Brown Medallion Necklace

This is a long necklace made of tiger's eye with golden cylindrical beads.  I made the pendant from resin, in a mold I made from a found item.   I think it looks like an antique or at least part of a space ship.

I colored the resin during the mixing, plus painted and rubbed it after curing.  

Flying Birds Resin Pendant

Remember this lovely gift of an open pendant from Lisa Crone of A Bead a Day?

I thought I could enhance it by creating a design within the opening.  Here is the artwork that I created with Photoshop.

After sealing the design, I applied resin and attached the pendant.

After letting it set, I trimmed back the photo paper and applied gold Gilder's Paste to the back, sealing it with more resin.  The next step will be making the necklace for it!

Cream Oval Pearl Earrings

I recently made these clip on earrings using oval (rice) ivory pearls, accented with the tiny round white pearls.  I think it is a nice classic look, and will probably make a pierced pair for myself soon!

Pink Crystal Illusion Necklace

This is a 3 strand crystal illusion necklace.  I have done them in clear crystal using either gold or silver wires, but this time I decided to do it in pink.  It was nice to find some beading wire in pink.

Black and Gold Pendant on Twisted Cord

This necklace was an experiment in using thick braided cord.  I made a pendant from a large acrylic bead and gold plated pewter bead caps.  The cord is black intertwined with gold metallic thread.

The trick was getting the correct size for the endings.  The cord is probably 4mm thick and was from a fabric store, rather than a beading store.  It all ended up well, and I think it looks rather Elizabethan.

Large Green Pearls with Golden Accents

These crystal pearls are described as "evergreen" and they are indeed the color of pine trees.  I added some gold plated pewter beads and caps to the necklace.

If you look closely, you will see I've used Miyuki Delicas in translucent amethyst with an AB coating.  I think the sheer purple sets off the opaque luster of the green pearls nicely.

Double Strand Cream Pearl Necklace

I'm always a fan of pearl beads, and creamy white pearls are a classic.  Here I've taken creamy white 12mm glass pearl beads from Auntie's Beads and strung them into a double strand necklace.  Each strand has a similar, but different, pattern.   I like the color of the metallic gold iris bugle beads that provide a nice foil to the cream color of the pearls. 

Gilders Paste Color Comparison

Gilders Paste is a wonderful little thing.  I currently have a selection of four of their metallic colors.  I would like to have all of their colors, but cannot find the rationalization for such a thing on my budget right now.  Something to aim for!  It is a type of color rub.  You will see from my close ups that it is not really a full opaque coating but is more of an accent color.  These comparisons were done on coral colored baked polymer clay.

This is gilders paste in "gold".  I needed 2 coats to get this level of opacity.  It is pictured next to a gold plated toggle.

This is "antique gold".  It has more copper and less yellow in it than my antique gold jewelry findings.

This is "copper".  You can see it is more the color of antique copper than shiny new copper. 

This is silver.  This had an odd texture.  The other ones are like a hard cake of shoe polish.  This is more souffle-like.  It got everywhere on my desk with its fluffiness.  I don't know if all the silvers are like that, or I got an odd container of gilders paste here.  It is pretty though, with a color a bit darker than the silver plated toggle shown next to it.

I haven't found these in any bricks and mortar stores, but some internet stores will sell these.  One great place to buy them is B'sue Boutiques.  Her shipping is reasonable and very speedy.  She also included a couple little candies in my order, their photo is not available due to reasons I don't care to mention.  Ah, they were gone too soon!  :-)  

Orange Sea Glass with Golden Pearls

This is a design with sea glass.  Sea glass is so pretty.  It is usually matte with a touch of transparency.  I thought of autumn colors, and used orange sea glass beads in this necklace.  I added golden freshwater pearls, and other touches of glass and gold.

This would be a nice look for fall, don't you think?

Violet in Chains

Violet matte pinched ovals, violet charms, violet chain.  Violet much?  I added almond colored pearls to the mix.  I think this has an updated Victorian look to it.  Pretty much all the components are from the Cousin Corp. , a brand sold in local craft stores.  They've recently come out with some new charms and pendants, which have piqued my curiosity.  I've found the widest selection of this brand at my local A. C. Moore store.

This necklace took a couple of tries.  I originally thought I would put the charms and pendant directly on the chain, but it didn't sit right.  Then I changed my tactics, and made the main necklace with the charms and pendant as the center focal, and strung the matte pinched ovals with pearls on either side.  I then attached two strands of their violet chain to the clasp area.  That seemed to work out much better.

Gift Package

I recently created a set of jewelry for dear friends.  I used several metallic colors: gold, silver, copper, antique brass.

A silver barrette (acrylic and firepolished beads).

I used oval "Hope" beads, and round beads that had the sun on one side and the moon on the other.

Blingy Beaded Brooch

Can you say that title three times quickly?  I cannot.  This is a circle pin on which I sewed fire polished crystals in a color called "crystal marea", and its definition eludes me.  It is a little gold, a little silver, a little copper, and heaven knows what else.  I used up almost the entire pack of beads on this because I wanted them to be thick and clustered.  This is the sort of piece which you just stare at and mumble "ooh pretty". Here is a close up photo of the beads.

Ceramic & Quartz

These square ceramic beads are in muted shades of gold and rose.  I added spheres of smoky quartz to them and used golden earwires.  I added an angular twist to the end of the wires.  I like how these turned out, however I can't for the life of me remember where I bought the ceramic beads.  *sigh*

Sparkly Blues with Twisted Fluted Golden Beads

I've used aqua blue and midnight blue beads in this two strand necklace.  The large twisted fluted gold beads are a type of metallic acrylic and are nicely lightweight.  Yes, I prefer lighter weight jewelry.  The discs are carnelian-colored resin.  Overall, it is quite a sparkly and dressy look.  I made a hook and eye closure for the necklace.

Black and Gold Necklace and Earring Set

It took me a while to decide what to do with these large black and gold foil lampwork beads.  I believe they were described as "pendants", but I didn't let that stop me from using them not as pendants.  I used a smaller black glass pearl as the pendant, or more of a "dangly drop".  The rest of the necklace uses gold plated pewter bead caps and toggle clasp, black glass pearls, and black rondelle spacers with an aurora borealis finish.  I made earrings to match.  I am experimenting with earring displays, none of them to my liking as yet.  You will note in the picture of the earring pair that one looks shorter than the other.  Actually, it is the way they are tilted.  This particular display doesn't leave much room for the back of the hook.  I have another display which is too short for a longer earring.  I am beginning to feel a bit like Goldilocks, who often found things just a little off.

Pearls on Gold Lame Cord with Magnetic Clasp

Gold lame (lah-may) cord is hand knotted with pretty pearl beads that have a rainbow finish. These beads are highly reflective. This is a triple strand necklace and looks airy and delicate. It is very lightweight. The shortest strand is about 21" long. It is finished with a magnetic clasp.  I used acrylic beads that have an aurora borealis pearl finish.  The necklace seems luxurious, and it is very easy to wear and to take on and off.