Gifties

Here are some gifties I made for the people down at work. They really loved them.

Chain Maille Keychains

I asked the maintenance engineer for some of the nuts and washers that were laying around the plant. I made these little cuties with aluminum rings. It is a foxtail weave in aluminum rings, stainless nuts and washers and nickel-plated split keyrings. Everyone got one. Even the President of the company liked it. I'll be making more of these as gifts and to sell. They did turn out pretty cool, if I do say so myself.

If you haven't read much of my blog, I make some Boho style jewelry and I love doing chain maille as jewelry pieces. I am just a novice at it, but I love incorporating it into jewelry. I prefer aluminum rings because they don't tarnish and are very light weight. I wash ALL of my jewelry in soapy water and rinse after I wear each piece. Sometimes it's just easier to wear it into the shower to do this. When you wash the aluminum rings, they shine like silver.

What really freaks people out is when they admire a piece I'm wearing, I usually take it off and say 'Be careful. It's pretty heavy.' When they get it in their hand, it's light as a feather. The look on their faces is...priceless!

My tip for all who wear jewelry, cheap or otherwise...WASH IN SOAP AND RINSE IN CLEAR WATER. This takes off all of the body oil, which is what tarnishes the metals. Even gold will tarnish with a buildup of body oils. If you're diligent about this, you can keep a piece of cheap jewelry nicely for years! I have 20+ year old cheap jewelry that I still wear!

Take care.