Earrings, Candie Cooper, circa 1996 (a long time ago)

Katie and I were in the car for three hours on the way to the CHA show in Chicago.  Somewhere in between Warsaw, In and Chicago, I told her about finding a friendly plastic brooch in a long lost box of my junk buried deep in my parents attic.  I think I made it in 7th grade.  Treasure?  I don’t believe so!  Katie mentioned talking with another friend about sharing then and now photos on their blogs.  "Want to do it?"  she asked.  So here we are.

I’ve been making jewelry for a long time.  It started somewhere after sixth grade and every year, I make a little bit more.  It’s been fun (and humbling) rediscovering these little pieces of where I come from and seeing how I’ve grown.  Some things haven’t changed a bit—and thankfully some things have.

That leads me to tell you about the earrings pictured.  It all started when I was given a pair of handmade beaded earrings as a Christmas gift.  In my mind, the woman who made them was a Rock-star.  Make your own earrings?  Holy cow, I had to try it.  So, these are some of the veeeeeerrrrry first earrings I made.  I have no idea how they ended up in China.  I actually think at some point I was going to salvage the beads???  No idea.  Anyway, I’m so glad to have them here for when I teach jewelry making classes.  Why?  Because learning to make perfectly round loops at the end of a wire is tricky.  After a few demonstrations, I let the students try it on their own.  Inevitably they worry because their loops are maybe more oval shape than round.  Or one loop is bigger than the other.  Or their wire is a little gnarly from the pliers and bending it several times.  It’s easy to get discouraged and that’s about the time when I pull out my trusty earrings to illustrate the fact that practice really does make perfect.

And it works!!!….every time.  They notice by the end of class that every loop gets a little better than the one before. We all have to start somewhere, no matter what we’re doing.

I told Katie, I probably have at least six or seven more then and now posts I could do.  So stay tuned for a second helping of humble pie.

There’s a new beading book on the block with two of my designs in it.  I got a copy in the mail recently and it did not disappoint….promise!  It starts with a brief history of crystals followed by material and tool information.  You can find techniques like knotting, stringing, off-loom beading, wire working and moi’s how to weave beads into gems like these:

I enjoy how the designs showcase the wide variety of crystal shapes and components.  There are several designs in the book that I want to make for myself too!  Inspirational from all angles, I give it 5 Swarovski Star Pendants!

Beading with Crystals is authored by Katherine Aimone and Jean Campbell, published by Lark Books.

or should I say, Wine-Charms In Progress.

I’m a sucker for tiny cool stuff that I can use in my designs.  So, after living here in Ch!na for the past year and a half, you can only imagine what I’ve got spilling out of my pockets.  Game pieces, koi charms, cloisonne beads, silk knots, cinnabar, coins, blue and white porcelain beads and a whole lotta other junk items.  This is where I’ll tell you that even though I miss all our crafty goodness back home, I have to admit it’s pretty fun to scavenge for new things here (ok, you got me, Cynthia! :-).

I don’t know how it started, but someone in my crafty posse mentioned wine charms, so on our shopping trips we started collecting focal pieces for them.  It has taken some time to design them, but the results have been fab.  It’s also neat to have another small keepsake (that we made ourselves no less!) to remind us of our time here.  I have about five to go before they’re finished.  Definitely time to work in some RED don’tcha think? 

After thinking about these, it prompted the idea: what about having a set with some of the places we’ve been? An Eiffel tower charm for Paris, Murano glass beads and mask charm for Venice, Statue of L!berty for New York City….State to State ones could also be fun.  The possibilities are endless, I tell you!  And I’m positive, they’ll stir up some great conversations at your next party.

P.S.  If you’re thinking about making some, keep an open mind about objects. If it’s not ready to hang, you can always drill a hole in it yourself and use a jump ring or add an eye screw.