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.