Have you ever craved a little creativity?  I’ve been eyeing my old jewelry supplies and thinking more and more how nice it would be to make something.

For years, a jewelry business was part of God’s provision for our family, allowing my husband to graduate from college debt free and enabling us to work in ministry with a rather small salary.  Then we moved to this camp, I started homeschooling, and baby #4 arrived… the jewelry got packed up and has stayed that way for the better part of 14 years.  Now and then I break it out to make a gift or something for the kids.

The big girls have taken to raiding my jewelry business supplies of late.  They’ve been pulling out old stock and asking if they can wear it. 🙂  And this week they have asked me if we can incorporate a jewelry making class into their high school routine.  Sounds fun, don’t you think?

Well, the creativity bug finally won out.  I’ve always been a wire artist, but I wanted to do something a little different this time.  I found a lot of inspiration on Pinterest.  I finally decided on a horse pendant, based on these two examples.

SerenityWoodsCrafts on Etsy

 

RedMareStudio on Etsy

 

I liked the shape of the first horse, but I liked the idea of adding reigns like the second example.  The reigns give the piece more stability, and I never say no to a little “fancy”.

My niece has a birthday in April, and she loves both horses and this aqua color, so I now have her birthday gift ready to go! 🙂

I used a 20 or 22 gauge wire for the head… I’m not sure which, it’s been so long since I’ve used these supplies.  18 would have been more ideal, but I didn’t have it.  I used 24 guage for attaching chain to make the reign.  Swarovski crystal are used in the mane, and you can see the various pliers.

 

I drew the outline of the shape I wanted to make on a piece of paper.  Then I could lay my wire over it as I went along so that I had a guide.  I learned a few things that will make it easier if I ever do it again.

I didn’t use the light box for the photo, so it’s a little gray, but this is it.  The finished piece is around 54mm in both directions.  It is 14k gold-filled, so it is a nice piece of jewelry–a keeper.  It will hang on black cord, and I’m rather excited to gift it to my niece.

If you are interested in learning to bend wire, I recommend practicing with brass craft wire.  You can get it in a 20 gauge.  Also, if you like the examples I used for a pattern, you can check out both artists using the links I put beneath the photos of their work.  They both have many beautiful pieces in their stores.

We have a few more birthdays coming up.  I have some other ideas vying for my attention, and my girls are asking for specific items.  I think I’ll leave the supplies out for awhile. 😉