Rosaries and a Chaplet

Today I added a beautiful purple Czech glass five decade rosary to my collection in my Etsy store. I loved the centerpiece and St. Benedict Italian silver crucifix.  Each of the purple Czech beads are vintage and are a light lilac purple.  In addition, I have added fire polished darker purple Our Father beads which add to the beauty of this Catholic Rosary.  

https://www.etsy.com/listing/488387251/rosary-handmade-5-decade-rosary-catholic?ref=shop_home_active_3

I also completed a One Decade Rosary using fire polished red vintage beads with "unbreakable" wire wrapping technique and a Swarovski 5000 vintage bead as the Our Father bead. The centerpiece is Divine Mercy on one side and Our Lady of Fatima on the reverse side.  The centerpiece and crucifix are made with Italian silver.  The wire is 22 gauge silver plate over copper.  It's perfect for your pocket or purse.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/488396935/rosary-handmade-catholic-gifts-red-fire?ref=listing-shop-header-0

The third item I added today is a St. Teresa de Avila Chaplet using Light Turquoise Swarovski 5000 round vintage beads. The wire is 20 gauge silver plated over copper and the medal and St. Benedict crucifix is made of Italian silver.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/474896358/handmade-st-teresa-de-avila-chaplet?ref=listing-shop-header-1

I love all of these new rosaries and chaplets! 

Hope you enjoy my new additional items to my Etsy store.  Today, all were made with Silver.  Hope you enjoy!!

God Bless,

Jen

Rosary Tools

Rosary Tools

One of the things that I've learned about tools is that when you work at any craft, the tools you use will make or break you.  In other words, it is worth your time and effort to purchase the correct tools to complete projects and properly fit your hand.  

Over twenty years ago, I made all types of jewelry from polymer clay to fiber art.  I had a set of jewelry tools that worked for me at that time.  However, when I decided to begin making rosaries and chaplets, I realized that I would be working with wire in various gauges and would need a much improved set of jewelry tools.  

At first I ordered rosary pliers and these may work perfectly for you, but for me, I found that my tools of choice were round nose pliers, chain nose pliers, wire snips, and flat nose pliers.  The idea of the rosary pliers is that you have multiple tools in one but my experience is that it is far better to have the individual tools to complete my rosaries.  When people look at your work, the quality of the tools you use shine through.  

Interestingly, the high price of the tool is not ALWAYS the best tool.  I love Xuron pliers.  They are not the most expensive, nor the cheapest, but work great for me.  I have one pair of round nose pliers that were made by Beadsmith.  They only cost $7 but I love them and use them everyday. You must try out different tools, holding them in your hand, for comfort and reliability. 

Again, this is MY experience and not necessarily what works best for you.  If you have time, please check out my rosary store on Etsy:  Let Our Light Shine  

Here is an example of my work. God Bless.  

Jen

Handmade Turquoise and Iridescent Crystal Rosary with Vintage Beads