Friday, June 24, 2011

Making Rings and New Toys

I have a new toy and I love it.  I first bought a thing-a-ma jig at Michael's (50% off coupon) but I couldn't really get it to work right.  Amy from One Artsy Mama helped walk me through how to use it (there were no instructions and I really wasn't figuring out how to use it by myself) but it still wasn't working right.  So I returned it and got myself a ring mandrel.



I love this thing.  All it does is give me something to wrap the wire around, but I love this thing.  I was initially trying to make rings by using my own finger but the wire would cut in and then the blood would make it so slippery.  Now, no blood.  And I can figure out the sizing, not perfectly (it's not easy actually) but better than just plain guessing.  Did I mention I love this thing?  :)

So, how about a peek at my ring attempts then, huh?  I started by wrapping the wire a few times around the mandrel and then twisting to anchor it.


From here I threaded on a few seed beads and then just bent the two sides until I liked how it looked.


This ring was done with the 24 gauge wire which is easy to work with, but isn't as durable as the lower gauges.  When my finger would catch on something, the ring would bend a bit and I would have to push it back into place.  Fortunately, that wasn't difficult to do (just used my fingers) but with practice I think 20 gauge wire would be a bit better.

This is another 24-gauge wire ring with white beads that I wore to Father's Day and seriously, every single woman there commented on how much they liked it (separately I mean, not like a big group "ooh that's so nice").  Please try to disregard my seriously aging hands, they'd been out in the garden doing hard labour all day at this point.


Next up are a few more tailored attempts.  Wish me luck and have a fabulous weekend.

I'm hooking up here:

Weekend Bloggy Reading

Sundae Scoop at I Heart Naptime

11 comments:

Unknown said...

That tool does seem quite handy! I seriously wish I was more into jewelry making. The rings you made are very cute! Thanks for sharing :)
-Maggie
http://chicaesartistica.blogspot.com

Yvonne@StyleBurb said...

They look fantastic- that's a handy little thingy!

I've noticed the trend to wearing large 'cocktail-style' rings lately, so your rings are seriously on trend. I love them! There was a crafter selling similar rings at our street festival recently and she was doing great business.

Mindy said...

You're like a jewelry makin' fool now! I love these!

P.S. Your hands look way better than mine!!!!

Unknown said...

They're looking good! I need to get a mandrel like yours...the one I ordered was supposed to be nice and round like that {which is why I picked it} and when I got it, it has a flat spot on two sides where the sizing is. :( No good. Where'd you get yours?

Amanda said...

WOW! those are so cool!! what a great idea!
Thanks for stopping by today!
Have a great weekend

HeARTworks said...

Wow! You're going to have a whole wardrobe of rings, I can see! They'll make nice gifts too! Patsy from
HeARTworks

A Perfect Setting said...

Love your ring!! I think your hands are beautiful, by the way!! Great job!

Unknown said...

So great Terry!!!! I am loving the rings. When are you going to start selling them? I really love the clear one.

Christine said...

that ring is so cute! and it looks so easy to make.....I gotta find me one of those plastic finger things like you have.....

Christine said...

that ring is so cute! and it looks so easy to make.....I gotta find me one of those plastic finger things like you have.....

Debbiedoos said...

Terry that is fantastic. You are so creative to do that. I would sell them on etsy, they are so unique!

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