The Christmas Collection @ thepapersac

Hi Everyone
It's the roundup of my 12 Days of Christmas Jewels @ thepapersac. I've been involved with this project for the last 3 weeks designing and making lots of the items. I've really enjoyed the making part - I usually like the design bit and not the making up so much.

Here are a few photos of the whole collection.

Week 1- Star Bead Collection



Week 2 - Bicone Bead Collection



Week 3 - Rounds Bead Collection




Most of the items have been sold but I will put the remaining stock in my shops over the next few days. Thank you to everyone who has bought the items.

Last night, the Collection went on tour to a local charity event and formed part of a big raffle prize. Three winners will attend some of the craft workshops Im doing and four more could choose their prize from jewels on the tree. I didn't get very good photos of the tree but this gives a bit of an idea of how it looked.
This is pre tinsel and baubles but you get the idea.



I added more than the 12 Days stuff and eventually had 21 items to fill the tree. A few bits of bling from some tinsel and the tree looked great. Prizes chosen were these 4 pieces. I asked each person why they chose a particular item and everyone said they just liked it - no other reason !


Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed the Series.

Rounds Necklace.

Hi Everyone
I can't believe it's the last of 12 Days of Jewellery @ thepapersac. The idea behind these little projects was to give ideas to make jewellery Christmas gifts. The mini projects needed to be quick and easy to make (in possibly batches) I've done this myself - so I know it works and am confident about the process.

My personal gifts are almost complete (amazing for me at this stage) and the best tip I have is to plan upfront - decide exactly what you want to make at the beginning. My life doesn't usually work like this. I will have an idea and then another and another etc. - mine is a creative thing but a time consuming business. Often, I end up frustrated and stressed out due to lack of time. Not this year !!!

Back to the final piece. It's a necklace based on the Rounds Beads, I'm simply calling my necklace a Rounds Necklace. The Rounds Beads are explained in Monday's blog (24/11/14)
Here is my necklace :



I've used a random collection of Christmas colours (you can use any colours) and threaded them onto red wax cotton. Measure the final length of the necklace you want to make and add an overlap for adjusting. There are 5 red Rounds at the back, acting as a 'stopper' for the adjustable length. I made the 5 individual beads and pressed them together with a hole through the whole thing prior to baking. I've finished the ends of the cord (after toeing a slide knot on each side) with 2 small Rounds.
The necklace is really attractive and so simple to make. I've got about 80 beads in the necklace but as they are punched out they are quick to make. Some beads are cut from thin raw clay (number 4 on the pasta machine) and others from thicker (number 1 on the pasta machine) - you can use any thickness and I feel the variety gives the piece a more attractive look. It doesn't matter if you don't have a pasta machine - just roll out the clay.
The whole collection of beads took about 20gm clay - tiny amount for such a large piece.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing the whole Christmas Collection coming together. Tomorrow I will post all 12 - plenty time to get making.

Thanks for reading.

Rounds Stretch Bracelet - 12 jewellery days @ thepapersac

Hi Everyone
Today, it's day 11of the '12 days of jewellery @ thepapersac', I couldn't work out which day it was yesterday ! That means it's almost at the end - only 1 more jewellery item to go.

I've enjoyed making these items and have developed a few of the pieces into kits. These kits will be an ongoing thing and I'm hoping to develop different colours and finishes for the beads.

This week it's the Rounds Bead Series. The Rounds beads are explained in Monday's post (24/11/14). My jewellery item for today using the Rounds beads is something I'm calling a 'Rounds Stretch Bracelet.



Ive used a mix of Old Gold and Silver clay for the beads. These beads are made with the smallest round punch I have. Each beads measures 0.7 cm across. Because the individual beads are quite small this bracelet needs lots of them (50 gold and 30 silver). Collectively the beads give a solid type structure to the bracelet. I've tied a length of stretch string with a surgeons knot and hidden the knot inside 3 'rounds' ( see above left photo), this gives the bracelet a neat finish. That's about it for the design. It's a very simple piece to make and I like the colour mix, hope you are inspired to make one of your own.

Thanks for reading.

12 Days of Jewellery for Christmas - bit of 'bling'

Hi Everyone
Today, it's day ? of the '12 days of jewellery @ thepapersac'. This week it's the Rounds Bead series. My jewellery item for today is a pair of Dangle Rounds.



The beads are very simple thin (clay rolled to number 4 in the pasta machine). I've used 3 discs per earring but you could use more and with different colours/textures etc. I've punched round shapes in the clay and simply made a large hole in the centre. The holes do need to be quite large to allow them to move around the wires. The movement is a key element of the design. I'm going to try out some gold leaf to clay and use a similar design for a change.The discs are easily removed so you could add a few different disc beads to allow for a different look.
A good point to note - I've used a gold plated wire but any wire could be used. I don't usually use plated wires but I've tested this one and I do like it (I've had very sensitive ears in the past and avoided plated wires). Certainly for Christmas, these earrings provide a bit of 'bling'.

I hope you feel inspired to have a go at this design. It's quick and easy as a 'gift make'.

Thanks for reading.

12 Days of Christmas Jewellery

Hi Everyone
We are in week 3 (the final week) of the '12 days of jewellery @ thepapersac'. This week it's the Rounds Bead series. My jewellery item of the day is a pair of Stud earrings using a basic round punched shape. I've embellished the shape with a star - this star is a very thin version of the stars used in week 1 (10/11/12 post).
To make the Rounds range of beads, I used my pasta machine (number 2 setting) to prepare the clay for punching out (same process again as week 1). I used the middle size of round punch for my Round Star Studs (1cm across). A very small quantity of clay is required for a single pair of earrings. I planned to produce my whole Rounds series ie 4 jewellery pieces and prepared the basic beads as a batch. This planning does help make production times efficient. For each single round red shape, I made a thin star shape in Old Gold and baked the beads. I've placed the stars just off centre, I like the look this gives the piece.



The posts are glued onto the round shape after the first bake (to secure while I move to the next process). I embed the posts with a tiny piece of clay and mold into the round shape. I bake the bead again, this gives the earrings a smooth and clean, secure post for the back of the earring. The earrings are sealed and polished before packaging.
I'm making a few of these designs for little presents, they are ideal for placing in a cracker and quick to make. The gold stars give the earrings a festive theme and look pretty. As usual I've made myself a pair !

Hope you are inspired.

Thanks for reading.