pink and black for bernice

bernice (joe's momma) requested a while ago that i make her a black and pink necklace. she's very good with the sewing machine and she was in the process of making herself a pink jacket/blazer to wear when she and the poodles compete in dog shows. i tried to make her something in time for christmas, but i just could't make it work. yesterday was her bday, so these will be shipped to her as a belated bday present.

other than the colors, she really made no other requests as far as style or length or anything else. so i decided to make her two.

i'm about to get really busy, so these will prolly be my last project for a long time.
for now, i saw adieu to beading.

mom's bday gift -- garden necklace

i posted the pattern 2 posts ago. the instruction calls for repeating the squirrly triangle pattern all the way to the end (clasps). but dixie from work said that, as originally designed, this necklace tends to twist around the neck. she suggested that i leave the back part as just a simple, straight string of beads. she said this would prevent the necklace from twisting. i also made a simple bracelet.

anyway, today (the 18th) is my mom's bday so i rushed to finish these. i'll have to write her an IOU note for a pair of earrings.

the beginning of a necklace

can you see where i'm going with this?

dixie at work (the lady who taught me, charlyn, and others some basic beading) makes a lot of these and i always thought they were pretty. i found the pattern online and i decided to make one for my mom's bday in a few weeks.

the birthstone for february is amethyst (those violet crystals) and i really like the mauvey pearls. other than than, i'm not completely sold on the color combination. i'm thinking of maybe changing the cream seed beads into something that blends in with the colors, as opposed to contrasting/complementing. maybe light pink or violet.

there's definitely a learning curve with this project. at first, i thought i was weaving them too loosely. so i tugged on the string a lot more. now, it feels kinda stiff, like i did it too tightly. maybe now's a good time to start over.

i've only done 2-3 inches but it took me an hour. oooh, how my back will hurt by the end of this.

blue and light amethyst

these were made for a birthday present.

blue (and red veins, but mostly blue) beads are alternated with light amethyst rondelles and tiny swarovski pearls. the three big crystals in the middle are swarovski "cosmic" beads in light amethyst.

i'm pretty happy with how these turned out. if i were to change one thing, though, i might go with a bigger contrast in color. instead of a the light purple accents, maybe i might try a really deep/bright purple. or red.

or i dunno, maybe this way is better.
more experimentation!!!

Blue Zebra Earrings

Yay, I finally made something again! Even though I am supposed to be studying for my pharmacy law midterm, I decided to make a pair of earrings for my roommate's bday instead. Ta da!

hoop earrings with dangleys

i haven't made anything in a while and i had an urge to make something that won't take a long time to complete.

voila! a pair of hoop earrings with interchangeable dangleys.

silver and orangey necklace and earrings

made this as a gift for my orange-loving friend. used sterling silver chain and wire. i added approximately three inches more chain and an extra clasp so it can be worn either as a short or a long necklace.

instead of using headpins for the dangley thingeys, i just cut a piece of wire and made a spiral headpin. here's the instructions, if interested (charlyn! :) )

gotta say, i'm enjoying the wirework-and-chain thing.

"random" blues and greens

i made this a while ago. my first project using wire. i strung the beads just using simple loops. i wired a bunch of beads separately, then just randomly strung them together.

not crazy about this. i think the moral of the story is... you can go for a "random" look, but you still have to think about where things should go. the whole "balancing of elements" kinda thing. meh.

i used 20 gauge cheap wire that i got from jo-ann's. and i'm already noticing it tarnishing. like, it's actually turning black in some places. from now on, i'm sticking to sterling silver.

Blue Necklace

Yay! Finally putting my skills to use. A necklace for my godmother with matching earrings. She loves blue. (w/o flash)

(with flash)

Earrings

Char again: just made some earrings for my friend's bday. too me forever! and a lot of wire work! *hands are tired*

Eyeglasses Holder

Hi! Charlyn here! Made an eyeglasses holder for my mom! Altho it makes her look a tiny bit older, its super useful, and I thought the pattern/beads I chose were really cute!

super close up.

mother's day necklaces

btri-color freshwater pearl necklace for my brother's MIL.

i made this thursday night for my SIL. maybe it's because she's closest to my age, but this is the one piece out of the three that i would actually wear.

purple and pink w/ freshwater pearls for my mommy.

and here they are, all ready to be gifted.

purple and pink necklace

i have to finish 5 necklaces in the not so distant future. 2 for mother's day (1 for my mom and 1 for my bro's MIL), one for SIL's bday, and 2 for girlfriends who had their bdays in april.

i think this is gonna go to one of the mom's. it's not sealed yet, so i'll be working more on it this week.
as always, comments and suggestions are welcomed.

freshwater pearls necklace

i dunno....
is this mother's day present-worthy?
what do you think?

meh...

orange and green necklace with donut

this is only my 2nd necklace made without "adult" (the pros from work) supervision.

i started this necklace with the intention of giving it as a birthday present. when i was done, i was like, these are soooo my colors! plus, that lil' issue of the off-centered clasp. my bad, i wasn't measuring. so obviously, i HAVE to keep it. it's hardly gift-worthy.