More boring bracelet stuff

Well, I haven't sold any bracelets, but I've made several improvements in the second round of them. The top one has all the tweaks. First, I'm coordinating the colors of the clay medallions and placing them closer together. You can see the original clasp that comes with the bracelet blank in the bottom bracelet. It's a fold over clasp and it's fine, but it makes the bracelet a little tight on my wrist, and a friend told me that it can catch on things.

I bought a bunch of different toggle clasps, and, not surprisingly, the ones I like the most are the most expensive ($1.80 per). But they are totally in the spirit of the piece, as both ends have little stopwatch tops, so they look clock-ish. They make the bracelet longer, too, and I think the length is good. I'll put the more expensive toggle on the rest of the ones I make. I can attach them with split rings (like a tiny key ring), which makes them more durable than using jump rings. The bracelet I work while on my work trip last week came apart at one of my homemade jump rings after I had worn it for a couple of days, and I can't have that.

I'm enjoying the details of the process, if that's not abundantly clear. I'm still playing the banjo and enjoying that a lot too, although I confess I've forgotten to practice a couple of times because I've been thinking about the bracelets. And I'm knitting a tiny bit. I hauled my Lanesplitter skirt (about 2/3 done) with me on my trip - what a pain - and only got about three inches done on it. It's officially a slog, but I'll like it when it's finished, hopefully this winter yet :-)

I was puttering about eBay and discovered another source of bits for the bracelets, snap cuff links. Below is a picture from a listing that I'm watching and might bid on. They are PERFECT in size. I need to figure out how to cut them so they have a flat bottom (might need to fill them with something - suggestions?). I asked my ex and got the ancient (circa 1995) Dremel tool we had, but the charger is missing. I went to Home Depot and they don't sell chargers for stuff that old (what was I thinking? I don't know), but the cute and helpful clerk said I could use the Dremel attachments in my regular drill. I'll look into this, and would prefer to do it in a way that doesn't result in me going to the ER. I'll have to buy a vise.

Anyway, aren't those snap links neat? It's got me thinking about the evolution of men's jewelry. There is a seemingly inexhaustible supply of men's cufflinks on eBay. Does anyone wear cuff links anymore? It seems at one time, men would have a collection of cufflinks. And these are economical - 4 charms per set of snap cufflinks.

This was supposed to be a short post and I have rambled. 

I did finally comment on some very nice comments that have been left about the bracelets. I apologize for not acknowledging them sooner, I appreciate the feedback very much.