Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Spring Birds Are an Inspiration


My bead swap partner  Norma Turvey sent me 2 of these cute metal birds.  We are partners in Lori Anderson's Lori Anderson latest bead swap.  Most of my jewelry is inspired by nature so I knew I would do something with them. The question was what?!  I thought long and hard and I decided that the bird is the perfect size for a bracelet.  The next question to be answered was how do I attach beads to this bird since there are no loop?  My first attempt to work around this challenge involved using 22 gauge sterling silver wire  to create loops.  The sterling just had a really bulky look to it that I didn't like.  The next plan was a winner.  I used beading wire and crimp beads to attach the bird.  The crimps are hidden by crimp bead covers.  I then decided to incorporate some round silver beads into the bracelet.  I always like to use silver and blue together.  I had these blue crazy lace agate beads with hints of gray that I thought would look good with silver.
Blue Crazy Lace Agate

Bracelet by Bay Moon Design
 What did I do with the second bird that Norma sent me?  To be continued...

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