MaeLyn's Musings

 This past week has been spring break for two of my boys. Josh is currently only taking one evening class that meets twice a week, and he is still working, so it isn't a huge change for him, but Peter has had more free time than he really knows what to do with. In general he's been sleeping in until noon or so, working on memorizing his lines for the upcoming one-act play he just got a role in, and then spending the rest of the day watching YouTube videos and playing Minecraft. Sometimes he and his brothers will play a game of "Magic the Gathering", usually at night after I have gone to bed. Earlier this year, I noticed that the quilt I made for John many years ago was falling apart, and so I decided to make him a new one. I let him choose the pattern and the colors, and I kept busy for about a month, choosing fabrics, cutting and sewing. I borrowed a quilting frame from the church and for about two days it filled our living room while I spent every spare moment tyin...

Recently, I've laid the beads aside in my jewelry making efforts, and I've just played with wire. A couple weeks ago, I took five strands and braided them into a cool bracelet . More recently I've made a couple sets of whimsical earrings. It's kind of like drawing a squiggle, and then making the wire follow the line. Anyway, I like the designs.

I find that there is something I really like about taking tools in hand to create something beautiful, or useful, or just plain interesting. I've mentioned this before in my blog on creativity . For Christmas, I received some wire, and I've had fun playing with it. Last weekend I made this pendant by wrapping wire around a stone:  Yesterday, I crafted this bracelet by braiding together five wires. It holds its shape really well, so I didn't need to add a clasp, just bend it to the shape of my wrist. There really is something very satisfying about making these things, about using my hands and tools to bend and twist and shape and create. I realized some time ago that I enjoy making jewelry a lot more than I care about wearing it. The joy comes in the crafting, in the creating.

This morning, I made some ghost earrings that I think are very cute. I thought I'd show you how I made them. Materials: a 4" length of thin wire (I used 22ga.), a 3"x3" piece of white cloth (I wanted cheesecloth, but I didn't have any around so I used a thin muslin instead), a 1/4" bead, a sharpie, and round nosed pliers. First, using the round nosed pliers, I bent the wire in half, making a small loop in the top. Then I poked both ends of the wire through the center of the fabric, and then through the bead. I curled the ends of the wire up to form "arms". I kind of molded the cloth how I wanted it, pulling it down between the head and the arms, Then I drew on a face with the sharpie. When it was more or less how I wanted it, I dipped it in a jar of fabric stiffener, and then let it hang to dry, shaping it a little more in the process, so it would dry how I wanted it. I used a little more wire to help one of my ghost keep it...

For my birthday last week, I received a couple gift cards to JoAnn , one of my favorite places to browse and shop. I came across a book called Build Your Own Wire Pendants that really interested me, and I bought it along with a variety of beads, wire, and yarn. Since then, I have had fun creating necklace pendants using wire and beads in ways I hadn't thought of before. Here are some pictures of what I have made: The first two were begun by following step by step instructions from the book, but finishing in my own way using beads that I had on hand. I really like the different textures in this one, as well as the balance between the different elements.  This one was kind of fun. It is 2" long.  This one was not in the book, but uses similar techniques to the first one I did. I got the idea for it here . Both the circle pendants are about 1 1/2" in diameter.

In August, 2011, I wrote about receiving a box full of beads and wires for jewelry making. I posted the first couple things I made here . Since then, I have made many more pieces of jewelry, but apparently, I haven't posted any pictures of them here. So.... Here are some of my favorites:

A week or so I wrote about my search for my style ( Click here to see ) and mentioned that I have been wanting to learn how to make jewelry with beads, but didn't have the resources to get the supplies necessary to get started. A friend of mine saw the post and offered to send me her beads and tools that she didn't want anymore. (Thanks a ton Melissa!!!) I took her up on the offer, and the package arrived in the mail Monday afternoon. I was thrilled to see how much she had sent me - not just a case full of beads, but several tools, spools of wire, rulers, files, and books that explained how to do it! Tuesday morning I waited until all the kids were out the door, then hurried to pull out the box she sent. (Remember in Bedknobs and Broomsticks when Angela Lansbury's character waited until all the kids appeared to be asleep before she ran to her workshop to unwrap her first broom? It was something like that.) I spent the rest of the morning reading books, playing with the wire...