Pink Grapefruit Set

... and because it was so much fun to make felted beads... I made some more. LOL
Here's my Pink Grapefruit set. I love pink grapefruits and it's one of my favourite juices to drink in the morning. The colour combination of pink and orange has always fascinated me. I love the combination of the two colours, but I know a lot of people don't like it, although it's used widely in India and other Asian countries.

Pink Grapefruit Set

I've used the felted beads I made, but this time I used vintage brass bead caps that almost look like flames or the green tops you get on tomatoes. Very organic. For the smaller beads I've used vintage bead caps shaped like little flower petals, again brass. All the chain and other findings are brass too. The clasps are handmade as per usual.

The beads I've used are soft pink chalcedony, pale pink rose quartz, lovely lemony citrine and deep orange carnelian.

The stars of the show are of course Paul's fabulous Tangerine Dream 3 beads (Firedance Beads) on both the necklace and the bracelet.

The large felted beads are three-tone: palest pink, bright golden yellow, and deep orange. The smaller ones also have teeny threads of pink silk felted into it - the same kind of effect as you get in handmade paper that has rose petals included.

Earrings

I am really proud of these as they are so unusual. They are feather light and easy to wear and they are great on their own.


I've dangled the pink chalcedony, pale lemon citrine and bright orange carnelian from the bottom of the earring.


Bracelet

The bracelet is made with two different vintage brass chains and more fuzzy grapefruit balls and the lovely Tangerine Dreams 3 beads. For the centre bead, because it's smaller than the other two, I've used different vintage brass bead caps. On either side of the big fuzzy beads are chalcedony beads in lovely soft pink and deep orange carnelians.




Necklace

The necklace is made with three of the large orange fuzzy felt beads, two more of the Tangerine Dream 3 beads and a mix of chalcedony, citrine, pale rose quartz and carnelian. I've again used the same two vintage chains to make sure the chain will hang nicely and to add a little texture. There's a small little fuzzy bead hanging from the clasp as a little dangle.




I am really pleased with the set, but I think it's a 'love it or hate it' set as it's so unusual - the colours as well as the design. However, I really like all the different textures - the fuzzy soft felt against the smooth glossiness of the handmade glass beads and the precious glow of the semi precious beads against the dark patina of the aged brass. I also love the fact that it mixes old and new and the colours are so soft and yummy. The necklace reminds me of high summer and a party at the beach.

This set, like the two bracelets from the previous post, will soon appear in my Etsy shop. :-)

Happy Tears - Finally United

Now Paul from Firedance beads has sent me my lovely matching beads (see previous post) I had no excuse to not make the necklace to finish the set.

I wanted to make something that encapsulated the 'wedding spirit' and was still simple and elegant to work with the bracelet and earrings and to frame the lovely beads.

I've used rose gold wire to wire wrap all the beads and make the clasp; to show the wedding spirit I used to little vintage brass swallows flying towards each other and a lovely vintage design brass filigree with more beads hanging from it. The beads I used are the same as before:

Paul's lovely Bluesy Pinks, rose quartz, blue topaz, frosted rock crystal, cherry quartz, rose quartz and white new jade. The chain is a very delicate vintage brass chain.

The rose gold works well with the gingerbread patina of the swallows, filigree and brass chain.



Here are some of the beads and a swallow in detail:



This is the swallow on the other side in even more detail:


The centre piece with the gorgeous cherry quartz beads and a little dangle.



The handmade clasp and another little dangle hanging from the clasp to mirror the one at the front.


Here's the finally complete set, ready to go on Etsy.

Wonderful Beads

Yay! Lots of beads arrived this morning in the post. Another delivery all the way from Victoria, Canada. My favourite bead maker, Firedance Beads, has sent some more of his delicious, gorgeous beads.

Remember the 'Happy Tears' set? I ran out of beads (there were only 4 to start with) and I really wanted a matching necklace to go with the bracelet and earrings.... so I asked Paul if he could make me some matching ones, just enough to make a necklace.

This was the first set he made me:

Lavender Lovelies

It wasn't quite right - the blue and pink mixed instead of staying separate. However, I thought they were so beautiful, I had to have them anyway. :-) They'll make another lovely wedding set.



Next, he made me another set:

Bluesy Pinks

And it works. Perfectly. Can't wait to make the necklace. And then I've finally run out of excuses and have to upload all the new stuff to my Etsy shop.... LOL



However, since he was sending beads anyway... I thought I might as well get some more. :-) Saves on postage... Good for the environment as there is less packaging... Those are my excuses anyway. :-) Honestly, I just needed them! ;-)


Charcoal 2

These are just so pretty. The picture (all pictures are courtesy Firedance Beads) is great but the beads are even prettier in real life. They have very fine, very delicate grey and green striations which makes them so very special.




Tangerine Dreams 3

Aren't these gorgeous? I love the deep fiery oranges. Hmmm... it will be very hard not to keep these (or any of the others LOL). I have to think of something really special to do them justice!



... and finally

Paddy's Delight

There is emerald and chartreuse and olive green in these beads and it makes them shimmer and shine and all juicy green. I love those colours and green has always been one of my favourite colours (along with all the others, gimme colours!).

Again, they deserve a very special setting... so watch this space. :-)

Happy Tears

Happy Tears Set (Earrings and Bracelet)

I made the bracelet a little while ago but it needed some earrings to go with it. I wasn't sure what design to choose for the earrings as I wanted something simple, so this is what I came up with.


The feature beads are the Bluesy Pink 1 beads I bought from Firedance beads a while back. The metal I've used is rose gold - the first time I have used this. It's funny how each metal is different to work with. I've also used white jade, frosted quartz (clear), rosy pink cherry quartz, and aquamarine. All the glass beads (including the lovely pale rose rondelle beads) are from Firedance beads.

The bracelet is a simple design of beads wired together in a chain with a pretty handmade clasp. I wanted the beads to shine and the design (I felt) therefore had to be flowing rather than complex.



The earrings are elegant and flowing, too, with the beads just strung on the wire which then was shaped and hammered to the current elliptical form.


The set is for my new wedding range which I am currently putting together - like the Fairy Queen Tiara and matching Fairy Queen corsage bracelet.

Fly Me to the Moon - Set

Here we have one set consisting of earrings and a short necklace.

Fly Me to the Moon

Not sure why I called it 'Fly me to the Moon' but in my (very weird) mind it works. LOL

I've wire wrapped bright red coral, beautiful black and gold handmade beads, black goldstone and jet Swarovski bicones in sections. The centre piece is a pretty vintage brass swallow, the wire is bronze but has been oxidised. The necklace has a handmade clasp and a little dangle with a vintage star charm and several wire wrapped jet black Swarovski bicones. Details below.


Here's a close-up of the vintage brass swallow. It has a lovely gingerbread patina although I lightly polished it to bring out the detail in the stamping.


Close-up of the handmade black and gold beads.


Close-up of the red coral beads.


Close-up of the black goldstone beads.


Close-up of the handmade clasp and dangle.


Here's the set complete with earrings:


The earrings have been made with the same beads as the necklace however I added smaller vintage swallow brass stampings, one flying up, one flying down.


Here's one of the teeny swallow stampings in detail:


And here's a close-up of the earrings hanging down.


The handmade beads are the ones I bought a while back from Firedance Beads. Check this post here.

Candy Roses Bracelet and Fire Flower Bangle

Said I was playing with something pink and sweet, didn't I? :-) Well, here it is.

Candy Roses Bracelet


Sterling silver roses with chalcedony wrapped in more sterling silver.

Complete with handmade clasp...


... and caterpillar made from fuchsia fossil beads.



Fire Flower Bangle

Can you spot the lovely Red Stones 2 beads from Firedance Beads I posted the other day?

Here's my first creation with the beads I bought:


I've used three thicknesses of bare copper wire. A medium thickness to create the first frame, which I oxidised. I then added a thicker gauge second frame (without the swirly bits) and wrapped it all together with very thin copper wire.


Here's the bangle from the side.


Here you can see the detail of the front. I've used the gorgeous Red Stones 2 beads from Firedance Beads, including the accent Swarovski beads in (I believe) Indian Red, and then added faceted deep red garnet faceted rondelles and a few Siam red Swarovski beads to complement the beads from Firedance Beads.


A little garnet at the back holds the two frames together, You can see the difference in colour of the oxidised and bare copper.

The bangle is lightweight and because of it's design will fit most wrists (it's adjustable). I am pleased with how it turned out. It's opulent and has a lovely warm glow and will work as well with a pair of jeans and a t-shirt as with a little black dress.

Available soon in my Etsy shop.

Glorious Glass

I bought the most glorious beads on Etsy last week and they arrived today - all the way from Canada in under a week. I bought them from Firedance Beads and he kindly let me use his beautiful photos to show you all what I bought.

Here they are:

Bluesy Pink 1



Clearly Rose



Red Stones 2



Black Obsidian Swirls 2



Black Gold



This is just a small selection of all the wonderful beads in Firedance's Etsy shop. The ones I just HAD TO HAVE. LOL

Can't wait to make something with them, but as you all know, anticipation is half the fun. Have to finish my current project first... Something sweet in pink... You'll see. :-) Meanwhile, why don't you all go and check out Firedance's Etsy shop - but don't buy all the beads, leave some for me!!!