Resurrecting My Grandma's Necklace

My grandma let me have one of her old necklaces.  Although it was in several pieces, I thought it was gorgeous.  I knew I could restore it to nearly its former glory.  A lot of the beads were missing.  In a giant stroke of impossible luck, I found the missing beads mixed in with some of her other beads in an old film canister.  After finding the collection of small beads I had enough to finish the three remaining strands...

The broken necklace and the beads to repair it.

The metal had turned black, so I changed out what I could.

You can see how the necklace originally had five strands.

Here's a comparison shot to see the metal I changed vs. the dark, older metal

 These are my progression shots.  Here is the necklace with my first repaired strand. 

The necklace with four strands...

And five strands as the original design.

Wire Wrapped Rings

So I bought a book on wire wrapping, and it taught me how to make a ring.  The first ring I ever made was a very simple, very basic single wire wrapped on both ends and hammered to harden it.  Then you just wire the bead or pearl or whatever onto the middle with a bit of a loop.

My First Ring

I bought a ring mandrel with the intention of making more rings, and it has come in very handy, especially today.  My sister was recently vacationing in Hawaii and her friends bought some rings there.  Someone brought a wire wrapped ring back and she wanted me to make one like it for a friend.  I really only knew how to make the one ring, but I tried to make a couple so that she could pick one she liked.

My Wire Wrapped Design Attempt

Turns out that the rings I made weren't quite what she had in mind.  There was a very specific design (i.e. the one they bought in Hawaii) that she wanted me to make.  So today I made and destroyed several rings before I managed the glorious Hawaiian style ring.  I practiced with 26 gauge nickel wire (REALLY skinny) to try to figure out how they made the ring in the first place.  Then I tried it with 20 gauge nickel wire, but it was too thick.  I didn't have anything in between, so I tried again with the skinny wire, but doubled it up.  Behold, the Hawaiian Ring.

My version of the Hawaiian style ring.

So, when I learn new things, I try to do a lot of repetition so I'll remember it.  Because what good is a skill if you forget it.  Behold, the many Hawaiian style rings.

The extra good news is that the silver side beads are lure beads, which means that these rings include a fishing lure component, which makes them fishing lure jewelry and thus means they count as A Lure Jewelry...  My jewelry line now includes rings.  :)

Origin of The Tin Cup Necklace

The "Tin Cup" necklace is also referred to as a floating pearl or station necklace. This design consists of pearls (or beads) spaced out at regular intervals on a chain/necklace.

The term "Tin Cup" to describe this type of necklace originated from the 1996 film by the same name.  In this movie, the lead actress Renee Russo is seen wearing this design, which is now considered a classic.

The 1996 film that forever dubbed floating pearl necklaces "Tin Cup".

A close-up of the original Tin Cup necklace.

So, for a twist on the original, I have made my own Tin Cup design, featuring fishing lures and pearls...

http://www.etsy.com/listing/58929554/tin-cup-pearl-necklace-and-earring-set

Skills from Brazil

I spent this Saturday with my sister-in-law, who happens to be from Brazil.  She doesn't speak much English, and my Portuguese vocabulary is extremely limited (mostly consisting of pickup lines), so we did a lot of activities that don't require much conversation.

One of our first activities was glass bead making.  That required a translator.  It was really fun.  I had one yellowish clear glass rod that apparently turns a pretty, deep red when fired.  Who knew?!  She make four beads and I made two.  I have been trying propane gas instead of MAPP gas this time, because some people say it works as good and it's about half the price.  I've read that it burns "dirtier" and sometimes leaves residue on your glass.  It's true... The irony is that the residue it left on one of my glass beads today actually looks really cool.  Oh, also note the manicure I am sporting, another little gift from Paula.
 

This is the "clear" that turned a lovely blood red.

Here's a closeup to let you see the residue my fuel was leaving, which actually works with the bead.  :)

  Paula also taught me how to crochet/embroider flowers.  This is a skill I have never had, and I felt like an awkward little five year old who doesn't have fine motor skills when I tried to do it.  However, it was great fun.  After she left I tried what she taught me.  My snuggie was lying around, so it got to be the guinea pig.  She also taught me how to crochet flowers.  I was going to try to write instructions, but you'll just have to settle for pictures because I don't think I could explain it.

This is a photo of me beginning the weave.  All you do is weave your yarn under over under, etc, around the little star you made (also say hello to a piece of my hair I was apparently weaving in as well).

My Snuggie, customized.