Friday, February 17, 2012

Tara


Tara was the result of a bet.  One of my middle school students bet that I couldn't make a necklace in 20 minutes using just stuff I found in my jewelry box.  As you can see, he lost that bet, and owed me a Fruit Roll-Up.  Tara is actually three necklaces combined into one.  The rose on the bottom was  from a necklace that broke years ago.  The gold chain, is, well, a gold chain.  And the strand at the top was meant to be for another piece, but I figured why not?  I won't say this is one of my better works, but I like it all the same.

Merrow


This one made me a bit sad.  Not long after I strung the center pendant, I noticed that it had a hairline crack through the center on the back.  You can't see it in the picture, but it extends the whole diameter of the shell.  I did seal it with some superglue, but regardless, even if I do start selling my stuff, this won't be one that I list.  I will never knowingly list damaged goods. 

That being said, it's still a pretty necklace.  I thought the silvery shells complimented the design on the pendant nicely.  It is heavy (the pendant is about a centimeter thick) but not uncomfortable to wear.  And I generally don't go for heavy stuff. 

I should make a note on all of my designs...I rarely plan them out on paper first.  I usually just pick out a pendant and go from there.  Well, there was that one necklace that I did plan, but that thing was insanely ornate.  I'll post a picture of that one soon.

Amphitrite


This is one of the first necklaces I made, and I named it for the biggest, baddest betta I have.  As you could probably guess, her name's Amphitrite.  The color scheme is pretty close to the fishie herself.  My Amphi is primarily blue, but with flashes of green and silver when she turns a certain way. 

I got the pendant at Hobby Lobby, as well as the seed beads.  As for the pearls...I've had those a long time, so not quite sure where I picked those up.  My best guess would be a bead shop in my hometown (they always had colored pearls). 

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Maeve

I wanted to go for "royal" colors on this one, and settled on purple and gold.  I was a bit worried that the gold beads would clash too much with the lilac tones of the seed beads and crystal, but the finished product was a pleasant surprise.  Not too much in the way of natural stones here...just a few amethyst chips for spacing purposes.  One thing that I really do like about the seed beads is that they don't push memory wire out of shape, as larger beads sometimes do.  I ran into that issue a bit with my other necklaces. 

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Mermaid's Treasure


See, this is what happens when I have lots of extra pieces and parts lying around.  The shells are from a strand that broke a long time ago, the pearls from an old bracelet I no longer wear.  The gems, however, are a bit more unique.  All but the red one came from the Jewel Princess book series.  All of the books came with either a necklace, bracelet, or ring with the title princess' jewel.  I think the only part I actually purchased recently was the red crystal. 
I have to admit, stringing the shells was a monumental pain in the rear.  I like the end result though.  It strikes me as something a little girl in princess mode would wear.  It is a bit on the heavy side, since I usually don't put that many crystals on one necklace. 

Cheers,
IlmareYavanna

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Tula

As you can see from the picture, this is one that I no longer have.  Tula now resides in Massachusetts, with my awesome cousin of the same name.  Actually, I named the piece for her after I found out she absolutely adored it.  Tula is made from white seed beads, pale green seed beads, green crystals, and a silver charm.  Tula is also one of my first pieces. 

Monday, October 17, 2011

Damara

One of my few sets of earrings.  Damara had been in my head for a while; I just wasn't sure how to go about crafting her.  Then I found these silver-like leaves at the craft store.  I basically used two full sets of these leaves, and placed the fairy charm toward the back.  The idea is that the fairy darts in and out based on the wearer's movement.  The one on the right is fanned out so one can see the fairy.
This is by far my students' favorite set of earrings.  I will definitely make more of these if I ever find leaves either identical or very similar  to the ones above.