Monday, March 5, 2012

The Huge Difference of Small Details

I think I have made it pretty well known that I've been on a bracelet kick lately. I have also been experimenting with using silver, a territory I wasn't that comfortable with since my creative roots lie with brass products, but that didn't stop me from trying it out. My first attempt was with lapis lazuli beads and crystal dangles using silver findings and wire. After my last purple butterfly bracelet that I posted on a recent blog, I wanted to do a similar bracelet only with beads alone and no focal butterfly, just to make the design more generalized to appeal to more people who were looking for basic or classic jewelry and not necessarily hand painted butterflies. I loved the design so much that I did the EXACT same bracelet, only I used silver wire, jump rings, and bead caps. Here are photos of both bracelets to show the difference that the findings make in the design. Which do you prefer or are drawn to? I am almost always drawn to the brass as it feels less complicated, more laid back, more down to earth, if you will. But here lately, I feel the silver pulling me ever so closer in...will there be a change in my designing future? Perhaps...it would be easier to go there if the cost of silver went down! Until then, the artistic wire will have to do.
Here is the brass version:

And here is the silver version:



My last post was about the blog hop, and I made 2 pairs of earrings that also used some of the beads she sent. One pair included only beads she sent as well as chain, and the others just had one little glass bead left over from my bead soup. Here they are!


Saturday, March 3, 2012

My First Bead Soup Revealed!

I first learned of this event called the bead soup blog hop day last fall, and I had a wonderful time looking at many different artists creations, yet was eager to participate in such an event myself. I was a bit too late to join in the main 200 person group that started its pairings this January, but I was very fortunate to find a partner on my own and we quickly mailed each other our mystery bead soups. A bead soup, if you have never heard of the term, is an assortment of beads with a focal and clasp, typically in a color palette or theme.  My partner is the wonderful Denise Peterson, and you can visit her blog by clicking the link. She has also posted her soup from me and her finished creation. I was so lucky that my partner sent me such beautiful items and beads to work with. She sent me so much to choose from! I ended up using these beautiful glass blue metallic beads that she sent me a strand of, and I combined them with the antiqued silver chain she sent as well as her butterfly focal. I added my own Petrol colored Swarovski crystal pearls to complete the look and finish it off with a real sense of romance. I am completely in love with the necklace. It is extremely long and the glass metallic beaded fringe catches the light and has lovely movement. I made a simple bracelet and pair of earrings to match it I loved it so much, and I almost never do that! There were some other beads she sent, and I did make some more earrings with them, but due to the stormy weather I haven't been able to photograph them yet. I will show them off on my next blog though.  Here is my finished set!



View all of the blog hop participants' creations!! Visit the main page to see all of the entries!