LAST CHANCE

Tomorrow is the drawing for this delightful amazonite bracelet--knotted on silk cord with swarovski crystals and a sterling toggle clasp. Just leave a comment and you're entered!

Check back tomorrow afternoon for the reveal! >^..^<

Yummy Coin Pearls

REMEMBER FRIDAY IS THE DEADLINE TO ENTER MY DRAWING FOR AN AMAZONITE BRACELET!!! All you need to do is post a comment on the blog to be entered! I love the color of these coin pearls--opalescent olives and rusty browns shimmer and shine on this knotted silk cord. Tiny round ab crystals cradle each coin pearl with 4mm round pearls sprinkled among the coins. An elegant sterling toggle clasp completes the design.

After a bit of experimenting I decided on two glorious strands, each similar, with just a little difference. The shorter strand is 16" and the longer one is just under 18".

This rich warm color, may make this design my favorite yet...I guess I say that everytime I make something new lately...but there are so many choices that I am like a kid in a candy store and enjoying every moment. Back to work...back to play...

p.s. this layers perfectly with the grossular green garnet and pearl necklace in my etsy store.

Let me know what you're doing today--something that puts on smile on your face!

How to Begin an almost Perfect Day...

I started my morning with this picture in my email of my precious grandson, with a greeting for "Grandma Hickie". The only thing that would have been better was to have him crawl up on my lap and give me a big fat baby kiss in person...but alas, from half way across the U.S. it's the best avaliable substitute today. Thank you children, for starting my day off with a smile on my lips and a song in my heart! And thank you, Heavenly Father for letting me live in this day of technology where I can receive such wonderful gifts from my most treasured loves!

How are you counting your blessings today?

Snow Angels and other winter dreams...

It's only a tiny bit early to be thinking of snow angels. I clicked into my ebay account today and to the top it said 47 days to Christmas--tell me it ain't so!!!

Time to dig into my winter wardrobe, time to think about gifts and decorating and baking and all the fun things that kick start the winter holidays...and I'm caught totally off balance this year. Ah well, I went into my stash box and found some holiday beads just begging to be played with. This is the first--my little Snow Angel with some precious artisan lampwork beads by the fabulous ( and m.i.a. for sometime now) Barbara Gorko. She does the most whimsical, sweeeeet figural beads and flowers around. These have been sitting in my stash for awhile--the pink rosebuds one place and the precious snow angel another. They finally found one another and all it took was a chain and some icy moonstone marquise gemstones for a little winter whimsey to set me on the path.

I love the garland of roses around her head and feet, the pale pink buttons and her transparent blue wings...my little snow angel is definitely a girly girl--no doubt about it!

***don't forget to enter the drawing for an amazonite bracelet--every comment counts***

It's a Classic

All comments will be included in my drawing on November 13 for a knotted amazonite bracelet. What is more classic than a knotted strand of pearls? I've made a few pearl necklaces in my time, but never before knotted a whooooole strand. It was past due and so these beautiful 8mm champagn pearls got 'the treatment'.

I wanted something long so I could wear them a couple of different ways---35" is the perfect length for a double strand and still short enough to wear as a single strand when I want it to look less classic. I think I'm going to try layering it with some of my silver pieces...or maybe gemstones.

It isn't perfect, I noticed when I'd finished that a couple of the knots weren't as tight as I'd hoped they would be, but by the end I was going to town, getting more consistent with my knots and gaining speed as well. All in all a great project and best of all now I have a classic to add to my jewelry box!

And the Answer is.....

Thank you for your thoughtful and insightful comments. I loved hearing how you approach design and what choices you would make, and I really appreciate your taking the time to think about my question and give me your input. So, here's where my ideas took me--- After much consideration, it came down to the wonderful sterling forged connectors with a sprinkling of the yummy coral discs. It gives a lightness and space between each stunning bead so they are appreciated on their own merits, while still tying them together as a whole statement.

My pictures really don't do these lovely beads justice, each being a work of art, connected by color and form. Why did we (Eileen and I) decide on the coral? First off, these irregularly shaped coral discs captured the 'feel' of these unique lampwork focals. Second, red is one of the colors that speaks to the lovely lady I was designing this neck piece for. Third, they didn't overbear the beads with detail of their own, but where they were placed they added a pop to frame the finished design.

So now you have the end of my story...there wasn't a 'right' or 'wrong' choice, just the choice I made this time. I LOVE having choices, don't you???

What Would You Do?

I'd like to pose a rhetorical question this morning about design decisions. Thank you to my wonderful customer Eileen for suggesting this posting. How do you design? I know some people sketch their ideas out and go from there...others pull materials and start working. I'm more of the messy type--I typically go thru my stash and look at every possiblilty then start playing, adjusting, etc...making a total mess as I go--especially if my first inclination doesn't please, I just keep bringing more and more materials into my workspace until....

I arrive at a place that pleases me. Usually when I am doing a custom order and have several ideas, I like to include my customer in the decision, to make sure I am meeting their vision as well. So when I received this stunning set of lampwork beads by Manuela Wutschke to design into a necklace for my special customer, that is exactly what I did. I pulled what I thought would work well and set about (with her input) to 'create' a finished look that would please us both.

These are some rough pictures of variations that we toyed with along the path to completion--coral discs, forged sterling 'ribbon candies", Bali sterling tubes, and Afghnistan silver and lapis beads.

Granted these are not the best photos--had I been intending to post about it, I probably would have 'styled' my photo's better, but you should get the idea.

Soooo...my question to you is---which materials would you have chosen to finish off these absolutely fabulous beads into a necklace of your dreams? I'm sure you might have alternate creative ideas of your own, but which of the choices here would have made the cut for you?

Tomorrow I'll show you my finished design, in the meantime tell me--what would you do?

REMEMBER EVERY COMMENT POSTED ON MY BLOG NOW THRU NOVEMBER 12 ENTERS YOU IN A DRAWING FOR YOUR OWN SILK KNOTTED AMZONITE BRACELET