Tuesday, August 4, 2009

This is a medical bracelet I made for my husband's medical emblem. I wanted something that looked more ruggedly masculine than just beads and he suggested copper links. I hammered very heavy copper wire into "dino bone" links and drilled holes to hold the connecting jump rings. That was a lot of hammering! I had thought of making enough links to make a necklace for myself but after doing just enough links for this bracelet thought better of that idea! I love the look of copper, even after it oxidizes it still looks so richly warm in color.

Swarovski Crystal Medical Bracelet


Several members of my family, as well as many of my friends, wear the medical bracelets to alert medical personnel of their medical problems. I discovered a way to make these bracelets more attractive, as well as easier to remove and put on. This is one I made for my friend and fellow artisan jeweler, Carol. It contains Swarovski crystals and is easily attached to her gold medical emblem. I even guessed correctly her size and it fits well, and really improves the look of her bracelet now without losing any of its vital functionality.

I have many more ideas for great designs for these and will begin working on more of them.

The Blogging Gods are not allowing Carol to comment on this post this morning so I will post her comment she e-mailed to me mainly because it warms my heart to hear it and also validates that these are a great idea!

I'm the totally lucky recipient of this beautiful bracelet link for my medical bracelet. So many of us have allergies and other issues that require us to wear a Medical Alert bracelet. Many of my friends agree that it feels like you have been "branded" and the world believes you have a hideous disease instead of an allergy to penicillin. The addition of Susan's wonderful crystal bracelet makes such a difference. I now see my alert bracelet as a piece of jewelry and wear it proudly instead of trying to hide it under my watch.
Thank you so much Susan... what a difference !!!!
Carol

Hematite Heart

This necklace/earrings set was made from some hematite beads I found in Albuquerque. The heart pendant I wired from a hematite heart found locally. This was an interesting material to work with as they are truly magnetic. I had beads stuck to every jeweler's pliers on my worktable and the earrings stuck together when placed too closely to each other! They make a fun set if you want something dark but not jet black in color.

SOLD

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Red Necklace for Kristi


A friend commissioned me to make a necklace for her, the only stipulation was it had to have red in it. I chose these red branch coral beads because I love their deep red color and the interesting shapes and textures of each bead. I hand-made the beaded clasp. She loved the necklace and wore it well.