Coral Orange tube necklace

I just couldn't help myself, I needed a new necklace for another semi formal dinner I was attending.

The same day that I made the Coral Red necklace set, I also made the above Coral Orange 5 strand necklace and earrings.

Julie was very helpful again in working out the colours for me and this class was a stringing workshop held by Bead Them Up.

For this necklace we chose:

• 9mm Coral Orange tubes
• 1.8mm black Spineless faceted round
• Jewellery wire 19 strand 0.35mm

It was then a matter of choosing the length and making 5 separate strands, 

and then they are captured in a cone that is attached to the clasp.

and of course there had to be earrings.

Here we are at the formal dinner.

I am also thrilled thgat this necklace goes so well with this top.

Coral red necklace

I've got a new necklace set.

Back in June at the Craft & Quilt Fair I got chatting to Julie from Bead Them Up about how I found it difficult to work out the bead colours for my jewellery.  Also my Couture dress needed some new jewellery as I had worked out that I was going to wear it to the Gala Dinner at the Australian Sewing Guild Convention in Melbourne in August.

Julie suggested I bring my dress and shoes to the shop and do a workshop which I was very happy to do.

I had fallen in love with these Supersoft Marnee Red Patent Leather shoes so they winged their way to me from style tread and we used these as the colour base for my beading class.

Julie and I wandered around the shop looking for a design and Julie showed me one that I really liked which was with pearls so Julie went about and found the coral/red beads for my necklace and earrings.

We used:

• Coral red coin nugget 17mm
• Coral red S/drill cube 9mm
• 14kGold filled 1.7 x 2mm chain cable
• 14k gold filled bead Rondel corrugated 6mm
• 14k gold filled bead round corrugated 5mm
• Wire wrapping with 14k gold filled wire 0.6mm

This is a closer look at the two different beads and gold chain

and the earrings

This is how it all came together with the Couture dress for the Gala Dinner.

I am thrilled with my new necklace and earring set.

Filigree necklace

This is another workshop I did with Etelage,  it's called Earring Duo & Stylists Secrets and is it is the simplest set to make.

I just love the colours and the delicate nature of this necklace.

The main piece is a large diamond filigree brass stamping and then you can add the colour beads of your choice to the points of the diamond.

I then chose a round bead to mimic the centre of the diamond to make a pair of earrings.

The set is getting a lot of wear with my T-Shirt with a Twist and also my Navy Linen T-Shirt during summer and I expect it will work well with my Cream Top for winter.

Coral necklace

There are a few coral outfits appearing in my wardrobe and I decided I needed a different style of necklace for them, so I headed back to Zilchbeads and found another inspiring spiral necklace using long Magatama 4x7mm beads, together with size 8 and 11 seed beads.

Photo from https://www.etsy.com/market/rainbow_rose_seeds

The beads are quite cute, and I was told that one way they looked like a "boot" and the other way a "shoe" so when stringing you have to make sure that they are all facing the same way.  I chose the "shoe" orientation,

and I had fun making the earrings using both orientations,

and here is the full set!

They are getting quite a bit of wear this summer with my cold shoulder top and my watermelon frilled top.

Tribute to Tribal

I've found some more time to bead and realised the other necklace colour I was missing was yellow and orange and luckily my sister had given me a box of beads for Christmas 2013 which contained just the right beads called Tribute to Tribal.

For this necklace I thought I would let the beads do the talking and used links and small yellow beads to join the striped beads together and then added some antique spacers to break it up a bit.

and the earrings

This set really looks great with my lemon t-shirt and I do have some gorgeous orange merino jersey earmarked for a top.

Spinach necklace

I have been reviewing my jewellery compared to my garments and realised that I didn't have a long green necklace.

So during the long weekend I spent some time beading, again using one of the Jesse James Beads bead strands that I have purchased from Spotlight.

This bead strand is called "Spinach 1" and I forgot to take a photo but this is what the current "Spinach 1" looks like at JesseJamesBeads.com

I decided to try my hand again at Byzantine chains which I haven't done since April 2012.

The good thing is that this necklace will work with all lot of garments in my wardrobe.

When I purchased the "Spinach 1" bead set I also purchased a pack of the same Inspiration Mix,

which included among them the two brown beads I used for the earrings.

There are a couple more necklaces I need for my wardrobe so now I need to find some more time to bead.

Polymer Clay beads

So much for my participation in the "Fabric Stash Contest" I wrote about last time, I did manage to cut out another 2 tops and a dress but then came down with a cold and just didn't want to do anything at all.

Since then the 2 tops have progressed slowly but are still not finished and the dress is still attached to the pattern.

As I alluded to we are heading north soon and for my new tops I decided I need some new summery necklaces.

When I was last at Zilchbeads making these, I had with me the fabrics for my new tops and wanted some help in choosing some new beads for necklaces and the perfect necklace was on display.

It was a completely new technique for me as you make the beads, which I have never tried before, as well as using the quilling technique, again something I had admired but never tried.

To start you take three colours: black, white and pink, slicing them and then layering them together and rolling them through what looked like a pasta maker until you got the mix that you wanted and the thickness required.

Source Fire Mountain Gems

My next challenge was to cut this into wedges (like the purple one below) freehand, thankfully they took pity on me and cut the strips for me.

Then you roll from the thick end so that it layers nicely showing the different colours as you go.

Make sure you make a hole in each before they are cooked in the oven.

Once cooled, you start stringing and voila, a new necklace and earrings.

Now to get my tops finished so I can wear my new necklace!

Pale pink pearls

I found this necklace this week whilst trying to work out what to accessorise this dress with, and then realised I hadn't blogged about it before.

This was made during one of my many workshops with Sharon from Goddess of Beading, it is a delicate choker as it sits right at the base of my neck.

I used grey seed beads and some small pink pearls and with some clever stringing through the pearls I have created a multistrand necklace.

It works perfectly with a high closed neckline like my shirtmaker, but I am not sure if I will get to wear it with much else as most of my other necklines are rather open.

Gift giving

It all started when my best friend saw this necklace and gave the largest hint that one in various shades of purple would be a wonderful Christmas present, so who was I do deny her.

Another trip to Zilchbeads was organised and the lovely ladies helped me sort out the beads for this necklace.

and a close up of the colours

Whilst I was there, I saw a very stylish necklace and thought it would be an ideal gift for Mum so before I left the class the beads were gathered.

and an evening later I had finished this necklace which is 48 cm in length.

It will work with all her plain tops to add a bit of sparkle!

Whilst there I also saw some lovely beads that are hand made that will be perfect with the coral and watermelon fabric that is part of my 2015 SWAP plans, just not so sure I want to get involved in making beads!

Chain Maille - Captive

I am intrigued by Chain Maille and the different weaves and designs you can achieve using jump rings.

I have made one previous necklace using the Byzantine Weave and at Zilchbeads they had on display a Captive Inverted Round Maille weave necklace that I was curious to learn.

This time I took this fabric (it hadn't been made into the top then) and chose the antique jump rings and some very bright orange beads, which interestingly enough are toned down quite a bit when captured.

The necklace is a combination of stringing and Chain Maille and once you get into the rhythm it goes together quite quickly.

  

Only this last weekend I managed to make the earrings to go with it, I had pinned this captive earring and then did my own take on it.

and here is what the full set looks like.

Now to work on some spring/summer styles.

A new necklace

At the Stitches & Craft show in March at Rosehill, I found a new bead shop at Winston Hills, Zilchbeads so just before we flew out for our trip I booked myself in for a class.

The thing I struggle most with beading is how to co-ordinate the colours, I can do it for my wardrobe but not for the beads, so this is where the lovely Vicki and Janelle at Zilchbeads were so helpful.

I took along this fabric and said I wanted to make a necklace to go with it.

This is the bead combination and pattern that we came up with, I am thrilled!

Now to work out when I can head there again.

Beading

My sister has decided to give beading a go and to try and help her I went looking for a bead shop in her area, and guess what I found, Tribute to Tribal beads at My Beads.  Oh my I knew exactly what I would be dropping hints for for Christmas!

I definitely wasn't disappointed when I opened my present on Christmas morning.

We were at Mum's for Christmas and she mentioned that she had a new top but had no necklace to wear with it so of course I asked her bring it out and it worked perfectly with some of my new beads.

Last week I made up this necklace and posted it to Mum and she is thrilled with it.

Now to get organised to make myself a new necklace or two!!

New necklaces

The Spotlight store I visit at Lidcombe is a large store and has a great variety of beads.  It was here that I found the JesseJamesBeads Inspiration Panels and Design Elements that I am starting to get a collection of as they provide you with a mix of beads that are colour coordinated which is the hardest part I find to do.

Then with some jump rings I made some Double-Sprial Chain Maille, added a bit of chain and I have two new necklaces.

You have seen this one a number of times

and this one has navy beads that have a touch of green to them.

I really enjoy wearing these pieces and now need to make some earrings to go with both!

Plenty of sewing time

but nothing is completed as I seem to be working on a number of complicated garments at the one time

The trench and pants muslins are still progressing, and there is another project or two that I haven't yet disclosed, hopefully they will surface soon.

In the meantime, I thought I would share a stringing project that I have been meaning to share for a while. I purchased the smokey Quartz faceted beads from Bead Them Up at one of the Craft Shows in 2008 and they have been taunting me ever since.

One of my last classes with my beading teacher was to work on this project, and I used inspiration from a design by Lynne Soto from "Beading with Gemstones" a Beadstyle Special Issue magazine dated 2007.

and it was completed just in time for me to wear with my SWAP outfits

Fingers crossed that the next time you see me it is to share a completed garment!

Please meet Cleo

she is a delicate little necklace that I have used needle and thread to create with some very pretty apricot and cream seed beads.

and looks lovely with my navy linen dress.