Don't Miss the Next Bead soup Party!

Lori is going to have another bead Soup Blog Party.  So put the date on your calendar to sign up and join the fun.  Here is the link to Lori Anderson's blog for more information.

Still Playing with different Viking knit Sizes

 The first picture is a single knit made with fine silver.  These are all in my Etsy shop.

 Big nine row double knit with fine silver and sterling silver end caps.  This one feels like a solid bangle.  It would make a wonderful layering piece.

Six row double knit bangle bracelet in copper.

Late Bead Soup Creation

Here is my creation from Lori Anderson’s Bead Soup Blog Hop.  I had broken my finger and was not able to make this piece by the deadline for the blog hop.  So better late than never, here is the stunning large focal bead that I received from Pam Brisse.  Take a peek at Pam's Etsy store for more pretty flocal beads.

This is a larger bead then I usually work with, but that was the challenge of the party, to work outside of our usual style.  A friend of mind saw the bead and fell in love with it, so I made this for her.  She requested copper.  I decided to frame the bead in knitted wire and I added some tiny gemstones for sparkle. The pendant is hanging on a viking knit necklace that finishes the look.

Experimenting with different sizes of Viking Knit

I have been playing around with different weaves and gauges of viking knit. I have used 28,26 and 24 gauge wire.  I like working with the 26 gauge the best, but the 24 gauge makes a nice solid feeling weave.  I like my bracelets to have a hefty feel to them.  I also have been experimenting with different amounts of rows, and between a single, double and triple knit. Here is the piece I just finished this morning.  It features a nine row double knit.  A hefty 9mm in diameter chain.

This in comparison, is a eight row single knit using 26 gauge fine silver wire, 7mm diameter. The weave is a bit more open and makes a nice flexible bracelet...

This is a single knit with 24 gauge fine silver wire in a ten row pattern, 8mm diameter...

And last, this is 5 rows in 26 gauge single knit, 4mm diameter chain.

I am not sure if I like the single or double knit better for bracelets  The single is more flexible and the double has a nice solid feel, great for bangles.  For necklaces the single weave in lighter weight wire  the best.

Wire Work Questions-Smooth Ear wires?

I am re-posting this information because the question came up again.  And if you make handcrafted earrings, smooth wire ends are so important.
I use a cup bur with my Dremel. All I do is put the end of the ear wire into the cup and the bur files the wire to a nice smooth end. If you do not have a Dremel or Flex shaft, there is a nifty little hand tool that also works pictured below. A fine file will work, but is time consuming.

I make my ear wires with 20 gauge wire. That is the perfect size for most piercings. Choose a bur cup that is slightly larger than your wire. The best bur cup for that gauge wire is a 1.0mm. It is just large enough to get the wire into it nicely. If you use 18 gauge wires for your earrings, then use a 1.3mm bur cup. Note: make sure you get the ID measurement (inside dia) and not the OD (outside dia) or your cup will be too small.

What to charge for Artisan Jewelry?

As everyone knows the price of silver has raised a lot. Checking this morning a Troy ounce of silver is about $30.55. A Troy ounce has 31.10 grams, but finished metals cost more.  I usually use fine silver which is at about $37.00 currently.  So I pulled out my Pocket-Tech gram scale and weighed the silver I was using in my bracelet on my work table.  My scale lets me chose between grams or ounces.

Because I cannot get the long wire on the scale, I use a Styrofoam cup to hold the silver and subtract the weight of the cup from the total.  The cup is .06 gram.  In the pictures below I have my scale set on ounces.  The four love knot beads and the clasp are a little over  1/2 ounce-$18.50.  The last picture shows the total silver that I used is one and a quarter ounce.  That would be about $46.00.

So the next question is; how do you price the finished piece?
cost of silver $46.00
cost of crystals
labor/time - creating the piece,oxidizing and polishing the piece, taking pictures and writing the discription of the piece. 
Etsy and PayPal fee's.

I will continue this post after I finish the bracelet.

Looking at my older jewelry designs

 Looking through my past designs.....

I was going down memory lane this morning.  I found an old file of my jewelry designs.  It was fun looking back at what I had made over the years.  These pieces were made before silver got so expensive, so I used lots of it.  My bracelets were big, bold and very weighty.   Now as I try to keep the prices down, I am trying to use my silver wisely, making each detail stand out.