Artbeads for Autumn

I was invited to be part of Artbeads Autumn Blogging Fun and what fun it is!  This time around, I selected some items that are outside of my usuals.  What better way to challenge myself?

These are some amazingly beautiful Botswana agate briolettes.  I love the swirls of gray, taupe, brown and white.  Finding pairs for earrings may be difficult, but I'll give it my best shot.  These stones are found on Artbeads website in the Gemstone category.  They fit perfectly well with the Pantone color report for fall, as they contain both Oyster Gray and Chocolate Truffle!

I also selected a copper leaf pendant and a brass art deco style pendant.  I found the copper leaf pendant in the Artbeads.com category of Pendants, where there is a huge selection of pendants in a wide variety of styles. I think it could be part of the Lipstick Red component of Pantone's fall color report.

I found the brass pendant in the Findings category in the Jewelry Links section. There are some really great items to be found there.

While I have not completed all of the projects I planned for these items, I did finish one necklace.  I used the copper pendant, which has been patinated to a rich coral-ly, raspberry-ish red -- very hard to describe this color!  To set off the bright colors of this pendant, I used a copper jump ring to attach it to a piece of antiqued brass filigree. I think it makes an interesting contrast.  I made a short "chain" with some color coordinated glass beads from my stash and then used hand dyed silk, from Artbeads Stringing Materials section, to complete the necklace.  Not wanting to add any additional hardware or findings, I tied cute little bows on either side, making this necklace completely adjustable.

Stay tuned to see what I decide to do with those Botswana agate briolettes and the copper piece.

Disclosure: Artbeads invited me to join their blogging community. I receive these products free of charge in return for honest reviews. I have not been paid for doing this.

A Bunch of Dragonflies

Trying to work efficiently, I decided to make a bunch of these similarly designed dragonfly necklaces.  There are actually two distinct styles of necklaces.  One batch has the brass dragonflies wired to carved bone buttons.  The other batch uses textured copper as the backdrop.

I found the bone buttons at one of the gem shows in Tucson.  I was looking for more abalone buttons, but did not find any of decent quality.  These bone buttons are interesting and the neutral coloration should make them good sellers.  I suspended them on dyed silk ribbons.

I textured the copper with a combination of real, dried leaves and skeleton leaves (the kind you find in the scrapbooking section of the craft store).  I had better luck with the skeleton leaves, but this is a destructive process.  I went through quite a few leaves.  Oxidizing the copper highlights the texture.

I used rivets in the holes I drilled to attach the chain.  It gives the pendants a more finished look.

These will be for my shows later in the year, not for the etsy market.

Two New Dragonfly Necklaces

I recently listed these two dragonfly necklaces. The first two I had listed sold pretty quickly and it's taken me a couple of months (!?!) to get around to making some more. The buttons which provide the base for the brass dragonflies are large, at about 2" in diameter. The each hang on hand dyed silk ribbons.

The first one features an abalone shell button and the silk ribbon is a delicious blend of green and mauve.


This second necklace features a glossy pink conch shell button and a brown and black silk ribbon.



Both are for sale in my etsy shop. These will be the last two I can list until I find more of these beautiful buttons at a reasonable price!

Dragonflies ... Again

I have these large brass dragonfly elements that I've used to wrap around stones or large beads. This necklace is an example of what I mean. I have featured it on my blog in the past.

I was looking at the small pile of these dragonflies and an idea popped into my head. Don't you love when that happens? I scrounged around for my collection of really large buttons (2" in diameter) and found a beautiful abalone one and a more subtle pink one made from conch shell. With a little wire and beautiful hand-dyed silk ribbon, 2 necklaces were born! Here are the results.


The abalone one sold quickly from my etsy shop, but the conch shell necklace is still available. Click on the photo to go directly to the listing.