Fabric Bracelets - DIY

These fabric bracelets are my newest creations that are taking over Raleigh, and beyond!

This is a fun way to upcycle scraps of fabric into jewelry. 

I use a metal core, of 12 ga copper, or 12 ga aluminum, wrap it around a soup can, it will be about the same size as a standard bangle, or you can use a zip tie. The zip tie has a bit more flexibility than I like, but it will still work. Once you have a 'core' you will need to hammer the wire, to give it a tinsel strength.

Now you need to adjust the size of the core to make a bracelet. The standard industry size is about 2.5" inner width. For me that doesn't work. I have huge hands, so I make mine a bit bigger, so when finished, the inner width is 3" and I can slide them right on!

Cut your strips of material, about an inch in width.  Pinch it tight with your fingers and start to wrap around the wire. Over lap the material to create some bulk as you are wrapping. Continue to wrap the fabric around the core for several revolutions. You want 2 - 3 layers of fabric to give it some cushion.  Then use a scrap of wire to wrap around the end of the fabric to hold it in place!

There you have it!!

Your own wire wrapped bracelet!!!

They are a lot of fun to make, and a great way to use up scrap material.

All of my jewelry creations are based on the metaphysical properties of the stones or the colors that are incorporated. Jewelry should be a window to our soul, a protector of our emotions and a companion to our spirit. All of my other creations come directly from my heart in hopes they touch yours as well. Celebrate yourself with healing jewelry, and other gift ideas made with love!

Although I do live a lifestyle that is richly enhanced with healing crystals, crystal energy, and universal energies, some do not, and that being said, I must say - Crystal meanings, metaphysical and spiritual healing lore is lore for inspiration, folklore, reference, and entertainment only. Crystal and spiritual healing lore is not a prescription, diagnosis or healthcare information. See a doctor or other healthcare practitioner for all health issues. By using this site and associated materials, and accessing this metaphysical and healing lore information, you acknowledge and agree that you personally assume responsibility for your use or misuse of this lore.

Spiral Tie Dye Long Sleeve T Shirt Tutorial

and remember!!!

Be peaceful and be kind! It's Important!




All of my jewelry creations are based on the metaphysical properties of the stones or the colors that are incorporated. Jewelry should be a window to our soul, a protector of our emotions and a companion to our spirit. All of my other creations come directly from my heart in hopes they touch yours as well. Celebrate yourself with healing jewelry, and other gift ideas made with love!

I Have Started A You Tube Channel!

Updating My Etsy Store - Etsy Algorithms - Photos And More

The struggle is real folks.

In my area of talent and creativity, there are just some things that elude me - photography and descriptions to be more exact. Having an issue with these two things in an online market place, it can make selling difficult.

At first I thought, "well, the pictures a pretty good, it will be ok, people will know what they are looking at.". As I follow my own thought process and scrol through my Etsy shop, I hear the words of my friend Julie- "People shop with their eyes", and it is true. I am even finding myself scrolling quickly and looking for something to catch my eye. Nothing does because my photos are sub par.

If you are stuggling with 'Why isn't my Etsy Shop preforming" I strongly recommend this quick and free course, that gives you information on how to access your shop, and see what you need to work on.
Handmade Seller  - Mastering The Etsy Algorithm Course - Free!.  Once you are on their site, just scroll down until you see the link for it.

There were so many good points made, and it made me take responsibility for my store. When I think to myself, why aren't my pieces selling like I want them to? The answers are in this course. Topics like, the photographs, the descriptions, the customer service, the tags, the marketing, they all play key rolls into a successful store. What I found out is that, what I thought was adequate, is just that adequate. There is nothing in my store that stands out, that makes people look and want or need.

Treating Etsy like a business and not a hobby, or a dumping ground for pictures of what you make, will give you the returns as a business (or hobby or dumping ground for pictures).

Learning how Etsy works, deep down how it works and learning to list your items so that Etsy will take notice, along with the millions of people who shop is essential. Read, watch videos, compare your favorite shops to your own, what do they do that makes them successful.

Invest time into your shop, invest yourself into your shop. It shows.

People who are shopping for hand made items want to buy from someone who is confident in their craft, shoppers want to be confident that what they are buying is well made. Make your shop well made to relay this to your customers.

I have started a new journey, upgrading my shop. Some things that I have done.

1. Got rid of some inventory. Some pieces had been taking up space in my shop for too long. Have a sale, move em out. Make new pieces to keep the store fresh.

2. Update all of my item titles. Here I am playing the Etsy game, and making the titles for my pieces as in depth as possible.

3. ALL NEW PHOTOS!! Yes. I started that today, and I could cry. Here are some samples of what I am trying to accomplish.

These first two are the images that are currently listed in my store. They are washed out, white, no warmth. but clear, and do show the fire in the stone itself.  How can I improve on this.

Instead of using the white background, I am going for a more natural look, and useing wood as the background, along with stone props to give the piece some depth (that is my thought process)

Problem with this light, is you can't see the 'fire' from the labradorite

Finally I got a good angle, that really shows off the fire in the stone, but the art work of the wire wrap is now lost, and even with the cropping, you can see the gap in the background walls.

This is where I am, and I have a long way to go, and I feel it is worth it for a truly successful store.  What do you do with your store that makes it successful? What do you do to attract new customers, and keep them coming back?

Bottom line.....I just want to make things!

btw - i am not paid to endorce handmade sellers - i just used that video course and thought it was worth sharing.

All of my jewelry creations are based on the metaphysical properties of the stones or the colors that are incorporated. Jewelry should be a window to our soul, a protector of our emotions and a companion to our spirit. All of my other creations come directly from my heart in hopes they touch yours as well. Celebrate yourself with healing jewelry, and other gift ideas made with love!

Fresh off the Bench! Sterling and American Beauty Turquoise

These are those everyday earrings :)

So easy

Cut 18" sterling wire to 4.5"

Use your round nose pliers to make a small loop on the ends.

Find the middle and bend the wire up - using an ink pen or something similar to bend the wire around to make the bottom of the loop.

Hammer slightly to give strength and texture

Add any stone, bead, crystal so forth for a focal

Attach a jump ring to the top loops and add an earring wire

Wear and be fabulous!

American beauty turquoise is a beautiful bright blue stone, full of healing. So much healing in fact, it is called the Master Healer.  No wonder people who are on a spiritual journey are drawn to turquoise!

And as always,

All of my creations are based on the metaphysical properties of the stones or the colors that are incorporated. Jewelry should be a window to our soul, a protector of our emotions and a companion to our spirit.

Celebrate yourself with healing jewelry made with love!

Beading Daily Earring Exchange - Tutorial

Beading Daily is doing an earring swap! The earring swap is to celebrate Denise Peck's new book, 101 Wire Earrings.

Here's what ya do -
Make a pair of earrings, mail them in, include a SASE, and they will send you a pair of earrings created by another artist! By participating you also give permission for photos of your earrings to be used by Interweave, as they choose, in publications, on their site or in their shows, EXCITING! - details -

As I was making earrings this morning, I thought I would create a little tutorial on how these came about. This is my first time using a Wig-Jig. I wanted to play around with it, so come along with me on this maiden voyage.

Here is what I used -
8" 18 ga sterling wire
4" 24 ga sterling wire
2 8mm bicone crystals
6 4mm swarovski bicone crystals
2 6mm faceted quartz roundels
2 4mm bali sterling spacers
6 sterling head pins

Cut two pieces of 18 ga wire, 4" long

Place the 10mm round pegs two spaces apart.




Place one end of the wire at the 9 o'clock position on the bottom peg on the wig-jig board. Hold the end in place with one hand and take the wire up and around the top peg in a counter clockwise direction. Bring the wire around til it is pointing to the right.


Slide on your beads - spacer, 8mm crystal, spacer



Bring the end of the wire (that is pointing to the right) completely around the bottom peg in a clockwise direction till it is pointing back to the right again.




Push the end of the wire that is pointing to the left up so it completes the circle around the top peg and push the end of the wire pointing to the right down and around to complete the circle around the bottom peg.


Remove the wire from the Wig Jig board. Use your chain nosed pliers to create a wire wrap, making one or two wraps with the end of the wire near the spacer beads. Repeat with the other end.


Give the loops a couple light tap tap's with your hammer on your anvil to strengthen the loops.







Make some charms to liven them up.


Put bicones on a head pin. Grip the wire with the tips of your round nosed pliers. Bend the head pin to a right angle at the top of the bead.



Rotate the pliers a quarter turn up, counter clockwise, and bring the wire around the top tine of the pliers.


Rotate the pliers a quarter turn clock wise, and take the wire around the bottom of the tine til it is pointing away from you. Snip the tail close to the bottom of your loop as to keep the edges flush.



Gently pry the end away from the base of the loop and attach it to the form you just created on the Wig-Jig.



Push the end closed and your charm is secure. Make two more charms for this form.



Cut a 2" piece of wire. On one end create a wire wrapped loop. Slide on the facted quartz.


Start your wire wrap by creating the inital bend around your pliers. Before committing the wire wrap, slide the wire form (oppisite end from the crystal charms) on the end of the wire, resting it in the bend.


Hold the bend of the wire and the form with the tips of your chain nosed pliers and finish the wrap working down toward the quartz bead.


Attach your earring wires to the other end of your wire wrapped loops and there you have it!

Wig-Jig wire formed earrings!!





10 bonus points to who can tell me what is 'not quite right' with these images.

Filigree Earring How To

This is a quick and easy fun little earring how to. These have an almost victorian look to them.

What you will need.

2 - Filigree, Angel Wings (Antiqued Copper Plated) - Rings & Things
24 - Head Pin, 1.5", Thin (Antiqued Brass Plated) - Rings & Things
2 - Eye Pin, 1.5", Thin (Antiqued Brass) - Rings & Things
6 - Jump Ring, Round, 5mm (Antiqued Brass Plated) - Rings & Things
24 - 3x5 faceted citrine roundells - Sedona Stones
2- Antique Brass-Plated Plain Earwire - ArtBeads



Put 22 of the citrine roundells on the head pins and make a basic loop at the top of each bead. Trim the tails.



Slightly open the loop and add the 'charms' to the filigree - I have made a chart to show you where they go.



Now turn the filigree over and attach a jump ring to each of the points.



Connect the two jump rings with one more jump ring



Slide one of the remaining roundells onto the eye pin and create a wire wrapped loop at the top of the bead.



Trim the tail. Pry the eye pin loop apart slightly and attach it to the topmost jump ring on the filligree.



Add your earring wire and there you have it kids!!

Simple Treasures

Embrace your inner turtle - or Just be yourself!

My friend Liz tells me to embrace my inner turtle. When she tells me that, she means for me to slow and take a breath. Don't sweat the small stuff.

It has progressed from that to meaning - do your own thing, be yourself. do not be afraid to embrace who you are. Where is all of this going you ask?

I was at Liz's shop last weekend. she has been kind enuff to offer me space in her shop to showcase my jewelry, free of charge. She is great at promoting local products and artists. While I was there setting up my display, i noticed she has all these great stones all over her shop as decoration and filler. Great piles of river rock, naturally polished, not highly glossly polished, but that natural smooth tumble that only water can give. I picked up a small black river rock, she offered it to me as a gift, and I told her, only if i can wrap it and give it back to her. She was thrilled.

That is where all of this is going. I am going to show you my style of wrapping. I love wire wrapped stones. I adore all the scrolling/twisted wire styles out there and appreciate the work. It is not for me. I wanted my own style, my own statement to be made when ppl saw my wrapped stones they would know it was my work. I like my work to be a bit more free, or organic - ppl like to use that word right now :)

here is what I did.




Measure the circumference of the stone - you can use painters tape or string.



Double that lenght and cut 2 pieces of wire to that lenght - I used for this 21 ga. square sterling half hard wire from Sterling Supplies in Tucson, AZ




Next, cut a piece of anchor wire, for this I use about 2 inches of 24 ga. round sterling half hard wire from Sterling Supplies in Tucson, AZ



Find the center of the wire and wrap it with the 2 inch wire to create an anchor point for your stone.



Snip the ends and give it a good squeeze



Shape the wire up around the stone to give yourself a rough idea of where the other anchors and the bail needs to be positioned.



Place your wraps, like you did your center anchor



Trim the tails and now bring the wire up and shape it around the top of the stone and put a right angle bend on both of the ends to mark where the bail will be.



pry open the double strands of wire to create a 'diamond' type shape. These will be used to secure the stone in the wire.



Fit the stone back in the wire to make sure they openings are big enuff. And adjust them to bring them in over the stone.




Create your bail with one side of the top of the double strand of wire.





Fit the stone back in the wire frame, and close up the wrap. Take the top wire and wrap it around the wrap of the bail.




See how the second wire is bent back out of the way? Clip the extra and use your needle nose pliers to squeeze the snipped in flush with the wrap.



Now bring the other wire around and give it several good wraps - leaving the tail forward.



Use your chain nosed pliers and make a loop to give a fancy touch of artistry, or a signature loop on the front of the stone.






Take your chain nosed pliers and grip the wire perpendicular to the stone. Give the wire about a quarter turn to finish anchoring the wire to the stone. Alternate top and bottom on each side.





here's the front



Heres the back




Spread the double wire of the bail to give it a fancy look - And there she is kids! A wire wrapped stone, a perfect personalized gift that takes about 20 minutes!!!