Statement Jewelry - 2nd verse

This lapis collar has been bumping around in my head for two years, ever since I bought strands of luscious, large round, oval and rectagular lapis (or something that LOOKS like lapis) beads at the local gem show.

Building the collar was an organic thing, gradually adding pieces and trying to keep the shape working (and hanging) properly. Also included are some sparkling faceted Chinese crystals, a lovely vintage filigree floral pin

and an costume jewelry earring that was my mother-in-law's.

 Bits of chain, jump rings, gold-toned beads and a spool of vintage 70s brass wire were all that was needed. I used the wire to make a wrapped hook for the back and did put a few beads onto a 2" dangle to weight the back and keep it centered. I'm wearing this, at least this week on our trip to Chicago - but will make another. This one was a learning experience and I've got ideas for changing my connection techniques....

Statement Jewelry

Ha! It worked! Starting a new medium (foiled & soldered glass pendants on fiber garlands) got me creative again. And guess what? My jewelry is bigger - literally. Not a tiny seed bead in sight.

Statement jewelry is in (for a couple years now....) and some of the outstanding designers I love are making totally amazing things.  I guess this one makes a statement too - as in "I love wearing jewelry!!"

Inspired by my garlands and seeing fibers used in various ways in jewelry recently (just about everywhere...) I went back to my wonderful stash of cream colored silk from making my daughter's wedding dress in 2003 and found yards of leftovers, which were used to make yards of bias strip to wrap cotton upholstery cord.

I added a strand of pearl beads from deconstructed multi-strand castoff, a strand of strung faux pearls and several vintage rhinestone jewelry pieces. One of them was an earring from my mother and the large blue centerpiece is a pin found recently in a resale shop. The rest were dug from my cherished bins of vintage jewelry.....

A few little sew-on individual rhinestones were added randomly to emphasize the blues below.

The "clasp" is a vintage silk-corded button toggle which slides easily through the looped cord at the back. This piece used as many sewing skills as it did jewelry-making techniques.
My husband thinks its "gaudy" but I'd totally wear this - and will, if it doesn't sell at Eclectics Gallery. However pricing is my bugaboo. I'm thinking this should be priced at $185.....it did take a long time to construct and it contains all those great vintage pieces....we'll see.

Honeydew with Pearls

One more garland complete - Honeydew.  Reclaimed creamy satin drapery cord, cream embroidered satin ribbon, green organza ribbon and a remnant of beaded trim.

Glass triangles are accented with dangles of glass, crystal and pearls.

The scary part is the only supply newly purchased is the glass and solder. All the beads and ribbons and pearls and fibers are from my stash...

More Groovy Garlands

Actually, these are more romantic than groovy....

What can you do with stained glass scraps, a few beads, leftover wired satin ribbon and scraps from a failed sewing project? Ta da!! This yummy combination of olive greens and caramel browns. And yes, you must remove (tediously) the wire from the satin ribbons or it won't hang right!

This would look great hanging in a gloomy office cubical! Measures 42" from hanging points.

Do they permit that sort of thing??? Then there's this dramatic silver silk and burgundy swag with the coolest mirror glass . . .

I finally found a place to use some faceted garnets along with some burgundy beads actually taken from real, vintage Mardi Gras beads, from back when they really threw out glass beads instead of the pressed plastic they use now.

This one is 37", not counting the end fringe.

How I Got My Groove Back....

Been having trouble getting creative lately, but finally dosed myself with an antidote, ....and it wasn't Taye Diggs nor our recent trip to San Diego.

I started something completely new and different - which means SHOPPING, NEW TOOLS and a new MEDIUM. So far I've probably spent over $200 - not sure since I'm afraid to hit the "Summary Report" button in Quick Books.

But I now have a working soldering iron, glass cutter, a box of lovely glass from the scraps bin (read: cheaper) at the local Stained Glass Station. And so far I've made 3 girly garlands from glass, beads, silk, fibers, ribbons and chains....This one is Miss Havisham's Wedding Garland.

I found myself working into the wee hours, learning the soldering steps, then making the little glass triangles. But combining the glass with the fibers into a garland that hangs happily takes time too.
This one is Medieval Fantasy - I got carried away with the hand-dyed ribbons (which I bought a while back, not knowing what they'd be good for) so that the pretty amber fern-textured glass  is a little lost. It needs to be in a window with light shining on it.

It looks very cool close up, in person - it's currently for sale in Eclectics.www.eclecticskc.com

My goal was this one - it's been living inside my head for a while and now it's hanging in the gallery.

Grey silk, vintage silver chain, beads and dark mirror glass....Thru a Glass Darkly. The beads at the bottom of each glass mirror are vintage cracked marbles! From back in the day when it was cool to heat marbles then drop them into cold water to see them crack (NOTE: if you try this, be sure to use safety precautions - we're talking very hot glass here!) These were clear marbles, have tiny bales glued to them and were strung on a chain as a necklace. It's one of my saved weird old jewelry items I thought I'd never use!

Garlands each measure about 45" long, with 7 or 8 pieces of glass and a loop and a little extra on the end for hanging. Of course, I can't just have ribbons and stained glass triangles (about 3-4" long, 2-3" wide at the top) without adding jewelry elements.

Can't wait to make more. I bought some great glass colors and am really getting the hang of the soldering, thanks to the repetition!!

I think they will look great hanging above a mirror or with a strand of twinkly lights or in a window.

But best of all, I made something new AND have some new tools to boot!