Showing posts with label weaving. Show all posts

Witchy Wednesday - Weaving Magic

It has been a while since I shared any of my wire work.  I'm extremely pleased how some of my new pieces are turning out.  So for this week I thought I would share some photos (and maybe a video or two) from the newest ones.

Photo and Wire Art by Renee Sosanna Olson














I'm really in love with these blue labs now.  Here's some info I found about Copper/Labradorite on the web.

This labradorite pendant is so impressive and amazing. It is modern and elegant. Blue flashy labradorite is eye-catching in a classy way. 

A stone of transformation, Labradorite is a useful companion through change, imparting strength and perseverance. It balances and protects the aura, raises consciousness and grounds spiritual energies. Excellent for strengthening intuition - promoting psychic abilities. Also just plain drop dead gorgeous of a stone!

Copper is said to promote love, sensuality, friendship, positive relationships of any kind, negotiations and peace. Healing work, fertility spells, prosperity spells, and spells to attract love.

Angel: Haniel
Gods/Goddesses: Shamash, Innana, Astarte, Ishtar, Aphrodite, Venus
Chakra: crown, heart, solar-plexus
Element: water
Astrological Sign: Taurus
Planet: Venus;
Sabbat: Midsummer or Litha;
Tree of Life: Netzach
Tarot: The Empress

Copper is 100% recyclable without loss of quality. There is anecdotal evidence that copper can be used in the treatment of wounds and skin diseases, as well as internal diseases, anemia, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and heart disease. It can also help improve the circulation of blood, increasing energy and detoxifying the body. It is primarily said to benefit the Root and Sacral Chakras, but may also benefit the Heart Chakra.



Photography and Wire Art by Renee Sosanna Olson
You can find my work on Etsy and Amazon Handmade.

A Witch's View - What Makes a Home?

Because of my ability to work from home, I have the benefit of being able to avoid certain stresses. I don't worry about traffic or car problems.  The weather is generally not a concern of mine when planning my work week.

I'm also pretty lucky that I have a fantastic partner who supports my need to be creative.  He allows me the freedom and the understanding to do all the crazy things that I do.  I tend to spend a lot of time making jewelry.  I do dabble a bit into soldering but my passion is weaving the wires. It is so relaxing to me.  Recently I made a few pieces that I really loved.  I have shared them on here before and one of them is actually sold already but I can't help but share it again.

Photography and Jewelry by Renee Sosanna Olson


This piece really spoke to me.  It spoke to me about protection. While I was weaving the wires together I thought about the wrapping of the copper around the glass eye. Copper is well know for the healing properties it possesses.  I leveraged that along with the knowledge that comes from seeing clearly what is around you. The friends that are behaving as enemies or the family that is behaving as a foe. Using the eye as a way to see what you really need to see, you can open up a channel of knowledge simply by allowing the eye to see what you have been blinded to.

Many people use the adage "Home is where the heart is" , to me I'm one that doesn't give much thought to the structure that surrounds my belongings. A house is just a vessel that I use to keep my stuff from getting wet. At least it always had been.  Last year Hurricane Matthew came through and wiped out many people here in Seven Springs.  We lost our vardo, which took away our ability to travel to our events.

Flood Oct 2016 - Renee Sosanna Olson

Now we're looking at the possibility of resettling.  It leads me to ask what exactly is a home? What do we need?  We're looking for a place with protection from the elements, but also a place where we can live with like minded people.  A place that we can afford but also a place that offers protections for people like us. We want to be around people who think like we think and care like we care about those around us.

Since moving back to NC, my childhood home, I have found that being close to blood relatives does not make a place home. As many of you know I ended up caring for my mother in my home a few years ago and I have just now gotten over the negativity she brought into my life.  At the time I placed her in a nursing home my younger sister got mad at me and pretty much disowned me. This past Christmas she came to my cousin's house and broke down in tears. I have to admit I didn't feel as connected to her but I thought I would give it a try.  My birthday is next week.  She has messaged me once on Facebook since then.  I really believe if I was that big a part of her life she would have reached out a bit more.  It is something I long for, but have come to understand that we just do not have that type of relationship.

Kallan & Renee



Ideally what makes a home is a place where you are safe and cared for.  A place where you can count on those around you. A place where someone remembers your birthday or calls you just because they want to talk to you. A home is where your family is. Not blood family necessarily but those who come to your defense when you're under attack.  They offer themselves up to help you when you are down and they want to know what your day is like. Just because they love you.

Renee, Kallan & Elijah


I will be going home soon.  Our walls will change.  Our address will be different.  Our lives will be happier.  I'll need one of those little signs that says "Home Sweet Home".  And don't you worry, on the back will be a nice little eye, just to help me keep my eyes open to the world around me.


Copper Tarnish - Weaving Wednesday

I really enjoy working with copper.  The bright shine that starts out and the slow aging of the copper that turns it slightly black.  Many of my pendants are placed in Liver of Sulfur (LoS) solution to speed this darkening process.  However because I live in a pretty humid area sometimes the tarnish gets a little out of control.  For this weaving Wednesday I thought I would show you the difference a little bit of steel wool and a soft brush can make in your pieces.




Let's start with the Rainbow Moonstone.  This is how the piece looked after I applied my LoS to it. As you can see the weave shows up very nicely around the entire piece.


Photographer & Jewelry - Renee Sosanna Olson
 Fast forward about 3-4 months and you can see how significantly darker the piece is.  Same lighting, same stone.  Just heavy tarnish on the piece.

Photographer & Jewelry - Renee Sosanna Olson
Now here's that same piece after I took a piece of grade #0000 Steel Wool (found usually for working with stains and lacquered finishes).  Just brush lightly across the woven areas, trying to shield the stone with your finger.  Then follow up with a soft brush. (I use a nail brush) to remove any pieces of the steel wool that might be in there.  Some people disagree about using Steel Wool related to rust and so forth.  This is the way I do it, please use the method that you feel most comfortable with.


Photographer & Jewelry - Renee Sosanna Olson
I then repeated the process on two other pieces of Larimar.  Here's the results.

Before cleaning.


Photographer & Jewelry - Renee Sosanna Olson
After cleaning.
Photographer & Jewelry - Renee Sosanna Olson
Before Cleaning.
Photographer & Jewelry - Renee Sosanna Olson
 After cleaning.
Photographer & Jewelry - Renee Sosanna Olson
What ever process you use for cleaning the copper, remember to protect the stone from strong abrasives that could scratch the stone or from harmful chemicals that could damage your stone.


Weaving Wednesday - Weaving Photography

Many times getting a photo of your jewelry is hard.  I have spend a lot of time and money to figure out a way to get a good photo.  Recently a new light box I ordered finally arrived I wanted to share some photos of the differences.


First these are photos in my old light box.  It was big enough for a four foot mannequin to fit in.  It was hard to use for jewelry. (Link to my old light box)


Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson


As you can see the back ground was a bit washed out and the light from the top reflects in the stone.

I decided to just hold the pieces in my hand under my Ottlite instead. (link to my Ottlite)


Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
I felt this was a good way to show it because with my hand in the photo, it gives and idea of size of the stone.  It was told to me however, that these were unprofessional.

So I ordered this new light box.  Here is a photo from this light box. (Link to my new light box)


Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

I really like the way the new light box works.  It is a smaller size so I can put the box at eye level and try to take the photo from the front.  So far so good I think.


Here's that same moonstone from above now in the new light box.   To me I am feeling that it is a pretty good image.  Feel free to leave me your comments.


Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson








Weaving Wednesday - Tarnish

Over the last few weeks I shared two pendants without applying the liver of sulfur (LoS).  LoS is a tarnishing solution that gets into the weave of the pendants and really brings out the detail.  Here are those same two pendants.  I'll share a before and after.




Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson




Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson


Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson




Here is a video of each of the finished pieces.





Weaving Wednesday - Sterling Silver & Rainbow Moonstone

This is a piece I created recently with Sterling Silver wire and a beautiful Rainbow Moonstone.

Here's the finished piece.


Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson


I started with a basic chevron weave and created the frame.


Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson
 Next I secured the frame and started on the bail.
Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson
 I pulled four of the frame base wires around to create a basic figure eight weave for the bail.

Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson
 After securing the bail I started on the two side wires.  I created a circle for the bail with one side.

Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson
 And some loops around the front on the other side.


Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson
 Here's a look at the base weave on the side of the stone that frames the stone in place.

Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson
 And a look at the front.  Man, that Moonstone shimmers!

Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson
 Finished piece.  Love it.

Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson
You can purchase my pieces on my Etsy shop or over at my Facebook page.  The etsy lnk in on the side rail of this blog and my facebook page is here - www.facebook.com/baublesmith

Weaving Wednesday - Labradorite Tear Drop

This is a laboradorite tear drop I worked on a few weeks ago.  I'm adding the raw photos first and then will follow up with the tarnished ones.

Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson
Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit Renee Sosanna Olson













Back to Copper - Weaving Wednesday

Due to the flood I've been taking a few weeks off to get things back together.  I decided to start with a copper piece to get back into my flow.  This is the first piece I did.  This one hasn't been tarnished yet, but this is how it looks so far.


Here's the finished product

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson


I started with a base weave on 6 wires and wrapped them around the tear drop shaped stone.



Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Next I joined the top together and circled the back to create the frame.  Using the weaving wire I created the bail by using a simple figure eight weave.


Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
 Once the bail wires reach the back I pulled them around to continue to access the front of the piece.


Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
 Here the bail wires are woven with a three three pattern and then attached to the front frame of the piece.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
 The second set of wires are also woven with that same three three pattern and attached to the frame.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

 This photo shows the back of the piece where the stone is framed in as well as the spirals I created along the opposite side of the stone.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
 And the finished piece.  I still need to tarnish the copper.  I'll be doing a video of that for the blog a bit later.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
 You can find all of my creations for sale on my Facebook page shop - www.facebook.com/baublesmith



Weaving Wednesday - Labradorite in Sterling Silver

I found a stunning blue labradorite that was simply amazing.  I wanted to put it in sterling silver.

Here's the finished piece.


Labradorite in Sterling Silver



Here's my process.

I took five, 12 inch wires in 20 gauge and 1 length of 26 gauge weaving wire and started a chevron type weave.  Using two wraps on each base wire before moving to the next level.


Labradorite in Sterling Silver
 I continued that pattern until stone was completely wrapped in the weave.

Labradorite in Sterling Silver
 I then made a slight bend in the tops of the wires to crisscross the front two wires around the back to lock the frame.


Labradorite in Sterling Silver
 I then use the weaving wire to secure the two wires around the back of the stone.

Labradorite in Sterling Silver
 I ended at the bottom, trimmed the excess wire and created spirals to end the wires neatly.

Labradorite in Sterling Silver
After completing the bail with a figure eight type weave, I used the end of the bail wires create the decorative weave for the front and sides of the piece.


Labradorite in Sterling Silver
I used the weaving wire to create the main weave.

Labradorite in Sterling Silver
I used the weaving wire to lock the weave in place by looping once around the frame in places where it came close to the stone.

Labradorite in Sterling Silver
 This is the finished piece.  it turned out really well.


Labradorite in Sterling Silver
You can purchase my jewelry at my Facebook Shop and learn more about me on my website.