The Saga of the Bajoran Earring, pt. 4

So at last, here's the pic of me with the earring on. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The clip-on finding does not look too bulky to me, although I might place the top charm a little below it next time so it doesn't look so overshadowed. I wore it to Writing Renaissance today and didn't feel that uncomfortable pinchy feeling I was apprehensive about.

Also, Writing Renaissance was fab. It's great to get hugs from so many people you care about and haven't seen in like forever. Also, I got applause, actual applause, for a writing exercise. I mean, the prose-poemlet I wrote in response to it, called "Ataxia." That made me happy. We did three exercises. Molly Bain facilitated. She was fantastic.

Also-also, speaking of fabulous poets, Katie Pierce, a woman I went to grad school with, is on Poetry Daily today. Laaa!!!!

The Saga of the Bajoran Earrings, pt. 3

So I spent all day getting those earring parts, and spending more money than I thought I would ($50 instead of $25), partly because I wanted to get different findings and see what worked best, and secondly because I saw some stuff at the end that I just "had" to have and it oops! jumped in the cart. Ear cuff findings were nonexistent at the craft store, and this is a big craft store. You can order them online, individually, from Fire Mountain Gems though, and I've seen them on other sites for less money but with a minimum order of $25 and a not-as-good user interface. So I decided that clip-on findings were the next best thing. I also found some toe rings in my jewelry box that I may adopt... and also-also, I just wanna get my cartilage re-pierced so that I don't have to put a clip-on or cuff up there --I can just use a stud.

Here's the Process

Step 1:

Here you see the main components: 20 ga. craft wire, 2 lengths of silver-plated chain (I would estimate it's about 3 or 4mm chain), a filigree clip-on earring finding, 2 lever-back earring hooks, 6 jump rings (though I miscounted and ended up needing 7) and the elements of my charms: a hexagonal spacer bead and a hematite cube.

Step 2:

First I made the charms which were to go on each segment of the earring. This is the left ear again,  so the longest charm will go closest to my chin and the "cuff" will go up on my cartilage.

Step 3:

Here I've built the charms and connected them to the findings, so you can see the earring starting to take shape. My last step is to connect all three segments with the chain so it becomes one big earring that goes all the way up my ear.

Step 4:

And here it is! One big earring. I had to cut the second piece of chain (on your left) down because, although I do want a bulky "hardware" feel, I didn't want that chain between my two lower piercings to get caught up in the two charms.

When I wake up I'll have Mike take a pic of me with the earring on... moment of truth! I am worried that the filigree clip-on will be a bit bulky looking next to the charm which looks more delicate, but we'll see. I thought I would be done in an hour. I started at 5:28 and finished at 6:07. Yes, I woke up very early to do this because I was just too beat yesterday after getting home to put the earring together. Because of public transit, rush hour, etc. it took me 4 1/2 hours to complete my journey. I thought it would only take 3. I'm just happy I got it done because I want to wear it to Writing Renaissance this morning... which starts in three hours. Wonder if I'll get a nap between?

I also have to give major props to these craftspeople at Chainmail & More or I would have never thought to do an earring that utilizes that double-lower-lobe-pierce I got in the 80s cos everyone was doing it.

If you like this tutorial or the jewelry, please leave a comment on my blog or on the Facebook link.

The Saga of the Bajoran Earrings, pt. 2

Making this type of earring with an ear cuff blank would be super-easier than doing a wire-wrap ear cuff, although less beautiful. This afternoon, I need to head out and get some more bead wire so I will see if they have any ear cuff blanks at the craft store. From my online research, I've seen ear cuff blanks at $6-10 each, which kind of expensive. So I really want to be able to make the wire wrap cuffs. I did some searching for tutorials. 

Wire wraps are not my greatest skill; however I've been wanting to improve. For Christmas this past year I asked my mom to get me these metal "needle" files of various shapes and diameters that are good to work with wire wraps. You can do the actual wrap on the end of the needle. And then you can file down the tiny edges with the filing part.. I had previously been using the end of a pair of chain nose pliers, and filing with a cheap emory board which is kind of a pain.

So here's a picture of my first wire wrap cuff, done using this tutorial. Either this author's first language was not English, or they didn't proofread before they saved the tutorial, because there are certain key words missing. Like prepositions. Words that describe objection relations --with, around, under, through --very important to include! Anyway, I sort of guessed what was going on and I attribute the shoddiness of this work to the fact that it was my first attempt, not their spotty directions.

The little part that's shaped like a U is the part that bends around the back of the ear. Here's another shot so you can see the U-part better.

Finally --okay,  my font and alignment have changed after I added the second photo, WTF blogger? Anyway, there it is. You can see it's not entirely symmetrical. Oops. Finally, here is a shot that shows the cuff actually on my ear. Unlike the proper Bajoran earrings, which are supposed to be worn on the right, mine will be worn on the left. I have an asymmetrical haircut. It's kind of like a pixie on the left and a chin-length bob on the right. So if I'm going to be showing off fancy earrings, the naked ear is a better choice :) 

Whoa, font and alignment have reverted back to the original. Yeah! Am I gonna bother to fix the middle one? No. Cos I'm impatient, that's why. As you can see, the cuff is pretty far down on my lobe. The bottom scroll is where I would be attaching the jump ring / chain to connect the earring that goes to the actual pierced part of my ear. IMO, that cuff should be up way further. What happened was that I got the proportions wrong. The scrolls are too wide and the U is too short to properly wrap around the back of my ear. And I have tiny lobes. 

If you want to imagine something semi-humorous, remember that I have no peripheral vision. Imagine me trying to get this stupid shot of the cuff on my ear w/o being able to see where the camera is in relation to my head. It took about seven tries. Stina, if you are reading this, this moment of disability humor is for you. 

Annnnyway, back to the beading board. 

Urgh. Except this is about the moment where my fibro says... you need a break. Don't you feel sleepy? You could just clooooose your eyes for a few minutes.

[Btw, I persist including all these details about the vision and the fibro because I want you to know what my life is genuinely like. That's part of the mission of this blog, I have determined. So if you're sick of reading fibro fibro fibro every other post... too bad.]

So I may go upstairs and try to do another wire cuff, or I may have a nap and go to the craft store instead. The sad thing is, that cuff only took me about 5-10 minutes. Then about fifteen to take pix and blog it, and I'm tired already. Fuck.

The Saga of the Bajoran Earrings, pt. 1

Mike and I are re-watching alllll of Star Trek on hulu. Right now we are almost at the end of TNG. Last night there were some episodes featuring one of my favorite minor characters Ensign (then briefly Lieutenant) Ro. For some reason it struck me last night --I don't know why it didn't occur to me before --I really love the Bajoran earrings.

Hence, to the internet. My first thought was to buy one. I looked at this one but eventually bought this one. As I was looking around at all the beautiful creations, especially on Etsy, it occurred to me that I could make these myself.

One of the great things about my life at the moment is, if I want to dedicate an entire Friday to learning how to make Bajoran earrings, I CAN DO SO. So this is part one of the Saga of the Bajoran Earrings. I'll post more throughout the day for those of you who want to follow along with my jewelry nerdery.