Friday, June 3, 2011

Pearls and Crystals and Silver, Oh My!

Hey everyone! It's time for some new beads! I ordered this lot from fusionbeads.com. It was a great deal: 20% off and free shipping! Woohoo! I got myself some sterling chain, swarovski channel beads, grey pearls, super cheap swarovski bicones (5 cents each!), and a swarovski bicone mix in posh. I am loving the little tanzanite channel beads. They are a bit smaller than I expected...but still gorgeous. I cannot WAIT to use this color palate in a necklace and earrings, and I will of course share the final product with you :)





Here are some more shiny things I've picked up recently...pewter charms to be a tad more descriptive.


I also thought I would share this picture I took from Memorial Day when we went ballooning. Amazing sight!
Oi, I hope I can find the time to play with these beadsies this weekend. So busy. We are *supposed* to go camping in Half Moon Bay this Sunday, but of course its going to be pouring rain and we will inevitably be struck by lightening and the tent will flood and we will drown.  OH but I ALMOST FORGOT...the International Gem and Jewelry show is in San Mateo this weekend! 

And you can score a $2 off admission coupon from the website! Its only $8 for all 3 days, though sadly I can only go for 1 :(


Imma go! You gonna go? Go!

Seeya there :)


Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Undersea Delights

Some of my mostest favoritest stones to work with are shells and pearls. The more uneven and wibbly and natural looking, the better. They are shiny and sophisticated, but subtle at the same time. I think I'm so obsessed with them because I'm obsessed with the ocean. We went sailing this weekend and it was the most relaxed and peaceful I have felt in a long time. Lying on the deck, drinking beer, listening to reggae, getting sunburned...nothing better. My dad is a big sailor; I guess it gets passed on in the genes. My family is coming to visit me in July and we are going again. So EXCITED! Now I understand my dad's desire to retire onto a boat and just sail around the world. Just gotta procure a boat first...

Anyway, here are some of my finest ocean-inspired pieces. Hope you like em, please comment!


 I really like this necklace except for the silver wire I used to attach the shell beads. I bought some black wire so I will probably do a little editing on this one...But the shell beads with the wavy lines on them are SO COOL! I also made some matching earrings :


I gave the earrings to a friend of mine as a bon voyage gift... she is all the way in Switzerland now :(



 A toggle bracelet made with the same blue shell them and a super cute heart toggle clasp


OK so this necklace is one of my favorites...and was "inspired" by a necklace I saw in the Sundance catalog.  They have GORGEOUS pieces, but are really expensive (too expensive for me anyway). I used much less expensive materials, but made it just as pretty ( I think). I know some people would think it's crappy to copy other artists work, but in my opinion  its nice to make lovely pieces like this more accessible, especially for personal use. Does anyone else do this?

Cheers everyone, thanks for reading and hope you had an awesome Memorial Day weekend!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Snakes Can Be Jewelry! (If They Feel Like It)

So, my wonderful boyfriend breeds snakes. I know, gross. I was a little hesitant about this odd hobby at first, but the snakes he has are actually quite beautiful. They come in all sorts of crazy colors and patterns, and would really make wonderful belts ... (just kidding! :D) Here are some of them masquerading as jewelry!

What a unique belt!

A necklace that slithers up your face
 (This is my lovely assistant and boyfriend, Bryan)

A nice warm scarf that can stare at you

A breathing wrap bracelet

 Ba ha! Ok enough jokes about snake jewelry. But seriously, they are gorgeous, and aren't slimy at all. AND they don’t bite. Unless you smell like a rat…then they will try to eat you. But I don’t think that’s an issue for most of us.  Oh and I got that ring at a little store at Pier 39 in SF. It was $12, but I think its cool, even if it will probably turn my finger green from the cheap metal. Cheers everyone, and happy Memorial Day weekend! HAVE FUN and stop thinking about work!


Friday, May 27, 2011

Craftgawker!

Emergency post!

I made it on to Craftgawker! I honestly have no idea if thats a big deal or not, but I am proud nonetheless. :)

http://craftgawker.com/post/2011/05/27/22262/

I'm a bead n00b

Hey everyone! First off, thank you so much to Copper Diem for the shoutout! It is so great to receive such warm welcomes from the beading community!

Speaking of the beading community, I have spent the last few days perusing beading and jewelry blogs, and have come to this conclusion: I am a bead n00b! Before blogging all I had to compare myself to were people I knew...and none of them made any jewelry. So, then, I was a genius. NOW I see all the absolutely stunning and intricate pieces being made out there and realize how new I am at this! My collection is tiny, I desperately need to work on my photography skills, and I would love to learn new techniques. I'm so impressed with what is out there, and welcome any commentary or input I can get!

Just off the top of my head some of the techniques I want to pick up are wire working, silversmithing, bead weaving....oh and how to make those super cute wrap bracelets...they look like this:
 From Amazon.com

 Cute right?? If anyone could point me to a tutorial that would be groovy.

SO the next part of this post will just be a beef up of my portfolio. I took some more pics of my work for your viewing and commenting pleasure. Enjoy!

 Black glass stone and turquoise focal piece with cute bird charm



 A gift for my boyfriend's mother...red bamboo coral with magnesite pendant and toggle clasp


 No actual turquoise in this one, but still carries the color theme :)

 Pearl and silver chain 2 strand necklace with a shell bird pendant. Its kinda sexy on with a tanktop :)

I have more to show you, but small doses is best I think !
Thanks so much for reading guys! Hope you were entertained :)


Thursday, May 26, 2011

Moonstones are difficult to photograph

I absolutely LOVE moonstones. They glow and make me happy in my insides. But they are impossible for me to photograph. I am by no means a professional photographer, I don't have a schmancy camera, and I don't use those cute artistic background "professionals" use (You know, like a pearl necklace draped across a rose and an antique book or whatever cute quaintness they can find).  I just can't seem to capture their actual color. Maybe someone out there has some tips?

Here is a necklace I made a few days ago that contains moonstones and a pretty, kinda shiny opaque white glass bead I found at Michael's. I used some base metal chain and black coated 24 gauge wire to attach the beads. I took a bunch of pictures with a black and a white background. These are the ones I think came out best. Let me know what think!
close up

whole necklace, no flash

close-up with flash

close-up no flash

I do like the reddish glow that hits the wall behind the moonstones, especially in the last picture....ah moonstones are so...mooney :)

Tips and tricks to jewelry photography much appreciated. Thanks for reading!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Samples of my stuff!

Here are a few of my more recent creations. Not gonna lie, I think they are pretty :)

Turquoise beaded necklace with toggle closure and a cute little key charm:

Really pretty Y necklace made with natural stone and glass beads:

Multi-strand cultured pearl necklace. I love weirdly shaped pearls...they look so natural :


As you can probably tell some of my favorite stones are turquoise and pearl. I also love to inject a little sparkle into my jewelry with some Swarovski crystals or czech glass. More to come!