Scrabble Earrings, Charm Bracelets and Keychains new at Pieces Of Me Pendants.

Charms, Earrings and Keychains are made from wooden Scrabble® tiles (approx. ¾” square), decoupaged with graphic images that are sealed with a high gloss non-toxic finish.  Your charms, earrings and key chains can all be turned into necklace pendants.

Each item will be gift packaged in a bag (colors vary) making them ideal for gift giving.

Match your key chains, earrings and bracelets with your favorite pendants or mix and match!

Fun handmade gifts for all occasions for family, friends and coworkers!

Forged Iron Necklace

Originally uploaded by leonfangs

I have yet to blog about a forged piece, and that is probably because I don’t know much about forging nor do I know anyone who makes forged jewelry. But I stumbled across this piece and many other really exciting pieces by Leonfang on Flickr and it sure made me want to learn and see more.

I love the fluidity of these pieces and the naturalistic inspiration for her work.

The great news is that she gives lots of tutorials for us fans and you can also buy some of her creations over on Etsy.

Here is this weeks tutorial for this lovely layered flower pin.  She also shows variations on color and additions such as rhinstones.

For some color and pattern inspiration check out this excellent beaded bracelet by Snapdragon Beads, a UK artist.

The designs need to be based around the moonstone illustrated here.  The top five designs will be posted on their Facebook page and can be voted on to find the winner.   The winning design will be made into an actual piece by David Kodner Personal Jewelers and will be on display in their showrooms.   The winner will receive $500 and the publicity of having their design made and displayed.

Check out the terms and conditions here.

She has lots of different jewelry which can be found in in Etsy Shop or check out her blog to she what she is thinking about and working on.

I this this series of earrings best as they are so cheerful and stylish.

I do love this magazine and it can be expensive to by issue by issue on the newsstand, so this is a good deal!

Also they recently opened their online shop, if you don’t happen to be in NYC.  You can’t actually buy anything online, but you can browse their selection and then hit the inquiry button to inquire about sizes, prices etc.

Or you can visit them in Tuscon 2010 in Feb.:

GJX – 198 S Granada Ave., Tuscon AZ. 85701, Booth 1508 Main Hall.
Wed. Feb. 3 – Mon Feb 8, 2010

Their NYC address is:

56 West 45th Street, New York, NY 10036

You can choose from master classes in Metal and Stone integration, Textile Techniques in Metal, Plique-a-jour, Surface Techniques and Spectacle making all taught by recognized experts in the metals world.

Check out these instructions for inexpensive ribbon metals on instructables.com

Or these “Doodle Charms”  with instructions on homemade shrinky dink. They come out looking like stained glass

Or even plastic rings as posted here on PlanetJune

And last, though I am sure you can find tons more projects, check out Photojojo.com for a tutorial on photo necklaces, earrings etc using shrinking plastic.  I love this project!

n122 zoom 1

Originally uploaded by inpamo

For some Friday inspiration check out inpamo’s jewelry in her Flickrstream.  She makes excellent and slightly edgy jewels with a heavy textile influence.  I love this necklace of  tulle covered crystal pearls with sateen ribbon, and this emerald colored brooch.

Check out these two posts by Beading Gem’s Journal (always and excellent source for tutorials and info)  on braiding techniques.  The first covers finger loop braiding and the second covers kumihimo style braided pieces.  Both posts contain a wealth of information on the techniques themselves as well as video tutorials.

stone and bone

Originally uploaded by metalartiste

metalartiste sumbitted this lovely piece to the Craftgossip Flickr pool, which makes for some lovely Friday inspiration. It is a simple design and yet so elegant.

Check out her Flickrstream for more inspiration, her etsy site for the goodies (including pdf tutorials) or her blog to see what she is thinking about.

Happy Friday!

The store is a treasure trove of jewelry making supplies from tool to materials.  Located in the Diamond District, I always feel especially in touch with the jewelry world when I go into the building and up the small stairs and emerge into this excellent store.

If you needed another reason to visit, tomorrow’s event provides it.  They are holding beading demonstrations from 2-7pm, where you can ask questions, get advice and of course shop.  Have fun!

Summer night’s dream

Originally uploaded by bounty_gg

Bounty_gg submitted this work to the CraftGossip Flick pool.

I love the fluid nature for the design and the rich and deep color palate.  I would love to know more about the technique which is simply noted, “polymer clay, liquid gel, multi-layer technique.”

Excellent work!