Teal Seaweed Scarf

As promised here are the pictures of MY teal seaweed scarf. It's made completely of cotton wool - very soft Debbie Bliss cotton for the main 'body' of the scarf and very thin embroidery cotton and Magatama drops in various shades of green and blue for embellishment.

The last of 2007

Here's some jewellery I prepared earlier. ;-)

Blackberry Heaven

The first creation is a bracelet made of memory wire, silver plated curved beads, little round spacer beads and vintage blackberry AB beads. These are absolutely wonderful. They are black with a gorgeous AB coating. The bracelet is very light and there's nothing like this out there.



Circles within Circles

This is one of mine. :-) I love circles and used all the rings I had in my secret stash to make this. There are vintage flat rings, round rings that are either plain, hammered or patterned of different sizes, and a single oval ring, but all are connected with oval jump rings that have been soldered by a little pixie I know. To finish it off I've used my favourite 'Chanel' toggle clasp and I added a little tail to the back of the necklace with another set of rings attached.


Bracelets

Oyster Cult

I got myself some gorgeous pearls and had to make something with them. The colouring of the large pearls used in the bracelet below reminded me of oysters. I have teemed them up with smaller copper coloured pearls, old rose gold and green Givre daggers and beads, little faceted pale green round beads and Magatama drops. The bracelet has a lovely fluid feel and look to it that is organic and sparkly at the same time.

Early Autumn

This bracelet combines all the colours of early Autumn - from pale golds to greens to ambers and reds. I have used small green and chocolate brown freshwater pearls, deep red carnelian drops, golden shimmery amber, and Magatama drops in pale frosted amber and translucent gold.



Roses are Red (or sometimes white)

The following bracelet reminds me of a brother Grimm story called 'Snow-White and Rose-Red', which I read as a child. I've used a vintage chain with modern findings, pearlescent Magatama drops interspersed with ruby red Swarovski bicones. I love the slightly spiky look the bracelet has, although, trust me it doesn't feel like it. :-)


Honey Dew

The colours of the next bracelet are very soft and it looks almost edible. I've used Citrine, mother of pearl (round beads and chips), white jade (round beads and chips), honey coloured jade and topaz chips with glass pearls and deep chocolate brown Magatama drops.



Red Clusters

The next bracelet is a very different design from the others. I've used connectors made with deep ruby red Swarovski beads and copper bead caps to link clusters of beads (Magatama drops, tear drop beads, frosted and crackled round beads in shades of red that have been strung on bits of copper chain). A lovely coppery flower charm finishes off the design.



Starshine

This bracelet is mine. I made it for selling but found when I got ready for a Christmas party that I needed something to go with my gorgeous vintage butterfly necklace. This was the perfect match. I have used icy heart and star charms on bronze chain with pearlescent Magatama drops in creamy and stark white and very, very pale green.




Snow and Ice

Here's another white creation. I have used a mix of silver grey Keishi and small nugget freshwater pearls in grey and larger ones in white, white carved bone beads, and Matagama drops in pearlescent white and very, very pale green. I love the icy look and shimmer of the bracelet on the silver plated chain which is finished with a little snowflake charm.




Chocolate and Blueberries

Another 'yummy' creation. I've used shell beads in blue and dark chocolate brown, mixed them with dark amber and blue crackle beads and chocolate brown freshwater pearls and daggers in metallic brown and peacock blue. Frosted intense blue Magatama drops finish it off and give it an organic feel.

Wire (Crochet) and Sea Glass
And finally, here are some more of my sea glass creations. There are more to come. I've made some more this year which will be in a new blog entry.

By the Sea
I love this necklace, it's so special. Very heavy, too. I've used an oval frosted stone found by the seaside (see the upcoming 'Trips in 2007' blog entry) in Southwold, a piece of sea glass (probably found by Alison somewhere on the beach in Nice, and a gorgeous rock quartz nugget (very large) all encased in antique gold wire crochet. The chain is vintage brass and the 'pendant' was finished off with Magatama drops in cream and white, white jade and carved bone beads, and glass pearls. The clasp is particularly pretty with lovely little swirls.


Sea Bed
Another sea glass creation, this time with a large piece in pale green, wire encased and embellished with (real) amber, chalcedony and sapphire nuggets, with a pale blue glass pearl, Miyuki delicas, and an Art glass bead thrown in for good measure.

Sun Blossom

After the success of Moon Blossom (previous) post, I thought a "Sun Blossom" would make the perfect present for my little sister. She's just developed a love of yellow, so it just made sense. :-)

Here's the result. Yellow is not one of my favourite colours for jewellery as it's difficult to wear for most people, so I didn't have very many yellow beads. A while back I bought the beautiful golden shell pendant and never quite knew what to do with it. I think I bought it just because it was so pretty. LOL Like with Moon Blossom I then added a feature bead (a golden, slightly crackly topaz) and three strings of chain to act as sun beams. The sun beams have 12 different beads on them for the 12 months, plus 12 Magatama beads. I've grouped the beads in threes: 3 vintage beads (all different), 3 Swarovski beads (light topaz, jonquil and lime) and 3 each of small citrine beads and little yellow daisies with clear round beads set in the centre. All is strung on bronze chain/findings to complement the gold/yellow.

Here is the pendant in detail (photo taken inside lying down).

And here's the pendant outside hanging from a lilac bush.

Here's the dangle that will hang down the nape of the neck. I've used citrine beads again, a beautiful stripy heart bead and a metal heart connector, plus some Magatamas.

This picture was taken outside on the said lilac bush so you could see how the beads will hang when the necklace is worn.

Black Daisy and Peach Blossom - Bracelets

My cold is finally gone and I had some leisure and energy to make some jewellery at the weekend. Here are the results:


Black Daisy
I recently bought some wonderful beads from EJR Beads. The lovely daisy beads in the bracelet below started the whole design. I could have gone with a white and gold theme but wanted something more interesting so I added topaz nuggets, hematite hearts, vintage faceted antique gold beads, and some Czech gunmetal beads to the design. To finish it off I used some wonderful gunmetal Magatama drops and some more Japanese seed beads (Toho and Miyuki). All is 'tied' together with the gunmetal chain and findings.


Here you can see all the wonderful beads in detail. The bracelet is now for sale in my Etsy shop.


Peach Blossom
This bracelet was inspired by the wonderful copper lined crystal cathedral beads. I added more copper lined beads and a few vintage peach copper coated faceted beads, frosted flowers, lots of Swarovski beads for extra glamour and Magatama and Miyuki drops for shimmer and texture. I love the contrast of the copper with the green/teal of the Swarovski and faceted green beads and the organic feel created by the Magatama/Miyuki beads.

The bracelet is now for sale in my Etsy shop.

Old and New Designs

On Saturday I made this lovely purple necklace. The design is similar to the red one I posted a few days ago but with a black suede and a purple rattail cord. Rattail - despite the horrible name - is a very beautiful silky cord, soft to touch and pleasant to wear.


The beads, as shown here in the close-up, are as per usual too numerous to list. I have used everything from shells to Magatama and Miyuki drops to Czech to Indian glass beads. All in shades of purple, of course, with black plated findings.

After that I felt I had to make something very different. :-) Remember, if you see it anywhere else, you've seen it here first.

I think of it as my 'prom bracelet' because of the organza ribbon that can be tied into bows in at least four different ways. If the organza ribbons are all tied into a bow together they'd look like the flowers girls sometimes wear around their wrists for proms.

I started off with some lovely Lyscordet cotton in black and made the 'frame' of the bracelet. I then added organza ribbon in silvery grey and black. Finally, I crocheted the little abstract flowers with black wool threaded through with shimmery lurex and the middle one with natural hemp. Each of the little flowers has a black crackle bead in the centre and grey/black Magatama drops respectively to make the petals as shown below.

This would make a stunning bracelet - either for a night on the town to dress up a pair of jeans and a pretty top, or with a little black dress or for a ball. Very versatile as it can be worn many ways. It would look really pretty as a choker, too.

Another hemp necklace - Night Spray

After making Night and Day a few days ago I wanted to make one that was completely black. However, hemp - for some weird reason - reminds me of the sea, so I added some Magatama drops and Toho beads in watery greens and greys to add texture and a little colour. This one now has the look of the sea at night with little bits of sea spray glittering in the light of the moon. Poetic, isn't it? ;-)

So here's Night Spray:And a close-up. :-)

More commissions

Been busy this weekend, but especially today. Have been asked to make some earrings in red and gold/yellow and here they are.

I've used lots of red beads: red shells, red jade, coral, wood, Magatama and Miyuki drops, carnelian, cranberry crackle beads, flower beads, Swarovski crystals (Siam and Papadasha), and seed beads in different shades of red on bronze findings. The close-up below shows the beautiful beads in detail.


Here's the second pair in all it's golden shimmer:

For this pair I have used warm golden and cream shells, topaz, citrine, and amber, wood, Miyuki cubes in different shades (copper, gold and yellow), Magatama and Miyuki drops, Swarovski beads in different shades of yellow, from intense to pale lemon, little stripy heart beads and glass and seed beads in different shades of yellow/gold/amber/topaz. The whole lot has been strung on copper with two different types of chain.

Here's the third commission. A necklace with a cluster of beads hanging from a gorgeous deep red suede thong.

There are too many beads to list. The picture below shows more detail.

More Sea Glass Jewellery

I just had to make some more. :-) This wire crochet is definitely addictive - check out Caroline's Blog, she can't stop either!

Below is my kite necklace. The colours reminded me of that moment by the seaside where the sun has almost sunk and there are just a few glimmers of light but everything else seems to be painted in sepia.
The necklace is quite short - deliberately - so the kite hangs flat and looks almost like a stone age spear head. It's a stunning necklace and I am not sure yet that I can part with it. It may be the one I'll be wearing at the party on Thursday....

I've used black enamelled copper wire with small seed beads in black and crystal/black lined with a pale amber bit of sea glass and a lovely faceted drop. The chain and other findings are black plated.

The bracelet below has really captured me. I love it. I am pretty sure I can't bear to part with this. It's just so beautiful.
I've combined little pendants/charms of wire encased amber sea glass with amber lustred Magatama drops, little wire wheels (each one different), and little glass bead drops and shells. The feeling is slightly - maybe more than slightly LOL - Gothic and very filigree, almost like Art Nouveau ironwork. I love the effect and it hangs beautifully.


Below are some earrings to go with the necklaces/bracelets I made. They will be sold separately so people can pick and choose what they want.

The first set has been made with pale green sea glass and silver plated copper wire and silver plated findings. I've added some pale green lustred Magatama drops. I love the watery feel of these earrings.

These ones would go well with the Mermaid necklace. I've used a similar medium green sea glass encased by green wire plus watery green glass tear drops, a few seed beads and some wire beads.

These are really lovely. They would go perfectly with the seahorse necklace. I've used dark green sea glass with a bronze coloured wire, gorgeous lustred beads, bronze filigree beads, and a couple of green seed beads. These earrings are simple but the effect is lovely, very organic.