My First Link!

I am proud to announce my very first link to a jewelry artist: Zoya Gutina.
Her sites are: http://www.mylovelybeads.com/
www.gutin.org/beads
I am proud because she is truly an artist with seed beads. You may see her work at the above sites and on the Reasonable Insanity forum:
www.reasonableinsanity.net/
In fact, check out Reasonable Insanity for all the jewelry information you could ask for!

Memory Wire--Best Thing Since Sliced Bread!

This is a memory wire bracelet I made for my husband's aunt. She's undergoing chemotherapy right now and I thought she might need a bit of cheering up. The beauty of memory wire is that it keeps its round shape no matter what. You can bend it, stretch it out, use it like a Slinky (anyone remember those?), and it will always hold its shape! And no clasp is needed because it wraps around and around your wrist!

I've only been in the jewelry designing community for a couple of years now but am continually amazed at how we find comfort in creating something beautiful and giving it to comfort the receiver.

This was made in her favorite color: purple. (I confess: I love purple too.) The crystals are tanzanite Swarovski bicones, very close to a clear purple. Now here was a problem: the aunt's skin is quite delicate and the crystals have a rather sharp edge. Fortunately, the fresh water pearls were larger than the crystals, and hold the crystals away from the skin. And, the pearls are very smooth.

Have you wondered where the title of this entry comes from? Many years ago (almost 80 or so) "store bought" bread wasn't sliced. Then came the great idea to slice it! Truly a time saver, if you have ever had to slice bread, piece after piece. Back to the present: no clasp need for a memory wire bracelet? Wow! That's the best thing since sliced bread, absolutely, especially for those who have problems with clasps on bracelets.