Hades Necklace

Today is a necklace that I've had pictured in mind for a while, but I wasn't sure exactly how I was going to create it.

It's a collar - almost tribal-style necklace using silver-plated connectors, 6mm & 8mm turquoise/blue glass beads and 6mm & 8mm magnetic hematite.

It's brought together with gunmetal-plated cable chain and a gunmetal-plated lobster clasp.

Looking at the finished article, I'm thinking I may have enough materials to do away with the chain and make it into a full collar, or at least make the chain shorter. It might be very heavy though.

The 8mm blue glass beads that I used were part of a mystery pack of glass bead strands that I had from the U.S.  They're absolutely beautiful up close, with a kind of texturing underlay, almost like foil.

I'll have a go at the full collar and I'll repost it if it works out.

=:x

Sarah Millsop's Crystal Weave Bracelets

This weekend I've been making these bracelets from Beads Direct's Take A Make Break.

 I pretty much had all the components to make the "Blueberry" version - apart from the catseye, but seeing as working with beads with chatoyance gives me a headache - it worked in my favour.  It took me a while to get the hang of it, but once I did, I kind of got excited about seeing what else I could create.  So I did a "Salsa" and a "Punk Princess" version too.

Which version do you like best?

For the Salsa, I used these multicoloured drawbench beads I bought from one of my trips to Beading Amazing.  Instead of the Chinese crystal rondelles, I used 4mm Chinese crystal bicones instead  - Amethyst with an AB coating.  For the seed bead weave, I used matte rainbow siam Tohos, to match the colours in the drawbench beads.

For the Punk Princess version, I used pink drawbench beads, silver Chinese crystal rondelles and the matte jet Tohos I used for the Blueberry bracelet.  Looking at it now, I think maybe silver would have looked better?

I'll definitely be making more of these, I think I want to make a necklace version next time using gemstones.  So look out for that maybe later in the week!

=:x

If you would like to make these yourself the video can be found here: TAMB - Crystal Weave Bracelet
And you can still get the kits from Beads Direct for £14.99 each.  Choose from the Blueberry Ripple or the Raspberry Ripple.

Monochrome Floral Ring

I was about to make another bracelet to go with the ones from yesterday and found myself making this ring instead.

It's the same principle as the bracelets and they go really well together.

This time I used a glass flower bead instead of acrylic or clay, so it lays flat against the finger.  I cheated a little as it's not completely white - more of an opal effect - but it came out of a monochrome bead mix, so it still counts!

It's elasticated like the bracelets, so it should fit whichever finger you chose to wear it on.

=:x

Arabian Nights Bracelet

Our last bracelet of the week.  I've had these packs of really pretty beads mixes from Jilly Beads just sitting in my collection for ages.  I keep saying to myself - one of these days I'll make a quick bracelet or a pretty necklace - and nothing happened.  Well today is one of those days.

I tried picking up random beads, but the OCD part of my brain didn't like that, so it's in a repeating pattern that still manages to look random.  I hung a beaded dangle from each end to give it an extra feature.

The beads are in lovely jewel tones - Jade greens, emerald greens, ruby reds, sapphire blues and amethyst purples - with the occasional flash of copper and bronze, so I can see it being a really good look for the Autumn.

It's on memory wire, so you can just wrap it around your wrist.

=:x

Butterfly Catcher Bracelet

I seem to be making a lot of bracelets lately.  In fact every post this week (bar yesterday) is a bracelet, so let's call it Bracelet Week!  I really enjoyed doing the Ogalala Netting for the Passion Necklace.  So it manifested itself into this:

I've been buying a lot of pastel and candy colours recently.  I hardly ever purposely buy a particular shade - unless I'm in the middle of a project and I've run out of beads - but it's like my mind unconsciously knows exactly what colours I'm going to need for each season.  I don't know if I've mentioned, but I'm not exactly fashion-conscious and many of the ideas recycle themselves anyway.  On one of my trips to Beading Amazing, I found these ceylon yellow and green seed beads and thought they'd be perfect for a Spring/Summer project.

I just kept adding more layers, alternating colours, building it up - however I could sense there was something missing.  Then I got the idea of adding these 4mm pink/clear crackle glass beads.  It added another dimension and the finished article kind of reminds me of the Rosy Apples sweets!  Why does nearly all my jewellery seem to be influenced by sweets in some way?

I knew I wanted to make a beaded clasp and have it metal free, but for some reason a toggle clasp didn't look right in my mind and I hate making beaded ball clasps.  So I decided to use something else I got on my trip to Beading Amazing...

Not original (what is?), but it makes it look so cute!

=:x

I Heart...Water Necklace

A new addition to the I Heart...Collection this week. The I Heart...Water Necklace.

Beaded Cross Necklace

I've spent this weekend designing and making new items for the I Heart...Collection, but I haven't had time to take any photos yet. Due to some chaotic happenings over the weekend, I'm not sure how regularly I'll be posting this week.
Today's item is a gothic necklace (my favourite theme!) based around a tutorial from Ruby's Beadwork for a beaded cross pendant.

Starfish Earrings

I don't have anything else to show from the I Heart...Collection just yet, so for today's post, I'll be sharing this pair of earrings I made recently.  One of the things I love most about ordering from Jilly Beads, is the free little packet of beads you get with your order.  With my last order, I received these cute little starfish-like beads (glass, I think) and I immediately wanted to turn them into a pair of earrings.

I Heart...Hearts Bracelet

Today's item is the ...Hearts Bracelet.

I Heart...Sweetness Necklace

Sorry this is late, I've got a bit behind this weekend thanks to some kind of stomach bug, so the posts this week might be  bit scattered.
Today's item from the I Heart...Collection is the ...Sweetness Necklace.  So-called because it reminds me of strawberries and cream.

I Heart...Transparency Earrings

Next in the collection are the ...Transparency Earrings.

I was planning to make a bracelet with these beads, but the inspiration for the design just wouldn't come, so I created these earrings instead.  They're pretty simple drop earrings, comprising of three sized glass hearts.  Teal at the top and two clear below.  The earwires are nickel free. 

They will be available to buy from Etsy soon!

=:x

I Heart...Prosperity Necklace

Next up in the I Heart...Collection is the ...Prosperity Necklace.

I Heart...Passion Necklace

Here is the second piece in the I Heart...Collection - The ...Passion Necklace.

I Heart...Language Necklace

So here is the first piece in my new collection - This is the ...Language Necklace.

Recycled Beads Ring

Another tutorial on Ruby's Beadwork caught my eye, and I thought it would be a nice way to use up some of the old beads I have lying around in my recycled bags.  I don't actually have that many beads in there to play around with though, as most of the stuff is earrings and brooches.
I've been trying to find uses for these milky glass beads that I have - which I think were glass pearls whose coating came off.  I've used them before (On A Sunny Day In England, Sweet Tooth Competition Prize and My Beating Heart) and this seemed like the perfect project to use up the rest of them

Dragon Eye Ring

Rings are my favourite type of jewellery and lately I've got into beaded rings.  They're not as uncomfortable as they look, they're a lot easier to freeform than wire rings, they don't wear or tarnish as easily - depending on what beads you use - and you can make them from any old beads you have lying around - particularly useful when you have old beads that needs using up!
This is the first bezel ring I've made.  I had these really cool glass beads that reminded my of dragon's eyes - my favourite* mythological creatures, keep your damned unicorns!

Molten Metal Necklace

Today I'd like to show you a necklace I've been working on for a while.  The Molten Metal Necklace.

I've had this pendant for a while as I could never figure out what I wanted to do with it.  I came across it again a few months back and after I'd been testing out different beading techniques, I knew I wanted to make a spiral rope chain.  However, matching the colours and creating the pattern proved to be a nightmare.  I never thought silver and copper would be so hard to match!

The black beads were easiest, but it was choosing whether have the silver or copper beads as the core or the accent.  I decided upon these copper-lined crystal beads as a core and accented the black seeds with silver.

As a little something extra, I followed a tutorial on Ruby's to make this beautiful toggle clasp (my first!) and then ruined it by taking the photo before I'd tidied up the excess thread.

 

Oh well, it's still pretty and will be available to buy soon!

=:x

Christmas Cluster Necklace

This is a necklace I designed for Christmas with a red and green glass bead mix.  I added some gold metal beads too and hung them from a gold plated cable chain.

Mintberry Swirl Necklace

I've really got to think of a better name for this necklace before I sell it!

I've had this pack of lampwork beads that I received in a goody bag (I think!) for while and I haven't really known what I wanted to do with them.  So using my new found beadwork skills, I've transformed it into this beautiful necklace.

Zn (Zinc) - The Metallics Collection (Part VIII)

Part 8 of the Metallics Collection is Zinc...

Zn (Zinc) Set.

 More photos are available on Etsy.

This was one of the first sets I designed for the Metallics Collection.  Actually it was just the cuff/bracelet that I designed...

Zn (zinc) bracelet cuff - original design.

 I'd bought these cool metalised acrylic columns with my £50 voucher, and they were just begging to be turned into a cuff.  In my original design, I figured coloured rondelles (flat donut-shaped beads) would look best on the top and bottom of the columns.  However when I started attaching them they wouldn't sit right, plus they felt really uncomfortable.  
Digging through my beads I found some small glass beads that I had bought ages ago and still hadn't found a use for - I have quite a few of those!  Once added, I found they crowned the top and bottom of the columns beautifully, and being half clear/AB (Aurora Borealis) and half silver they give an amazing glamorous futuristic look that I wasn't expecting when I first designed it.

Zn (zinc) bracelet cuff - finished design.

I was just going to sell the cuff on it's own, however I was persuaded to create a necklace and earrings too.

For the necklace, I attached the glass beads only to the end of the columns, and then threaded the columns onto leather cord, which when worn creates a fan effect.  I'm trying out my new barrel clasps on this necklace, if you would prefer lobster clasps just let me know.

The earrings didn't look right with the beads at either end, so I just left the columns as they were.
The bracelet is made with clear elastic, so it stretches onto your wrist.  I will still need your wrist measurement, so I know how many columns to use.

Necklace: £42.00

Earrings: £25.00

Bracelet Cuff: £42.00

or buy the set: £85.00