Serious Sparkle, Part 2 - The Earrings

So if you're wearing a fancy evening gown, you need some fancy earrings, right? Of course!

As I wrote about yesterday, we recently had a big formal fundraising event at my job, so may of my colleagues were looking for jewelry to complement their evening wear. You've already seen some of the necklaces and bracelets that I made especially for them to choose from, so as promised, here are a few of the earrings.

Freshwater pearls with some vintage rhinestone and pearl components

Who can resist blue crystal disco balls swinging from their earlobes?

Shoulder dusters

In case your formal tastes run more to the gemstone, these are lapis, forest jasper and freshwater pearl.

These big, bold beauties are vintage marcasite pieces from an old necklace that I found in an antique store.
I took the necklace apart, and used the various component parts in lots of different new creations.
Here, I added just a few crystals at the top and as dangles.

Serious Sparkle

Ah, crystals.

They're gorgeous, but I don't use them in my beading too often. That may have to change.

At my day job (you know, the one that lets me pay for the necessities of life - mortgage, food, beads...) we recently had a big fundraising event. Black tie, evening gowns, the whole nine yards. And everyone in my department was involved, so we all had to glam it up for the night.

Knowing that I make jewelry, some colleagues asked if I had any pieces that would work with their dresses. Of course, I took this as an invitation not only to pull out the fancier pieces in my inventory, but also to spend a few evenings making some flashy new things.

Here are some of the new pieces that came out of that flurry. Some got worn to the gala, others stayed home, but they're all a reminder to me to embrace the flashy side every now and then. Today, I'm sharing the necklaces and a bracelet - tomorrow, I'll share the earrings.

There were a lot of midnight blue and navy gowns at this event - a nice change from basic black.

Did someone say, "statement necklace"?

A different view of the same necklace, to show the flashes of color in the faceted ovals. Gorgeous!

This bracelet reminds me of tuxedo pants, with the dark stripe running down the side seam.

This was a lot of fun, and a good creative challenge, since I didn't know what everyone's dresses would look like. I had to make pieces that would be versatile enough to work with lots of different colors, working completely without specific direction other than "formal." Do you make jewelry for special occasions?

Partially Elegant

For the Winter Blues reveal, go here!

Once upon a time, there was a small container of lovely purple druks that got set down next to a small container of light blue faceted crystals. No one expected that they would play nicely together, but surprisingly enough, they were kind of elegant together.

Sometimes a serendipitous discovery, or a junky bead table, can lead to some surprising combinations like this one.  So I whipped out the seed beads and the needle, and brought them together in a netted necklace.

Except that there weren't quite enough beads to make a complete necklace. At least not a complete necklace for a grown woman with a neck bigger than 12" around.

Oops.

So I toted the partially completed necklace to every shop in town, and even a couple of bead shows, trying to find purple druks that matched to add enough length at the back.  Here's a revelation -- apparently, a 6mm druk in a nice rich purple is scarcer than hen's teeth. 

What I ended up with is close. Not perfect (the new purple's a little too blue), but close enough for me to wear since the back will be hidden by my hair.  If I want to sell this, the search for the perfect purple will continue.

Until then, it's partially elegant.

The "Whoops!" Challenge Reveal

Have you ever ordered something online (or, gasp, horror, from late night tv shopping channels), only to discover, when you rip open the package with wild enthusiasm, that it's not quite what you had envisioned? 

Kind of what I imagine online dating might be like...

Cynthia Machata, the glorious woman behind the creations at Antiquity Travelers, had one of those "whoops!" moments when she ordered some glass pearls from ZNet.com.  When she expected to get some dainty grey beads, she ended up with some bodacious, bold 16mm beauties.  And a conundrum as to how to use them.

So she invited some friends to figure out what to do with these big balls. What does one do with Big Balls? (Now there's a sentence I never imagined I'd write!!) They brought to mind several ideas, which I had to pare down to be able to accomplish them amid the complete lack of free time that my new job leaves.  But I hope I've turned "Whoops!" into "Wow!"

First up, Big Balls become Beach Balls, when you add some equally bodaciously-sized shell beads.

These are wonderfully light beads, with the clasp in front for added fun. It may not be completely visible in the photo, but there's a lovely grey swirl throughout the shell beads that the pearls pick up beautifully. While I may be a beadweaver, I also apparently enjoy rocking some big beads, since these 20mm shell beads came from my stash...

Then, as anyone who came of age in the late 70s might do, I thought of Disco Balls!  So I added some woven beaded beads (made with crystals I had previously gotten from ZNet.com) to channel the glam.  

The sparkle is fairly subdued, balancing the size and subtle glow of the glass pearls, on a delicate sterling chain.  I don't go to the disco anymore, but work often calls for me to be in evening dress, so this necklace is probably going to get worn A LOT.

Thanks a million to Cynthia for the chance to play with these, and for the push to get back to beading and blogging. Go see what wonderful things these other folks have created with these Big Balls -- I know they'll make them from "Whoops" to "Wow!"

Linda    http://lindysdesigns.blogspot.com/

Bobbie     http://www.beadsongjewelry.com/ (thanks for visiting!)

Christine   http://onekisscreations.blogspot.com/

Hope    http://www.craftyhope.com/

Therese  http://theresestreasures59.blogspot.com/

Val  http://missvalscreations.blogspot.com/

Cynthia  http://antiquitytravelers.blogspot.com/

The Soup That Stayed Home

In putting together bead soup mixes this year, I came up with five possibilities.  Yes, five. I was having a grand time, sitting in my bead room, cackling like a bit of a mad beady scientist.

I eventually settled on the one (okay, ones) to send to my partner Rita. But the third runner up, or the Miss Congeniality of the bunch, kept calling to me.

So I made something with it myself.

Ceramic, agate, jade, freshwater pearls, Czech glass, ZNet Shows
 crystals, copper, hand fabricated clasp

The pendant is two ceramic beads, an agate donut, and some
copper discs, all on waxed cotton

I wore this soup out to lunch yesterday, which in a strange way seemed an appropriate place for it to make its debut. The soft greens felt especially spring-like to me, which was a welcome reminder that the weather will, eventually, warm up.

I'm Only A Few Weeks Behind

For no apparent reason, I have recently lost all concept of time.

Two weeks ago, the newest issue of Creative Spark, featuring designs using beads from ZNet Shows, went live.  Several of my designs, along with the work of many talented designers, are included, and I should have shared the publication immediately!

So without further ado, here's the link -- please go check out the lovely things everyone made!

Blinded By The Sparkle

Ever walk by a store window and see something that makes you think, "I'm not sure where I'll wear that, but I have to have it"?

Juls was having a moving sale recently, and as I browsed the offerings, this lot caught my eye.

Now, I'm not a huge sparkly, sparkly girl.  While I love a good Swarovski, it's not a look I can rock every day, or in great quantity.  So I love these, but they also terrify me.

You wouldn't believe the rainbows that are thrown off of these beads when they're grouped together like this.  In fact, I was a little worried that the sparkle coming off of them was going to blind pilots passing overhead while I took the photo.  I'm gonna have to wear sunglasses when I work with these!

And for something completely different, here's an extra surprise that Juls (that sweetheart) included as an (unnecessary) apology for a little shipping snafu.  Yay!

Bead Lust-ette, and a Pay It Forward Invitation

In my last post, I mentioned that I had gotten five, count them, five postcard notifications about a bead show last weekend.

Not being one to ignore what was obviously a message from the bead gods, I went.

And oddly, I behaved myself, purchasing only a few things. Not that the lovely lampwork on display didn't sing a siren song. And there were enough seed beads to make a rainbow blush by comparison. But I behaved. Thus, we have not a full-fledged, all-out, unbridled bead lust moment, but more a lust-ette.


So allow me to introduce the lovelies that came home with me -- lovely faceted fire agate, smoky quartz, and some fun crystals, luscious and delicate coral roses and zinnias, and ooh shiny silver.

And there's still a chance to Pay It Forward -- make a comment on my blog post that's here, and I'll send you something handmade by me (fun!)

All you have to do is post information about the Pay It Forward idea on your blog and promise to pass along treasures that you've handcrafted to the first five people who post to your blog.

Come on - play along!

Ruby Red Upcycling

So a while back, I went to an antique mall and found some fabulous sterling silver clip-on earrings. From the size and the look of them, I figured they were from the 60's or 70's. I blogged about them, and the other treasures I found that day back in February of last year (my, how time flies!).

They were also pretty hefty in size. Flip one over and you could almost serve cocktails from it. These belonged to a bold woman back in the day. Not really in style anymore.

But to me they screamed "focal piece."

And then they lived on my bead table for a couple of months.

This photo shows what I did with one of them -- paired it with luscious faceted ruby red crystals, vintage clear crystals, and Bali silver.

I'd have taken a better picture of it, but it went to a gallery soon after it was made, so I only have this shot taken with my phone.

Yippee! Reduce, reuse, recycle, preferably with ruby red crystals!

No to go figure out what to do with that other earring....