Wild Woman Bangles

I've been lax and didn't blog at all about my Bead and  Button trip.  I had a fabulous time (like spending a week beading could be anything but fabulous).

My classes were wonderful and it was such fun meeting and getting to know the teachers.  Most of the instructors took time to talk with everyone in the class, which I thought was awesome.

One of my favorite classes was the Wild Woman Bangle class, taught by Debora Mauser.  I haven't done very much wirework and was apprehensive about the class.  I emailed Debora with questions about tools and ended up having a longer email conversation with her.  She was very reassuring and excited to help me try something new.

I wasn't even nervous when I walked into the classroom.  Even if I had been, Debora's big smile and friendly demeanor would have instantly put me at ease.  

These bangles look best with a mixture of brass, copper, silver and any mixture of beads.    The kit Debora supplied had several different kinds of wire and beads .. plenty for two bangles.

Debora spent the first part of the class teaching us to twist wire and make both kuchi beads and tornado beads.  They look daunting, but Debora's technique is so simple.  It really was fun to twist and turn the different wires into something cool.

I'll admit that I was wondering if we would have enough time for the bangles, but all of us finished at least one  bangle and most of us finished two.

Debora supplied liver of sulpher and a tumbler for our use and we left with finished pieces of jewelry!

I highly recommend this class to anyone interested in wirework.  Debora was a great teacher and the class was really fun and, as Debora said, there is no wrong way to do it.  Seriously, no wrong way!  How awesome is that?

I can see these bangles becoming a staple.  I love wearing them with other bracelets and I plan to make a few more.

Thank you, Debora, for such an awesome class!

Sari Bangle

When I found Pinterest, the first thing that grabbed my eye was a picture of these bangles.  I loved them and was not surprised to see they were from Miss Fickle Media.  I love Shannon's work and she is such an inspiration to those of us not familiar with hammers and heavy gauge wire.

What I didn't realize was that Shannon had created a tutorial for these bangles and sells it in her etsy shop.

I read over the tutorial several times and gathered materials.  While scoping out potential focals, I came across this connector from Nancy Schindler of the Rabbit Muse.

I followed Shannon's tutorial and created the bangle base, then wrapped it with sari ribbon and wire.

This bangle was so easy to make and I just love the result.  Banging on wire with the hammer was pretty fun too.  :)

Shannon, thank you so much for the wonderful tutorial!