I've been busy

After suffering from 'writers block' for several months (!) I have now started creating necklaces with a vengeance. First of all I stopped in at Ben Franklin and they had some gorgeous necklace kits I fell in love with and had to buy one. I wasn't impressed with the instructions or all of the materials but with what I already had I managed to create this pink necklace. The flowers are made out of a translucent petal that I 'built' and attached to the lacy medallion.

I couldn't believe the compliments I got when I wore it to church on Sunday. The earrings are simple some of the necklace chain that I didn't use, dangling off of hypoallergenic ear wires. I immediately went back to Ben Franklin the next day and bought the green set.

It has a double chain with a toggle closure at the edge of the bronzed medallion. The whole necklace is 17 1/2 inches in length with a 2 1/2 inch drop with the pendant and dangling lilies. . I bought additional bronze 'chandeliers' in which I placed a lovely green swarovski crystal dangling making some really pretty earrings. There is one more kit with a orange flower that I need to get so as to have all three available for my clients. This set is listed on Etsy.com for $25.00

Saturday I took Makae birthday shopping and we bought her a cute turquoise shirt and a cute pink shirt. Rather than settle for the plain earrings at the jewelry shop I told her that I would make her a couple of pair.

This is the pink set - she should have received them in the mail today so I hope she liked them. Her blouse is pink with black and silver design and so I added the black beads with the hot pink and pale pink dangles all hanging off of a silver toned chain. She loves stars so I added the star charm.

She saw a pair of turquoise earrings at the mall with dream catchers. We looked at the bead store and only found one dream catcher...I guess I could have made a mismatched pair of earrings but we decided we liked the metal feathers just as well. You can see I am using chunk turquoise rock and lots of little silver toned beads. What do you think Makae??

I needed a simple fuschia necklace to go with a blouse I bought. Of course I really love the simple illusion necklaces and so I made this one for myself. I did make some fun dangling earrings to go with it...I could replicate this set for $18 for the set ($15 for friends on my blog!)

Kecia showed me a pair of hot pink shoes that she has that she needed a necklace for. I made this one for her (I only re-did it three times until I was happy with it!!) Now she has decided she wants another necklace so this one is available for $18/$15 also.

I made this set for a friend that is looking for a gift for another friend. She wanted BIG beads and that is what I have used. It would sell on Etsy for $22.00 a set. The earrings will probably drag the shoulders but that is the style her friend likes - bright and fun!

I had so much fun making the hot pink chunky necklace I decided to use the big turquoise beads I had. This necklace is 33 1/2 inches long, Although it could be shortened very easily. The matching earrings are made with mini chain and three dangles. This set would sell on Etsy for $25.00

Now for the most fun. When Makae and I stopped at the bead store on Saturday afternoon Jeanne showed me some wire wrapping that she had started to do. She invited me to come any morning to learn how to do it. I fell in love with the look....so Tuesday morning I went over and started to learn how. This necklace took me THREE hours just to do the pendant. I am sure I can get faster but it will still take a couple hours at least to complete the necklace and earrings.

I started with a rose quartz flat rock about 1 x 1/2 inches and learned how to take the square wires and tape them together and then wire wrapped them. It is wrapped with sterling silver wire. I wrapped the stone with the four strands of wire and then held the rock in place while I worked the wire around it. We created a bail to hang it with and then started making the pretties. I bought the square wire, half round wire and round wire that each project needs. I purchased it in silver, gold, copper and antique bronze so I can sit up on the mountain this summer and made lots and lots of pretties. I even bought a pair of nylon clad pliers so I could bend the silver and gold wires without damaging the wire. You will be seeing a lot more of this style in the future. Besides wrapping the rock I also wrapped four little rose quarts beads. I placed two of them along with some rose pink quartz and some Swarovski crystals on the beaded necklace chain. I connected the pendant directly into the chain. The necklace is about 18 inches in length. The earrings (with a couple more wrapped beads) are hanging from sterling silver ear wires making it top quality.

If you scroll back up to the hot pink necklace I made for Kecia you will see that I wrapped some of the beads on her earrings.

If you have seen something you like then send me an email and I will work you a deal. I am looking forward to making lots of pretties!!

New Stuff

I can't believe that it has been four weeks since my last blog - shame on me. I have slowed down on the number of watches and necklaces that I have made but there are some pretty ones to enjoy.

First of all I will show you my favorite pieces - The pearl watch above sells for $15 - simple elegance with pearls.

I made this necklace for a friend last November and still have another one of the gorgeous spray pendants - I don't have the great big clunky wooden beads but could find something similar if you fall in love with this one. The cost is $20.00 for the set.


This is a set that I have redone and it looks like a million dollars now - the wheels are actual polished stone and are called rhondels --and they would look great with jeans or a suit. Gold tone hypoallergenic earrings carry through with the same polished jasper beads. $22.00 set
This necklace is made up of crystals and pearls and banded stone beads. This is a one of a kind necklace that will be sure to bring the kudos your way. $20.00 set
I call this watch my gray pearl watch. It is one of the 'flat' bands with chinese crystals and rhinestone dividers ....$15
This is the red and black charm set. The necklace sells for $12 with matching earrings included - the watch is gorgeous all by itself also. Below is a side view of the different beads making up this watch....The watch sells for $18. SPECIAL PRICE ON THE WHOLE SET....$25.00

Another simple but sparkly watch band - this one is made of chinese crystals and spacer beads. The band is beaded right onto the watch face. This one sells for $15 also
This beauty is called Banded gold because of the two banded beads that add such richness to the whole watch. $18.00
I redid this watch because it was too bulky and too large for most wrists - it is made up of Chinese crystals, stones, and rhinestone spacers - all in a deep deep green. $18.00
Pearls of all different sizes and colors - a fun watch to wear. The watch face is threaded right onto the actual band. $15.00 for the whole set.
This is another view of the Lime green and crystal watch shown at the top of the blog. I put these colors together for my granddaughter and loved it so much that I created another one with most of the same beads. This one looks like SPRING!! $18.00

Last but not least is my newest lavendar and silver watch band. As you can see there are all sorts of beautiful beads making up this watch band - $18.00

Finally Something New!

I can't believe that its been over three months since I last posted new jewelry! But there was definitely a slow slow period where I think I had decided no one liked my creations so why bother. I know now that was in conjunction with the months of illness I went through this Spring and I simply didn't feel like 'creating' anything.
Once I got my office moved from downstairs to an upstairs room where I could sit down and play with beads anytime I wanted things have changed. I have wonderful sunlight that pours in through the window giving me excellent lighting and that really helps.

I did run into one glitch this last month however and that was on the necklace below. It was a special order and I think I remade the entire necklace at least five times. Amazing. The lady I was making it for wanted first of all - a solid necklace because she is allergic to most metals - so she picked out the pink tones she loved and we decided on sterling silver findings. The style she picked did not work well - she wanted about six dangles of beads coming off the bottom of the necklace and no matter how I tried it didn't look good. So then I took the dangles and tried to make delicate loops - nope, nada, no way. Finally I simply took the 'dangles' that I had made in separate pieces and hooked them together with sterling silver links. So pretty, so delicate - I hope she likes it.

Pink Delight -

This is Donna's necklace - the one I worked on for three weeks! And it is much prettier than the photo shows. It is made up of Swarovski crystals, other crystals, pink pearls, and sterling silver spacer beads. Each grouping of 11 beads were strung on short pieces of 19 string wire and finished at each end with sterling silver spring beads. The S hook connector on the necklace is sterling silver as are all other findings in the piece. The earrings are two separate dangles connected in the center so they will move separately of one another. By the way, the pretty flowers were picked for me by my sweet husband while we were camping in the mountains last weekend.

Feathers of Gold
One of a Kind Series!

Stunning 1 1/2 inch pendant of metallic feathers (gold, copper and silver) sets the stage for this sparkling gold toned necklace and earring set. I made this necklace in a matter of two days as I again started with an idea that just simply didn't look good. I decided to take the idea from the Pink Delight necklace above and create separate sections of beads, one in silver, one in copper and one in gold. As I laid them out I was not happy with the clash of the different colored sections. Gorgeous as each of them were, it overwhelmed the pendant and made it tooooo busy. So I made the first section of small spacer beads in the three metals and then stayed with the gold tones for the rest of the necklace. The color combination repeats itself throughout the 19 inch necklace that is beaded in separate pieces to lay softly around your neckline. The flowered magnet closure adds t the overall design. Hypoallergenic fish hook earring wires hold a single dangle of matching beads. $24.oo set

Jasper Elegance

There was a fantastic tree trunk at our campsite this last week up in the mountains. I was amazed how it 'set' the necklaces off. So often many of the backgrounds I use for the jewelry seem to throw back extra light but this tree stump seemed to absorb it and leave the beauty of the necklace. This necklace is made from polished jasper rocks in all colors. I have taken various colors and shapes of the rock and separated them with antique gold toned spacer beads. The 22 inch necklace closes with a beautiful rose toggle hook that is not shown in this picture. The earrings are a simple dangle of three smaller jasper pieces so it won't be too heavy for the fish hook earring wires.Jasper Illusion

As with the necklace above (Jasper Elegance) this necklace is created around the natural beauty of polished jasper. This 33 inch necklace combines many sections of triple stones that are beaded with antique gold toned spacer beads spread out on 19 strand necklace wire and has a magnet closure. The combination of stones and delicacy is fantastic. The matching hypoallergenic earrings are a quadruple drop of the smallest stones I had so as to avoid being to heavy. This gorgeous set sells for $20.

Black Iridescence

This necklace started out to be another illusion style necklace but as I was making it I realized how beautiful it was just sliding across the 19 strand necklace wire I had put it on. The 19 inch length is perfect for this style as it lays at your collar bone and sparkles as you move. The magnet closure has a cute handmade hand charm to help you find the closure at the back of your neck for easy removal. The hypoallergenic earrings of silver tone fish hooks are a single dangle. $17.50 per set

Pink Sparkly Illusion Necklace and Earring Set

Soft Pink Swarovski crystals lay softly against your neck just above the collar bone to create a sparkle of beauty. The 19 inch necklace has a magnet closure with a double heart charm to help you locate the closure when you are wearing the necklace. The matching earrings are a single drop of large and small soft pink Swarovski crystals. $20.00 a set.

DaVinci Charms Peach
Necklace and Bracelet Set

This is one of the few necklaces I have that are not hand made. I ordered them online thinking the beads were cute and fun - when they arrived I found them very heavy and decided to sell them as is. Then I started seeing them on sale in different stores - The bracelet and matching necklace sell for $16.00 a set or $10 each.

DaVinci Charms Blue and Green

Necklace and Bracelet Set

Again, these are not hand made. I ordered them online thinking the beads were cute and fun - when they arrived I found them very heavy and decided to sell them as is. Then I started seeing them on sa00le in different stores - The bracelet and matching necklace sell for $16.00 a set or $10 each piece (And yes, I know the picture is a bit blurry but I wanted you to have a close up of the beads )

Copper Marble Necklace and Earring Set

This 21” necklace is made of copper toned materials. Starting with a 19 strand copper necklace wire it combines large marble and white toned oval beads that are highlighted with a combination of bright copper mini ovals, a sparkling translucent toned cut bead and a long circular rectangle bead that compliments the copper tones throughout the necklace The necklace has a toggle closure . Hypoallergenic copper toned fish hook wires have a triple drop dangles of chain and the some of the same beads as the necklace. It doesn’t have the large oval stone due to the weight of the stone - they are too heavy for earrings . The set sells for $22.

Garnet Chunks w/ Silver Chain

Two necklaces and one pair of earrings. The shorter necklace is made up of deep burgundy toned rocks, iridescent crystals, flat burgundy squares all interspersed with silver toned balls of striated metal. The 12 ½ inches of beadwork is then connected to 11 inches of interwoven silver toned chain creating a lovely necklace that is 23 ½ in length. The matching chain necklace can be worn either with the beaded necklace or separately and is 28 inches in length. Both necklaces have magnet closures The hypoallergenic earrings are a single dangle of the same stones. $26.00 for ALL Again - I need to retake this picture as we lose the necklace in the background.

I promise not to take three months to post new pictures. In fact, as I try to post this blogspot isn't letting me post them! More work to come...on this site plus on new necklaces!

An overview of my beadwork

SOLD!

Since my open house on Thursday I have had several people tell me they felt bad they missed it and was there somewhere they could see my "work" - so I am sending them here to get a feel for the wide range of necklace/earring sets that I have created. For those of you who have seen most of my jewelry I will apologize for the repeat. For those of you who want to look over the posts in this blog you will have a chance to read my feelings about the different sets as I give a quick overview of the different pieces. I will also give you prices but remember these are the etsy.com prices for Petal Soft Jewelry and anyone who purchases a piece or two through this blog site (by emailing me at petalsoftjewelry@willden.org) get a 20% discount. For those of you who live close enough I can hand deliver ...or, if necessary I can mail things out at $2 a set for postage, and $1 for each additional set. Tax is included in the cost of the jewelry. Or you can go to my site at etsy.com and order through there (paypal anyone??!!)

Enuff of that stuff - I hope you enjoy these. I have had a lot of fun creating them all! There are all different styles and designs so if you don't like the first few, keep looking!

This is one of my favorite styles - a simple illusion necklace with Swarovski crystals spread out every inch and a half apart. This necklace can be custom created for you in pink, green, turqouise, blue, lavender, purple, yellow, oraqnge, brown - you get the picture. That is what my custom ordering is all about - your color favorite color on a silver or gold or copper toned chain, a magnet or toggle or lobster claw closure. The earrings can be duplicated - on a fish eye earring wire or in silver or gold toned clip. As you look through the pictures you will see triple and double and single dangles, loops, etc. CUSTOM MADE!!

This Mother of Pearl pendant is gorgeous on a copper chain with beadwork of silver and green pearls and crystals. The matching earrings have bits of chain dangling below the beads. Double click on the picture to get a close up. $25 for the set.


This pendant is a dichroic glass in black and copper and orange - the pendant hangs off of the beadwork you can see in front of the flower with black pearls above it. $25 for the set.
This is an ankle bracelet made up of real polished amethyst tear drop beads. 10 1/2 in length it sells for only $12.

This was a fun set to make. The center bead is a glass bead that looks like old fashioned porcelain with a soft pink rose painted on it. The bead work is a combination of pink and silver beads hanging on a double row beneath silver toned chain connected by silver butterflies. The earrings highlight the same silver butterflies with matching beads dangling beneath them . The 30 inch long necklace and earring set sell for $20.00
I called this necklace Red Satin Elegance - with the red satin beads and large clear crystal beads it would look so elegant with just the right necklince. The earrings are made of red satin beads and lead crystals. The set sells for $18.00. The necklace is 22 inches in length
This necklace nestles right at your collarbone - 18 inches in length with three silver wildflowers with gorgeous hot pink Swarovski crystals and pink pearl beading between them, all hanging off silver toned double chain. Earrings combine the beadwork and chains. $22 for the set.
This lacy black pendant is about 1 1/2 inches in length. The pendant hangs off a necklace of glass and plastic beads in various tones of black, grey and silver. The necklace is 21 inches in length and sells for only $15 with the matching earrings

This gorgeous rope is made up of 46 inches of bright silver chain with clusters of pink and magenta beads all hand wired into a large cluster of beads where the two chains connect. More smaller clusters dangle all the way down to the bottom of the chain. Matching earrings on hypoallergenic earring wires. The set has been marked down to $25 (remember- you can take 20% off of that!)

This triple strand necklace is made up of topaz toned beads with gold accents and tigers eye rocks. Gold toned chain strands loop above and below the beaded strand. The strands are 24 inches, 27 inches and 30 inches in length with a gold toned screw type closure. That closure could easily be changed to a toggle type closure. I wouldn't suggest a magnet closure on this one because the stones are a little too heavy. $20.00 for the set.
This is a fun necklace - it would look great with that little black dress OR just as nice with a pair of jeans and blouse! It is beaded onto memory wire - it will always remember its shape!! The beads are a combination of glass beads, magnet beads and plastic beads. The earrings set it off to a T! The set sells for $15.00
The agate pendant on this necklace is what started all of this fun!! In February while Ed and I and my dad were perusing the open air shops in Quartzsite Arizona I saw this piece of beautiful polished rock. I thought - hmm, that would make a pretty necklace, and before I knew it I was knee deep in beads and bead making equipment. I have been truly amazed at the ideas that pop up in my head and after about a month and a half I decided that I needed to try and sell some of my designs in order to sustain my habit!!! It has been so much fun. I always knew I was a crafty type person but never an artsy one. I even wake up in the middle of the night with ideas for necklaces! This set is truly a One of a Kind - the different beads in it are irreplaceable. The strands of the necklace are 18", 20" and 25 " in length. The set sells for $25.00
I call this the mottled ebony butterfly necklace set- it is a type of dichroic glass in silver and black hanging off of one of two strands of beadwork all hung on an antique silver toned chain. It sells for $24.oo

SOLD

This is Kathleens necklace. She brought over a watch bracelet for me to match. What fun - I went to four different craft stores looking for the matching beads. The pale yellow glass pearl maches her bracelet exactly. Kathleen doesn't have pierced ears so I put the dangles on silver clip earrngs. The flower hook closure on the left side was so pretty I decided to place it there instead of at the back of the neck. This one is not for sale - sorry...already sold!

Welcome back!

There are only six new pictures to show you today - the screen on my camera broke and although it still takes pretty good pictures I can't see what I am taking pictures of!! I just point and shoot and hope I have the picture centered. I am going to have to break down and buy me a new camera (especially BEFORE I go to Hawaii in October!)

Anyway - here are the last six that I have taken pictures of - I will try and add more this week.




This necklace is titled Hot Pink Moon - when I found this pendant I went right home and made a necklace out of it. I am worried that the earrings are too much with the necklace - at least for my taste. I wore it to church Sunday but switched earrings with another single dangle that wasn't quite so bold. But that is my taste and I know there are alot of people out there that love the bling. That's what makes life so fun - anyway this set sells for $28.00 because I paid full price for the pendant (!) and all of the Swarovski crystals in it (32!!). There is a softer picture of it below.

This black and silver "dotted swiss" pendant has been in my 'to do' box for some time. I finally decided it looked best on just a silver wire!! The earrings are small replica's of the pendant. This set is called Ovals and Rectangles (the rectangular pendant is attached to the chain by oval jump rings) and is only $15 for the set
Again, there is a second picture below - this only shows of the pendant much better.





This necklace is called "Beauty of the Earth" because of the earthtones involved - shells and rock beads are part of the bead work and then the charms that dangle off the chains are butterflies, leaves and feathers. It has an earthy feel and is a fun necklace set to wear. Especially fun are the earrings which highlight a gold flower on one dangle and a gold butterfly on the other- this set sells for $26.00 for the necklace and earrings.

Green is in this fall and this necklace was just redone with golden toned chain and earrings. The bracelet has been sold although I could make another like it. The bracelet is made with memory wire so it wraps around the wrist rather than a clasp closure. The earrings are in the same multiple green tones with the same chain as the necklace. The necklace and earrings sell for $18.00 - The bracelet is an additional $7 or $25.00 for the whole set.


This is the necklace made of pearls and chains that I talked about in my grandmasusansspot blog. Most of my designs come from inside my head but I saw this one in a beadbook and loved it. It is made of pale pink glass pearls and silver toned chains with beautiful silver spacer beads connecting the two sections together. The matching earrings are a single drop of pearls and silver beads. This set sells for $18.00 and it would be interesting to try the design in a different color of pearl and maybe a gold chain instead of the silver.I have saved the best for last with this one - also the most expensive set I have made so far. Two things add to the cost of this design. First of all the pendant is a Lia Sophia pendant - anyone that has attended a Lia Sophia party knows the quality of this jewelry. This pendant is no longer available in the catalog - double click on the picture and enlarge it and you can see what a gorgeous pendant it is. Since the pendant itself was of superb quality I used sterling silver 'finding's (jump rings, silver cones, earring wires, etc.) instead of the usual silver toned metals. The earrings are made of Crystal Swarovski beads and black glass pearls in a single drop. The whole set goes for $40.00

Remember though - if you see something you like, email me and I will discount the price 20% - that would make this necklace set only $32.00 - elegant and refined.