Metal Smithing

Happy Thursday, everyone! I hope that you've all had a great week and that you enjoyed the Easter holiday with your friends and loved ones.

Over the last few months, some of you may have noticed that I'm creating and selling new styles of jewelry; specifically speaking, metal pieces! I've been learning all about metal smithing in a course that I attend on Thursday evenings. I'm so thrilled with the new skills that I've picked up; the pieces are unlike anything else that I've designed in the past.

The metal smithing class that I take is offered at Wesleyan Potters in Middletown, Connecticut. To describe the class in their words, "This course is designed to accommodate the beginning as well as the advanced student and covers all the fundamental topics of jewelry making – basic techniques, including sawing, filing, soldering, texturing and patina coloring."

Below are some photos of the jewelry that I've created thus far. I hope you like them!

Hydrolic Press New Gold Cuff Bracelet

Custom-Made Earring and Necklace Pendant Set.

Sterling Silver Ring with a New Gold Overlay

Handmade Precious Metal Clay Pendants with Handmade Dichroic Glass Cabochons.

Spotlight on: Earrings!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Today I'd like to show you all a few of my favorite earring designs that I'm currently working on. They're fun and funky and make great gifts!

Crystal Ball Earrings

 

 



These earrings, made with Swarovski crystal beads, are really fun! Shaped like little spheres, they are a great way to add a pop of color and originality to any outfit. Despite their small size, the complex sphere shape means that it takes me just about an hour to complete one pair! Custom orders are available; you can see above that I have a lot of color combinations planned out already!

Brio Scribbles Earrings

 

Aren't these earrings both funky and elegant?! I think so, too! Firstly, I need to start off by giving credit to Maria Richmond, a fellow jewelry maker out of Pittsburg, PA from whom I purchased the instructions to make these earrings (you can check out her Etsy website here). I make all my Brio Scribbles earrings with copper wire, briolettes and seed beads. Once again, custom orders are available!

What do you all think? I'd love to hear your feedback!

Have a great weekend! -Lynda

What I'm Working on Now...

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I hope that your week is off to a good start and that you all enjoyed your weekend, despite giving up an hour of sleep on Saturday night. Personally, I think that the extra daylight is well worth it!

I've got a few events coming up in the next two months (I'm very excited!) and that means that I'm hard at work, busily working on new jewelry and designs. While I am starting to "feel the pressure," I'm excited for all that I have planned, including my first-ever private "jewelry-party" with my niece Katie, and hope that you enjoy these "sneak-peeks" for 2014!

Leather and Rings Bracelets

Back by popular demand- I'm working with more color combinations and new vintage buttons this spring!

 

Aren't the colors of the Japanese seed beads beautiful?!

 



Wrap Bracelets (Single and Multiple Strands) and Chinese Knotting Cord Bracelets

In addition to long wrap bracelets (made with leather cord and seed beads) that wrap around the wrist 2-4 times, I am also experimenting with wrap bracelets that only have one "strand." They are much shorter than the longer wrap bracelets and perfect for layering! A completely new and funky design that I have learned recently is the Chinese Knotting Cord design. I make these bracelets by, you guessed it, knotting cord and then finishing the design with fun clasps and toggles.

 

A longer wrap bracelet with a vintage bead "clasp."

 

Below, you have two shorter wrap bracelets and finally, a Chinese knotting cord bracelet with a copper clasp.

 

 

"Chunky" Beaded Statement Bracelets

These bracelets are fun and contain quite a lot of beads! They'll be sure to draw a lot of attention (the good kind, of course!) to your wrists and make quite a statement when worn on your girls' night out or other special occassion!

 

 

This single-color beaded bracelet has silver endcaps and toggles.

 

 

This multi-color seed bead bracelet also has silver endcaps but its clasp is an easy-to-use magnet!

 

Leather Cuff Bracelets

These funky leather cuff bracelets feature copper or brass clasps and ceramic tube beads. These are some of my favorite pieces that I've made recently!

 

I just love the beads and clasps on these pieces!

Bracelet and Earring Sets

These sets of bracelets and earrings are made with a plethora of different beads. They can be purchased together for a matching pair or separately.

 

The topmost bracelet/earring set is made with Czech glass beads.

The middle set is made with lampwork beads and pearls.

 

 



Handcoiled Wire Bracelets

These bracelets feature copper and silver-plated wire that I've handcoiled and fitted with copper and silver endcaps, respectively. In the center of each bracelet, a stunning statement lampwork bead is featured. Below, you can see two that I just finished this past weekend. These bracelets are a great option for someone who loves the look of my Viking Knit bracelets but wishes to purchase something slightly less expensive!

 

Hard at work on the copper and silver-plated bracelets!

That's all for now; I hope you've enjoyed taking a "sneak-peak" at some of what you'll see from me this spring! Stay tuned for more!



New Year, New Designs!

Happy New Year, everyone! I know that we're already practically in March, but better late than never! I hope that you all enjoyed a healthy and joyous holiday season with your families and loved ones and are looking forward to the start of spring.

I'm thrilled to say that this year you can expect to see some new jewelry from LC Designs USA. I have been taking, and will continue to take, a few classes to expand my knowledge and abilities to create beautiful pieces with new materials. Just to give you a "sneak-peek," one class uses techniques involving fused glass and another is a metal clay class. This year, I hope to incorporate metal work- featuring brass, copper and sterling silver as well as precious metal clay- into my designs! One of this spring's "hot" items will be cork bracelets. Last fall brought gorgeous leather bracelet designs and this spring will follow with natural cork designs using porcelain, ceramic sliders as well as beads from Nepal. Stay tuned- new and exciting things are on the way!

Before we get too far into this year, I'd like to highlight some of my favorite LC Designs USA moments from 2013 and share them with you all.

1) Handicrafts from Around the World: November 22nd-24th

I participated in this three-day craft fair in New Hartford, Connecticut just before the holiday season began. I had a wonderful time at this craft fair and was surrounded by other talented crafters selling their own unique and special wares. 

Here are some photos of my booth:

2) Biannual LC Designs USA Open House: November 21st

The day before the Handicrafts from Around the World craft fair began, I hosted an Open House for my dear friends, family and coworkers. It was a fun-filled evening of good company, good friends and of course, lots and lots of beautiful jewelry!

 

All set up and ready for browsing!

 

A fun, new design from 2013: Leather and Rings bracelets with seed beads and vintage buttons.

 

Leather and rings bracelets up close.

 

Next up: necklaces and matching earrings.

 

 

Beautiful, handmade pumpkin beads.

 

 

Pearls and a Christmas tree- the perfect jewelry for any Christmas party!

 

If you're looking for a beautiful gift on a smaller scale (or smaller budget), how about you browse LC Design USA's earring selection?!

 

 

Another fun design new to 2013: leather cuff bracelets with beautiful clasps and attention-calling beads.

 

 

Aren't the lampwork beads below lovely?!

 

Here are three-strand Swarovski crystal bracelets. Custom orders (for which you choose three or four colors) are available!

 

Wrap bracelets and some other fun designs.

 

3) National Federation of Paralegals Annual Convention: October 3rd and 4th

In October, I was privileged to be asked to be an non-industry vendor at my industry's annual convention in Hartford, Connecticut. 

4) Biannual LC Designs USA Open House: May 9th

Similar to my Open House in November, I hosted my spring Open House on May 9th- just before Mother's Day for anyone looking for some great gift ideas!

If you missed any of these LC Designs events last year, or if you're anxious to know what's to come later in 2014, here are some upcoming events I'll be participating in:

1) Around the World Handcraft Sale: April 4th-6th in New Hartford, Connecticut

2) Biannual LC Designs USA Open House: May 8th in Windsor Locks, Connecticut 

Stay tuned, everyone, and have a wonderful start to spring!