WOWsers, now THAT's a STATEMENT necklace!

I had the opportunity recently to work with a lovely Etsy customer from California. I had at first bid on making a blue agate tangled chain necklace for her, which I completed in April. Check it out! Then she requested another tangled chain necklace, this time in bright, cheery, summery colors. I was thrilled! the hunt for the perfect beads turned up some sunshine yellow and apple green dyed magnesite, and when complementary beads were added, WOW!! Where the first

necklace was silver, gold, and gunmetal, this one has no antiqued finishes at all. There's a double pendant, for balance, and big bold chains everywhere. I really liked the finished product.

My lovely customer was invited to be a bridesmaid in her friend's wedding, so another statement necklace was in order. This time, we went over the top. 8 strands of glass pearls, rhinestones, and amethysts are woven into a 4-strand braid, with 18mm rhinestone balls entwined in the mix. A rhinestone and pearl brooch accents the side, and the sides are silver satin ribbon. Under the main swag of the necklace are two additional strands, one with faceted crystal beads, and one with silver glass pearls. On the bottom pearl strand are vintage chandelier crystals. Their brilliance and flash were fantastic!

These are the boldest statement necklaces I've made to date. Weighing in at 1 1/2 pounds, the pearl one is by far the largest! When I jumped back into jewelry three years ago, I never anticipated these babies! I think that's why custom orders are so fun. You get to know someone, their tastes, and you see things through their eyes. By learning about the statement or vision they are trying to create, you get to participate in their special event, and sometimes it's the most important day of their lives. It's a very gratifying experience!

A little Glitz and Glamour goes a long way....

One of my favorite things to do is work with brides on their wedding and attendant jewelry. Recently, I've had the pleasure of working with a lovely local bride who is getting married this Friday in St. Augustine, Florida. She was looking for a bracelet to match the pattern in the sash on her dress, and wanted to have as much sparkle as possible. She sent me photos of the sash, and we agreed to meet at the bridal store so I could take a look.

My husband is always saying "Brevity is the soul of wit," and with my tendency to be long-winded, that's not always a welcome contribution to our conversations, but in this instance, as in many, many others, he was totally right. The bride's dress was simple, with clean lines and beautiful sea shell ivory silk, and absolutely devastatingly beautiful on her! I made some notes, measured her wrist, we talked a little about the styles she liked, she showed me some pictures, and I left to work on her creation. I'll admit, at first I was a little overwhelmed with the task. After looking around, we settled on a design that mirrored the little rosettes in the sash, as well as on the bustle leading down the back of the dress from the bodice to the end of the train.

Here the the finished product. Crystal clusters are alternated with Swarovski crystal rhinestone balls, and accented by crystal spacers. Each is an individually wired segment, ending at a beautiful 4 strand sterling silver clasp. I'm not much of a photographer, but I'm hoping you can see for yourself how it turned out. The bride was thrilled, and that's good enough for me!

Tentative custom bridesmaid necklace

Well, the jury of one (my beautiful bridal customer) is out on this one, which is a mockup of a brdesmaids' set for her upcoming November wedding. I posted the materials previously, and here's the next step.

The glorious fall colors make a beautiful statement in white, yellow, peach and red aventurine with the Maple leaf; it's studded with carnelian, and highlighted with sparkly copper spacers and goldstone.

The earrings will be clusters of the aventurine, with tiny copper seed beads and copper maple leaf charms, woven onto perforated bead discs like the Scarlett earrings and the earrings that matched my tulle bridesmaids' sets.

Another custom work from my beading table...

A sweet customer commissioned a reproduction of this beautiful necklace from Gone with the Wind. I was able to locate vintage findings, and the perfect coral beads for the necklace. During the antebellum and civil war period, coral was used extensively for jewelry, so choosing it for this necklace, after studying the picture, was a natural thing. The chain is gold-plated. Vivien Leigh was a small lady, so the measurements had to be altered a little for fit, but on the whole it's a fairly faithful reproduction. I looked everywhere to try to find the designer and the possible location of the original necklace so that I could give credit to those who dreamed it up, but I haven't been able to find a clue. I can't even tell if Leigh kept the jewelry after the film, or if it was in her possession before the movie. I'd love it if someone had the information so that I could give credit where it is due.

I managed to get my hands on enough materials to make three more of these, and would love to talk to you if you're interested in acquiring one. I'll make the length to fit to your measurements.

Make a statement in turquoise...

Dyed Howlite and dyed magnesite are fantastic alternatives to expensive turquoise. The veining can be rich and varied, and the coloring almost exactly like it's rarer counterpart, turquoise. Sure, I'd like to own and design with the genuine stone, but when Howlite is as affordable as it is, why not own 3 or 4 pieces to one of genuine turquoise? More is, well, more. More or less. Less costs more, but is not more. Right?

This necklace was finished this evening, and is awaiting approval by my customer. She's looking for a turquoise and silver statement necklace that is elegant and not clunky, and that has a nice silver sparkle without having a chunky chain. I hope I've satisfied her criteria, because I have certainly enjoyed creating this necklace! I can see varying the metals and the gemstones (or their less expensive alternatives), can't you? Copper with Unakite, bronze with white turquoise (magnesite, actually), silver with red coral, lava rocks and any metal, the list goes on and one. Maybe even some labradorite? That would be interesting!

I really like the movement and texture in this piece. It was fun to create, and I'm hoping my customer enjoys wearing it. I love custom work. It's always such an adventure! Next up, a surprise in salmon coral and brass. (hint: it's a reproduction of a famous piece from a very old southern antebellum movie) Can't wait to get that one posted! I have a museum that wants to see it when it's done!

My Magnum Opus...to date

It's finished! I finished my first wedding set and the mailman whisked it away over the weekend. I never would have put these materials together myself, but I must say they turned out very nice.

They're constructed on a base of lightest grey tulle, with a hint of a metallic sheen. The wedding colors are grey and canary, and the bride wanted rhinestones, and a vintage look. Each necklace has a set of vintage earrings as anchors to each side of the front swag, and on the fronts of each are strung rows of glass and freshwater pearls, mother of pearl beads, crystal, rhinestone, Swarovski wheel rondelles, silver spacers, and sparkly glass beads. The junior bridesmaid's necklace, the lowest on the right, has a central vintage brooch instead of the earring anchors. The people at my local antique mall (2 miles from my house!) were extremely accommodating to me as I combed all of the displays for materials that would work for my project. I get so many ideas when I look at vintage jewelry that I just have to write them down! You can also find wonderful materials to recycle, especially beads and pearls to re-string. I found a Mother of pearl necklace, hand knotted, with beads shaped like the Eclipse mints you get in the grocery store. They're barrel shaped rounded end cylinders, and they're not made any more. They wanted only $45 for about a 22" double strand necklace! I might have to go back and get that one!

The earrings were also a challenge, but I ran across the hardware online after I saw another pair like it in an antique mall, and it clicked. I'll have to do more of those. Even my 17 year old daughter likes them! They are constructed on perforated steel disks that snap into pads that are premade with posts. You can also get them with clips. Basically you wire your beads onto the disks, then attach the disks to the backs. A seamless, flawless finish makes these earrings a super finish for these necklaces, and complements the vintage look perfectly. I'm so happy I found them. The hardware is inexpensive, and though the earrings are time consuming to assemble, the look is well worth it.

Also worth it was the bride for whom I completed the project. She was incredibly easy to work with, and it was a joy bringing these necklace sets to life. Blessings and wishes for a happy wedding day, and a long life of love together!!

Errr...Missed again!

If you Etsy, you know that the prime time to list is on the weekend. Well, this weekend, I have a great new set to list, but didn't. My mother-in-law had surgery Thursday, on her back. She's doing very well now, thankfully! Many prayers went up on her behalf! We have her settled now in a rehab center, and should be busy visiting this week. I noticed the staff at the center wears lanyards...

I have a show next Saturday, at St. Joseph's Catholic School in Mandarin. It's 9 - 4pm, and it should be a good one! I'm excited to be back out showing my stuff again. Maybe I'll get to making stuff this week. I have a bunch of stuff on my table.

If you Etsy, you probably know about alchemy. If you don't, you should. While everyone is talking in the forums about how quiet Etsy's been and how their business is sooo slow, you can be in the alchemy section picking up sales. I managed to snatch two this week! I love custom orders! They grease the business wheel during slow times! and since it's slow, you can really specialize on the details, and develop long-term clients. Custom work rocks!