And even more chain maille

I'm going to have to think of a better post title for here on out.  "Even more more chain maille" doesn't have a good ring to it.

The items I have to show you today are all tutorials from Brilliant Twisted Skulls on etsy.

First, I have the Raven's Braid.  The rings I had for the middle were the correct size according to the tutorial, but were slightly too thick.  I had to go one gauge smaller to make it work.  

I love how it turned out!  It just goes to show that, for some weaves, different vendors and different metal types make a difference.  

This is the only piece that I patinaed.  The others are waiting for me to get a few more pieces together.

Next up is the wyvern back weave.

I had done something similar, but I love the doubled persian rings on the edges.  This one used smaller rings and is light and delicate.  I might have to sit down and see if I could do it in a heavier gauge and bigger rings.

Finally, I have a few atomic beads.  These little guys are adorable, but a pain in the you-know-what.  I must have put the bead down a number of times before "getting it".

The beads start out with a mobius, then, somewhere, there is chain maille magic that I can't even begin to explain.  I have no idea how Kirk came up with it, much less explained it.

You can tell these little guys have been sitting around for a while.  The copper has dulled.  I really need to get them cleaned up, dunked in liver of sulphur and tumbled.

Brilliant Twisted Skulls has quite a few tutorials in the store.  If you like these, check it out.

More Chain Maille

I was proud of myself for making the following kitsune bracelets by Amy Leggett.

It's one of the only weaves that I didn't have a tutorial for.  I had to do a bit of "trial and error."

I really like the weave.  It's fluid and feels nice to wear.

I ended up doing a test model in brass, brown and teal annodized aluminum.

Next, was a bronze and stainless steel version.

 Finally, an aluminum with purple and violet annodized aluminum.

Ever since I've made them, I'be been trying to think of a way to make a sheet.  I'm not sure it would work, but it might be really cute if you joined two kitsune bracelets with a european 4 in 1 middle.

What else have I been up to?

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been doing quite a bit of chain maille.  I'm going to split the projects up into a few posts, just so this one doesn't become a monster post.

There is no way I will remember these in chronological order, so we'll just get to these in no particular order.

The first thing I'll show you is this viperscale bracelet.  It's a Viperscale 2.0 from Blue Buddha.  Unfortunately, I cannot link anything for you because Blue Buddha closed recently.  You should be able to find viperscale instructions, though, if you google.

What makes this bracelet different from your typical viperscale is the smaller ring in the middle next to the bigger ring.  The rings need to have a slightly larger aspect ratio to accommodate the smaller ring.

I loved viperscale so much, I decided to do a few in niobium.  C and T designs has wonderful niobium rings.  I miscalculated the ring size and could not do the 2.0 version, but I think these are lovely anyway.

In addition to viperscale, I finally (and I mean finally -- it took me about 6 months off and on) learned moorish rose.  This weave interlocks six ring mobius units.  I looked at tutorial after tutorial until something clicked.

I've never had an arch enemy, but I think this bracelet came close.  I love how it turned out, though.  It's all copper and it has a nice weight to it.

I made the s hooks on the ends.  They're not perfect, but I don't mind.

That's it for now, but I have more on the way.

What have I been up to?

It seems I've taken a bit of a break from my blog.  I guess it's one of those things.  Life gets in the way, pictures seem like a bit of a chore instead of something fun.

It's been about a year and a year and a half since I was posting regularly.  Let's see if I can get myself back into the game, so to speak.

I've still been beading .. a bit.  I love Kate McKinnon's Contemporary Geometric Beadwork.  The techniques are amazing and the pieces I've seen are wonderful.

I started a fortune teller bangle early last year, but got only so far.

I hadn't sized the bangle properly and a bit of it split off.  I ended up taking a several rows out and also removing a bit from the inside.  I haven't gotten back to this, however, because my attention wandered to a few other projects.

You see, my wonderful husband somehow procured tickets to the San Diego Comic Convention last summer.  Of course, I needed something awesome to wear.

I finished these next two bracelets about a week before we left for San Diego.

This Harley Quinn bracelet is an example of what can happen if the wings are left unchecked.

Granted, this bracelet is not an "every day" sort of thing, but I love how it turned out.  I am somewhat proud of the snap cover I came up with.

The little warped squares have snaps on the bottom and attach to both sides of the cuff.  I love how it blends in to the rest of the cuff.

I've worn this a few times and I'm surprised at how many people don't realize it's beaded.

The next cuff I made is a rick rack bracelet and not quite as wild as the Harley cuff.  I styled it with Wonder Woman in mind

It also uses snaps for a closure.  You can see the little snaps on the left of the picture below.  The other half of the snap is on the underside of the bracelet.

I really love the techniques in Contemporary Geometric Beadwork.  I'd like to do a bit more with it, but, I seem to have trouble coming up with an idea.  My daughter suggested a Madeline Hatter cuff (Ever After High is a favorite of hers), so I may look into that.

Aside from last year's ornament swap, I'm pretty sure this is all the beading I've done.  Instead, I've been working on chain maille.  I have quite a few pictures to show you in my next post.