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.

North To Alaska For That Elusive Large Hole Bead

Lately I've been occupied with making a few beaded rope necklaces using tiny 3 mm Czech glass beads. So far I've crafted 3 ropes in a combo of sapphire blue and deep garnet; and 1 each in a combo of red and white pearl opal and in deep red and light wine. These ropes look lovely on their own but are striking when used as a necklace for a slider pendant or large hole glass art bead. My only problem was trying to find large hole glass beads with a truly large hole.

Jim of Alaska Boro was able to solve this dilemma for me. Jim took on the challenge and began to experiment with creating a bead that would fulfill my requirements. This was no simple task as glass has its properties and a glass artist must recognize and respect the limitations that molten glass has. But Jim persevered, ultimately using not only a much larger bead mandrel but a hollow one to allow the metal mandrel to attain higher temperatures more quickly than the solid metal one. He also had to somehow intensify the flame on his torch so that it would produce more heat. 
To be truthful I didn't understand the technical details but did get the general idea of the challenges that had to be met and vaguely comprehended such things as;  a hotter flame but not necessarily a bigger flame was required because these large holed beads are made on a larger steel mandrel the mandrel itself takes more heat.   The exact "HOW" all of this was technically accomplished is in the realm of the true glass bead artist and totally alien to me.  However, I got my large hole beads and I have  Alaska Boro (Jim ) to thank for helping make my vision a reality. :)

Since I have recently taken up the art of kumihimo these large hole beads will be doubly useful. If there are any jewelry makers out there that fabricate either beaded rope necklaces or kumihimo braided cord necklaces Jim's large hole glass masterpieces might be just the perfect element to set it at center stage. The beads can vary slightly in diameter but the center hole measures very close to 1 centimeter or 3/8 inch. Be sure to check out Jim's website at: http://www.alaskaboro.com/


Below are some photos of my beaded ropes and the Alaska Boro Beads that I purchased. I think the beads are stunning and the perfect adornment for my simple beaded ropes.

I would sincerely appreciate your viewpoints and comments about my beaded ropes, Alaska Boro beads  and the combination of the two.

A 2nd Etsy Shop ? ... Oh Bother !!!

I would really love to open a second shop on Etsy but I find the idea of having to open another email account to do so a big turn off.  Etsy admin says they're going to be working on a feature that will allow us to have multiple shops under one email account, however the question is "When?"

The last few days I've been preoccupied with doing seed bead jewelry and when I pick up my beading needle and seed beads it becomes like an addiction.  I become consumed with the desire to complete the project and find it hard for me to break away from my creation.   Busy as a bee I completed not one but 4 beaded rope necklaces.

This Sapphire Blue and Dark Garnet Beaded Rope is one I would love to post on Etsy but since my only shop is a Beading and Jewelry Making Supplies shop I don't want to saturate it with my handcrafted jewelry. 

Photo above...Beaded Rope Necklace made with small 3mm glass beads. 

Photo above...The beaded rope is very flexible and has my unique hand beaded ring and loop clasp.

Photo above...Shown with clasp towards front.

Photos below...Now to dress it up a bit with my own handcrafted beaded pendant.

Photos below...show that my pendant is reversible, for 2 different looks.

Photo below...Here's the blue side.

Photo below...And here's the deep garnet side.

I think it would make a fabulous gift for the holidays or a lovely Christmas present, but I'm afraid that the holidays of 2010 will long be over before etsy gets around to implementing its multiple shops under one email account.   So my dilemma is should I open another shop now or wait ?