Holiday Trinket 2015

Apologies for being a little (more than) tardy for my yearly holiday trinket creation...  But, better late than never :-)

Ta Da!  A minimalist, tall and skinny Christmas tree made in European Vertebrae with graduated sizes of rings, in various materials and colors, complete with its own decoration of dangling rings!  Plus a tree topper with a Rosetta-edged whirlybird and a wire wrapped bead cap.

OK, let me guess what you're thinking, "That's not much of a tree"...  Hey, there's nothing wrong with ad hoc mailling, specially when my hands are still hurting from wrestling with those thick niobium wires, not to mention it's a great way to recycle, improvise, and learn something new at the same time.

So, what have I learned in making this tree?  Quite a few:

1.  The dangling rings in the middle of the "tree trunk" add colors, dimension, and movement.  They are forgiving in AR, so great way to incorporate the orphan rings!

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2.  Got any bead about the right size to fit in one of the big rings?  Put a wire thru the bead, wrap a single loop on each side, and thread thru the big "tree trunk" rings, for extra bling!

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3.  Then there's the tree topper.  Well, I cheated a little on this one ;-)  If you had visited this blog from back when I first started mailling, you may have seen my Rosetta whirlybird bead from 2010, and the wire wrapped bead cap from even before my chainmaille days.  I've been saving them for the right spot to shine, and here they are!  String them together on top of a white flower bead, form a double loop on each end, and there is the adorable angel with the fluffiest ruffle collard!!

Well, what can I say, imagination has always been my best friend, LOL!

♥ Happy Holidays, everyone ♥

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My Chainmaille Snowman!!

What do you think? :-)

This happy little snowman would like to wish you all the very best holiday season, with...

Peace for all!!

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Holiday Mobile 2014 - Hourglass Tetrahedron Style

How do chainmaille-holics decorate for the holidays?  What trinkets do we use?  Something with jump rings, of course!! :-)

These are two half-fist size Hourglass Tetrahedrons, adorned with colorful scales, hanging off a little mobile hook.  Aren't they cute?!  I think they look like little poinsettias almost ready to bloom, with the scales as leaves right below...  Do you see it? :-)  So what are they not red and green?  Orange and teal are their close relatives, or is it more like next door neighbors?  That will do just fine in my book!

Happy Holidays, everyone!!

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Pet Dragon Key Chain with Blue and Green Scales

A very special little dragon, custom made to order for a very lucky girl!!

No pink or red; but blues and greens are the fave!!

Super curious;

Always alert!

Happy with belly rubs;

Or curling up for a nap:-)

For a similar dragon as this one, I'll be happy to custom make one for you via this Chainmaille Pet Dragon Key Fob made-to-order listing.  For my other chainamille creations, please visit my online studio DaisyKreates.

For complete views of this cutie, please visit my Picasa Web album.

Thank you for stopping by!!

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Red Genie Bottle Pendant with Easy Change Clasp Bail

I've been asked if I make my chainmaille genie bottles for uses other than pendants; say like, key fob, zipper pull, ceiling fan switch pull, etc., etc.

Well, I'm a little protective of these babies, for their colors and shine.  The colors from anodized aluminum is sturdy but they can be scratched off against sharp objects; and the brilliant shine on the Swarovski crystals is too precious to mess with.  So, as the way this line of the genie bottles are made, key fob idea is out.

However, I see no reason why it can't be swapped out of the neck chain and be used as ceiling fan pull; or, light switch pull.  With the newly updated clasp bail, you decide how you want to carry your genie bottle!!

The stainless steel lobster clasp is very smooth, easy operation.  It will keep the unique tilt that sets it aside from others.  When used as a ceiling fan pull, the long slender tassels with blingy Swarovski crystals bring oh so much more movement and liveliness!

Want to dress up your favorite outfit, or your lamp pull??  Drop me a note via Contact Me at my online studio www.DaisyKreates.com.

And let the magic begin!!

More views of the genie bottle?  Come visit my online photo album.

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Another Squarish-Looking Hanging Thingy

Yes, that's the little brother of my first Japanese 8 in 2 Captive 1 (J8in2C1) in blue fade.

This time, I used anodized aluminum (AA) rings with bright aluminum (BA) as captives.  Same general specs as last one, but the aspect ratios (AR's) are slightly different.

Several things to keep in mind when switching materials:

1.  The wire diameter (WD) can vary from vendor to vendor, even from batch to batch depending on when the rings were acquired.

2.  The WD of AA can be very, very different depending on the colors; yes, even from the same vendor, the same batch; this happens to even the best vendors.  My guess is it has to do with the anodizing process of aluminum, how much of the material is eaten away in order for the different pigments to enter and adhere to the voids in the metal.

3.  Well, this one you maillers out there all know already, the inside diameter (ID) changes greatly from metal to metal; the harder temper ones have greater spring back, giving bigger ID, therefore, bigger AR; and this really throws up the overall structures!!

4.  At the beginning of these shapes, the captive rings tend to pop out when I'm not looking.  Felt like I was constantly running after that escaped ring for both of these projects...  I'd imagine it may help by adding a piece of thin gauge wire to temporarily hold the first few squares together, kind of like using a piece of wire to start those pesky Half Persian weaves.

5.  At last, but not least, the whole square will get tighter and tighter as you go.  Much like many other chainmaille sculptures, the last few rings can make the toughest guys cry....  Well, not me!!  I cheated a little by slightly folding the square to make the last few connections, sort of like "folding the space", ya know;-)  Hee hee, does this sound geeky?  But you get what I mean:-)

Any how, the results are very satisfying!  I think I'll make a few more of these, maybe one in each color!

Yay!!!

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R&D - Bunny Rabbit

This idea has been floating around in my head for a while....  Many sketches were made (I so wish I knew how to sketch properly)....  Oh and googling down the "rabbit" hole.... LOL, pun intended:-)

Countless experiments later (and there were some fuzzy ones)....  I think it's finally taking shape....

I see it.  Do you?   *grin*

I've been told, "Simple is hard!"  It's true.  Weeding out the unnecessary, playing the negative space, that was hard.

In the end, as it turned out, it really doesn't take much.

This one is mine!!!

Ah, so many animals, so little time....

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Joanna's Genie Perfume (Faux) Bottle

My dear friend Joanna wants one of my chainmaille genie bottles in black, not as a pendant, but a treasured trinket that can stand on her own (hence without tassels) in her curio cabinet.  Here's it is!

I won't go into details as to how many failed experiments went through my work bench to allow the bottle to stand up by itself while still holding all the components sturdily in place .....  I even checked through all my vendors, online and local, to no avail.  Mind you, I want only cold connections, no glue, no soldering.

In the end, I was so glad I learned how to wire wrap good:-)

Joanna loved it!  Yay! 

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Chainmaille Christmas Tree

Peace on Earth

Six tiered, anodized aluminum and bright aluminum in graduated sizes of Whirlybird, 4 inches tall from bottom to top of hummingbird, 2 1/2 inches wide at the base.

Complete views.

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Genie Bottle for the Home/Car Decor

Now that we've sprinkled genie power for the neckline and ear lopes, how about a bigger one for the home, or the rear view mirror of your car?

About the size that fits your palm....

Time to take down the fuzzy dices and put on some genie power!

Just how big is it?

Ta-da!

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Interested in ordering your very own genie bottle?  Please drop me a note at Contact Me in my online studio studio www.DaisyKreates.com.

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My Pet Dragon

My very own pet dragon! Isn't he the cutest?!  This is my first try at multi-weave, semi-free form chainmaille.  Multi-weave for the combination of Dragonback (or Alligator), Byzantine, Box, and Mobius; semi-free form for improvising the neck and adding the paws.  I followed the fantastic tutorial by Derailed on MAIL.  The step by step instructions are easy to follow, lots of pictures and arrows pointing at where to add rings, that's how I like to read tutorials :-)

The tutorial describes the main body with scales.  I added the paws, because all the dragons that I grew up with (yes, I grew up with dragons, in movies, paintings, story books) always have paws.  They also have whiskers and antennas, but I don't know how to add those ...  I'd imagine some wire work would do it, like Corvus's dragons; look for her fantastic copper dragon in MaillersWorldWide!)

Oh, and my dragon also wears shoulder pads and hoop earrings.  Very fashionable:-)  Can you see the earrings?  Big old double hoops!  The shoulder pads/cape is a slight variation from the tutorial. I learned it from Derailed's other maille critters, seriously awesome!

OK, back to my guy; he's flexible enough to curl up for nap.  The neck moves very well; the body section from neck to belly is kind of stiff compared to rest of the body, my guess is because I fussed so much over the shoulder pads that I added a few too many rings.  Anyhow, he'll curl up all right, even chase after his own tail:-)  Awww, the poor thing is pooped from all the jumping and posing all day; it's a lot of hard work to look so adorable:-)

Specs:

All rings are stainless steel, WD 1.2mm, 3/16" ID from C&T Designs, and 5/32" ID from Blue Buddha (F18 SSTL); scales are bright aluminum also from Blue Buddha.  I did have to use larger rings (1/4" ID) to include the key ring into the box weave at his jaws.  That's it.  Not very ring hungry, but the stainless steel part put my hands totally out of commission for quite a while (Advils helped:-)

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Interested in purchasing one of these?  I'd be happy to make a brand new one for you as a custom made-to-order in my online studio DaisyKreates.com.  Thank you!!

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