Improved photos of an old design

I re-made a couple of old designs the other night, and managed to take a better, more close-up photo of them, so you can actually see what they look like.
My 'Confetti' necklace and bracelet are made from rose quartz nuggets, amethyst, pink freshwater pearls and Swarovski crystals. It's a very pretty, girly set, and I love the combination of pink and purple it's just really feminine.
Working on some new designs over the next xouple of days - got some very pretty, unsually cut stones, and some gorgeous handmade glass beads to have fun with. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

A few new pieces to see

I have had a surge in productivity recently - which is rather inexplicable, because by my own admission, I am not always the most motivated of folks. Really built for comfort, rather than speed.
I have been dedicated enough to actually sit down every evening and make a few pieces of jewellery, and in doing this, it means that my days off now consist of lazing around in the sunshine, rather than fiddling about with beads.

I have made a few summery bracelets, which although are all quite different from each other, all look pretty good together too. If I had my way, I'd grow more arms so I could wear more jewellery - bracelets being my favourite.

I have also started to use a new pearl supplier who has provided me with some beautiful and unusual pearls, so I was really excited to get started with them.
The first piece out of my new pearls was this multi coloured pearl necklace. The pearls are beautiful rich colours - berry reds, golds, topaz, azure blue, and a gorgeous rose-gold colour. I have interspersed them with little gold glass beads, and they seem to tie it all together. The finished piece is called 'Bedouin', as it made me think of those beautiful colours of bedouin scarves and clothes, and spun gold and the richness of the colours of the desert. This is a great piece for the summer, as it just seems to capture the essence of hot evenings on a holiday somewhere exotic.

This lariat is a new one as well - when I made the 'Pretty in Pink' one last week, I really loved the colour scheme of it, so thought I'd work on it to get a different design in the same colours.
This 'Heather Belle' lariat has amethyst, glass, Swarovski crystal, rose quartz, amazonite, freshwater pearls, blister pearls and mother of pearl in it. It is a real treasure trove necklace. The lovely plums, pinks and blues look great together and made me think of up North when the heather is in bloom. My friend Heather is always called 'heather belle' by her hubby, and I just think it's so sweet, so here we go: romantic 'Heather Belle' lariat.

I think I will need to get my thinking cap on this weekend - I might have been motivated lately, but nobody told my brain. It seems to be struggling to keep up! I need to have a thought about some new ideas and designs to keep it fresh. Maybe a bit of sunbathing will inspire something.....or is that just wishful thinking?!

New ideas kill artist's brain cells!!!

So far, since I've been making jewellery, the thing that is most difficult, is to constantly come up with new ideas, rather than variations on ideas. So I've tried to strike a balance so that I don't send the creative part of my brain into meltdown!!

If I come up with one new idea, and do two variations of it, in necklaces, earrings and bracelets, that should give me lots of new looks, but save my tortured artistic brain from exploding. (it's not really tortured and artistic, but I quite like to 'buy into' a theme, and tortured artist is workable).

I have made a very pretty, girly necklace in rose quartz ovals, amethyst chips, pink pearl nuggets, and pink, violet and opal Swarovski crystals. It reminds me of that lovely pink blossom tree that comes out around this time of year - the one that's like confetti when the wind blows. Actually, saying that, I suppose it could make a nice bridesmaid necklace and earrings set, as its just so feminine. Continuing on that theme, I made a plain white rice pearl bracelet with lovely rose coloured crystals interspersed with the pearls. It looks really clean and fresh.

I used the same sort of pattern for the rose quartz necklace in a different stone and colour, so I'm really getting two necklaces out of one idea (remember tortured artist brain...). In this other necklace and earrings set, I've used new jade, crackled rock crystal, white rice pearls, and swarovski crystals. This gives a totally different look,which has been born out of the original idea. The square jades in this necklace are gorgeous - each one is a pale, marbled green, slightly different from the others.

I also made a new bracelet, building on the 'sunshine' themed jewellery, of coral and turquoise. I put together a bracelet of tiny little coral branches, with turquoise, and peachy-orange blister pearls - it just says summer to me. This idea could be built on further I think, perhaps adding in sponge coral nuggets, or something along that idea.

I made a necklace which was an entirely new idea, and already I can see lots of variations and themes of this pendant style necklace. It is jasper rounds, with tiny chips of peridot inbetween each jasper. It is finished with a large, carved jasper flower pendant. Jasper is such a versatile stone, with so many colours and names. It is also known as 'The Scottish Stone', so I feel I'm doing my patriotic bit by making jewellery in this material!

It has been a taxing few days!! I'm off to re-charged my delicate and artistic soul, with a cuppa, and a night off I think...(idea for next post - lazy girl's guide to jewellery making...?)

Different strokes.......

I have three main collections of jewellery available - pearls and sparkles, chunky gemstones, and hand knotted lariats.

The three collections appeal to different tastes - pearls and sparkles collection is a very feminine style. It's very pretty, delicate and shimmery. This collection is made from genuine freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystals and sterling silver. I find that it's really hard to get pretty, delicate jewellery at the minute - it's all about chunky jewellery on the catwalks just now - but everybody has different taste, and sometimes, it's hard to carry off a big chunky leopard print bangle with pretty summer dresses. I find it a little frustrating that the catwalks dictate what's available in the shops as well - if you're not into big statement jewellery, what are you supposed to do? Saw it in half to slim it down?!! That's why I try to offer something to suit all tastes.

My chunky gemstones collection is made from genuine gemstones, such as agate, citrine, jade and quartz, often given a little glitz with accents of Swarovski crystals. All the clasps etc are sterling silver, so anyone can wear them - even those with sensitive skin. I love gemstones - I am utterly fascinated with their mineral composition, and the healing properties they are said to have - I suppose I unleash the geek when I'm making these! I look for unusual gems - either unusual stones, unusual colours or markings, or unusual cuts and shapes. Everyone loves to feel unique - and gemstones are always totally unique. It is impossible to recreate one stone the same as another.....just like us really!

Hand-knotted lariats are really unusual and funky. They are something totally different, yet bang on trend. These 'wrap around' necklaces have all sorts of stones, crystals, pearls, and glass beads on them. They are hand-knotted - much like old-fashioned pearl necklaces, and consist of one long string of beads. This can be wrapped around the neck, and tied loosely, like a scarf. This is where I really get to have fun with colour - some are subtle and botanical, some are inspired by the colours of the 'souks' of Egypt - rich and exotic.

I am also developing a small range of wedding and bridal jewellery at the minute - traditional pearls, subtle colours, little heart clasps and embellishments. I can make these to order and in all sizes - suitable from flower girl, to mother-of-the-bride!

It's all different strokes for different folks I suppose......