What's Old is New Again - Artbeads Bloggers Challenge

This latest Artbeads challenge really spoke to me.  I immediately had an idea which would incorporate a polished shard of fossilized walrus ivory from St. Paul Island, Alaska.  I have quite a collection of this lovely material from a local native man that I met a craft show several years ago.  His relatives on St. Paul live a subsistence lifestyle and make a portion of their income from collecting and polishing this naturally shed ivory.  Vintage glass beads were also on my mind.  I went the the Artbeads website to select some lovely brass items to complement the ivory and glass.

In the vast Findings category at Artbeads,  there is a section called Links, which is where I found and fell in love with antiqued brass diamond deco elements.  Now to find some coordinating brass beads.  There were a couple of lovely choices in the Beads category.

I wrapped the ivory shard with some brass filigree from my stash and suspended it from a brass ring (also from Artbeads Findings category).  I added a rusty antique skeleton key and a few vintage glass beads in pink and green.  Keeping with that color scheme and working in a asymmetrical manner, I continued to add beads and brass elements up both sides of the necklace.  This necklace had to be long to balance the large components that I was using -- it would have looked silly at 18" or even 20".  The final length is about 26".  The measurement from the top of the circle to the bottom of the ivory is another 4 1/2" -- this necklace makes a statement! 

Laying the necklace flat, I was able to capture some of the details a bit better:

A close up of the ivory section of the piece.  Here you can see the beadcaps I found on the Beadcaps page at Artbeads.  They are embracing an olive green vintage glass bead.

A better view of one of the beaded segments and the yummy diamond deco pieces:

And one more shot of the whole piece which really showcases the warmth of the ivory and brass:

It's worth mentioning that shopping for this piece at Artbeads was made quite simple by one's ability to shop by material.  I could go directly to the Base Metal category and find matching components so easily.

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.

Artbeads - Winter Enchantment

I was invited to take part in Artbeads winter blogging program.  The theme this time around is Winter Enchantment.  While the possibilities with this theme are endless, it said "white, white, white" to me.  That's pretty much all I see out my window this time of year.

Artbeads is chock full of of items that suited my needs.  I started with a 30 mm (can you say huge?) Swarovski Navette drop, from the Pendant category on their website.  I also selected Snow Jade beads in both 4mm and 6mm.  These are from the Gemstone category.  While I wasn't really sure what my final necklace would look like, some ideas were forming in my mind.

I used lots of 20 gauge sterling silver wire to suspend the pendant.  While 20 gauge may seem heavy, the size of this pendant really required a substantial "support" mechanism.  It looked completely out of balance with lighter gauge wire.

I created clusters of 4 mm snow jade and 4 mm faceted Czech glass beads (from my stash) to dress up the necklace.  I finished with a series of 6 mm snow jade rounds, which lead to lengths of sterling chain.  At the very end is a hook clasp (also from my stash) with an extender.

Isn't that pendant striking?  Forgive the photos -- I always have the most trouble with white and clear jewelry items.  The next photo gives you an idea of the clasp and extender.

  And here's Marilyn modeling the necklace for you:

All of these components were a pleasure to work with.  Some of the snow jade beads were chipped around the hole, but this is not uncommon with stone beads.  The crystal pendant was securely packaged to avoid any damage in the shipping process.  Once again, Artbeads has satisfied my beady needs!



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.

Artbeads for Autumn ... Focus on Botswana Agate

If you remember from this post, I had a strand of Botswana Agate briolettes that I had not yet decided how to use.  Well, I've been busy matching them up into pairs for earrings.  The color and pattern differences proved difficult to work with, but I like a good bead-y challenge.  I managed to find several pairs of briolettes for this selection of earrings.  These Botswana Agates can be found on Artbeads website, in the Gemstone category.

This pair features a set of circles I fused from fine silver wire, then textured.  The earwires are handmade by me.  I kind of like the way the stripes in the beads are going different ways.

I found some large barrel shaped Botswana Agate beads in my stash that complemented the briolettes from Artbeads beautifully for this next pair.

For this pair, I suspended a short section of chain from the earwires and added a moonstone rondelle dangle from each link.  The peach and gray of the moonstone seemed to match this pair of agates perfectly.

This last pair is similar to the first pair, but the earwires, which I made, are a very different style.














Now I am left with a bunch of unmatched briolettes that will be part of necklaces such as this one, where the agate has been teamed with a peach moonstone briolette and a peachy coin pearl.

I really enjoyed working with these stones.  The holes were generous in size and I found enough pairs to make several pairs of earrings.  This is always more tricky than it looks when you first get a strand of any gemstone briolettes.  I actually enjoy the task of making pairs.  It allows me to fondle beads :)

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.

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.

Brass Charms and Pendants from Artbeads

I was invited to be part of Artbeads Summer Blogging Fun and what fun it is!  I selected some really cute floral charms and one very unique pendant to create some summery necklace and earring sets.

To see their huge selection of charms: Artbeads Charms, and pendants: Artbeads Pendants.

This first necklace and earring set features outline style flower charms that are very fun to work with.  They have a convenient hole at the top, but you can also dangle drops off of each of the petals, if you want to.

The square panel on which the outline flower charm rests provides a perfect backdrop and continues with the floral theme. The matching earrings (below) are pretty cute, if I must say so myself!

Continuing with the flower theme, I selected this folded fan pendant mainly because it has lots of loops at the bottom to hang drops.  Plus, I have never seen one like it and the uniqueness appeals to me.  I chose glass beads from my stash to dangle and used a different set of beads in the same colorways to include in the chain.

At the bottom of the brass fan, I suspended another wonderful flower charm.  This one is solid and has a very different look than the outline one.  And the matching earrings:

One more pair of earrings featuring detailed brass leaf pendants and white freshwater pearls, because pearls are always in season!

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

More Spring Inspired Jewelry

The rest of my package of goodies from Artbeads was a bunch of Hill Tribe Silver Beadcaps.  I've used these before and I'm in love with them for the way they dress up any old bead.  The ones I chose have a floral motif engraved on them -- so perfect for spring.

I made this bracelet (yes, I'm keeping it for myself!) using white and peachy-pink freshwater pearls.  These beadcaps don't make a tight fit on the pearls I chose, but that's ok.  It gives the bracelet a more casual look.

If you are a regular blog reader, you already know that I like asymmetrical designs.  This bracelet embraces that.  I have included a small section of chain, from which I dangled a bunch of smaller white freshwater pearls.  I think the effect is lovely.

And here's a photo of the entire bracelet, which I finished with a simple toggle clasp.

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.

The Beauty of Spring

While spring is still a long time away for me, Artbeads has given me the opportunity to enjoy it a bit early.  I made some choices from their website that evoked feelings of spring.

I chose some old favorites, Swarovski Pendants, from the Swarovski Crystals section of the Artbeads website.  I adore the flat briolette shape and selected some in spring colors: ruby, light rose and olivine.  I had a friend in college named Jane.  Jane's mother shared this wisdom with her at an early age:  the color green goes with everything because it's the color of the stem of a flower.  You would never claim that a flower "clashed' with it's stem, would you?  I can find little to argue with here.

These earrings feature the briolettes in olivine and I've topped them with 2 other Swarovski beads: the lovely flower shaped margarita and a traditional bicone.

On a more traditional note, colorwise, these two additional pairs of earrings use those same briolettes.  I can't get enough of them.

 

 

Tune in tomorrow (or the next day!) to see what I've done with some lovely Hill Tribe silver floral beadcaps.

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

Artbeads Sweepstakes!

Artbeads is has a fantastic offer going on right now.  It's their 10th Anniversary Sweepstakes which is for a $1000 shopping spree.  How cool is that?

The sweepstakes is open to US and Canadian residents (except Quebec).  Entrants must be over 18 years of age.  The sweepstakes closes on Thursday, March 4 at 11:59 PM (PST).

Follow this link to enter:


Artbeads Sweepstakes




Good luck!

More Hill Tribe Silver from Artbeads

I have made 2 more pairs of earrings with my new beadcaps from Artbeads. Their selection of Hill Tribe Silver is quite extensive. These beadcaps were too sweet to resist.

For this first pair, I selected faceted vintage glass beads in a deep olive green. I topped them with Hill Tribe beadcaps with a flower motif, followed by an olive green glass bead and another sterling silver bead.



Next, I chose 8mm amethyst beads and topped them with a beadcap with a scallop design and a smaller amethyst bead.



One observation about these Hill Tribe components is that they can be a bit irregular. I have found that the hole in the bead cap is sometimes off-center. This makes it so the cap does not sit on the bead properly. I have yet to figure out how to use those particular beadcaps.


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.

Artbeads.com - Silver

Once again, I was invited by Artbeads to sample some of their amazing bead selection, this time from their silver collection. In exchange for these free samples, I have agreed to blog about them here.

Those of you that read my blog regularly know that I favor simple designs. The Thai silver beadcaps that I chose from Artbeads are perfect for my designs. Here's a photo of the 4 different items I selected: 3 different styles of stamped beadcaps and some multi purpose Bali silver spacers, which one can never have too many of.



So far, I've made two pairs of earrings with these silver products. These spacers are so perfect for larger beads. Here's the link to all of the Bali silver offerings at the Artbeads website. I selected some decent sized pink quartz cubes and pink freshwater pearls, separated by the Bali spacers. They add just the right accent.



Next, I selected the beadcaps with the leaf design, which can be found at the Artbeads website under Hill Tribe silver beads and components. I used beautifully plump garnet rondelles to sit below the beadcaps. They fit perfectly under the beadcaps. I then added a small Bali spacer and a 4mm garnet bead. Sweet and simple!

Artbeads.com Wants You!

I've done several blog posts over the past couple of months about Artbeads online store. Not only do they have great products with terrific variety, they also excel at customer service. I have just received a coupon code that I am encouraged to share with all of you. The code is good until the end of the year and is for 10% your entire order. How can you NOT take advantage of this great offer????

Ready? Here's the code : SCF10P-ARTBEADS-0424

You will also get free shipping in the US and shipping to Canada is only a dollar.

This is only one of the reasons you should shop at Artbeads. Remember this post? Well, all 4 of those pairs of earrings now have new homes. Yes, I sold them all at my last craft show. Those gorgeous Swarovski briolettes were from Artbeads.

More Fun with Artbeads!

I decided to work with the rest of my Swarovski crystals from Artbeads today. I had 4 different colors of the 11mm flat briolettes to play with. While I stayed within a tight design scope, I let myself have some fun with color.

After wrapping each briolette with sterling silver wire, I chose a sterling bead with a fairly large hole to cover the wrap and topped it with a traditional Swarovski bicone.

Here are the olivine colored briolettes. I paired them with blue zircon colored bicones, for an ocean-y feel.


The ruby colored brios are topped with padparadscha colored bicone. Don't worry, I can't pronounce that color name either. This color combination reminds me of a tropical drink. The kind that comes with an umbrella.


The remaining two pairs are more traditional: crystal golden shadow with crystal copper and crystal silver shade with light sapphire.


Please be sure to visit Artbeads and take advantage of their excellent selection, prices and customer service.

Remember this previous post about Artbeads Swarovski crystals? Well, I sold both of those pairs of earrings at my last show. Yay me!

Swarovski Earrings

In this previous post, I introduced you to some Swarovski crystals I received from Artbeads. Today, I put some of these lovely elements to good use.

This first pair of earrings features the Twisted Coins from Artbeads. I decided to top them with a cluster of creamy beige freshwater pearls. I call these earrings "Tone on Tone". I incorporated a Swarovski bicone crystal in the earwire. It is in the same color family (golden shadow) as the coin.


Next, I made a pair of earrings using the Column Pendant element in Crystal Satin. This color is dreamy and reminds me of the color Black Diamond. It's positively dreamy. I topped it with a large-hole sterling silver bead (to hide the wrap) and a small white freshwater pearl. When you can't afford diamonds, these earrings would be a perfect substitute.


One of the features of this series of Swarovski is that the holes are quite large. This makes them a pleasure to work with. I'm pretty sure that 20 ga wire would fit through these holes, but I used 24 ga for a more delicate look.

Artbeads.com - Swarovski Crystals

The Artbeads website has an amazing array of Swarovski crystal beads and components to choose from. I just received my first order from them and I'm thrilled with the contents of the package. It was a small package, but don't be fooled by the size -- Swarovski always packs a punch!

I ordered everything in quantities of two, with earrings in mind. This first photo shows some Flat Briolettes in 4 different colors. I can envision some beautiful earrings with these crystals that will take you from day wear to an evening on the town.



These following beads are called Cosmic and I've never seen this shape before. I ordered them in Copper and Red Magma and I love them both.




Twisted Coins are a classic shape, so I ordered some classic colors, Amethyst, Black Diamond and Golden Shadow. These are larger than I usually work with, so they will take some special planning on my part.





Last, but certainly not least, are these gorgeous Column Pendant beads in Satin. These will most certainly become a pair of earrings for me, me, me!

Stay tuned to see what I create with these lovely components from Artbeads!