Wire-form earrings

Hi all.. I made these wire-formed earrings for my sister. This is the first proper wire-forming that I have ever done. I have tried coarse wire-wrapping earlier though. You might have seen my wire-wrapped faux-jade necklace.. Am yet to make the bracelet I had told then... Lazy me :-)

The main challenge in making these earrings was in replicating the shape.. You might notice that they are not exactly similar. And there are tool marks on the second one too.. Hmmm.. I need more practice! And next time I think I should use a light hammer to flatten out the shape properly.. Here I had used just the handle of my pliers to flatten :-)

 But I like the way they've turned out.. Much better than what I expected. The design is like the traditional kolam/rangoli we draw at home, right? Do you like them?

Kraft Korner - Return Gifts for Valaikaappu :)

Hi All! In case you were wondering if I have really gone into hibernation, here I am :-) I've just migrated to warmer climes (read parents' house :)) on maternity leave... Winding up work, preparing the house for my long absence, last minute check-ups and packing had taken a lot of time and energy but this entire phase is just so beautiful and I'm enjoying every moment of it.

Kraft Korner - Faux Jade Necklace

Hey all! Winter is around the corner.. days are bound to get a bit sluggish (yeah, I like to just keep hibernating inside my rajaai :)) So I want to make the best use of the few days left before the cold overtakes my energy!

 It has been a while since I made jewellery.. I have been wanting to try out wire-wrapping for quite some time now. I did try out a couple of wire-wrapped earrings but they were quickly made and swiftly gifted away to dear friends before I had the patience to click them for memory's sake...

Kraft Korner - Polymer Clay Jewellery Tutorial

 

Polymer clay is a (group of) modelling compounds based on PolyVinyl Chloride...Chemistry apart, the fun and understandable part of this material is it is easy to shape, retains the shape and colour after baking, the colours are easily 'mix'able i. e. they can be blended to form new colours just like you do with your paints... What more, it can be painted upon, engraved, embossed, clay-modelled, punched, moulded into just anything that your imagination makes it out to be! I was super-excited when I came across this material and have been playing around with it for a while now.. So, when Itsy Bitsy (craft supplies store) announced their SizzixTutorial Challenge this month, I thought what better than to add a Polymer Clay Jewellery Tutorial?

Kraft Korner - Earrings for my cousins

Childhood holds special memories for each of us.. And I can say that a mix of the words- cousins, summer holidays and grandparents' home- would bring a rush of nostalgia to most of us. Ah, the simple games, the mingling with the village kids, farm-work gazing, bountiful supply of desi mangoes, playing on mounds of unhusked grain, the story sessions at the regular power-out hours, tender-coconut drinking competitions, buying a variety of 10-paise candies with money 'earned' from grandpa, trips to the local water spots, playing with the groundnut- shelling cranker on the terrace, hide and seek in the granary, hmmm... endless list.

Kraft Korner - Pristine Sparkle Earrings 2 - Quilled Earrings

2. Quilled Earrings

I learnt a few new quilling techniques recently and I thought I'd put them to good use and get practice as well. The top portion is a jhumka made using white 4mm strip, painted in pearl-metallic silver acrylic paint. The middle portion is again a white strip fashioned thus using an old comb, painted similarly. The lowermost portion is white beads, as u can see. The quilled portions have been coated with clear nail polish to give it sturdiness (believe me, the piece becomes very strong after coating.. try it) and to make it water-proof.For those who do not prefer long danglers (like me), i guess just the two quilled parts would make a fabulous piece too.. what say?

Kraft Korner - Baby steps in Beaded Jewellery Making

 

It all started when we happened to visit the Strand Bookstore in New York... While V was busy browsing through the non-fiction, logic, math sections, I was drawn to the cooking and crafting sections as you might have guessed :) There were umpteen number of books that I wanted to take back but there's only so much that one can buy and carry! Three books were on my shortlist and one of them was Carol Grape's "Handmade Jewellery".