Jungle drums...

"Felinae Persia Suite" 

 (Necklace & Earrings Set)   Price: $90.00

 

Got some absolutely gorgeous Leopard Jasper amidst the haul from Lisa that I've been dying to use. The hold up was how to suspend the 'donut' in the focal. Several days of trying different things, broken bits and other oddities from my miscellaneous gold bits box, I finally found a solution that worked and felt solid enough to continue. This was a toughie. Lots of cussing, dropping things, and constructing and deconstructing the bloody thing. T'was a simple plan...at least to begin with. After that it got even more interesting. Leopard Skin Jasper, black dyed Jasper, and the round black stone is Onyx. Various gold tones. Not sure if it is giving off early ancient Egyptian vibes, Ancient Nubian, or just Wakanda wannabe feels.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The bling work table during the creation process. Just a note though, had a tough time cleaning some of the beads. There were mold smells on some and smoke on others. 

 

When after several sessions of spritzing stone beads to get rid of the mold or smoke smells, I soaked those suckers in pure vodka when the vodka mist isn't intense enough. Rinsed with warm water and Dawn dish detergent, rinse again with clear water. Dry on paper towel. Success!!!! Mostly. They're still stone, still smells a bit like stone no matter how shiny. LOL Gotta be careful with this process with the more fancier stones, though. Don't want to take the polish and shine off. The test stones were Leopard Jasper...which I long wanted to experiment with using black and gold elements. Ahem. Well, the vodka did a marginal job, so late the same night, I sank the beads into a cup of baking soda, and the next morning there was still a distinct, but faint whiff of mold. Bob bought me a bottle of Ethyl based rubbing alcohol and after soaking for 20 minutes, IT WORKED!!!! ETHYL ALCOHOL FOR THE WIN!!! Thank you so much, Lisa. Now I can not only process the rest of the many beads, but also the smoke affected things as well. 

 

Anyway, thanks for stopping by. There's always more to come. 
Cheers,

Marianne 

 

Victorian Purple...

 "Violet Boheme Suite"

( Necklace & Earrings Set)  Price: $90.00

The double strands of small lighter Amethyst beads were left over from a previous necklace project and formed the beginnings of this one. The light and dark beads compliment each other in the almost all silver design. There is a single gold bead atop the main focal to lend a bit of contrast as well. The large beads in the loop of the focal and the earrings are actually faceted which add to the antique Victorian vibe going on. This was an intriguing project in trying to make the double strands work, but I think it turned out well and rather pretty. The 'boheme' in the title refers to it being bohemian...the 'hippy' aspect of the Victorian age. Literally 'purple bohemian' in French.

 

 

 

The Amethyst work table and all the bits I had out for 'possibilities'

 

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers,

Marianne 

And more purple...

 "Amethyst Hearts"
(Earrings)  Price: $35.00  SOLD 

 

Simple, large, dangly earrings. Amethyst beads in offset, swoopy heart frames. I believe the silver frames are for wire wrapping, hence the toothed edges. But I like them as they are, I think. Haven't gotten into wire wrapping at all, but I won't rule it out completely, though. Who knows...

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers,

Marianne 

Back to purple...

"Dark Amethyst Suite"

(Necklace & Earrings Set)  Price: $100.00 SOLD 

 

After spending a few days sorting some of my new beads and pulling out ones that were inspiring me, I went on a bit of a bender with the Amethysts. I didn't actually have an idea in mind when I started this and tried several bases for the focal drop before deciding on this one. And being me, I decided to use silver with my favoured gold accents to make things look more lush. Give it a little warmth. The 'bead frames' were a blast to use and frame the dark of the beads in a very regal way. But I absolutely love the carved 'leaf' dangle which drove the whole experiment. I keep a tiny polishing cloth on my table to shine up some of the beads as I use them, and these ones just glowed. I'm really pleased how this necklace turned out. I used a couple more of the silver bead frames and made the earrings to match. 

 

 

Anyway, be prepared for more forays into using Amethyst. It's my most favourite stone.
 

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers,

Marianne 

And now for something completely different...

 "Spring Buddha"

(Necklace)  Price: $50.00  SOLD 

 

 

 

Gotta admit, I wasn't too sure about this one. It started out as just plain bright silver and the pink flowers. Well, all the plain silver as the only contrast to the pink flowers was making me a little twitchy, so I dressed things up a little. The Buddha dangle is carved Jade, the flowers are Czech glass, the pink beads are Rose Quartz with a Fluorite bead between them, and the three dark flowers above the Buddha are Austrian Crystal. When I spotted the Austrian Crystals at Michael’s, ironically looking for something completely different to use in the same space, I was instantly transported back to the 1970s and making jewelry with my grandma. I remember these exact crystals, same shape and color, from back then. I think they tie the center piece together, although I wouldn’t recommend this necklace for someone who has ADHD or OCD tendencies…the focal is slightly off center because of how I put the big links together. So, it’s a little too froufrou for me, but I'm sure someone might like it. Below is my work table when I was just piling possible elements together and making links. 

 

 

Oh, and I found out the actual name of that style of Austrian Crystals. Margarita Flower. Isn't that appropriate?

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Cheers,

Marianne 

Royal red...

"Red Queen Suite"

(Necklace & Earrings)  Price: $90.00 

 

 

Had Garnets on my mind for a week before I began this necklace. I thought I had a solid idea in the beginning, but it didn’t pan out. So, experimenting with shapes and stuff using beads from Lisa’s hoard and David’s generous contributions from his mum’s stash, I eventually ended up with this as the final product. The Almandine Garnets are really lush in colour and I kept getting flashes of the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland while making it, hence the title. I chose bright silver elements to help bring out the brilliance of the stones. The heart dangle is a faceted beauty and adds to the Queen of Hearts theme, and the contrast between the square-ish and round beads gives visual texture. I made earrings to match the necklace because something of this magnitude would be difficult to find something to compliment it, otherwise. I had a blast making this, but had to research the glue and methods for attaching the heart because it was only half drilled. Got it perfect in the end, though. Strangely enough, this suite gives off Victorian vibes by way of India back in the day. 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers,
Marianne 

Rich green again...

"Silver Malachite"

(Earrings)  Price: $40.00 SOLD 

 

Yet another foray into the Black Onyx and gorgeous Malachite combination in silver.

Cheers,

Marianne 

More imperial themes...

"Imperial Sky"

(Necklace)  Price: $60.00  

 

This is a softer imperial inclination. I found these rose gold knotwork connectors at a bead shop across Providence city and seriously wanted to work with them. For some reason, they also reminded me of ancient Chinese ornamentation. As you can see, my favored handmade lampworked pale blue lace beads with the copper sparkles inside matched perfectly with all of the rose gold accents. The two vivid blue beads are ones I purchased at a little bead shop in Florence, Italy last year, just across Ponte Vecchio bridge. They are Murano lampwork, and are absolutely gorgeous. Because of the pale blue and rose gold tones remind me of the sky just after sunrise, I named this creation 'Imperial Sky'. What do you think?

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers,
Marianne 

Far East royalty, maybe...

"Imperial Blue"

(Necklace)  Price: $60.00 

 

This is another favourite of my creations. I was sorting through a box of old craft things, cleaning out stuff I will never use to pass along to someone who can. One of my finds was the long, golden filigree cone wrapped around the black onyx tear drop in the main focal. I had purchased it nearly 20 years ago to use as a 'parasol' base for a fancy vintage crochet dress pattern for a Barbie fashion doll. The pattern never got made, and I passed it along with the other craft bits. This filigree cone, however suddenly stirred the imagination. Out came the bling bits and tools, and I got to experimenting. All the blue beads are Venetian glass, and all of the black ones are Onyx, including the two gold etched ones at the end of the side dangles. Little Chinese gold dragons are etched around those. The exotic combination of the filigree and patterns in the gold metal accents contrasting so well with the opulence of the rich blues and black kind of remind me of the colors worn by ancient Chinese emperors and royals, hence the title 'Imperial Blue'. This is a more elegant statement piece and sits at the collarbone level, with my usual 18" length. The dangle also fits with the 'lingerie' style of the Victorian age, because of its length. 

 

 

 

Anyway, thanks for stopping by.
Cheers,

Marianne 

More blue swirl...

"Amber moon"

(Earrings)  Price: $30.00 SOLD 

 

 I love these blue swirl glass beads with the copper foil sparkles inside. I used rose gold metals to build this set of earrings, and topped them with the vintage Czech glass amber beads for a warming contrast. I still have the 'perfume bottle' shapes on my mind, it seems. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Marianne

More experimenting with shape...

 "Hourglass - Blue Gold"

(Earrings)  Price: $25.00 

I got these gorgeous blue and gold beads from, I think, an online vendor via Michaels Crafts. They kind of reminded me of the upper and lower bulbs of an hourglass, so I spent some time digging through what I had at the time in my tiny gold bits stash to find 'bases' that fit. Several trial and errors brought me to these two final products. The 'gold' in the first pair of earrings are spacer beads, and an engraved gold bead at the waist of the 'hourglass'. The 'amber' in the second pair of earrings are not quite flat Czech glass rondelles as the base and top of that 'hourglass'. In the 'amber', the metal is antiqued copper instead of gold to support the amber theme. Sorry, the photos aren't the greatest.  

 

 "Hourglass - Blue Amber"

(Earrings)  Price: $25.00 

Meanwhile, thanks for stopping by. On, to the next experiment...
Marianne

 

Something pink...and a bit scandalous...

 "Le Chat Rose"
(aka: The Pink Cat)

(Necklace)  Price: $55.00  SOLD 

  

The original idea I had for this necklace isn't quite what it ended up being. The initial focal I had been working on just didn't seem to gel in the engineering testing stage, and was getting too bulky when all I wanted was something simple and delicate to showcase the Rose Quartz. The central bead frame was perfect for the 'pearl' center indicating a 'Moon' and the arms of Rose Quartz beads supporting it.  The uneven lengths of the dangles are a deliberate hark back to the Victorian 'lingerie' necklaces that were historically a tad scandalous as both dangles were long and lead directly to the cleavage in a lady's bosom in low necked evening dress. In this case, the entire necklace is built around the carved Rose Quartz cat sitting on its silver post. In amongst the bags of mixed bits that came from Lisa's hoard were the deliberately tangled silver jump rings that somewhat resembled balls of yarn. So, the story/scene of the necklace began to emerge. The cat, the balls of yarn, and a ball to anchor the lighter dangle. That ball is pure Fluorite, always a lovely accompaniment to Rose Quartz. I little pseudo Victorian in flavor, this is one of my favorite creations. As per usual, the neck length sits about 18". 

 

See how different the first attempt at this necklace was? I sat with it for three days, then deconstructed it and came up with something completely different. The golden shell, or 'sun' center and the vintage flower dangle are still hanging around  and I hope I find another use for them some day. By the way, I have owned that carved Rose Quartz cat bead for a couple of decades. I'm finally glad to have let it out of its box. Ahem. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Marianne 

A little more whimsy...

"Earth-Moon Dragon"

(Earrings)  Price: 25.00 

 

 This is just a simple pair of earrings using some pretty little silver dragons, glass 'pearls', and a couple of Venetian blue glass beads. The length of them is 2 1/4" from the top of the ear hoop to the bottom of the 'pearl'. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Marianne