Anne is frequently complimented for her dress style and her jewelry. Someone she knew wondered if Anne bought her clothes and accessories from upscale out of town stores. However, the secret to Anne's impeccably turned-out appearance can be attributed to her attention to detail, Sears and artisan jewelry!

Anne does not make any jewelry but we both collaborate on many pieces for her wardrobe. One of her latest commissions was for me to come up with a design to compliment her newest watch, a Christmas present from her husband. Anne collects watches and has so many her husband actually changes a watch battery almost everyday for her!

As you can see, we were lucky that I had some bold black glass beads which Anne liked. She preferred that the bracelet and earrings be entirely black. This was not a problem as I had black findings and even black beading wire. However, the first time Anne wore the bracelet, it came apart because the black crimp beads I used were not as good as sterling silver ones and I had only used one pair.



So I used even more crimp beads after I restrung them - at the clasp ends and at each beading wire next to the outermost glass rectangles. These glass beads were so heavy that I decided to use 6 crimp beads in all! This shows there is no such thing as too many crimp beads! I also avoided "rolling" the crimps with the crimping pliers to maintain the flat style of the design as well as the holding strength.

Do you have a jewelry malfunction story to share?




Beader design #: 477
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