Ex Post Facto Jewelry: March 2012

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Lemon Lime

I had a discussion with Malin the other day about how we approach our necklace designs. I didn't used to be so focal-centric, but lately I've become that way. It can be a bit stifling sometimes - you get in a rut of doing things the same old way. Malin said she'll often just start putting together certain beads and then the focal will come later - or maybe not at all.

That inspired me to do something with these faceted quartz coins I've had for a year or more. I pick them up constantly, but can't ever figure out what focal to put with them, or how to deal with them at all. Now that I've started playing with waxed Irish linen cording, that allowed me to bring some color to those clear quartz beads and that's when I started really wanting to use them. I was set on the green cord, so I began digging and for some reason I knew I had to use the little bright yellow faceted matte glass beads. I still couldn't figure out a focal, but decided to plod forth anyway.

After about 6 inches, I knew SOMETHING had to break up the design but I just couldn't find a good focal. I dug and dug and pretty much gave up. I finally picked up the yellow & green resin beads and gave those a try. Huh. Not bad. Tried two million spacer ideas, and finally found this forgotten bag of rhodium thingies and ta da! The more I look at it, the more I like it. I think it would be perfect with a sundress. The green & yellow with the bright clear quartz reminded me of Sprite, the soft drink. hahaha.

And now, some recent earrings. The top left pair is my fave. The bottom 3 are mostly composed of vintage goodies from the Heather Boxes. Several of these will be going to the PBS Art Auction that I do every year. I've already sent over a necklace, and will send over a few more things I'm sure.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Necklace Crazy

I'm usually more prolific with earrings. Maybe it's because I know I need to bring a new batch of springy stock to the salon, but I seem to be interested only in making necklaces. Here are 3 I've made in the last couple of days.

Focal from Nancy Schindler - Round Rabbit Extra, faceted jade, coral, carved bone, antiqued copper.

Hand painted shell pendant (retrieved from a Heather Box 'o Vintage Goodies), jade, kukui seeds, shell spacers, gold plated metal spacers, antique brass chain.

Raku Green Man pendant from Jessi, glass, jade, agate, gunmetal strung on waxed Irish linen.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Totally 80's or Pride? You Decide!

I'd been hanging onto this Golem Studio heart pendant for quite some time now, just waiting for the perfect beads to come together. And when Lima Beads announced a new shipment of Czech glass last week (on pay day no less!) I just had to buy a ton. I wasn't even thinking of the heart pendant when I ordered, or at least not consciously. Just as well, I might have overdone it. When the beads arrived on Monday, I sorted them into their own Czech glass bin and then it hit me! I had the perfect first project. I pulled out the heart pendant, and the rest was history. I got side tracked by my fave TV show (RuPaul's Drag Race, which demands 100% focus, so I can't bead through it), and after that it was midnight. So I finished it last night and I just LOVE it!

I can't decide though, is it more 80's a la Punky Brewster / Care Bears / Rainbow Brite? Or is it more Gay Pride? Maybe one of RuPaul's girls might like it? haha.

And the best part is that I already made the matching earrings a few months ago!

I'm not going to list them on etsy just yet - I'll give it a chance at the salon first. (Unless of course anyone just has to have it, let me know. I won't be making a salon run for at least another week or so.)

Monday, March 12, 2012

Recent Happenings

The Bead Soup Blog Party was a lot of fun - I still have a few more blogs to visit - but I've seen a lot of really beautiful creations so far and made some new friends along the way. Lori sure knows how to host a good party!

This past weekend, I was asked at the last minute to fill in for a vendor who'd cancelled at the Mandeville Trailhead Market. I was excited to put all my new props to use, and while I wished I'd had more last minute cram time to make a few extra things, I went with what I had, plus 2 new necklaces I did rush to make two nights prior.

Here's my table!

I took this before everything was out, but this is the general idea. However, I only managed to sell three pairs of earrings. Of course, that's better than nothing at all, and it did cover the cost of my booth (which was a ridiculously cheap $15 anyway). Plus it was a gorgeous day and lots of fun. My friend Ashley helped me out, and we sampled lots of cookies from the old Italian guy next to us. Ultimately, I decided that since this is a weekly market, and it's the same vendors every week, people don't really attend expecting to buy a lot on a random day, not close to a holiday. They might be there to get fresh eggs from the lady that sells them every weekend, or the plants sold by the guy at the front, etc. I did get a lot of oohs and ahhs and plenty of people took my cards, so hopefully that will result in some etsy business or something.

Here are the two necklaces that I made at the last minute.

Check out this cool Lynn Davis pendant!

Yesterday, I was so ready to make something new and springy and use some of my new Irish Waxed Linen Thread. I'd been eyeing this mermaid focal I've had for months when it suddenly dawned on me that I had the perfect coordinating lavender beads from a recent Heather Box! Before long, it all came together like magic. I love when that happens. Here she is, and she's available in my etsy shop right now! I'll list the other two a bit later. Speaking of my etsy shop - I'm having a 15% off sale through the rest of March in honor of Daylight Savings Time! The code is FORWARD15.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Bead Soup Blog Party Time!

My partner was the very generous Debbie from Prairie Emporium. She sent me some wonderful ingredients -- though I didn't use everything. The leftovers will surely come in handy in future projects.

She sent feathers!

A ceramic donut she made, a lampwork owl, some Czech glass, crystals, chain & a sterling toggle!

The first thing I made was the owl necklace. I had gotten it into my head that I had to do something other than my standard wire wrapping, so I picked up some black silk thread I had. I tried 100 different combos, but was never happy with any of her beads to go with the owl. So I dug through my stash and found some more Czech glass and some vintage glass with an "oil slick" finish, as I like to call it. Combined with my last saffron Miss Fickle Media ring and some antique brass rollo, I was satisfied at last!

I decided I had so much fun with the silk, but I really wanted some of that waxed Irish linen thread that all the kool kids are using - so I ordered some, and set to work on some feather earrings while I waited... It took me quite some time and a few destroyed bits of metal & findings later to figure out how to successfully attach a feather to something, but I did it!

The following week, my waxed linen arrived and the design I'd been struggling with just magically unfolded. Funny, it happened in stages. First, I knew how the focal would go with the chain. That was the very first thing I did out of anything. Long before the idea for the linen. Once I got the linen, I saw some faceted amazonite beads in my stash that NEEDED to be included that I hadn't even considered previously. So then it was a little counting out and laying out and ta da! The strung part was perfect. I knew I'd connect the back to some chain, but I assumed I'd use some smaller copper stuff I had, and that it would be short. But after I got all the beads knotted onto the cord, I realized that I needed to use that teardrop copper chain that had been sitting there staring at me for months. Except it was bright & shiny. Well, I'd been needing to break out the Liver of Sulfur for several other things as well, so I spent last Saturday morning taking care of all that. So by that evening, it was done and sealed and ready to join the rest of the necklace. But as big and beautiful as it was, it couldn't be relegated to small connector chain in the back. It needed to be seen! And so my short necklace became long. I am just thrilled to death with the result! It's definitely my favorite piece of this soup.

Lastly, I made this bracelet. I got to use more of my waxed linen, and a long hoarded Green Girl mermaid focal - but as I expected, the focal was way too heavy for this dainty bracelet. So I might see if I can add a few more strands of something to it and make it a multi-strand to balance the weight. It could probably be done with some patience. Or I might just take it all apart and chalk it up to a learning experience. But it's cute in theory, right? I've never really been too good with bracelets anyway.