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.  

Black Choker with Pendant

I decided I needed a short black necklace with a small pendant, so I went through my bead stash.  I had 9 shiny bicones, so I picked up beading needle and thread to fashion a pendant. 

Some people are very good following intricate bead weaving patterns with tiny beads.   I am not those people.  I usually get the larger beads, and then start waving my needle around thinking "I'm sure something will turn out eventually."  So, this pendant is what turned out. 

I used black beading wire for the necklace because I wanted it to show through the clear beads.

Double Ribbon Necklaces

I found these pretty double ribbon necklaces that were already attached to clasps (!), so I merely added pendants to them.

It's not really difficult to add ribbon endings and a clasp, but I thought it was neat that these were already finished.

These large glass foil beads made pretty pendants that complemented the ribbon colors.

I like the organza ribbon combined with the cord.  Now I just have to remind myself to get them posted into my Etsy shop!

Turquoise Beads Revisited

Remember this gift?

I received these Cousin Beads from Lisa Crone of A Bead a Day.  I used the beads in this necklace.  I thought the orange beads and the butterfly pendant gave it a nice summery look.

They also looked great in earrings!

Melon and Pumpkin Pearls

I recently bought some pearls from Auntie's Beads because I saw some new colors available.  I bought melon, cantaloupe, and pumpkin.  Here they are with an orange (I have no fresh cantaloupe today!) for a color comparison.

The "matte" pearls shown in the forefront are named "pumpkin".  I think these could look either summery or autumn-ish, depending on what you do with them.  The large pearly ones are named "melon", and the small ones are named "cantaloupe".  I can't discern the difference between the melon and cantaloupe.  Can you?

Nevertheless, I think these are very pretty and will make some nice jewelry pieces when I decide what to do with them.

Below, I have arranged them in a mock three strand necklace.  These beads would look nice just strung like this, but of course I will find some way to mix them up with different colors when I make the final design. 

Kuan Yin Navy Blue Pendant

Kuan Yin is often seen as the saint of mercy and compassion in Asian religions.  I created a pendant based upon a vintage form and used it as a pendant on this necklace.  I've used shades of dark blue, crystal, and silver.

She is painted clay, made in my silicone mold.

Silver Cable Necklace

I found this cute pewter pendant and thought I would try it with a cable necklace.

The cable chain is a bit flexible but stays in a circle around the neck.
It closes with a barrel clasp.  I think it is an interesting look.

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.

Jade Buddha Head

I picked up a strand of antique jade Buddha head beads at a bead show a while back. I liked them, but then had a difficult time deciding what to do with them.  They are a bit large and heavy, so they don't lend themselves to earrings.

 I eventually made a necklace with one bead as a pendant, using organza ribbon.  I think I was in a "ribbon phase" at the time.  I combined it with some pewter beads.

The bead is also too large and awkward for bracelets.  I might attempt a different design with chain or cord.  I don't want it to be paired with anything heavy, because then it would make for a really heavy necklace.  I'll continue to muse over this for a while.  I still really like the beads.

White Pearls on Antiqued Brass Chain

I made this necklace some time ago.  The chain is brass, with an antiqued finish.  It has a "rough" look to it.  I thought it would display the soft sheen of pearls nicely.

I like putting opposites together.  The matte brown of the brass is nice with pearls.

Ruby Red Three Strand Necklace

I was thinking about Valentine's Day coming up, which led me to thinking about red.  So I collected many red beads, round, oval, faceted, in several shades of ruby red and made a nice three strand necklace.

 This has a nice rich look to it.  I like the pewter clasp and end bars, too.

Ruby Baroque Crystal

These pieces have a very simple design so the focus is on the crystals.  This is Swarovski's "baroque" pendant in the color "ruby", which has more of a blue undertone than a real ruby.

The pendant has many facets and a rippled edge around the bottom and sides.

I used the smaller sized pendants to make matching earrings.  I can't seem to find these pendants in a lot of colors, but I do like this "ruby" color.

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. 

Teal Pearls with Lampwork

Still thinking of fall colors, I used teal pearls with lampwork beads in two shades of blue in this necklace.

I used black seed beads to pick up the black swirl in the lampwork beads, and to darken the overall look of the design. 

The necklace makes me think of the different colors of blue in the sky immediately preceding the twilight hours.  But then, the teal pearls also make me think of Philadelphia Eagles green, which is also a teal color.  I don't think I would wear this with a football jersey, though you could if you wanted to. :)

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?

Turquoise Necklace with Square Focals

I made this necklace some time ago for my personal collection.  The focal beads are puffed squares of a turquoise composite, purchased at Aunties Beads.  I've used glass beads in complimentary colors of turquoise, tan, and silver to complete the necklace.  This is one of my favorite pieces and I wear it often.

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.