the beads.  Nope!  The central bead was curved and too long for the leather to go through.  Next I tried the steel wire and I liked the look with the chunky beads.  I have found that if I am patient and keep parts (like the beads I love but have no idea what to do with) a solution will surface.  It makes cleaning up and cleaning the studio harder to do! It has been a while since I used steel wire and I remembered how black my hands got.  I also needed heavier pliers than I usually use.  Got my too

Making Steel Chain with 'S' Links

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Artful Gathering http://artfulgatheringfest.ning.com has some great classes and some of you know I am taking Keith lo Bue’s class.   http://artfulgatheringfest.ning.com/group/steeling-beauty-with-keith-lo-bue   I guess I needed a short break from my polymer clay so yesterday and today I made the ‘s’ link chain and continued to make it into a necklace.   My beautiful Crazy Lace bead gives a nice contrast to the wire and will lay asymmetrical on the chain.   The chain is long enough to fit over my head but if I needed to take it apart I can.   The jump ring at the stone slips past the partial ‘s’ component that is glued into the bead hole.   I still need to work on making better jump rings that come together exactly.    Lots of my new knowledge will transfer to my techniques of using brass, silver and copper wire for my jewelry pieces.   That’s what is so great about taking an online class!   I can watch the video until I really ‘get it’ and then experiment with the knowl