Don't let the name fool you! There is so much to this book including what it's name implies:
Contemporary Copper Jewelry: Step-by-Step Techniques and Projects By
Sharilyn Miller"This eye-opening guide epitomizes the revolution of copper as a rapidly growing trend among designers due to its inexpensive yet stylish nature. Considered to be one of the prettiest and most accessible alternatives to silver and gold, this essential reference details just how simple copper is to work with, offering step-by-step photographic demonstrations on how to craft beautiful and functional pieces with ease. With 17 inspirational projects from top jewelry designers and an extensive exploration of the many varied techniques and styles available, this handbook will help jewelry artists of all skill levels discover exciting new avenues for their craft. Sharilyn Miller is a wire jewelry artist and the author of Bead on a Wire, Rubber Stamped Jewelry, Stamp Art, and The Stamp Artist's Project Book. She is the former editor of Somerset Studio and the launch editor for spin-off titles Art Doll Quarterly and Belle Armoire. She lives in Idyllwild, California."
Well as I stated above there is so much to this book including working with copper.
And here is an example of what I made with a technique from the book:
What I culled from the book was a cool way to do wire wrapping that would allow me to incorporate a large marble into a piece of jewelry. This is not the exact way it was so clearly photographed in the book but it was just the beginning part which was all I needed because up until this point I hadn't figure out how to do it.
It was that light bulb moment! Whoo-hooo!
So I gathered up my supplies.
-Wire, I wasn't sure if I was going to use 26 or 20 gauge but I ended up using 26
-A cool old earring to be my "frame"
-My old big sick green marble that I love
-Ball chain
I cut 2 pieces of the 26 gauge wire about 14 inches long and twisted them together in two places leaving an opening or a "eye" between the two twists for the marble to sit in.
Then I just went nuts(NO personal jokes at this point) and continued to wrap and twist the wire ends randomly around the marble.
When I felt that the marble was secure in it's random wire web I wrapped the 4 ends around the earring and clipped off the excess.
Then I clipped off the wire post on the back of the earring and slipped the ball chain through the top part.
Done-ola!
Can I just say how long that old marble has been sitting on my desk crying to me to be in a piece of jewelry and now it is thanks to
Contemporary Copper Jewelry: Step-by-Step Techniques and Projects .
By the way I have an advance copy but you can pre-order it now over at Amazon and you will get it as fast as it comes in!
There is so much more cool ways to wrap and feature beads in this book, I am sure a few other odd elements that I have that aren't an easy fit into new jewelry pieces are sure to find a way in now with the help of this book.
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Yup you read right. I turned my yoga ball into a giant eyeball for a Halloween decoration for my lawn. The two bowling ball ones needed something to look at. hehe
The yoga ball already had concentric circles on it so it was super easy to pick one and simply mask off a circle for the blue part of the eye. I then taped some newspaper to cover the yoga ball from over spray. I used blue spray paint that I had in my stash but if you are going out to buy paint specifically for this project you probably want to get something that says it works on plastic or a primer. The blue was standard Krylon Interior/exterior and the black was Rust-oleum Painter's Touch Multi-purpose paint.
Here it is all painted.
I then repeated the process for the black center part of the eye.
