Garnet Chandeliers

I started this pair months ago.. I bought a sterling silver chandelier component at the craft store and then ordered some tiny garnet and emerald briolettes. At the time, I wasn't very good at wire wrapping small things (still aren't) and I ended up breaking the wires and even busting one of the garnets. So I gave up on them and they sat in my never-to-be-finished piled. But then Jon kept saying how much he liked them, so I decided to see if I even had enough garnets to finish it. I did...given I didn't bust another one.

So tonight I finished them. The wire wrapping on these really sucks and is totally uneven, but I think I will just keep these for myself. They're red. They're dangly. They're my style. Besides, I would probably have to charge more than I think they would sell for in order to make any profit. The ready-made components are pricey, and so are the semi-precious gemstones. Anyway, I'm sick of thinking about profit. I just want to enjoy my creations.

So here they are:

I dug out Jon's digital SLR camera, which has been packed away for 2 years. He tried to figure out the manual settings and then screwed the whole thing up. I unpacked it and figured it out pretty quickly. So my photos should start looking a lot better from now on. Now if Samara would only send me some soap backdrops!

I made a few more prototypes today and some inventory items, including peridot wrapped hoops. They didn't turn out very well. It seems like everything I did today ended up kind of crappy. I went for a run and it sucked. I went for a swim, and it sucked. Oh well.. I guess everyday can't be perfect. At least it's getting warmer outside...60 degrees today!

Tomorrow, I have a Precious Metal Clay class. It's the first of 3 classes. I'm pretty excited, except I'll be going after a 10 hour workday and what is looking to be a stressful one at that. But I'm anxious to learn some new techniques. I'm thinking I would like to try to make some gingko leaf shaped earrings. And possibly some motivational or running/triathlon charms for bracelets. Or bee/honeycomb related stuff. I've got lots of ideas actually. : ) More tomorrow.