Tuesday, April 21, 2009
I'm Not a Beader but...
First... the focal piece needed to be large and it had to be a Swarovski crystal (pear shaped). So... checking with all of my suppliers and the largest pear shape I could get in was about 30mm. Not big enough! I was looking for a piece that was about 40mm (1 1/2 inches). I finally hunted down a dark sapphire blue crystal through a chandelier supplier. OK... I have the crystal now have to think about the necklace. Swarovski came out with a new color this year... an indigo blue which I thought would look good with the pendant but... what size do I need... what is the best shape. I ordered in 2.mm bicones, 3mm bicones and 3mm round - I know... fairly tiny beads but hey... I do love a challenge.
Now, the beads are in what is the best way to approach this? Pulled out some of my beading books and thought I would do either a round peyote or spiral stitch but... either way, I knew I needed to bead a tube that would be strong enough to hold a 40mm crystal. First, I thought I would run a rubber tubing inside the beaded tube but, when I tried that, the color of the tubing showed through the crystal beads. I've thought about this project on and off for a couple of months and this weekend, I came up with another idea. First, I took 2.5mm crystals and strung them onto sterling silver Accu-Flex. I figured this would give the piece strength. Next... using a combination of the round and bicone crystals, I did a spiral stitch around the crystals I strung onto the Accu-Flex. I hadn't beaded in a long time so, it took a few efforts to get it just the way I wanted it and even while working on it, I wasn't sure if I was doing it the right way.
Well... I finished the piece today. There are over 820 individual crystals in this piece and because crystal can cut thread, each crystal has been stitched with the thread passing through it a minimum of 3 times. The ends of the necklace have been finished with sterling silver end caps. I will be taking it in for the customer tomorrow - I hope she likes it... if not... I can always put it in my Etsy or Artfire shop! :) I'm not a beader but... I think it turned out OK!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Copper for a Friend
A few weeks ago, Sharon, a very dear friend of mine asked me if I could create some pieces for her using copper. She loves the look of copper and the warmth it gives off. Of course, she had some idea of what she wanted and this is what she sent me (she wanted the bracelet without the extra chains).
Both are very nice pieces but... in my mind they are not quite her! When I design pieces for Sharon, I do them to suit her personality which is fun, loving and very out going... these pieces did not scream that to me... they were more of a whisper of what she really needed. So... I went to work. I used the same weaves (Euro 4 in 1) as the above pictures but, I added what I call the Sharon flair! Here is what I came up with!
I sent these pictures to Sharon yesterday so, I'm not spoiling the surprise for her by posting them here today :) And her response... "holy crap...these are STUNNING!!...like em...more like LOVE EM!!!" I think I'm safe to say, she likes them. :)
Sharon has inspired a few of my pieces so far... maybe I'm going to have to start naming my pieces by the people that inspire them... this is part of "The Sharon Collection".
Sharon - thanks for the inspiration... and most of all, thank you for allowing me to create these pieces for you!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Tetra Orb Earrings
Part of my problem has been filling in person orders for items that I have previously created. One of my post popular bracelets for men and women is the byzantine weave. Sure... I love the weave and I think it looks great but, it does get boring after a while.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Featuring Honey Beads
My next and probably best option was to find myself someone who makes the beads and order them. That's how I came across Kristina from Honey Beads. I was searching Artfire and found her shop. I really liked the colors of one of her beads and contacted her to see if she could make a long bead using the same colors. She could and... she did. It was stunning!
Kristina has been mastering her skills over the past few years and her work today is absolutely beautiful. Every time I look at her shop I find more and more beads that I want. Her turn around on custom work and her customer service is amazing!
If you haven't checked out her lampwork beads yet, I suggest you do here at Honey Beads.
Here are some of my favorites and yes... I currently own some of them :)
Aren't they beautiful! It is truly an honor for me to feature Honey Beads!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Would You Like to Win Some Chain Maille?
Well, you can and I'm going to share with you how!
The Etsy Chainmailler's Guild had a contest for their members. We were to create a chain maille item fitting a "Romance Blossom" theme. The entries are in and now, we are asking you to vote for your favorite! Vote for your favorite, leave a comment with contact information (email) and on April 18, winners for the voter prizes (pictured above) will be chosen via random number generator.
For all the details and to vote, please click here and you will be directed to the Etsy Chainmaillers Guild blog.
Want to get some extra opportunities to win these fabulous prizes? Twitter the URL to the blog, blog about the contest, post in any forum, use Myspace bulletin or Facebook announcements and leave a separate comment for each of these things that you did. Each one of these will give you an extra opportunity to win one of these prizes.
Thanks for voting and good luck - hopefully you will win one of these prizes!
What to Make with Crystal Beads?
Nothing fancy... very simple, I made these little Swarovski Crystal balls and attached them to the phone charm holders. It had been a while since I've done any beading and it took me a while to figure out how to make these little balls but, in the end, I think they turned out pretty neat!