Panda and Koala Necklaces

I had a nice commission to make one of my Panda necklaces. I had run out of the panda pendants and whilst ordering another one, I found a little cute koala, so made a necklace out of that, too. :-)

They're both nice simple little necklaces with silky rat tail cords, glass beads, and in the case of the koala necklace some wooden beads as well.


Panda Necklace

This was made with Japanese Miyuki and Toho beads and some black Indian round glass beads and very dark red melon beads.







Koala Necklace

This was made with lovely wooden and green lustre and Japanese large seed beads. The leaf at the end of the dangle is glass, too.





The Koala necklace will go in my Etsy shop today. These necklaces perfect for every day and kids love them too. I have many other pendants available - like a cute little yellow duck, a fox, a black cat, a shark and a whale. If you'd like to order one, they're £5 each plus P&P (dependent on where you are).

Fairy Queen Dew Drop Tiara

Sorry for the long name, but it just needed it. :-) Because it's what I think it looks like. LOL
See for yourself:




This is my latest venture - wedding 'decorations' for the bride or ladies who go to balls and proms. I've used the most delightful, delicious Japanese yarn from a secret place on the internet. Na, only joking, Caroline told me about it. If you fancy some yourself, check this out: K1Yarns.

The first yarn I used was Habu, Silk and Stainless Steel, in silver. It's difficult to work with, very tangly - with crochet and beads at least, I think it may be easier if you knit it - but the effect is beautiful. It's shimmery, it's soft and if tightly knitted or crocheted it's sculptural as well. The second yarn I used was Habu, Paper Moire, in moccha. This is lovely to work with. I love the natural feel of it - almost like a vine.



I started off with a tiara base in silver plate. I then added the first layer: a filigree web of the silk and stainless steel yarn with beads (Japanase Toho beads in creamy, shimmery pearl, little Miyuki drops in pearl, teeny tiny Japanese seed beads in creamy buttermilk, and more Miyuki drops in crystal bronze lined).


The next 'layer' was a frame work made from silver plated wire. This consequently was then covered with the paper moire yarn, one, to hide the frame work, but also because it gives it a softer more tactile feel.


The final layer was done with the silk and stainless steel yarn and more beads, this time Swarovski and Czech faceted beads to add a bit of glimmer and glamour.



The colours of the tiara are perfect for any hair colour. The shape of the tiara works either with a simple or short hair styles as it can be worn like an alice band, or it can be draped around a 'piled-up on top' hair style.

The tiara (even if I say so myself) is subtly elegant and romantic and works for the young bride as well as the mature bride. Or just wear it because it's so pretty! :-)

Available soon in my Etsy shop!

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.

Commissions

Isn't that typical, I am off this week to look after my lovely son, but, of course, I've got a nasty cold, and then I had two commissions of my website as well. However, the commissions were far more fun than the cold.

The first one was for a little girl called Lola who loves foxes. I had to order the little fox specially for her as I'd already sold the other fox necklace I'd made. To keep things unique I've also used different beads and combined it with red an orange beads this time and the same very thin leather thong.

The little fox is so cute and I just love his little face. The beads are ceramic, glass and wood all combined.


The second commission was a green spectacle chain. Just as well that I only buy small quantities of my beads so I never get tempted or accidentally use the same beads again.

I've used lots of different beads here from Indian lampwork to catseye to Japanese Miyuki cubes and Toho seedbeads to frosted glass and beads decorated with golden lines. The shapes are all different, too, from large flat squares to rice shaped to fat or flat ovals, to small and large rounds to little flying saucers, to cubes and potato shaped beads. The different shapes, colours and textures add a great deal to the overall look and make it far more interesting than using the same type of bead throughout.

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. :-)