Week 1 - A NEW YEAR BEGINS....

Well, here we are back for another round of FSOJ.
So Hi to everyone returning and a big welcome to our newest participants :^)
This year I'm not going to stress too much about being on theme (I made it for MOST of them last year), my main aims will be :-
1. to be on time
2. use up a heap of stuff I have started and not finished
3. try and master things that have eluded me in the past

My first piece for this season is also my first effort at weaving a box chain. The AR is probably not right and the weave is a bit loose - but these were all the rings I had on hand.
I have used another of my dichro pieces for the focal. Overall, I'm quite happy with the outcome, and it feels lovely on.

Week 52 - CELEBRATION OF FSOJ

WAHOO!!!!! We made it!
CONGRATULATIONS EVERYONE!!!!
Looking back thru the blog is an awesome experience - what an extraordinary body of work we have made - something I think we should all be pretty proud of :^)
52 weeks has absolutely flown by - hasn't it?
For my final piece for FSOJ I wanted to try and incorporate some of the new things I have learned this last 12 months. I'm pretty happy with what I came up with, although the photo really doesn't do it justice (this is picture no. 42 - I kid you not!)
The main body is 14g. fine silver. I have hammered this lightly and then balled up the ends with my torch. The wrapping and weaving is done with 26g. sterling & G.F. , the small beads - also in the same metals are 3mm. round. Suspended from this is one of my dichro pendants (with gold painted on and fired) which I have finished with PMC from a syringe. The whole thing is hanging from a 2 in 2 chain using two different size rings interspersed with GF wrapped loops and more sterling beads. A hand-made "S" clasp finishes it off.

This is a better picture of the centrepiece.


And this is a much better picture - at least to give a better idea of colour - of the dichro pendant.

Week 51 - THE CLEVER COPYCAT

WAHOO!!! - I'm not late this week!!
This is another one of those no matter what I do photos, it still looks like cwap! So for that I apologise..
This piece is not particularly clever, but it is a sort of copycat!!
Ages ago I bought a book called Making Wire Jewelry, and in it is a pattern called daisy chain, which I am rather fond of. Then, about 2 weeks ago I received 2 old copies of lapidary journal from a very kind soul on CWJ (thank you Wendy) and saw this gorgeous pair of earrings by fellow FSOJ member Dianne/faeriiidust. This is based on a combination of these 2 things.
The pendant bit is 18g. sterling wire coiled around 2 satay skewers. I have used 8mm freshwater pearls and little 2mm sterling beads. I wanted this to be a fairly uncluttered piece - so it is very simply strung & has a toggle clasp at the back.

Week 50 - MISTY MORNING

This is one of those times - no matter what I tried I just could not get a great photo of this necklace. Blame it on the full moon!
When I thought of misty morning the first thing that came into my head, was a much loved book title - The Mists of Avalon. This is a novel based on part of the Arthurian legend and the magic and myth surrounding just that.
So here is my tribute to the land of Faerie.
The goddess/faerie figure has been wrapped and woven with 28g. wire over an 18g. hammered frame work. Her wings are the most gorgeous coloured kyanite stick shaped beads. These look almost silky IRL. A picture just does not do them justice. I have also used a very pale blue freshwater pearl, pale silvery blue matsunos and Bali silver. This centrepiece is supported by more of the pearls, seed beads and silver - lots more wrapped loops this week too.

Week 49 - OFF THE COW'S BACK

I must admit - I thought the theme for this week was a bit strange - what on earth was I going to do? So after a bit of thinking about it I decided to "go with the flow"...
MOOving on -
Yeah, I know - more glass!
I wanted to try something different with the fusing - no dichro this time. So here's my little "friesan fantasy" (sorry - I couldn't resist...lol.)
I have fused into place the framework for the centre section - 16g. fine silver wire runs the whole length of that bit.
Then onto wrapping with 26g. sterling wire..
The chain section is just lots of wrapped loops with black onyx and bali silver.

Week 48 - OUT OF AFRICA

While nearly everyone else is doin' week 49 and 50 - here I am just finished this week!!!
And truth to tell - it's not quite finished yet - this needs to have a really good polish and LOS treatment.
How on earth we arrive at "out of Africa" depends a lot on imagination here...lol
The big critter in the centre is an Egyptian Scarab - and that was part of Africa when I was at school (unless they've shifted it or changed the name or something which they seem to do that a lot these days!!)
Also this piece in real life has a vaguely "tribal" feel to it :^)
I've used another one of my dichro pieces as well here - it picks up the colours of the beads I have used ( amazonite and some sort of shell ) quite well.