More Beading Fun And Time For Another Class!

October has dropped in with a bang! 
(Oh, where did September go??!!) 

I've got a ton of things on my bead table this month!
(Fun things - yippee!)

 

I'm going to have a few posts over the next week or so to tell you about some of them but today I want to tell you about "My Bead Table Blog Hop" sponsored by Lisa Lodge of Pine Ridge Treasures that's going to be taking place on October 13th.  

 

 

 

Check out the lovely (and huge!!) stash of beads that Lisa so graciously sent for the blog hop.  

 

Ohhh,...just look at all these lovely goodies!! Thank you Lisa!!

 

Other than a few things here, these are beads and components that I don't regularly carry in my bead stash and so the challenge is definitely on for me! 

I'm excited because I love that this will challenge me to step outside my comfort zone and the colors Lisa's given me to start with (we can add from our own stash, too!) are ones I find really pleasing to work with!

Be sure to hop back over here on Saturday the 13th and see what all the participants have created (me included)!

 

 

I also wanted to let you know that I'm teaching another class over at Creative U in Carefree next week, too.

 

 

 

Come join me on Friday, the 12th of October

at 2:00p.m. for the

Fun and Easy Earwire Class!

 

It still shows up on their calendar as Jen Hanscom teaching the class but I'm helping them out this month, so come on over and join in the fun with me, won't you?!

 

There's never a dull moment at Creative U - trust me!

 

Well, maybe Lasso gets a bit bored at times, but we sure don't!!

 

 

Oh, and on a side note, I
 think I've finally gotten over the jet-lag from my trip.

 

 

I was fortunate enough to go to Italy in September!



 

 

I really thought I had my body fooled with setting my watch (and my brain) to whatever local time I was headed to but although it truly did help a bit, I still was kind of out of it from last Thursday until this Monday. 

Now I think a form of normalcy and a routine of some sorts is setting back in. Thank goodness, because the 3:30a.m. wake up calls my brain kept giving my body every morning was getting a bit old!

 

What have you got cooking for October? 

 

Are you in the Autumn mood?

 

Dreaming of Autumn!

 

Are you decorating and creating things and making goodies for Halloween and all the other Holidays that are coming up?

 

Be sure to drop me a line and let me know what's going on!

 

Until Next Time,

 

Peace, Love and The October Rush!

 

Cheers,

~Shel~

Jumping Through Hoops!

Hoop earrings are always in style and if you practice making several sizes and embellishing them in different ways, then you’ll always have this essential earring staple to complete your wardrobe no matter what the current trends may be.

Here's a simple tutorial for creating some basic hoop style earrings.

Flush cut two (2) pieces of 20g wire to your desired length. Your length will depend on how large or small you wish your hoops to be.  For these photos I cut two, 5 inch pieces of wire.

Make a simple loop on one end of each of your pieces of wire.

To form the hoop portion, you will need a mandrel.

This can be a fat marker, an actual ring mandrel, a nail polish bottle, a film canister or your looping or wrap-n-tap pliers.

Wrap each piece of wire  around the mandrel you've selected to form a round shape.

To keep the shape you’ve created, you will want to lightly tap each ear-hoop with your plastic or rawhide mallet, either on your bench block or while it’s around your mandrel.

Neither the plastic or rawhide mallet with flatten your wire, but it will work harden it enough so that your hoops will keep their shape.

Take your jewelry file and smooth out the straight part of the hoop.  This portion will go into your ear so you want to make sure it is smooth and won't scratch your ear.

Grasp the straight part of the wire you just filed with your chain nose pliers,  about 2 to 3 cm up, and bend it to a 90 angle to form the ‘hook’ that will fit into the loop portion of your hoops to close them.

Lay your hoops on your bench block and hammer the bottom of the hoop portion to flatten it a bit. This not only gives it some strength, but some style as well.

And, if you're planning on wire wrapping some lovely little gemstones or beads on to your hoops, this will help the wire from spinning around while you're wrapping!

And remember, your hoops don't have to be round.  Oval hoops are quite fun and stylish, too!

Now for the fun part! 

You can leave your hoops they way they are right now - simple and stylish - or you can embellish your hoops with bead dangles, wire wrap them with a different metal for a mixed metal look or you can wire wrap some fun beads on them to add color and texture.  

 

You can even wrap ribbons, leather or cord around them with wire or add charms or other beads for a truly unique and textured look!

Whatever you do, have fun and Hoop It Up!

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Hoopty-Do!!

Cheers,

~Shel~