The Beading Gem

Monique designed this black and red beaded set where the loveliest beads are also one of the smallest. She used tiny cylindrical black Chinese cloisonne beads in her designs. You can see it best in her earrings. I really liked the way she placed them at the top and used blood red beads for the bottom. She also only used one bead cap for the top of the red beads showing that you don't have to always bracket a bead with the same thing.

Monique can't wear regular earrings. Not because she is allergic to metal as so many people are but because she doesn't have pierced earlobes. Not to worry! Where there is a will there is a way! We just used clip-on earring findings much to Monique's delight. Debbie (Widget's Beads) was the first to get this type which has domed parts where the findings contact the ear lobes. A number of people, including her mother, have found that it pays to get a good style of clip-on findings for maximum comfort.



Beader Design #: 416

Related Post : Chinese Cloisonne : The Stained Glass Style of Bead Making
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Halloween Inspired Jewelry
Part 3 of 3

At this time of year, jewelry artisans are busy getting ready for craft shows. It's important to have attractive and professional looking displays to draw in potential buyers. Right?

Another way to capture people's attention is to go for "shockvertising". Many ad campaigns today rely on alarming visuals to stand out from the rest of the crowd. Using real skeletons as jewelry displays was incredibly morbid and downright freaky as you can see from these City Magazine ad pages. Diamonds are indeed forever! But I'm not sure I would want to wear the jewelry afterwards though. Would you?


The creative director was Fabrice Frere. Other team members include Chris Turner, the photographer and Michael Dye as the stylist.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Via

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Halloween Inspired Jewelry
Part 2 of 3

Kathy Hardy (DornickDesigns on Etsy) calls this her Shrunken Ex-Husband/Boyfriend bracelet. It commemorates the burial of a past relationship. I am not sure if wearing it will help with closure as the bracelet will just remind the wearer what a bonehead the ex was!



The skeleton and skulls were carved from real bone. I love how the skeleton has holes in the right places so that the strung seed beads make it look like it is hanging on a rope. Kathy added black faceted beads between the skull beads which she called his drinking buddies. Altogether a funky and funny design!

Via
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Halloween Inspired Jewelry
Part 1 of 3
Since it is almost Halloween, I thought we should get our fangs into some vampire jewelry to start this series.

First off is the work of a French artisan, Delphine Roche Montgrand whose blog La Fille du Consul offers this handmade polymer clay bloody necklace for sale. A dripping blood necklace like this sure needs fake fangs, a long black wig and black dress and you could be a "drop dead" gorgeous vamp!

Vampirewear.com has a collection of blood vial jewelry filled with fake blood. The vials are hand made and the necklaces and earrings are all handcrafted using antique and black beads on a leather cord. Shown below left are their test tube style gift set necklaces. They sell these for $22 for two and even come with coffin boxes! The fang style necklace ($15) features a spider which will freak out the arachnophobics.



They also offer Fill Your Own Vial jewelry which you could insert all kinds of things like "perfumes, oils, loved one's ashes, herbs, love notes, powders or even your lover's hair." But the bit of hair-raising advice that caught my eye was - "If you are considering filling a vial with your own blood ask your doctor to draw your blood. Do not cut yourself to fill it." Wise move.

Via


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We have seen Carol's work a number of times as she travels along her jewelry making journey with her new love, chain maille. She started this byzantine necklace at a workshop and finished it at home. The bright aluminium she used really needed tumbling to shine it up. Previously she had used an old toothbrush and toothpaste for the job but the thought of doing that for a whole necklace was rather off putting.



So I suggested she got what I bought from the local Michaels specifically for chain maille - a kid's rock tumbler (below) and filled it with dry rice - no water otherwise everything gets mushy. Using rice to polish up chain maille a common technique but bear in mind that the metal rings will not get work hardened.



The tumbler did a great job of polishing up the necklace over 1-2 hrs. Buying a full sized tumbler is expensive (typically $100 or more when shipping is factored in) so a craft tumbler at $40 for light use makes more sense. Carol could progress to a proper tumbler later if her interest ever developed enough to want to tumble gemstones. The latter will definitely need a much better device for hardcore tumbling with stainless steel shot over several days.

The necklace was a gift for a young girl who was really delighted with it. Thanks Carol for sending me the picture of your creation before giving it away!

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Feature Designer Nature is one source of inspiration for many artisans. It's no wonder for how can one resist the beauty of butterflies. Since nature can't easily be reproduced, artisans have made jewelry from real insect wings! One inspiring artisan is Niele (store now closed).

The beautiful butterfly and moth wings she uses for her jewelry come from farmed insects whose wings are only harvested after they die naturally in the days or weeks after emerging as adults. No butterflies were harmed in the making of her unique jewelry line! Her work is so pretty I had a hard time choosing my favourites. So here are just a tiny sampling from her sold items which number over 300!

The pendant above was made from a real sunset moth.  She also shows off her creativity by not restricting her designs to just the shape of butterfly wings as can be seen by her designs below.

Niele protects the delicate wings by encasing them in glass and then solders decoratively with silver alloy. Niele comes from Sparta, New Jersey, USA. 

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Jewelry is mostly worn as an accessory but it can also be intergrated into clothing. Such body chains are not new. In my past post on the Hoxne Hoard, a lovely 5th century gem adorned gold criss-crossed body chain that once belonged to a wealthy girl was discovered in a British archaelogical dig. It surely made the homespun dresses back then much prettier.

Modern designers like Bliss Lau (New York) also create such jewelry to go with dresses. The Diamond Dress shown below uses solid brass plated chains. If you thought the design might have an architectural look about it, consider yourself brilliant as it was inspired by the cables on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City.


The next inspirational example is also doable for most jewelry artisans for it involves weaving long beaded necklaces through decorative "holes" in the garments. The Elizabeth and James Heirloom Tee ($264) from revolveclothing.com is decorated with a long rhinestone resin necklace. Note the arm beaded chains on the side. This young and funky look was inspired by the famous twins, Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen.


One Etsy artisan, a fellow Canadian, is WearIngénue aka Victoria whose Sebastian Body Chain Necklace really illustrates what an artisan can do just working with chains. I asked her why body chains? She explained they appealed because "they can be considered adornments that guard you". She added, "I like the androgyny of a simple chain, and find that piling on a couple of them at once offers a splendid sort of shield." A necklace does not have to be just a plain circle that's for sure.



Via and Via
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Although I've come across a few women who buy clothes to match jewelry, the vast majority of women do the reverse! The difficulty with buying jewelry though is finding something that :

a) is in the colours you want
b) in the style you like
c) has the beads you like
d) fits you
e) is affordable

The only way to get all of the above is to be your own designer and make it yourself, like Marg!



Marg was one beader who brought her top to a beading party to make sure her jewelry design did follow the same colour combination, more or less. Although I had a variety of turquoise and similar hues, she really loved the flat rectangular azurite gemstone beads so she used two of them in an asymmetrical design. The match wasn't quite perfect but there was enough of the turquoise colour in it to be similar. Marg also liked the doubled-holed metal beads with the mauve crystals. She also added mauve glass chips and grey bicones to complete her bracelet.

Beader Design #: 414
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Imagine - bling for your coffee cup. Yep, the 2 Carat Cup is a white porcelain mug with a large ring sporting a "diamond" solitaire for you to wear when you drink your morning java!

The ring is available in gold or platinum colours and the diamond is actually a Swarovski crystal. After all, the 2 Carat Cup costs only $18, box and all!

The best part is the box because only the ring shows when it is initially opened up. It is a delightfully funny gift for your favourite jewelry geek. But commitment-shy men may wish to think twice about presenting this gift to their girlfriends who might be expecting the real thing!



Via
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It never fails to amaze me what inspires artisans. This time it is band aid. Yes, those plaster bandages from any first aid box! The new Pflasterringe collection was designed by Kay Eppi Nolke for Gallerie Moha. These rings are actually cast in different metals and are quite comfortable to wear. The artisan has cleverly made them look like actual band aids. I especially like the copper rings as they are closest in colour to the bandages and her quirky touch with the cross patch!



Via

There are all kinds of earring findings but I've noticed that many women like contemporary styles i.e. those that are bold yet simple. Definitely with no scrolls and other ornate touches. So it was with Sevinch who attended her first beading party. She loved the look of these earring frames just as they are. So we hung them on ear wires and her earrings were done!


However, if you're the sort who likes to fill in holes as I do, then adding dangles with a faceted round crystal that just fits also works as you can see from my design below.


Dangles do move so if you'd like the focal bead to stay put, then use some fine wire (30G sterling silver) as I did to keep these glass pearls still.


Some findings though just beg for a wiring frenzy with a whole bunch of crystals! If you've never done any wire work before, using earring findings as the foundations is a good way to start.



Beader Designs # : 410-413
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An Etsian, Shannan of Original Bliss has gotten a lot of comments on her recycled money jewelry. No wonder given the current global financial meltdown! She made them as a kind of political statement or joke. She said, "There was a stray dollar bill sitting on my kitchen counter where I was making earrings one night while watching the Presidential debates. It struck me that that dollar bill may be more valuable to me as earrings than as an actual dollar! Brilliant idea as those dollar earrings cost $15 in her Etsy store!! The dollar cuttings are protected with archival grade laminate.



But it's not just her dollar jewelry that first drew me but her range of wonderful and colourful recycled paper jewelry. She first started cutting up magazines to use as collages and to reference her drawings. She soon progressed to weaving strips of magazine paper and mixing them with other found objects and fiber. As with many truly creative artisans, she again moved on to the next artistic development - layering those small scraps of paper and making earrings out of them!



On her blog, she showcases her many passions including jewelry, photography, nudes and weavings. Shannan works as 911 Emergency/Police/Fire Dispatcher AND a mixed media/journal artist in Modesto, California , USA. Given her job, you can understand why her art is so important to her. She said in her Etsy profile, "I use art as a way of transcending all the negativity and stress of my vocation in order to uncover and commune with my soul for a while." That's really well said, Shannan. Many of us have a deep abiding need to create as it soothes the soul.



Via
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I prefer to buy Czech crystals because the coloured ones are almost as good as the top Austrian make and are cheaper to boot. However, for clear crystals, you cannot beat Swarovski's highly leaded sparklies. One way to get them cheaper is to buy them in bulk. If you do, getting through them might take a while so here is a great decor idea from Chiasso - a pretty clear bowl or vase loaded with "mini diamonds". This shimmering centerpiece with a few artfully strewn fake diamonds, is sure to be a hit at your next dinner party!

Via
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Doesn't this necklace look scrumptious? Not to mention rich and decadent as well with the plain red bevelled beads with a hint of gold on the sides mixed in with wonderfully painted beads with white and gold markings? The beads look like irresistible red candy! Just to make sure that her necklace looked extra luxurious, Cathy added gold coloured cube beads as spacers.


Red is a special colour. Besides being one of the primary colours, in terms of human colour psychology, red represents passion, anger and heat. Red really catches people's attention which is why we use it in warning signs. In other cultures, red is mostly a positive colour. In both India and China, traditional bridal attire is red in colour. The Chinese also associate red with fortune, fertility, success, happiness and so on. That is why gifts of money during Chinese New Year are usually placed in small red envelopes. So Cathy has picked an auspicious colour indeed!

Beader Design #: 409
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I learnt a new word the other day. It's kawaii which is Japanese for cute. It's the perfect word for Connie's jewelry for she makes the cutest polymer clay beads for her Etsy store BabyLovesPink. They are also delicious as she makes food inspired jewelry. I do know at least one person (you know who you are!!) who adores cupcake beads so feast your eyes! Besides cupcakes, there are gingerbread cookies, ice cream cones and delicious dessert earrings to drool over. I also loved how she mounted a stacked hamburger as well as waffles with berries on rings.




Connie is now based in Vancouver, Canada. She used to live in Hong Kong where she was surrounded by Japanese products such as the Hello Kitty and Sanrio lines. Ultimately though, artisans do what they do because they enjoy it. Connie said, "I just really like fun, happy, cute, colorful things. I think that's what my designs are mostly based on." She also added that she would love to make ceramic beads but she doesn't yet have access to a kiln. Perhaps she will one day. So keep up with Connie on her BabyLovesPink blog.





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