In the Pink for Spring

A collection of handmade jewelry for Spring, in shades of pink.

Illusions in Light Blue

I love the look of illusion necklaces, especially made with monofilament cord where you don't have to use crimp beads. The monofilament is strong, and very thin, so it's easier to just suspend the beads by passing back through the beads as you string them. It also makes it easier to space the beads consistently, and is flexible enough to allow for an adjustment or two if needed. These necklaces are so light and elegant. This particular piece is made with 4mm, 6mm, 8mm, and one 10mm glass pearls, complemented with 4mm bicone crystals in heliotrope.

Spring is Here...Right?

It's been a long dreary winter, even for me, and I love the brisk weather and the snowfall. It seems that Spring is taking it's time getting here though, and I'm tired of days ranging from 50s, 60s, even 70s one day and back in to the 40s or 30s the next. This design is with a bit of green that came too late for St. Patrick's Day celebrations, but still represents the color of renewal and verdant growth. This is made using Beadalon Gold Beading wire, 4mm and 6mm glass cube beads I picked up at the Bead & Button Show a while back, and some silver-lined topaz seed beads. The clasp is adjustable, using gold colored chain and spring ring clasp.

Now It's Purple, Now it's Blue

There is a reason that artists use natural daylight bulbs, like the type that OTT brand uses. With certain materials, such as glass beads, the color looks different depending on if it's viewed in natural daylight or in fluorescent light. This particular illusion necklace was made with crackle glass beads, pink glass pearls and pink bicone glass beads, strung on clear monofilament cord. When I made it early in the day, I chose the beads because they were a light purple color. Later that evening, in the lamplight I noticed they were a light blue. So this piece is perfect for someone who likes variety and shifting shades of color.

Reflections on ArtFire

So venturing out on artisan selling sites, like Etsy and ArtFire, is not for the faint of heart. It's truly amazing how many talented people there are out there, working hard on beautiful handmade pieces of art. And that's just the start on these sites. I have to admire all these artisans that put the time an energy not only creating their fine pieces of work, but also contributing to the vast community, providing feedback and help to other artisans and the site itself. As much as there is a sense of community, there is also fierce competition. When gathering together the best and brightest, how do you make yourself stand out in such fine company? That is the money question, and one many are still trying to answer. I'm enjoying putting my art out there, and I'm patient, and I learn from my mistakes. Balancing the day job, the family and friends, and other interests, I only have so much time to dedicate to my jewelry passion. It's good that I'm patient. I'm willing to take my time and see where these online venues take me, and what I can offer back.

So here is my latest listing in my ArtFire studio. It's actually the first time I've made a wire yoke. Something about 16 gauge wire used to scare me off, but I'm kind of in a "bring it on" frame of mind lately. These are glass pearls, and my lovely smokey irridescent glass chips.

Red and black, together again

I took bowling in high school, and I liked it. Unfortunately like many of the things I like, I was never very good at it. We can't all be good at everything of course. It's all in good fun. So I agreed to participate in my husband's charity bowling event for work. Low and behold we get bowling shirts! In honor of the black, red and white shirts, I put together this necklace. Among my new bead affairs is the crackle bead. They reflect the light nicely and come in a wonderful range of colors. These are two tone crackle beads, which are my favorite. I went crazy on the centerpiece, loading it down with two colors and two sizes of the beads. It feels nice and sturdy. Black and red always reminds me of a deck of cards, but perhaps from now on it will remind me of bowling.

Bling that reminds me of bubbly

I have a love of tear drop beads. They look so juicy, like a drop of liquid about to fall from a glass or a leaf. I've also developed a new fascination with glass chips. So I've combined my old love and my new love in this necklace. I thought the color of the chips looked like irridescent champagne, and who doesn't love champagne. Drop beads naturally lend themselves to cascading, thus the centerpiece of the necklace takes advantage of that.

Daisy Stitch Cube Necklace

This is another design from Ruby. I love cube beads, but never seem to know what to do with them, they have so many posibilities. These beads are a teal color. It is a summery look that is versatile enough to be casual or classy.