"Those earrings..."

"...will be good for the holidays, huh?" my husband said.

I looked up at him, put down my pliers, took off my magnifying glasses, and blinked a few times.  He could tell I wasn't really in the room with him but was lost in Beadland--or more accurately, Ringland.

He tried again:  "You usually make a few chainmaille bracelets and earrings to sell at Christmastime, right?" 

I nodded.  "That's why I'm working on these--well mostly.  They're also just kind of cute."

He smiled.  He's a great guy.  "I'm also planning to make a Hodo bracelet or two and one in Garter Belt weave," I added.  "They work up pretty."  I know he's seen the bracelets and heard of both of those weaves (and he remembers the names), though I'm not sure he remembers what they look like.  But he's always so nice about what I make that I didn't really need to say any more, so I got back to work.

These earrings ARE cute, and they're distinctive to boot because of the oval rings.  I wish could say I created the design, but I didn't.  I learned the design from my friends at Chainweavers, one of my favorite online vendors of chainmaille rings and things (where I also got the cool sterling silver oval rings).  The earrings are a simple design to make if you know the Byzantine weave (or as we maillers lovingly call it, "Byz"), the most popular of all chainmaille weaves.  Each earring consists of three units of Byz and three oval rings (small, medium, and large), plus a Swarovski oval crystal.  The lightness and openness of the oval rings adds to the earrings' airiness.

For comparison, here is a photo of a classic sterling silver Byzantine weave bracelet:  

You can see how dense the weave is, with one "Byzantine unit" (can you see where they begin and end?) disappearing into the next, making one long sinuous round ropy bracelet.  This weave feels so good on the wrist (and around the neck when woven into a necklace)!  

And here is an oxidized sterling silver bracelet that I made in a weave called "Byzantine Rose," composed of alternating units of Byz and "rosettes" or "Moebius" elements:  

The Byzantine Rose bracelet is a little less dense than Byzantine alone, but not as airy as the earrings.  The crystals add a nice sparkle too.  

These crystal Byz beauties are 3-1/4 inches long and very lightweight and swingy. 💗

If any of you are interested in chainmaille in general or in learning the Byzantine weave or how to make these earrings, just let me know, and I can steer you to the right references to get started.  I basically taught myself with tutorials (as we all tend to do), but it's always nice to have a guide too.  :)

Thanks so much for reading--I'll be back again soon!

xoxo

Meridy

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Faerie Grove

My inspiration for my EE earrings this week came from something I'd stashed away in the past.  😊

Faerie Grove

I'd had most of the elements for these tucked away together in a baggie for a long time--at least a year, probably longer.  I knew the pretty spotted tanzanite lampies by Terry Turner and the silvery leaf charms would make cute earrings; I just didn't know exactly HOW.  So I stashed them in the bag with a few other beads and put them away...and this week, I decided to sit down with them and figure out what they would be.

I took some of the beads in the bag out of the running.  I loved the Thai silver beads that were in there, but they just weren't quite right, and neither were a couple of other things that were in the bag.  I decided to make the tanzanite color a focus, as I love the color, and the little Swarovski and Czech rondelles were perfect, in hue and in size, keeping the earrings sleek and simple and lightweight. The pretty little Nunn Design antiqued silver bead caps added just the right touch too without adding bulk to a slim, light earring. 

   

It was fun finally seeing these earrings come into form.  I hope you like them.  💗

Thanks for reading!  I'll be back in a few weeks with more.  

xoxo

Meridy

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