Siempre Cancún

Siempre Cancún . . . Always Cancún

Although there is snow on the ground here and the temperatures are below freezing, Cancún is still in my heart, and now it is on my wrist. The colors of the sea enchanted me; I spent hours gazing out at the ever-changing hues. Aquamarine, turquoise, sapphire, iolite; these stones only begin to capture its beauty.

I want to go back!

Tourmaline in Lace

And now for something completely different.

I'd been wanting to get back to making bobbin lace with wire for some time now, but had so many new things I wanted to try that it got pushed onto the back burner. But this weekend, I got a bee in my bonnet, and decided to give it a go in gold-filled wire. The thinnest size I had on hand was 26 gauge, so, of course, I decided to use it. This is the heaviest wire I've ever tried to make lace with, and it has a very different look and feel to it. It made a very firm and stiff cuff -- 26 gauge definitely behaves considerably more like wire than do the thinner gauges! I added the pearls and tourmaline in rows to emphasize the very geometric nature of this cuff. There is more than 35 feet of gold-filled wire in this bracelet; it isn't heavy, but it does have a very substantial feel to it.

"I'm crazy for loving you"

"I'm crazy . . . cra-zy for lo-o-oving you."

I had Patsy Cline in my head while assembling this bracelet in the Idiot's Delight pattern; and with Valentine's Day around the corner, the name of the song seemed to say it all. So when I was done, I added a little clutch of rubies and pearls to make the bracelet sing. The rings for this bracelet are 21 gauge on a 2.75 mm mandrel. The clasp is also handmade.

Love Knots

Another variation on the classic tennis bracelet. This knot link is something I've been wanting to try for a long time. It's a lot of work, but I think it makes an interesting chain. Especially with a wire-wrapped CZ in between each one! Bling, bling, bling -- I love the sparkle.

Having a larger torch has opened up a lot of new avenues for me; I can't believe it took me so long to finally take the plunge. I am really enjoying playing with it -- I am so glad I got it. Now, if only my wire and sheet order would arrive!