On a Roll!

I worked on four necklaces yesterday and my elbows are still aching from it. Oh Well - I guess I need to just do one necklace a day. But a couple of them were very simple so I kept pushing to get them finished.


This 30 inch necklace was created with a heavier chain and a large 3 inch in diameter charm that is made up of silver and black with a rhinestone gleaming quietly. I didn't make matching earrings for this one - I have included a purchased set of silver and black stud earrings as seen below. This set will sell for $16.00

This group of necklaces are an interesting conglomeration! The newest style of necklace that everyone is wearing are what I call charm necklaces - gobby combinations a lot of the time. I saw some last week that I tried to reproduce yesterday. Actually I have tried making backpack or purse charms but they don't hold up the the banging around that they get so I haven't sold any of them. I am trying to use heavier duty stuff but the spring rings are simply too weak and they break. However, I took one of them apart and created the Black Moon Charm Necklace - I like it and hope you do too. In the future you will see additional attempts of charm necklaces as I have a lot of different ideas -


The chain is a nice necklace chain that I cut pieces off of one end so I could add the danglies - then I beaded a five inch section with black cloissoine beads and silver spacers to add interest to the left side of the necklace. It has a lobster claw closure above the charms but at 27 inches it is long enough to go over your head. The earrings are a simple dangle of the cloissoine bead and silver spacers. The set will sell for $20.00


In the last blog I had made and posted a necklace called "Nested Pearl". I explained that these pearls were created in the oyster as a spec of sand nestled on the hinge part of the clam shell and so instead of a perfect round oyster you had a bumpy flat'ish' disfigured pearl - much bigger but for years was considered waste. Finally someone realized the beauty of these pearls and I was able to purchase four of them already set in silver toned settings.

I took this nested pearl and simply put it on a snake style silver toned chain - The 19 inch chain was purchased with a lobster claw closure but I removed that and put a magnet closure for easier wearing. I put the earrings that I had made for my first nested pearl with this necklace as it was too busy for the first necklace. This is a much more comfortable set and I called it Simply Pearls because it is just that. The set will set for just $18...and of course I can make any type of earrings for it that you would like

Here is the first necklace and I made simple drop earrings for it as the loops made it too busy.
The freshwater pearls that I beaded have such a small opening I can't put them on the pin that I use to create a coil wrapped piece so I had to use a normal pearl that is the same tones as the nested pearls. And of course the filligreed silver tone spacer beads match. Though this necklace is only 18 inches and nestles right at the base of your throat it can be made two or four inches longer if you desired.

This is another of the nested pearls, but instead of being white or creamy it has the greyish mother of pearl look - So I added grey freshwater pearls, and iridescent pony beads in purple and green and grey and blue with silver spacer beads. The 20 inch necklace has a magnet closure and triple drop earrings on hypoallergenic fish hook wires and will sell for $20.00
The final necklace here is one I made in Quartzsite one day - and packed it up with my other necklaces and forgot all about it until I was organizing them on Monday. It had never been photographed or listed ... or even named.

I had bought the iridescent crystals at the RV show (of all places) and sat down and created an illusion necklace with them. The groupings of iridescent beads and silver spacers are spread out and look much prettier on than they do in the picture. They sparkle so beautifully. With matching earrings this set sells for only $15.00

Busy day...creating stuff is so fun

Yeah - it is so much fun to let the ideas roll and see what I can create - I bought a LOT of beads down in Arizona because they were so inexpensive ($2 a strand compared to $6 or $8 up here)...I could kind of picture what I wanted to do with stuff as I bought it and now here it is...

I need to try and retake the pictures on the black velvet background - I know this first necklace would show better. The main bead on this triple strand illusion necklace was bought on Maui - it is a small oval mother of pearls. Ever since October when we purchase these beads I have been looking for the something to compliment it and I found some greyish fresh water pearls in Quartzsite and today I laid out the beads and finally decided I needed three strands of illusion wire and I inserted a couple of spacers 2/3 of the way down both sides of the necklace to keep it from getting too tangled. I spend hours making this one - probably a good 2 1/2 hours on the necklace and then another hour on the dangly earrings. But it turned out good.


The first picture above shows the whole necklace and earrings - the 2nd picture gives you a close up of all the beads. Row 1 has the flat oval beads and a grey irridescent round oval bead. Row 2 has the gray mother of pearl interspersed with a seafoam green irridescent 4 mm Swarovski crystal, and the inner row is simply an irridescent pale blue 4mm Swarovski crystal. It lays around your neck so softly. I think I will name it "Out of the Sea Necklace and Earring set. It will sell for $30 due to the high cost of the flat oval mother of pearl beads, but it is well made with 19 strand necklace wire and magnet closure.

This is a necklace I bought!! It is simply a typle of 'thread' that a lady I know in Quartzsite buys and instead of crocheting with it (I have a scarf that I bought last year from her out of the same type of material) she has created a fun, pull over your head necklace! This one will sell for $15
When we went to Mexico I bought some gold necklaces -they are Guadalajara Gold and have 14k stamped in them.
So I found a pretty pendant and created this pretty - with matching earrings.
The crystal pendant has a stem of gold toned leaves crossing it. Within the leaves are rhinestone flowers. The earrings are a single dangle of golden bead with silver crystal bead and then another golden bead - this dangle hangs from a squarish fish hook style earring head with a pounded gold head on it. This set will set for $20.00

This necklace is made up of natural rocks - mainly jasper- I need help with a name for it - any ideas? It nestles at the base of your throat, just perfect to accent a V necked collar. I didn't use the heavy round jasper beads or the bigger oval rocks for the earrings because that would make it tooo heavy in your ears. I just took the accent bead along with some antique gold spacer beads and created a dainty pretty set of earrings to match. The materials in this grouping would cause the necklace set to sell retail for $25.00

Quartzsite Treasures

I finally have started creating more jewelry again - it seems like I was hitting the wall when it came to creativity. But the ideas have started rolling again. Here are some of the items I made while I was down in Arizona, sitting warm and dry inside the trailer while it poured down water outside. This gorgeous ring is my first experience making a ring and no,I didn't create the design. I bought the setting in a 'free for all' bag of beads - but it makes a fantastic cocktail ring. $10.00
I titled this necklace set as Carnelian Heart. It is made with carnelian rock chunks along with a large off centered porcelain heart and circles. Carnelian is a orangeish red natural semiprecious stone. The earrings consists of gold toned studs with dangles of rock . $22 for the set

This is my Malachite Illusion necklace set - gorgeous teal toned malachite chunks with matching teal sparkly beads. Beautiful necklace and earring set. The necklace is made with silver toned wire and findings and has a magnet closure. $18 for the set.
Here I have taken a beautiful natural stone pendant piece and attached it to a fun grouping of plastic beads that highlight the colors in the stone - the whole set is in greens and golds and greys. $20.00 for the set
Here is the full view of the Nested Pearl set - A blister pearl is a natural pearl but the sand attaches to the 'hinge' of the oyster and instead of creating a round ball, it ends up more the shape of the hinge!!! This blister pearl is in a cream toned color of pearl and is nested in a silver toned setting. The silver chain at the necklace holds the fresh water pearls so they can highlight the blister pearl. Magnet closure. $25.oo for the set