Featured Artist – Cats Wire


CatsWire’s Artfire Store

Ich war schon immer von Schmuck und von dem Gedanken, ihn selber herzustellen, fasziniert. Mein Berufsleben führte mich stattdessen zu den Büchern, als Bibliothekarin.
Durch Zufall stieß auf Schmuck, der aus Draht gehäkelt war. Der Gedanke ließ mich nicht los und ich stürzte mich kopfüber ins Experimentieren.
Inzwischen häkle, spulenstricke oder stricke ich Schmuck aus Feinsilber- oder Kupferdraht in verschiedenen Farben, mit Schmucksteinen, Edelsteinen, Perlen, Lampworkperlen oder Rocailles verziert. Ich verwende keine Vorlagen oder Muster für meine Entwürfe, sondern sage gern, daß ich den Haken entscheiden lasse. Immer wieder einmal bin ich selber überrascht über die Richtung, die ein Design einschlägt.
Dadurch sind auch viele meiner Stücke Unikate.

Seit kurzem arbeite ich auch mit Fimo, entweder um Miniaturen herzustellen, ich verbinde aber auch gerne bei meinem Schmuck verschiedene Techniken.

Eine ständige Anregung und Inspiration finde ich durch meine ArtFire-Gilden, “Handmade in Europe” und “Polymer Clay Smooshes”, ohne deren monatliche Herausforderungen manches Stück sonst vermutlich nicht entstanden wäre.

Besucht mich :-)

http://catswire.de
http://catswire.com

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I’ve always been fascinated by jewelry and the thought to make it myself. My job took me to books instead, I work as a librarian. By chance I discovered jewelry which was crochet with wire. I didn’t get that out of my head any more and just started to experiement.
By now I use crochet, spool knitting and knitting to create my jewelry from silver or copper wire in different colours, embellished with semi precious stones, gemstones, beads, lamp work beads or rocailles. I don’t use any patterns for my creations, but let the crochet hook decide. More than once I have been surprised about the results.
That’s why a lot of my creations are one of a kind.

Recently I started to use polymer clay to make miniatures, but I like to combine different techniques in my jewelry design as well.

My Artfire guilds “Handmade in Europe” and “Polymer Clay Smooshes” are a constant source of inspiration for me, without their monthly challenges some of my creations probably wouldn’t have been made.

Visit me :-)

http://catswire.de
http://catswire.com

Featured Shop – The Beaded Branch

The Beaded Branch

The Beaded Branch

Theresa is selling jewelry in a wide range of styles, colors, and jewelry made with different mediums and techniques as well as beautiful handmade bags and wallets in her store. Here are a few of my favorite items from her store, even if it was hard to narrow it down. You can either click on the images to go directly to the pictured items or you can browse her stores at Artfire and Etsy – but please don’t hold me responsible for any money you spend there…

Fluorite and Pearls Cell Phone Charm

Fluorite and Pearls Cell Phone Charm

Fluorite, pearls, and glass rondelles mingle to create this striking little cell phone charm. Don’t have a place on your cell phone for a charm? Use it on a USB drive, as a zipper pull, or add some bling to your purse! Green and purple never looked so good together.

Moonlight and Pearls Necklace

Moonlight and Pearls Necklace

This beautiful hand-knotted necklace of shimmering white freshwater pearls and faceted black glass beads ends with a gorgeous sterling silver S clasp. It is so beautiful and elegant.

Ocean Wave Bug Bag

Ocean Wave Bug Bag

Let’s not forget about her cute bug bags, they are perfect as a little gift or you could use them to pack a little gift into. This elegant little bag is made from a variety of gray and burgundy cotton fabrics, with an accent of cream colored polyester satin. The drawstring is a very pale green cording. Measuring 8 1/2 inches x 4 inches, it’s a perfect size for a small wallet, car keys, a cell phone and maybe one or two other small necessities.

Featured Shop

rose works jewelry

rose works jewelry

Rose Works Jewelry is a great shop where you can find a lot of different kinds of handmade jewelry, from simple to complex. Just click on the banner to visit her Artfire store if you want to see more than I can present here. I especially like the earrings and the bracelet you can see below.

earrings - fun spirals with blue beads

earrings - fun spirals with blue beads

bracelet - light pink and black rope bracelet

bracelet - light pink and black rope bracelet

And if you don’t find exactly find what you are looking for, just contact the seller, as she does custom orders too. I ordered the necklace on the pic below as a custom order, she showed me different options for the beads to chose from. And the necklace looks in reality even better than on the pic, it’s my favorite piece of jewelry to wear in summer.

necklace - hemp choker with red beads

necklace - hemp choker with red beads