galligator... love that key charm, awesome way to put that together!

Jproject - the button earrings are adorable, and I love the necklaces

elizat... very pretty! I like how you combine your shapes and colors, lovely!

OOOOOO I forgot about these earrings! They are one of my favorite pairs...

Last year my brother got married and my mom was wearing a cranberry/plum/purpley/reddish kinda dress lol and she wanted me to make her earrings. I made about seven differen pairs because I was in a different state and didn't have material to compare it to plus they were all different styles so she could pick whichever looked best.

Well, she picked her favorites and she has all the pairs but these were too 'young' for her so I asked if I could have them back rather than make a new pair so she gave them back and now they are one of my favorite pairs to wear! Ok that was a long story about one pair of earrings !

I used the rings that I use to make wine charms so that I didn't have to try to make a nice circle shape with my wire... they work pretty well!

Eek! I'm so glad I found this thread! I make my own jewelry too... I'll post some pics soon...

Yay vanessa! Can't wait!

Very pretty Elizat!

Galligator ~ I cannot believe you found those at Michaels! I will have to look better the next time I am there.

Here are a few pieces I just made for a coworkers daughter. I thought they were really cute. Also a picture of my wire wrapped ring. I have 2 more, one purple and one blue, but I couldn't find them.

TygerKitty- those are really cute! Funny story- I can see my own mother being picky about things and wanting choices too.

Sweetwon- Those are such girly and sweet things! I bet she loved them! I do like the ring a lot. Did you use one of the ring size things to do your wrapping? I am really thinking about giving one a go, complete w/ a halo, if you will, of wire around the center stone.

I made some jewelry this weekend!!! I can't wait to get some pictures of it to post!!!

I'm gonna go catch up now and look at everyone's beautiful things!!!

Thanks elizat! My mom isn't usually too picky but it was her only son's wedding afterall !

Hi! I just recently got addicted to bags (got my Coach Sabrina and my first Marc Jacobs all in 2 weeks!), but I've been a jewelry maker for over a year and I have an Etsy store http://bunnyroca.etsy.com.

Bunny your pieces are super pretty! I love all the earrings!!!

And, I have to ask... which color sabrina did you get!?

Bunnyroca ~ Your designs are really nice. I am thinking about trying some new ideas after Christmas. Most of the jewelry that I make and wear is really simple, but I think now that I have more time I might go a little more advanced.

I don't make my own jewelry, but I have all the supplies so it really is just a matter of desperation. Do you find that it is expensive? I can't gauge (no pun intended) how much a project will run because they seem to sell everything in singles or small amounts. Am I thinking too hard? I also like charms, do you have any suggestions about manufacturers you prefer. I also don't like kits, there is a huge bead store not far from me that I am dying to visit. Any words of warning for a beginner with crimping tool in hand?

Haha gondola girl! I know what you mean about having it be difficult to judge how much something costs to make! The better quality you buy, obviously the more expensive... it's not too bad once you have a set of supplies and beads. Then you just have to re-purchase wire, findings, etc when you run out. The problem is always wanting to buy new beads and things ! You could, when you buy a package of something... say headpins, figure out the price per headpin in the pack and make a list so that you can start to approximate how much each piece that you make will run. Once you do that a few times you will get a better idea of the total cost.

I always loose track of how much the supplies cost because I buy beads intending to make something and then need one more thing and never go back to get it. So the project gets pushed aside. And I love bead stores! There are so many pretty beads that I usually end up with a random assortment and then need to go back for more. I guess I really should plan ahead, but at least it gives me some extra beads to work with.
I would recommend buying some crimp beads and practicing crimping them before you start your project so you can see how best to crimp them. They come with crimping directions that are really easy to follow. I found that practice was the best way to go, eventually I got pretty good at it.

Excellent advice! I guess i am jumping in the pool!
Wish me Luck!