Back at it! New Necklaces for 2009

It's been a while since I posted any new necklaces, but now that baseball season is in full swing, I'll be watching games and making necklaces, as usual.

Person admiring a necklace: Oh that's pretty! How long did that take you to make?
Me: [shrug] Couple innings.

Go Sox!

I've done some fun stuff with sets of three/mix and match/wear singly necklaces that I'll be posting soon. I've collected or received a ton of new beads, including lots of pretty or funky or dazzling pendants made from all sorts of paterilas, in the last few months and can't wait to start putting them out there for all to see.

Stay tuned!

yours,
Bridge

The Speckled Stone Hemp Necklace

Speckled Stone Pendant hemp jewelry - This is a heart shaped, wire wrapped, brown speckled stone with a hemp chain.

Princess in Baby Blue - Baby Blue and Gold Necklace

Baby Blue and Gold costume jewelry - bugle beads in gold and baby blue along with baby blue costume beads and glass gold beads. Medium length.

$12.50

NB-BLMD-PRBG

Grape Lollipop Pendant Necklace - multi colored costume jewelry

Grape Lollipop Violet Glass Pendant - I need better photos! But my own computer is in the shop. For now, please admire the pretty colors in this necklace. It's one of my personal favorites. Colors: tangerine, green, shades of turquoise, violet.

Blue Glass Ellipsis Pendant Necklace - with purple and silver beads

Blue Glass Ellipsis Pendant Necklace - with purple and silver beads: a blue, diamond-shaped glass pendant with speckled purple square beads, smaller purple glass beads and silver beads. It's a really pretty one; one of the most admired ones that I show to people. I got the Blue Glass Pendant from a most unusual place, too! I had a very nice, fancy wine bottle opener from my brother and sister in law for Christmas but one of the glass beads broke, so then I took the whole thing apart and used the reast of the glass for necklaces! That's how some of these jewelry pieces could be considered eco-friendly, in the eays I find to recycle materials. It's worth noting if you are interested in making jewelry because it shows how materials can come from anywhere!

$15.00

NB-BLMD-BGEP

Amethyst Pendant

This pendant was once from a set of earing my awesome Nana bought for me during one of her trips to somewhere around the country a way way way long time ago. I seriously think it was 1989. Anyway, I held on to the earring knowing it would make a pretty pendant some day. Because of it's sentimental value, I do not plan on selling this one. Sorry! It's a simple black and purple circle beads with the pendant in the middle. I think I may change the design, though, to bring out more of the purple and have less black. Stay tuned for an update, if you're interested. I'll link to the before and after.

Cheap Pendants for Necklaces-and you're friends will appreciate the effort

If you like making necklaces and you have lots of missing earrings, or your friends do, then, do what I've been doing lately: make them cheap pendants for necklaces.

I know it's been a while since I've blogged, but I have been very busy creating. I'll be posting the new necklaces soon. I have found inspiration for making necklaces and have been busy implementing this inspiration.

I have been making a lot of pendant necklaces from pair-less earrings.

My roommate lent her earrings to a friend one night. The friend lost one and I took the other. I'll be posting the necklace I made from it soon. I also took and amethyst earring from my Nana and made that an amethyst pendant necklace.

My favorites are the glass pendant necklaces I made. Those actually came from a fancy wine bottle opener that my brother and my sister and law gave me for Christmas a while ago. It broke, and after, I kept the chunk glass beads from it and have now made each one a glass pendant for a necklace.

As you'll see in the coming blogs, with a little gentle wire twisting you can even make gemstone pendants from pair less earrings. But this is a delicate process, so unless you feel confident about your skills or don't care much about unfortunate outcomes, I wouldn't take the risk.

More soon!

How to Make Costume Jewelry - Getting Started

**Making costume jewelry from beads of all materials, wire, metals, stone, string, elastic and hemp is something I have been doing on and off for the last 12 years. I learned by watching other people make them and asking questions. Mostly, I am self taught when it comes to this hobby, so if there are experts out therew who disagree, please leave your comments below. But from one hobbiest to another, here's some beginner's tips:

**My first suggestion would be to find a local bead store where you can make your own necklace. You get to look at what's out there for types and price and let your imagination go. Also, watch the workers as they help the customers complete a necklace. They will show you how to make a loop with your wire using a crimping bead so that you can attach your fastener. Ask questions if you have any and observe for a few times.

**After that, it's time to get materials. Craft stores & hardware stores plus the unconventional places I mentioned, like home goods stores, are where I've found all my materials.

-I bought a bead board, crimping beads, fasteners and plain spacer beads at the craft store. They also often have sales on the more expensive fashion beads and I try to look out for those.

-But beads and "beading" and bead stores are a thriving, lucrative business. There's even conventions. (Honestly! Google "jewelry bead convention" and you'll get hits for expos, shows and conventions galore).

-You also need wire cutters and pliers. I bought a combo at Ace hardware and I love the thing. But I also have little pliers and wire cutters, purchased at the bead store, for the wire wrap jewelry and for the more delicate necklaces.

-The bead board is very useful. I have the baseball game on in the background as I sit on the couch and arrange the possible patterns. This is my favorite part.

-I have my beads arranged in four sorting boxes, again purchased from the craft store. They're sorted by size, material and color. I have neutral color spacer beads-gold, silver, black, white, clear, etc- in one box. The more high end, chunky beads in another. The high end small beads in the a third and the plastic ones are in the forth.

I love mixing the materials, too. Glass with wood with stone with plastic.

**I will use another blog most to get into the particulars of the general things I blogged about in this entry. Look for future posts with pictures, showing how to do the particulars.

Au and Spheres - Glass and Gold beads

Au and Spheres

Gold glass squares, round purple wooden beads, round periwinkle costume beads, and some pink and clear ones on black elastic. This is a pretty one to wear with blues, purple and pinks or neutrals like white and brown.

$12.50

NB-GDMD-AUSP

How to Make Costume Jewelry - unconventional places for beads

I started making jewelry a long time ago--about 12 years ago. First, I just made them from beads and hemp and would weave the beads into the hemp strings through a simple pattern. So, I stared collecting beads back in 1997.

At the same time, I was working at Pier 1 Imports, of all places. They had such pretty napkin rings. Rings that used very nice glass beads for material.

When I started to purchase beads at bead store, I realized that if I took apart the napkin rings, ones on clearance, etc. I could get the same high quality beads for much cheaper.

So, now, I search the clearance section of home goods stores for napkin rings made with beads, buy a few, take them apart and remake them into necklaces.

Thus your first tip in making pretty costume necklaces--look for beads in unconventional places.

The Mystery Behind the Magic

I'm so busy with everything else in my life these days--graduate school for creative writing, moving my stuff from Weymouth to West Roxbury, Boston, starting another library job, continuing with the green job buy selling eco friendly products, then the milestones--friends turning 30, brother getting married, favorite kid having dance recital, etc. etc.--that I've barely made a thing in the last few weeks. I did make Mom an very pretty (if I do say so) brown and silver necklace, using a gorgeous rectangular stone she got for me when she went down to New Orleans. I took a picture and will post later, when I have a bit of time. (I'm scheduled to have a bit of time in 2012.)

In the meantime, I'll be posting some "how to" blogs here. Tips and tricks on making jewelry, particularly how to make costume jewelry.

I'll be letting you know where I get my beads, how I think of my patterns and what I consider while making a costume jewelry piece. Of course, it's all amateur stuff. I mean, I would never declare to someone, "I'm a jewelry maker," because of what I do on the side (when I'm not reading from the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, or watching the Sox, or writing my daily blog.)

However, when I wear my pieces out and about and get compliments from strangers, co-workers and friends alike, I know I'm doing something right. So why not share the method to my madness? I think it's be fun!

Thus ends the long old reflecting blog. Next one will be shorter, I promise

Wire Wrap Jewelry the first - The Brown One

Wire Wrap Jewelry (the first) The Brown One - pendant necklace

The Brown One - This is a tiger eye stone, I believe. The wire is steel. The chain is hemp. Au so naturel.

While bedridden & foggy headed sick with a mysterious stomach bug for the last three weeks that, knock wood, I have kicked, one of the things I did was teach myself how to make wire wrapped jewelry. Please note, again, I'm an amateur. This is the first one.

All the stones were purchased in a cave in Bermuda. No, I'm not kidding. See the "Materials" box for details).

Pretty in Pink Necklace

Pretty in Pink Necklace - pink dyed wood and costume beaded necklace


I was inspired by all the 3-5 year old cousins and daughters-of-friends that I know (in order of appearance: Meghan, Catherine, Adi, Lilah, Cece, Anaya, Grace and some day Fiona, Avery, Rosa and Taylor) to make the prettiest pink-y-est necklace I could possible think of. This one is tiny clear pony spacer beads, pink plastic in two shades, silver and tiny wooden cylinders. Ouila! Tres tres rose!!!

$10.00

NB-PKMD-PRTY

Pink Elbows

Pink Elbows - hand made costume necklace with glass beads


I'm suddenly noticing a food thing going on here...Oh well. Such is the way. This one looks like pink noodles (glass). I also used glass turquoise and white beads of various shapes and some plastic black filler beads for the neck area, so it's more comfortable to wear.

$15.00

NB-PKLG-ELBW

Neapolitan

Neapolitan Necklace - wooden and glass beads in strawberry, chocolate and vanilla color

Neapolitan ice cream, the classic Italian gelato, is strawberry, vanilla and chocolate, so naturally I had to name this one after that Italian dessert. This Italian inspired costume jewelry has neapolitan beads that are wooden, spacer beads are tiny clear pony beads and in the middle pendant is a very unique orange-yellow glass bead. So this is a mix of glass costume jewelry and wooden costume jewelry.

I made this for my sister Chrissy, but she wasn't ecstatic about it, so I have to make a different one for her and make sure this goes someone totally in love with it. So if you're costume jewelry shopping and find this, know that I saved it, just for you.

$15.00

NB-MTLG-NEAP

Jimmies with Sherbet

Jimmies with Sherbet - pink wooden bead & black and orange costume beads, a vibrant thing for a vibrant thing

In New England, sprinkles are actually jimmies. This necklace is like having lots of jimmies (black sheen bugle beads) and a little bit of sherbet (orange plastic and wooden pink tiny cylinders). Tasty.

UPDATE: They call jimmies jimmies in Minnesota. Alura has this necklace because "it goes with her outfit perfectly."

Where the Magic Happens

This is my bead board. I usually design a bunch at once and then string them later. This board has "Baby" (baby pink and baby blue), The Orange One (the orange one) and Funky Tout (an everything necklace with a funky flair). There. Now you can see how it comes about. A little behind the scenes action.

Mom's Valentine

Mom's Valentine Necklace - made with love (and costume pearls and glass beads)

Pink quartz, red, turquoise, purple and grass green glass, pearly, clear tiny pony strong together for 24 inches makes a pretty necklace for my mother, for Valentine's Day. I hope she likes it.
(She better. It took me 3 1/2 hours to make!)

Pink Christmas

Pink Christmas - a Christmas necklace with some pink

My dear preschooler Cecilia helped me make Christmas Party necklaces for my preschool/kindergarten age cousins - Meghan, Catherine and Grace. This is what we came up with: red, green, white plastic pony beads, pink glass beads and shiny string.

Pink Party

Pink Party - pink and black costume beads, a fun, short necklace

The Pink Party is black and pink, which are crazy girl party colors. It reminded me of a co-worker's punk outfit for Halloween. There's reddish pink, bright pink and light pink costume beads, tiny clear pony beads, black sheen bugle beads. It's about 10" long. Simple but still SASSY!!!

$16.50

NB-PKMD-PRTY