Commisions

Last week at the market stall I had a very lovely lady looking at my jewellery. We got into conversation and she explained that as she was getting into the twilight of her years she had an issue trying to open and close her necklaces. I explained that there was two ways around this problem, one she could buy a very long necklace and wrap it around her neck a couple of time. Or she could have a necklace with a magnetic clasp. Having never heard of this before she was quite excited at the thought of having any necklace she wanted and not being worried about how she was going to get it on or off. Anyway after a lot of discussion she decided that she liked a very long necklace I had in shades of purple but she didn't want the length. I agreed to make her a shorter version with a magnetic clasp. When I brought it with me to the stall the following Saturday, I had a little trepidation, would she like it etc, I am sure you have all had that feeling. Anyway she loved it and I was one very happy necklace maker. I give you my make for Thursday 22nd April, Purpleicious.

It's all black and white

Sometimes colour just gets too much and you want good old black and white. I have had the pendant for ages but was never too sure how to attach to a necklace. At the bead shop I saw these black and white squares and new instantly they would make a brilliant combination. When I got them home that's when I remembered about the pendant and this time I was determined to use it. I pondered for a long time, just how was I going to conect the pendant to the necklace. I didn't have a large enough bail to fit and I wanted to finish the necklace straight away. After much deliberation I decided to try and make something with wire. I started with making a coil, I am quite happy with it, it is nice and tight and fairly circular. I then carried it through the hole in the pendant and made a bail to hang it from the necklace. I maybe could have made the bail look a bit neater but I think it looks not to bad for a first attempt. I then strung on the white and black beads with metal spacer beads inbetween. Finally it is finished off with some black coloured chain to make it a nice length. I give you my make for Wednesday 14th April, the Monochrome necklace.

Really long necklaces

Not sure what you prefer, long or short lengths of necklaces. Normally I make something in the middle and to be honest that is what this necklace started out like. I had 5 of the acrylic light blue wavy beads. They are so tactile, very smooth, such a lovely feel. I joined these with white pearlescent seed beads either side and threaded them onto eye pins. Next up I took some white cat's eye beads and threaded them onto eye pins with metal ridged beads. I then joined the links together with sections of silver plated chain. The finished result is so long you could easily wrap it around your neck 2 times, or if you prefer just have a very long necklace. The finished result for Tuesday 13th April is called Blue Ice.

Apples anyone?

I had been on one of my many visits to the local bead store and found these gorgeous large disc beads which I thought would make an excellent focal point. I bought a green one and a blue one. (Watch out for the blue one being used later). As usual when I got them home I couldn't wait to rummage through my stash and find matching or complimentary beads. I found the lighter green small disks first and then the larger round beads that matched colourwise. The ridged metal effect beads came next and then in that box that I know you all have, you know the one I mean all the spare beads left over from previous projects, I found the two amonite shell shapes and also some clear and some green crystals. I decided to join the beads in patterns and feed them onto large eye pins. Add some silver plated chain to join the beaded sections together and you have the finished article. So I give you my make for Saturday 10 April and I have called it Golden Delicious (hence the apple theme).

All aglow

I know that I am biased but I do think that this is one of my most favourite necklaces I have ever made. It has been a long time in the making, not the actual putting together but the thought process. You might know what I mean if you make crafted items also. The germ of an idea is always there but you can only see half of the picture. Well finally all of the pieces fell into place and this is the finished article. So my make for Friday 9th April is All Aglow necklace. I even made a very quick pair of earrings to match.

More Metal Effects

For Thursday 8th April I was still in a metal mood. I had lots of ideas in my head to do fancy things with the diamante heart pendant but after making my Ball and Chain bracelet yesterday I decided to stick with the metal effect and go for a simple necklace. I used silver metal effect beads and threaded them on with the heart pendant in the middle. Nice and simple, the necklace has quite a rigid shape and sits really well on the neckline. I have called it Silver Heart necklace.

 

Petal Power

The make for Thursday 1st April definately lives up to the Glitz in Glitz and Glamour. The pendants were originally bought to go onto 5 seperate necklaces but sometimes you need to fulfill the dramatic side of your nature. Throw caution to the wind and just go for it. Well that is what I did when I decided to use all five flowers in the necklace. The flowers are covered in black enamel with a cluster of diamante in the middle to look like the stamen. I joined all the pendants together with jump rings and then put a simple silver plated chain on the final pendants on either side. I think it is definitely dramatic but also quite elegant. I have called it Jet Flowers.

Ribbon and Pearls

The make for Monday 29 March is really quite simple. Just some stringing but finished off in a slightly different way. Three lines of different styles and colours of beads, one row of small silver metal effect beads, one row of blue glass pearls with seed beads inbetween and finally larger cream coloured glass pearls again with white seed beads inbetween. These have all been joined onto a large ring and then cream coloured ribbon has been attached to the rings to give it a slightly different look. This also makes the necklace longer. I have called it Ribbon and Pearls.

Crystal Ball

Must have had my crystal ball out and working on Sunday 28 March when I made this necklace as the following day when my regular Jewellery Making magazine arrived they had provided me with some free leaf shapes. Watch out for some matching accessories in the near future. All it is, is some skeletal small leaves attached to a gold plated chain by jump rings. Some gold balls to balance out on the other side and finally to finish it off a large gold leaf as the focal point. I have attached an extension chain so the person who buys it can decide which length they would like it to be. I have called Golden Leaves.

Flutterby's

As a child that is what I used to call Butterflies. I have always thought that they look amazing and I do find that lots of other people also think along the same lines. Therefore my make for Thursday started with a large metal butterfly with some glittery diamante stones placed around the body of the butterfly. I have hung the butterfly from a smooth rubbery style thong. It is very tactile. To finish the necklace off I added 2 jet black faceted beads and a clear crystal faceted bead from the thong to dangle over the front of the butterfly. I have called it Flutterby's.

The Rocks

Wednesday's make main focal piece has been sitting in my stash since the January sales, couldn't make my mind up what to do with it and didn't want to just play safe with a simple cord necklace. Had a flash of inspiration on Wednesday and decided to add a bit of embellishment to the Red Agate triangle agogo and I am very happy with the finished result. When it is sitting on the neckline I think it looks amazing - if I do say so myself. The metal wire circle has some small Swarovski crystals attached to it and it has been threaded onto a red and black thong combo. I have called it Sandstone as the red agate reminds me of cliff faces.

As requested

If you look at an earlier post last week you will see that I made a necklace out of safety pins and orange coloured stripey beads. I asked for the reactions of my peers on Craftjuice  - which by the way has been upgraded and improved, why don't you pop on over and have a look, we are a friendly bunch and don't bite I promise - and got a favourable response. However one of the comments made was that as a redhead she couldn't really wear orange and I said I had blue beads and would try these out and let everyone see the finished result. So my finished make for Tuesday is here. I have called it Blue Skies safety pins.

Big time catch up

First of all an apology, I haven't managed to do any posts this week. I have been running around like a headless chicken, why are there never enough hours in the day. Maybe when the clocks go forward for British Summer time here in Britain, time will stand still and I can catch up. I am not greedy, a week will do. I just need some time to sort out my website, look at my stock again, make some new items and if I could throw in some me time for some pampering I would be ecstatic. Anyway the likliehood of that happening is pretty slim so I should stop moaning and just get on with it.
This is Sunday's make. I have had these purple acrylic wavy shaped beads for quite a while but only had 5 of the large ones and couldn't work out what to make with them. Then recently I managed to get some more of the slightly more matt and smaller beads. I have always looked at other people who make items that are not symetrical and envied them, I just didn't have the courage to try it. Well now I have, it is just a few tentative steps and I have kept all the other components the same to try and not scare people too much. If you look closely you will see a very light lilac bicone shaped bead inbetween each silver plated ring. Let me know what you think. I have called it Purple Heart necklace.

   

Dissapointing Day

Nothing upsetting or anything like that just had high hopes to do lots of crafting today.  Wanted to do some polymer clay, some shrink plastic and try some more wire work. Woke at the ungodly hour of 6.30, tried to get to sleep again but it wasn't happening. Decided to get up at 7.00 and put the day to good use. Well it got put to good use alright, just not how I imagined it would be. Shopping, cleaning, and a mountain of ironing took the hole day over. Before I knew it, it was late afternoon and I had lost the opportunity to do my crafting thing. Looking forward to some time off work at Easter to spend lots of time trying out new things. Anyway the upshot was another simple make for me today. Must be on a citrus roll this week as the main focal point is a large green acrylic diamond shape. The photograph makes it look almost yellow, but it is green. Decided to use a full metre of black chain with more of my coloured cord, green this time. This is definitely a show stopper. Just wish it was the real thing then I would be be a millionnaire. I have called it hypnotize.

More Paua Shell

I am really enjoying using Paua Shell and I like looking out for different variations of this shell. Saturday's make is always going to be an easy make, I am so tired after a day at the stall that all I want to do is flop, have a glass of wine and veg in front of the tv. This pendant is Paua Shell that has been died purple and to be honest I didn't believe it needed much more than a chain to finish it off. Then I remembered that when I went to my local bead shop the other day I bought various different colours of cord, took the purple one out and it is a really good match. The finished result is called Purple Paua. Next up that glass of wine.

Catch Up time

Hi everyone, missed a few posts this week, so this is a catch up for me. I has been a hectic week, doing lots of extra hours in my 9 to 5 job, meant less time for crafting. Also I am participating in the Secret Easter Bunny we are holding at the Craft Forum, it like a Secret Santa but we are holding it at Easter, This is the first time I have taken part and wanted to try and make sure that the finished result would be enjoyed by the recipient. I can't show you yet what it looks like or tell you who it is for as the person cannot open it until Easter Sunday. Remember to look back then and I shall show you. Anyway because of all of this although I managed to make my jewellery I have been unable to update on the blog.
So first up is Wednesday's make and it is called Sunny Safety Pins and the title pretty much says it all, lovely orange stripey round beads, each one threaded onto safety pins and these have been joined by jump rings.

Next up is Thursday's make. I was obviously in a orange mood this week. I started off with a very large acrylic orange flower, now with this as the starting point I could have gone subtle but decided to go all out for it and make this necklace zing. I think you will either love it or hate it, there is no inbetween ground here. There are yelow flower beads, orange flower beads, pink/orange crackle beads and numerous colours of seed beads to tie it all together. Let me know what you think. I have called it Orange Bloom necklace.

 

Finally Friday's make was a bracelet to match the necklace that I made on Thursday. I used the same beads as I did on the necklace but obviously there was no flower this time. Again it is called Orange Bloom bracelet.

  

Spinning Around

Today's make (Monday) is going to be one of those items that takes a while to make all of the componant parts, but when it is finally all finished it is very satisfying. The pendant was the starting point, depending on which way the light is shining on it you can see all sorts of colours in it. However the predominent colour I saw was green. I had recently bought a selection of various shades of green manmade pearls, in various sizes. All I needed was another item to bring it all together. The large rings were the finishing touch. I have spent a good couple of hours putting all the parts together and finally finished the necklace. Check back tomorrow for the bracelet. I have called it Cosmic Rings necklace.

Teardrops

Saturday's make has been running around in my head for a while, I just couldn't get the required components right, everthing that I tried just didn't seem to go. However the other day I came across a women selling off disks of ribbon at knock down prices, I bought one or two and this was all that was needed to finish off the necklace. The large teardrop pendant is a bright blue acrylic. The dangles that I made were just using up spare beads left over from previous makes. I hung these from silver plated figaro chain at different levels to create some length and movement around the pendant. Finally I threaded blue velvet ribbon and silver plated figaro chain through the attaching ring and fixed on a clasp. I really like this necklace, it is actually just the type of necklace I would wear myself to brighten up a plain jumper. I have called it Bluebird.

Have you heard of Black Lip Shell?

I originally picked up this pendant quite a while ago. I have never come across Black Lip shell before and this link will tell you quite a lot of information about it. All the pendant required for it to be the finished article was a bail and a chain. I can hear people now saying how can she claim that this is handmade and to some extent I agree. Normally I will add to the pendant with beads and embellish it even further. However time was running short, and to be honest I thought it looked beautiful enough on it's own. The other thought running through my head was it was Mothers Day on Sunday and maybe a more simple necklace might suit more people than a more elaborate necklace. The strange thing is that I was proved right as it was sold on Saturday. Maybe sometimes I should listen to the other person in my head (I was born in May and I am definately a gemini) and have some courage in my convictions and learn that sometimes less is more. I would love to hear what all the other crafters think about this subject. I have called it Black Lip shell pendant and it is strung on a sterling silver chain.

Through the Looking Glass

Last Saturday, while running the stall one lady explained that she was looking for a simple necklace with pendant to wear with an outfit for a night out. This has been playing on my mind all week and although I had no way of knowing for certain if she would turn up I decided to have a go at trying to produce something she might like. All the clues that she gave me were, not too big a pendant, not too bright colours and classy but simple. So on Friday night I sat down and came up with this. Very pale pink beads, almost see through combined with silver effect ribbed beads and then finished off with a diamante heart pendant. Unfortunately the lady did not return to the stall this Saturday, so I have no idea if it hits the mark but I like it. I have called it Through the Looking Glass necklace.