Red Bone Claws

You might remember from my Facebook page when I posted a picture of some items I had gotten. 

I thought they were kind of cool and would lend themselves to some really great earrings if I could figure out. 

The other day I finally sat down and started trying to do just that and the results were a bit mixed to say the least.  My initial desire was to take advantage of where the hole for beading was drilled and have the claw swing freely from whatever wire or what-not I could come up with. 

That lead to this:

...Which wasn't so bad.  It allowed the claw to swing freely, but the triangle shape had to fit to allow a free swing and the claw would slide and then get caught on the wire...  And apparently they ended up looking like chili peppers according to one person.  Neither of which I wanted.  I wore them at work for a day and while a few people complimented them, I wasn't feeling like they were as successful as I wanted them to be.  On top of that, while fighting the wire I managed to hurt myself by slicing my finger and nail with the pliers.

Not my coolest moment.

I thought then, that a square might be better.  I even drew out the shape so I could form the wire to the shape and size that I wanted.  Again, mixed results.  The square shape worked will with the distance of the bead hole and the top, but I was having a lot of trouble with consistency of the squares as I'm still learning how to manipulate wire.

I still like how they look but there is a lot of space and the claw slides back and forth more than I'd like.  I thought about using spacer beads, but none of my current ones fit right and I'd rather not use one at all if that's the case. 

I went out today and while I did so, I looked for a bail pincer that might work but none would fit the hole size or diameter of the top of the claw to be usable - so the faster easier way is sort of out.  I could use larger ones, but then they'd really be too big and obvious to have on an earring and would work better on a necklace.  To be honest though, I don't know that I'd use these claws as a necklace because the points are pretty sharp and would probably be uncomfortable, but I could try and see how that would work too.

So back to drawing board for me!  I'll keep working on these and when I am happy with them, I'll post them up for sale on my etsy site. 

Keep in mind, my holiday sale is going on right now.  All items ship in the United States for just .99 no matter how many you get!  That means all the jewelry ships out for just .99!  Internationally, all items ship for 3.99, no matter how many pieces you get!  Take advantage of the sale now and get your gifts in time for Chanukah, Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate!  Please take a moment to check out my gallery on etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/stormwolfstudios

Now, I'm off to try and get these bone claws to work... Just a little more carefully.

Have a great weekend!