The Wing Thing Blog | Handcrafted Jewelry, Vintage Finds & More

Here's another new listing in  our Etsy shop .   These are hand forged sterling silver triangle drop earrings with wire wrapped green stone beads.  Check out these pretties here .

I finally got some photos of our local blond squirrel that we call Champagne Charlie named after Leon Redbone's version of the song.  Do blonds really have more fun....I'm not so sure because he used to frequent our yard but was constantly chased out by a black or gray squirrel.  He has been nesting up the street and took a chance to pay us a visit.  The first two shots I took with my phone through the window...hence the quality.  The last one my husband took with his camera and it's a much better shot.  You can see that Champagne Charlie is quite the handsome squirrel!

Here's another pin/brooch to close a flyaway buttonless cardigan sweater or to secure a knit scarf or shawl.  Again, this is a penannular pin or brooch design that would be a unique fashion statement accessory to add to your jewelry wardrobe.  This one is made with pure copper wire and embellished with rose quartz beads.  You can see more photos at our Etsy shop.

I was rifling through my stash of jewelry pieces that I've made over time and hadn't done anything with them.....they're just sitting on a box.  So I dug out this piece and thought I'd show it off and maybe list it in our Etsy shop....this will be happening soon. This style of pin is call a penannular pin or Celtic brooch and was worn by the Romans, Irish, Scots and Vikings.  They're actually a great pin to wear with a big scarf or shawl as it easily holds them in place.  I like to wear them with an open sweater or buttonless cardigan sweater.  They tend to fly open so this style of pin is a nice decorative way to keep it closed. I made this pin with bronze wire and adorned it with a blue tiger eye stone bead.  Take a peek. Here's a short video that I did demonstrating how to attach a penannular pin/Celtic brooch to a sweater.

"I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today.  I can choose which it shall be.  Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrive yet.  I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it." Groucho Marx

..... looks like a topping of sugar on my ferns.

The autumn foliage of sugar maple trees is a wonderful sight with bright yellows and brilliant oranges and reds.  Boy, I love this time of year.  This is the sugar maple in our backyard and it puts on a pretty good show for us.  It's around 70 years old and has been struggling these past few years as the root system was damaged from road construction in the area.  But, it's hanging in there giving us shade in the summer and beautiful colour in the fall.

These are big heart post earrings hand formed from pure copper wire.  I've gotta a thing for creating heart shaped jewelry because it's a symbol of love.  But I like to add a bit of flair to my creations.  Check out these bold beauties that are listed in our Etsy Shop.

A sweater was required for my day at the Wellington Beach with a friend. But, that's okay because I love sweater weather.  Ah, the pure bliss of no crowds, blue sky, crisp air and the sound of waves crashing against the rocks.  It was a good day.

New earrings have been listed at our Etsy shop .  These post/stud earrings are lightweight to wear and 1 3/8" in length.  They will add the perfect finishing touch to an outfit for a pulled together look.  Check them out.

Using Czech seed beads, I added a beaded spiral to these long twisted copper pendants.  I just need to decided on a chain then I will be listing them in our Etsy shop.

"Keep your face always toward the sunshine and the shadows will fall behind you." Walt Whitman

This is one of the abstract tree pendants that I made awhile back using tinned wire and solder.  I added a light patina which gives it the look of pewter and renaissance wax to preserve the patina.  The pendant hangs from a stainless steel chain and is listed in our Etsy shop .

I made this pendant necklace using the Tiffany technique of soldering to this old crystal chandelier.  I used lead free solder, added embellishments, filed for smoothness and a patina which achieves an aged pewter or rustic look.  The pendant hangs from a recycled silk sari ribbon and this one-of-a-kind lovely has been gifted.

It's been some time since I've worked with my soldering iron....so I got to work.  I soldered an old chandelier crystal, created a flowering tree and 2 abstract garden pendants.  They have the look of pewter that I like.  All they need now are chains/ribbons and then I'll listed them in our Etsy Store.

As with all fashion, chokers seem to come and go.  It's a fashion accessory that has been popular again for a few years now, but shorter and tighter to the neck seems to be the current trend. This 16" choker would fall at the base of the neck on most people.  Whether dressing for work or to dress up your jeans this short necklace would be a beautiful addition to your jewelry wardrobe.  I've used jet black czech glass beads and accented with bali sterling silver charm fans. I've listed this necklace in our Etsy Store .

"April hath put a spirit of youth in everything." William Shakespeare

It's been a while since I've created anything with my silver so I finally grabbed some wire, findings and beads and made these earrings that I've posted in our Etsy shop. The leverback drop earrings feature iridescent dark loden green beads.  They're nice business attire earrings....wear on casual Friday with a black sweater and jeans. The post earrings are fun boho summertime earrings.  Imagine wearing them on a warm summer day with your hair up sipping a wine spritzer on patio (sigh).

Since I'm not venturing far these days because of the polar vortex (brrr....shiver), this cold frosty weather inspired me to make these Swarovski clear crystal & sterling silver earrings.  These are post/stud dangle earrings.  Wear them to a dressy occasion - wear them with black for a dramatic look.  They're listed in my Etsy Store .

For women that love earthy jewelry, I've made this copper and nephrite jade stone bead ring.  It's listed at our Etsy shop .

I wasn't finding just the right bead in my stash the other day for an upcoming project.  Then it dawned on me....crackled glass marbles! That's what I needed!   This technique has been around for a long time and it is sometimes called fried glass marbles.   In the past I've bought crackled beads.....But it's so easy to do.   I put some glass marbles in an aluminum tray and  got my little toaster oven out, the one that I use just for crafting, and set the temperature for 350F.  Once the oven hit 350F I put the marbles in the oven for 20 minutes.  When the 20 minutes was up I removed the tray with oven mitts on and I dumped the marbles in a plastic bowl of cold ice water and within minutes I had some really cool looking patterns in the glass.  I didn't have safety goggles on so I made sure that I wasn't directly over the water bowl just in case some glass broke.  None did, but you do hear hissing and crackling. I baked some small round ones and some f