Enchanted blooms

Hi everyone!

Today I want to show you one of my favourite necklaces. It is a piece I created for last march Beadaholique challenge, called Pantone Spring 2013, for which I had to use at least one of the shades in the season’s women fashion report. I have to admit it was very challenging to get started, because all the colors were incredibly inspiring and picking one was awfully complicated. After some thinking, however, I decided to apply one Chiara’s fundamental laws, upholding that “no matter what your problem is, browsing through your beads will give you a 90% probability of finding a solution”…

and it worked (I guess it always does)! I found a gorgeous grayed jade Lucite flower, which had been sitting in one of my drawers for a long time, just waiting to become the centerpiece of a blooming necklace. And what would have been a better starting point for a creation made at the beginning of spring, when all the colors and beauty of flowers fill our days of surprise and joy?

So I started working, combining the beauty of Lucite flowers with the elegance of pearls, the light of sparkling crystals, the cheerfulness of glass beads and the grace of gemstones and bronze tone findings to remind of all the beautiful facets this season presents us with. But not everything could be made with the components I had, so I decided to stitch some myself using delicas to create little bead caps and blooms…

and here is my wearable piece of spring. I hope you like it, and come back soon!

My favorite parties: Under the Table and Dreaming -  Between Naps on the Porch - Dwellings - Creatively living - The dedicated house - Rain on a tin Roof - Its So Very Cheri - DIY Showoff - The Stories of A2Z - Coastal Charm - A Stroll thru Life - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Stone Gable - Cozy little house  - Knick of time -Savvy Southern Style - Ivy and Elaphants - Green Willow Pond - No Minimalist Here - From my front porch to yours - Craftberry Bush  - The Brambleberry Cottage - French Country Cottage - Common Ground - The Charm of Home - The shabby nest - Romantic home - Sunny simple life - The cottage market

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Flower triad necklace

Hi everyone!

 

Today I want to show you a necklace I made for a contest quite some time ago. I still remember that day in 2009…ok, this sounds like a movie whose next scene will be in black and white…let’s try again!...

 

Some time ago (better!) I found out about  the Colorworks contest organized by Step by Step Beads. I was so, so excited! Just a few days earlier I purchased my first color wheel, a fantastic tool helping beaders to combine different shades (you can see it here). The challenge (calling for a creation made using the orange-purple-green triad) just gave me the perfect chance to experiment with it.

 

The deadline was very close, so I rapidly went through my bead boxes (yes, that was the time of few beads packed in a couple of boxes!) and I found out I definitely needed more stash (nothing has changed here!), but I had no time to buy it. I just had to be creative with what was there!

 

…determined and full of energy from the challenge, I started right away! I picked out some purple glass flowers, a few orange fire-polished beads and…wait, I had no center piece (ouch!)… I was quite discouraged…but suddenly, (eureka!) I remembered about a beautiful pattern by Jamie Hogsett which I saw in the April/May 2009 issue of Beadwork Magazine (page 32) and I decided to use it in order to create a large flower to place right in the middle of the creation. I got out my needle, thread, teal Czech seeds and I started stitching. Once the focal was done, I attached some glass beads and blooms on the sides using craft wire and headpins. To make the piece lighter I created a strand of white seed beads running behind the neck to connect the two ends and close the creation through a toggle clasp on one side.

 

And here it is…my old, colorful necklace!

 

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Letter from Paris necklace

Hi everyone! 

I am very excited to talk about this necklace, as it was my very first piece to arrive finalist at a Beadaholique contest, in February to 2012. 

I still remember the moment in which I saw the name of the month’s challenge: “Love is in the air”. Yes it was…because I just LOVED that theme! My head started thinking about 1.000 words: love, roses, red, pink, romantic, love letters, Paris…but wait…how to synthesize everything in one necklace? I didn’t have a focal piece representing all of this, so I decided to create one! 

I started by composing an image with different graphical elements: a handwritten text, an Eiffel tower, a butterfly and a rose, Then I printed, cut and glued it to a bronze cabochon setting. Once the pendant was dry, I covered it with the amazing Ice Resin, making sure no bubbles were being formed. After 3 days, I attached it to a bronze chain, adding some glass and cherry quartz beads, a Lucite flower, a filigree component and a heart-shaped toggle clasp. 

As final touch, I crafted a small bow with size 11/0 pink delicas…and here it is, my little romantic creation, enclosing all the emotions a letter from Paris can bring.

Have a lovely day!

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Peach sparkle set

Hi everyone! 

Today’s creation has a long story. Once upon a time, a magic newsletter from Beadaholique contained a link to an extremely inspirational video (which  you can see here). Watching it, I was immediately captured by the beauty and sparkle of that peach color Swarovski rivoli, so I decided to buy one (and, thanks to my impressive self-control, I ended up buying 4, just in case). 

Once I received them, however, I realized that their edges were very thin and if I used them to create rings as the one shown in the tutorial, I would probably chip them after 2 minutes of wearing (definitely, the stereotypical Italian tendency to not keep hands still while talking wouldn’t help me to preserve them). 

The beautiful rivolis were therefore hidden in a drawer for a long time, until, one day, I was charmed by a gorgeous, perfectly matching filigree component.I decided to dust one of my little sparkling gems, cage it with a bronze-tone bead cap and join it with craft wire to the center piece. To add some interest, I attached freshwater pearls, 8mmm red aventurine beads and Swarovski crystals. 

Of course, no pendant can be happy all by himself, so I made a matching pair of earrings with the same types of beads, which I then attached to a pair of beautiful flower findings I bought on Etsy. 

Once they saw each other, the pendant and the pair of earrings fell in love and they lived happily ever after! 

What do you think? Don’t they make a lovely couple?

 

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Magical Forest necklace

Hi everyone!

Today I want to show you a very special creation, the first one I ever made in order to participate in a contest! 

It was a nice day in 2009 and (surprise, surprise!) I was browsing through beading websites and blogs, when I stumbled upon the announcement for a challenge by Stringing Magazine, called Magical Forest. I never considered participating in a competition before, but a theme based on nature just charmed me. I couldn’t stop my head from thinking about the hundreds of things I could do and I immediately found myself with needle and threads in my hands.  

I began stringing green glass seed beads, inserting some flowers, ladybugs and butterflies every now and then. But that wasn’t enough, so I knotted clusters of 8mm glass beads on a brown cord, to give the illusion of branches with leaves. Lastly, I created the central piece, by attaching glass blooms and foliage. I tried to use colors which would give a mysterious allure to the piece, making it look truly magical. 

And here it is…my little enchanted necklace!

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Purple flower fairy necklace

Hi everyone!

A couple of days ago, I was browsing through some old graphics on my computer when I found this beautiful image of a flower fairy. I was dazzled and I just couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I got out my Lucite flowers and I started working. 

I used some lovely bell-shaped beads I bought some time ago on Etsy as main elements and then I added sparkling crystals, shiny glass beads, lovely filigree bead caps and a couple romantic bronze leaves. To keep everything together, I created a frame with 18 gauge craft wire (using my round-nose pliers) and then I attached all the elements using jump rings and some 26 gauge bronze wire. 

And here is my creation…with big thanks to the flower fairy for being so inspirational :-) 

Have an enchanted day!

My favorite parties: Under the Table and Dreaming -  Between Naps on the Porch - Dwellings - Creatively living - The dedicated house - Rain on a tin Roof - Its So Very Cheri - DIY Showoff - The Stories of A2Z - Coastal Charm - A Stroll thru Life - My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Stone Gable - Cozy little house  - Knick of time -Savvy Southern Style - Ivy and Elaphants - Green Willow Pond - No Minimalist Here - From my front porch to yours - Craftberry Bush  - The Brambleberry Cottage - French Country Cottage - Common Ground - The Charm of Home - The shabby nest - Romantic home - Sunny simple life - The cottage market

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Flowers girl

Hi everyone!

I have been very fascinated by the vintage look of some amazing components I saw on Etsy lately. A couple of days ago I therefore decided I wanted to make my own romantic piece that looked as if it just came out from my grandma’s jewelry box. 

So here is my pendant, completely personalized with Ice Resin®, a great product I recently discovered, which allows to cover printed images with a thick glass-like transparent coat. 

First of all, I composed the picture, thanks to a photo editing software. Then I printed, cut and glued it to an antiqued brass pendant. Afterward, I covered it with Ice Resin® (being extremely careful to constantly check it in order to remove all the air bubbles) and let it dry. 

48 hours later, I connected it to the chain necklace, attached a beautiful resin rose, some freshwater pearls, glass beads, antiqued brass findings…and voilà, my necklace was ready! 

I hope you like it! Have a wonderful day!

My favorite parties: The Charm of Home

 

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Princess’ pearl necklace

Hi everyone!
 

Today’s creation was inspired by some cute fairy-like pastel color dresses that appeared in shopping windows last year as soon as spring arrived. 

The 5-years-old girl in me was so excited about creating a design that would make any Disney princess wow, smile and sing. So, she ordered me to immediately craft a magic necklace.

And here is my piece! It is made of a strand of glass pearls, kept together with 0.8mm brass wire wrapped in simple loops to make a chain. Around the neck, antiqued brass filigree pieces (held together with jump rings) are decorated with glass beads, polymer clay flowers and crystal chatons. 

On the back, a pink ribbon completes the creation, which closed on a side thanks to a heart-shaped toggle clasp. The 5-years-old girl loved the finished creation…

and I hope you do too ;-)

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Native flowers

Hi everyone! 

The sun of this days has, once again, inspired a spring-looking necklace :-) . This time I decided to experiment with a technique that is quite new for me: bead embroidery. I read a couple of very good books on the topic and here you can see a more detailed post about this experience to find out everything, but now, back to the piece! 

I made this native-American inspired necklace for the January 2013 Beadaholique contest “January Gems” (you can see all the finalists here) starting from a 18x13mm carnelian cabochon. After attaching it to a Lacy’s Stiff Stuff base, I embroidered the circular motif using size 11/0 Czech seed beads, 15/0 Japanese rocailles and size B Nymo thread. I then finished sewing and Ultra Suede backing and fringes made of seed beads, round bamboo coral and 4mm fire-polished beads.  

To add a final spring touch, I decorated the pendant with Lucite flowers and made a pair of matching earrings. 

I hope you like them, and I wish you a great day full of creativity!

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Spring flight

Hi everyone! 

I know it’s still winter, but some days ago the blue sky and the warm sun just made me think about green grass, flowers and flying birds. It might be that after the beautiful, but also very cold Danish winter, every day back home looks like a spring day, or it might just be that I bought these very nice links on Etsy and I couldn’t wait to use them! 

Here is the set! I designed the necklace, with some brass colored components, freshwater pearls, Swarovski crystal beads and Miyuki size 15/0 rocailles. 

For the earrings I took inspiration from the pattern on page 20 of the October 2012 issue of Beadwork magazine and I added an extra raw in the center. I used 3 and 5mm Swarovski pearls, Miyuki size 15/0 rocailles, size 11/0 seed beads and size D nymo thread.

I hope you like them! :-)

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Snow Samoa

Hi everyone! 

For today’s necklace I want to thank Sereine for sharing the pattern of her beautiful Samoa netted necklace (which you can find here). 

I decided to make it in the shades of white, transparent, pearl and silver, because I wanted an elegant piece to wear with my New Years Eve black dress, but colors can be easily changed to achieve different effects.

The necklace takes a lot to finish, because of the small beads and intricate pattern, but, in my opinion, it is definitely worth the time!

Materials: size 11/0 white, silver and transparent Czech glass seed beads, 4mm Swarovski crystal pearls and size B nymo thread.

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)

Snow Queen necklace

Hi everyone!

Today I want to show you my necklace Snow Queen made for the January 2012 Beadaholique contest “The Jewels of January”. For this piece I took inspiration from the beautiful January snow and from the Draped deco necklace pattern from Beadaholique (which you can find here).

The basic RAW (right angle weave) row is the same, but on the following rounds many adaptations were required in order to attach the snowflake pendant. I made central piece using the circular netting technique, then I sew it to a silver-plated filigree stamping and attached the it to the rest of the necklace with a split ring. Adding the filigree on the back was not necessary, but in my opinion it provides additional stability and more complex texture. 

I hope you will enjoy the pictures and be inspired!

  

Materials: 4 and 6mm Czech fire-polished beads, size 11/0 seed beads, 4mm crystal rondelles, fire-polished drops, filigree stamping, toggle clasp and size D nymo thread (with a breading needle).

P.s. If you don’t want to miss any crafty project, remember to follow the blog by clicking on the “join this site” button in the right column ;-)