Hallelujah ... Another Project Completed !

Not long ago I lamented that I had purchased some foil glass pendants which did not meet my standard of perfection and was trying to figure out what could be done with them. 

I received a number of good suggestions one of which came from  Moonlitfantaseas   who recommended that I make a seed beaded bezel  to go around it and conceal the flaw.  So I beaded a bezel AND a bail for the pendant (yes I could have just used the hole that was a part of the glass pendant but I tend to make more work for myself than is necessary. LOL).  All this was done with tiny little 11/0 Delica beads and minuet 15/0's ( I was cross-eyed for 2 days afterwards).
Since I can't seem to leave well enough alone I then embellished the bezel with firepolished Czech glass beads and an assortment of lovely freshwater pearls.  

The swirls of copper and silver foils embedded within the glass pendant reminded me of   galaxies or a cosmic nebula so I named it "Pearl Nebula".  If you think of a better title please feel free to leave it in a comment and I will certainly consider changing the name.

Next I beaded a rope necklace using crystal seed beads with a copper lining to match the tiny beads that were used to construct the bezel with.

The Herringbone beading pattern consists of over 550 size 8/0 seed beads in copper lined crystal and Straw Gold with an aurora borealis finish.   Naturally I didn't have any end caps or cones that would fit this rope and when I tried making my own seed beaded end caps it made the rope so thick at the end that it would not fit through the beaded bail of the pendant.  OH BOTHER !  Fortunately I found these pretty antique brass flower end caps at Ornementea, they fit perfectly and look so feminine.

The end flower end caps are topped with solid copper beads that match the copper in the seed beads nicely, to this I've added my handcrafted extender chain constructed with Swarovski adorned wire links and 10 mm jumprings.  At the ends I've added my own handmade hook and eye clasp.

I think it came together well.  In this photo I had to pull most of the rope necklace back in order for the pendant to rest on the flocked display bust.

A Princess Bracelet or a Bracelet fit for a Princess ?

My latest creation was inspired by my 9 year old granddaughter who asked me to make a "Princess Bracelet". I thought all my bracelets were fit for a princess, so I asked her what she thought a princess bracelet should be. Her response; "Lots of pearls and gold !". Simple answer.

So I went through my personal supplies and found a hank of creamy white pearl seed beads (glass of course and made in the Czech Republic but the closest things to tiny real seed pearls that I had on hand). In my seed bead collection I found a tube of gold Charlotte beads #14, teeny little things, and with their silver lining they really sparkle. To this I added Czech glass 3 mm round beads in a white Opal finish, and some luscious Czech firepolished glass beads in a deep ruby or garnet red just for a splash of elegant color...but not too much color, must let the pearls and the gold stand proud. A search through my button collection found a package of gold tone buttons that I purchased years ago but never used. True the button isn't real gold, it isn't even metal, it's plastic but it has a lovely design to it and was made in Italy...that could explain why I liked them so much.

Photos above and below...I can't seem to get the color calibrated on my camera. The top photo was taken with the camera set on Auto, while the bottom photo was shot set on the portrait setting. The background color of both should have been a lovely pale sky blue. But as you can see the top photo looks like a blue gray and the bottoms leans toward turquoise blue. (Oh and the very 1st photo was on a mossy green background, just in case you're wondering.)

So what do you think...is this a Princess Bracelet or not ? And yes it is in my Etsy shop for the astronomical price of $12...oh am I going to get rich or what? LOL

Here it is...My First Blog Giveaway !!!

My very first GiveAway...been wanting to do one for ages but procrastinated (which I do very well) as I wasn't sure how to proceed. One has to get in the water and get wet before they can learn how to swim, so with fingers crossed I make this my first foray into the realm of blog giveaways.
My giveaway will run until there are at least 20 entries or until the witching hour on Oct. 31st, whichever comes first.

The prize is a lovely, handcrafted (by me) beaded brooch or broach, however you wish to say it, called "Crystal Anemone".
This sparkling brooch is crafted with tiny Tri-Cut 9/0 Czech glass, seed beads in Ruby Red and Topaz gold. Czech glass firepolished, faceted 4mm beads in Ruby accentuate the outer layer of petals and each petal tip is crowned with a Ruby Red, Preciosa crystal. A smaller inner layer of petals is in glittering Topaz gold (yes the same tri-cut 9/0 Czech glass seed beads as the Ruby Red). Each petal tip is adorned with a wee, little Czech glass 3mm faceted firepolish bead, also in Topaz gold but with an Aurora Borealis finish.

Nothing is more recognized than the name Swarovski and for the center, the very heart of my flower, I chose a 6mm Swarovski Crystal in Topaz gold. 26 gauge goldtone craftwire is used to string the beads and form the petals and to securely lash the blossom to a brooch backing.

What a wonderful accessory for both summer and fall...and perfectly beautiful for the winter holidays. This darling took me over 10 hours to create (I'm not very fast) and the last ones I made sold for only $24...$2.40 an hour is less than minimum wage, that's when I realized I wasn't ever going to become a millionaire making jewelry. ;)

All that is necessary for you to enter this giveaway is:

1. Be a follower of my blog
2. Leave a comment on this giveaway post.
   If you already follow my blog, then all you need to do is leave a comment on this Giveaway Post.

I think we've all seen those giveaways where you've got to go to several different sites and leave hearts or follow in order to qualify, I don't think a giveaway should be incredibly complicated. Since I don't enjoy jumping through hoops, dotting every "i" and crossing every "t" I certainly won't make anyone else do so, takes the fun out of it. Just make sure you've left me some information on how to contact you should your name be drawn.

If you have any questions you can reach me through my shop's contact link or you can post your question here at my blog.
Remember, I will need a way to contact the winner so please be sure to either leave me a link or contact me through my etsy shop. Shipping & handling cost will be paid for by me.