Blogger Troubles

Anyone else having issues with Blogger? Sometime in May I bacame unable to respond to comments on my blog or edit posts. It just kept bumping me back to the Signin page. Their Help page was useless-it told me to clear my cache, make sure cookies were enabled, blah, blah. That was done and I still couldn't log in. It seems they have been aware of this problem since at least May and haven't bothered to fix it. So I decided to download Firefox. I loved it! I had no trouble with my blog, it was faster, and I had my beloved Google toolbar. The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the way the Bookmarks worked. Then Firefox told me I needed to update to the new version. If I had only known. Now I can't even log into my blog, and the new version is not compatible with the Google toolbar. So I'm back to square one, having to open IE to post but not able to comment. So any of you who are commenting on my posts, please know that I do appreciate it and I'm not ignoring your comments.

Week 21-Bronze Viking Knit Necklace

The theme for this week had something to do with red. I've been involved in the campaign to recall Rick Snyder so I'm so far behind I don't remember. :D So this is a bronze single Viking knit necklace. The center decoration is wired to the chain. I pictured it in my head as bigger and blingier but I wasn't about to do it over. The centerpiece is keishi pearls with garnets in the center. The spirals are wired with black spinels that have a nystic coating. I first photographed it leaving the wire bright but later decided to oxidize it. That was a good move because that's when it sold. People seem to like patinas lately.

Week 20-Copper Tubing Necklace

Trying to play catch-up. The theme for week 20 was Three Feet of Wire and for once I managed to stick with the theme. I ran 16 gauge sterling silver wire through some 1/4" copper tubing which I then beat with a hammer. The spirals were formed and forged with a hammer. Then I spent about two hours dragging out half of my stash to try and figure out what to hang from the bottom. I finally gave up and just attached a vintage skeleton key. I've heard it said that we should charge for our design time but I think charging someone 30 bucks because I can't make up my mind is a little overboard. LOL Someone thought that the key was okay because they bought it at a show already.

Meet Bubbles

Meet Bubbles the baby groundhog. Bubbles is an orphan. Her (at least her rehabilitator thinks she's a her) mother was hit by a car and she was picked up by a nice lady and turned over to my friend. I never thought I liked groundhogs. They've burrowed underneath my pump house and created a big mess with their excavations. But this little critter is so friendly and just loves to cuddle. My dogs, as usual, were fascinated by this little thing. I once read that dogs can identify an infant of any species by their smell due to differences in blood chemistry. I don't know if that's true but they're always very gentle with these babies.

Bronze Decorative Wirewrap Bracelet

This bracelet is based on a tutorial by Arja, a talented jewelry artist from Finland. This one is made from bronze wire with blue quartz beads. She has a very clever way of creating the loops and a hidden clasp. Nice tutorial, Arja!

Week 19-Snidely Whiplash Owl Pendant

The theme for this week is "Round and round". This is something I was playing around with the other day and it comes closest to fitting the theme with it’s round belly and round eyes. It’s an inexpensive glass cabochon that I wrapped with square copper wire. Then I wired a piece of brass wire under his body to represent a branch and some feet. Where I got stumped was trying to give him a beak and some cheeks to close the gap between his body and eyeballs. I’m not happy with that part. I think he looks more diabolical than whimsical-hence the name Snidely Whiplash. LOL If anyone has a better solution, email me a sketch!

Week 18-Victorian Key in Bronze

This was made on request from my Victorian Key Pendant tutorial only with bronze wire and silver beads with amethyst gems. It's been so long since I made one I had to get out my own tutorial to do it. :D Since the bronze oxidizes a lot faster than silver, it got very dark in the crevices. I wish I knew of way to remove some of the patina from the bronze without removing it from the silver.