And I'm back! More on the move and travel and new house and all the big changes in a later post, but first a few crafting posts. I'm sorting my pictures on my computer and on Flickr, and realized I hadn't posted about any of the recent jewelry projects I've played with. So here goes!
Between finding that I'm enjoying the beading and working at a job that had a dressier 'business casual' dress code compared to my last few jobs, I'm trying new projects - branching out into jewelry with my beading. I'm not one for gemstones, really, so the beaded necklaces suit my tastes.
Between finding that I'm enjoying the beading and working at a job that had a dressier 'business casual' dress code compared to my last few jobs, I'm trying new projects - branching out into jewelry with my beading. I'm not one for gemstones, really, so the beaded necklaces suit my tastes.
This very springtime-y one is based on instructions from Artbeads (the Pastel Passion Necklace). This one was almost exactly as the original instructions dictated. The only changes I made were using a slightly smaller silver spacer bead (only 1mm smaller, but about half the cost, based on what was on sale at the time!) and adding two little flower beads at the end by the clasp. The holes in the colored beads were too big for the crimp beads, so they kept sliding around. I put in the silver flowers to space them out a little, keep them from jamming up on the crimps at the clasp. The flower clasp was one I had (Oriental Trading Company, I believe). Also keeps with the springtime theme :) Isn't it cute?
This one is inspired by a sample project from Artbeads (the Three Strand Pretty Purple Necklace). I had black and red beads that coordinated well, so it's a totally different look than the purple sample.
This one is also taken from Artbeads (the True Love Necklace), and the biggest thing I really changed was the color scheme. I just don't really wear THAT much red, and don't really like kitschy red or pink heart necklaces. So, white instead! Not quite so seasonally limiting :) I also spaced out the hearts a little more on the strands, and used 3 pairs of hearts, instead of the 2 pairs in the original. Finally, I put one pair of hearts on each strand, instead of having heart pairs on the same strand, like in the original. Just personal preference on those changes. For the clasp... well, I didn't do a clasp on this one. The necklace is long enough that it will fit over my head without having to play with a clasp, so I ran the 3 wires through a large white bead and crimped them in place on either side. So, one large gathering bead, instead of clasp. The picture below probably does a better job of explaining than I'm doing right now :)
Yet another one inspired by Artbeads (Reasons of the Heart), but altered to fit what I had and wanted to use. (Yes, definitely check out that website for some good inspiration projects!!) I used a quote pendant of my own with a quote that I'm trying to adopt more and more - "Bloom where you are planted." I saw that quote on a quilted wall hanging in a friend's office. She had added pins from all her husband's units to the wall hanging. I've also seen it as a caption for a painting of a cactus flower (very appropriate for our last and current duty stations). Either way, I thought that was a good mindset for an Army spouse to have. You don't know where you'll end up, so make the most of where you are! The necklace itself here is made with mixed metals and mixed textures of chains, with the quote as the focal pendant. The clasp is one of an assortment that I found on sale at Michael's, and fits in with the theme nicely :)
This one is one of my own designs. The focal pendant came with the one above as a set. I'm trying to be very positive thinking about where we bounce around to, can you tell? I liked the green earthy beads with the theme of growth, and the little flower accent was just added for emphasis. It doesn't curve as nicely as it could, due to the different types of beads (the green and the filigree) but I like it all the same. The clasp is another from that same pack as the one of the Bloom necklace pictured above.
So, here are a few recent beading projects. I have a few more that I'll get posted soon too. Gotta break 'em into a few posts, so that the pictures don't take too long to load, right? :)
This one is one of my own designs. The focal pendant came with the one above as a set. I'm trying to be very positive thinking about where we bounce around to, can you tell? I liked the green earthy beads with the theme of growth, and the little flower accent was just added for emphasis. It doesn't curve as nicely as it could, due to the different types of beads (the green and the filigree) but I like it all the same. The clasp is another from that same pack as the one of the Bloom necklace pictured above.
So, here are a few recent beading projects. I have a few more that I'll get posted soon too. Gotta break 'em into a few posts, so that the pictures don't take too long to load, right? :)
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