Bakelite mah jongg tile focal

I had so much fun with my practice mah jongg tile necklaces that I ordered some cool, vintage Bakelite tiles from a gal named Bethany from Frankenbeads whom I found on Etsy. We really bonded given that we are both Beth's and both from Cleveland, Ohio.  She didn't know that much about the game of mah jongg so I helped her with the descriptions and to properly name the three suits - Bams, Cracks and Dots.  She in turn did me right on the sale of the tiles.  The tile in the picture below is a Flower and although it has the #1 on it, it is still just a plain old flower with the number being insignificant.

This is a necklace I made with the Bakelite mah jongg tile as one of the focal beads.  I also used a circular semiprecious green jade bead, a green Buddha, and a variegated glass bead as focals.  Hanging from the maj tile are three pieces of sterling chain.  Coral branches hang from the chain as well as a vintage green glass bead.  The necklace closes on the side with a handmade sterling wrapped hook which loops through an old Asian coin.  Semiprecious and some glass beads are all wire wrapped on sterling. 

If you are interested in purchasing this necklace or a similar one, please click HERE to contact me.  Thanks for taking a look and thanks for your support and comments which are so much appreciated.

Love Affair with Mah Jongg

Playing mah jongg is one of my favorite past times and I play regularly twice a week with two different groups of women many of whom I taught how to play.  It is a game of skill and chance and really keeps the brain active.  My mom played all her adult life and I have fond memories of the ladies coming over to our house in Cleveland, Ohio every month when the weekly game rotated and it was my mom's turn to host.  I remember her setting out the bridge mix.  Maybe there were cocktails or coffee - that I don't remember because it was the bridge mix I had my eye on...especially those chews.  But what I most remember was lying in my bed and feeling so safe and secure listening to the clickety clack of the tiles and the soothing sounds of the ladies, in the near by dining room, calling out their discards..."one bam, two crack, green" as I eased into a peaceful sleep.  Mom, I hope you're enjoying playing mah jongg with all your long time buddies and really cleaning up on the coin up there.  One day I'll be up there joining you. 

And as synchronicity would have it, Cleveland just hosted Project Mah Jongg, the first exhibition of its kind - taking visitors on an exploration of the game's cultural meanings through sight, sound, text and play.  

Click HERE, to watch the original documentary short called: 

MAY THE TILES BE WITH YOU:  CLEVELAND'S LOVE AFFAIR WITH MAH JONG

Use the password:  mj

In honor of my love of mah jongg, I have created two necklaces featuring a mah jongg tile as the focal.

This necklace is made with vintage sari ribbons and sterling silver findings.

This second necklace is made with bronze chain, bronze wire and both glass and semiprecious beads.  

I twisted several sari ribbons together.  I hand formed the center ring and the closure form 14 gauge sterling.  I drilled through the maj jongg tile with a diamond drill bit.

Vintage glass and semiprecious beads hang from the bottom of the maj tile.
Who's your #1?

To secure the sari ribbons, I added a sterling wire wrap and semi precious beads on one side of the necklace. 

I made a triangular closure with bronze and soldered it closed.  The mah jongg tile acts as the toggle.

I love maj jongg and jewelry making!

Handcrafted Bronze Bracelet

Handcrafted Bronze Bracelet, a photo by jpbeth on Flickr.

This was a fun project incorporating a bunch of metal smithing techniques. I started with a piece of bronze sheet which I metal etched. I drilled a hole in both the flower and the bronze sheet and attached them with a little screw and nut. Drilled four more holes in the bronze, two on each side. I annealed the metal to get soften it, formed in around a mandrel and then work hardened it. I made my own jump rings and soldered them closed and attached everything with wire wrapped green turquoise beads. I patined the whole thing with several different methods. The hand made bronze closure can fit into any of the four jump rings to fit any size wrist.

I love metal smithing

I don't know what was more fun, making the jewelry or making the collage in Photoshop.  But I do know that I love metal smithing...oh, love playing in Photoshop too.


This fun, funky necklace and earrings feature hand-made metal etched bead caps, green magnestie beads, lemon chrysoprase wire wrapped dangles, bronze and silver wire and deer skin leather. 


I taught myself how to metal etch.  It's easy really.  I first stamped a piece of bronze sheet metal with rubber stamps using permanment Stazon ink which you can buy at any craft's store like Michael's.  You use duct tape to protect one side of the metal and then basically float the exposed side of the metal in the etching solution, which you can buy at Radio Shack, which I poured into a shallow rectangular plastic storage container.  Needless to say, this container will only be used for metal etching.  You leave the metal in the solution for about 1 hour.  Then you rinse it and neutralize it in baking soda and voila...hand etched metal. 


Using my handy dandy disk cutter, I cut out circles from the etched metal.  I then drilled them and formed them on the dapping block that Joe bought me for my birthday (oh, how did he know!).  The ear wires are made from 20 gauge sterling silver - learned how to do that in Deryn's awesome earring class. The necklace has a focal similar to the earrings attached to a large bronze jump ring that I soldered closed. The magnesite beads are wire wrapped with bronze and connect to a bronze double ball hook and eye front closure. Deer skin leather forms the back of the necklace and connects to the beads with 22 gauge bronze wire that I balled on both ends, flattened with the chasing hammer and annealed to soften before I wrapped it around the leather.

Close up of the hand made jump ring, wire wrapped magnesite beads and focal

Double balled hook and eye.  And fun, funky wrap on the deer skin leather.

Rustic Rhinestone

I just finished a new fun, funky, asymmetrical, long necklace using some of the closure techniques that I've learned, in Deryn Mentock's Art of Closure on-line class, including jump rings (which I soldered closed), a beaded toggle clasp and rhinestone chain crimp ends.  I added some sari ribbon which I've attached with rustic wraps made by first hammering the wire flat, drawing a bead on both ends with the torch and annealing the wire to get it soft.  I then did a funky wrap and twisted the balled ends together.  I have used bronze wire for the wire wrapping and the closures and have also strung some of the beads on beading wire and attached with crimps, some with sterling crimp covers which I patined to darken them up. 

This was a lot of fun to make and it reminds me of a fun, circus type lively necklace in purples, pinks and greens with the fun rhinestones, funky beads along with the semi precious beads enhanced with the green/purple sari ribbon.

Hand made bronze beaded toggle clasp

Fun dangles hang from the centerpiece which features a funky, purple crystal bead

Rhinestone chain and sari ribbon attached to a green crystal bead with hand made bronze wire crimps and wraps

The Year of the Dog

The Dog is a giving, compassionate personality.  She offers kind words, support and advice to friends and family.  She is a listener, always available to lend an ear or a shoulder to a friend in need.  Often Dogs know more about their friends than their friends know about them or even themselves!  Dogs are incredibly attentive.  Sometimes though, Dogs should pay more attention to their own needs.  In private, many Dog people worry a lot.

This necklace features a Chinese Zodiac YEAR OF THE DOG bone pendant. The dog image is on the front and the applicable Dog years are on the back.  

1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994

I made this necklace with semi precious and African glass and bone beads which I wrapped with silver wire.  I hand formed and soldered the jump rings closed.  Two pieces of leather cord connect to jump rings with handmade silver spring end clasps at both ends.  

 This necklace can be worn long hanging to the waist with the dangling beads decoratively hanging behind your neck or it can be doubled up so that the smaller dangle hangs in front and above the dog focal.  One of the spring end clasps can be used as a closure when wearing it doubled up.

Close up of the dangle that can either hang behind your neck or hang in front when the necklace is doubled up

close up of the wire wrapped beads, the soldered jump rings and the spring end clasps

Close up of the Chinese Zodiac - Dog

Reverse side of the pendant showing the Years of the Dog

Getting some closure

I recently enrolled in another on-line jewelry class from the awesome Deryn Mentock.  This is my forth on-line class with Deryn, and although I've never met her, I feel like we've made a real connection.  She is not only an excellent teacher but fabulously creative and artistic.  Her jewelry is featured on the cover of the current (Spring 2012) Belle Armoire magazine.  The class I'm taking now is called the Art of Closure and we're learning to make cool handmade closures.  Why use a boring purchased clasp when you can create your own.

Here's a necklace I made using Deryn's closure techniques including:  handmade jump rings, S hooks, a stacked bead closure, wrapped fabric loops and a single ball hook.  This necklace closes on the left with a stacked closure made with beads and a bronze metal disk.  The chartreuse colored sari silk loops around the stacked closure.  Although not taught in this class, I soldered my jump rings closed to give them more stability.  I also made a metal etched bronze disk that I attached (on the left) between the small turquoise bead and the small coral beads.

Necklace with sari ribbon, semi precious beads on wire wrapped bronze and handmade bronze findings

Another view of the necklace.  

Close up of single ball hook (on the left) and metal etched bronze disk (on the right) that I dapped and drilled two holes into to use as a bead

Close up of the focal and bronze disk.  I added a piece of the chartreuse sari ribbon to the focal - this is the same colored ribbon that I've used as the loop closure.  I made the jump rings and soldered the big one closed - I like the look of the rustic solder showing.

Close up of the S link

Close up of the stacked closure which is made from a bronze disk which I cut, distressed and formed on the dapping block.  I added a large carnelian bead, a rhinestone bead, metal heishi and attached it all with a balled end wire; on the other end I formed a loop and attached it to a jump ring which I soldered closed.   The sari ribbon forms a loop which acts as a buttonhole for the stacked closure bead.  I added tiny carnelian beads to a wire and wrapped it around the loop.