This is My Jewelry

Welcome to my new blog! I've been blogging sporadically for several years, but when goimagine gave us an option to connect a blog to our shops, I decided to try out Blogger. While I have been terribly inconsistent on mieloabelo.com/blog, I am attached to it in some weird way. I did a little research and found that having two blogs might work for me as long as I am not just copying and pasting. So, I'm jumping in and hoping to share some interesting content here and breathe some new life into my old blog as well.

All that said, my name is Melissa, and I am the sole owner and worker bee at Mielo Abelo Designs. My creations are my own designs, and I draw inspiration from the world around me, colors, shapes, even tools, but mostly my beads and components.

My mother's 70th birthday in 2018 prompted me to sign up for a beginner beading class at a craft store. I bought all the beads and supplies on their list only to have the class canceled at the very last minute. Instead of returning the stuff, I signed onto YouTube and began learning on my own and haven't stopped since. I fell in love with making jewelry simply because there is always something new waiting down a different rabbit hole. What started out as a simple necklace for my mother's Diva Birthday has lead to a journey of learning and experimenting and most importantly, a heck of a lot of fun.

My jewelry does tend to be quite traditional, but I try to think of small things I can do outside the norm. I am not a metalsmith, but I do like to add metal components to my designs. I use various cutters and texture hammers, and even use a Big Shot embosser to imprint interesting patterns onto pewter, copper and brass blanks that I have cut.

I hand make all of my earring wires using 21 gauge Argentium silver, 14kt gold filled, or bare copper. Not only does this add more of a unique design element, it gives me complete control over the products that I use, ensuring quality and hypoallergenic properties. Once I have completed the design, I use a cup burr to round the end that goes in the ear so that it is smooth and comfortable to wear.

I don't have a photo of the first necklace that I ever made, and trust me, if I did, I would not share it! I do have a photo of my most recent necklace. Here is the link to the shop listing:

https://mieloabelodesigns.com/copper-petrified-wood-necklace/ 

 I made a YouTube short if you'd like to see how I made it.

 

https://youtube.com/shorts/-umqtf3UEE0?feature=share

Thanks for reading and I really do hope to be consistent here and on my other website as well, I just need to figure out how to use both. I think the next blog, I will talk more about goimagine, so come back!