My Favourite Necklaces

I have decided to try (and the photos below will show I might have failed!) to photograph my jewellery projects better.  To that end, I have actually used a camera, not my phone to take photos!  I haven't got a fancy pants camera, it is an Olympus VR 310 and the main reasons behind it's purchase were; my old camera had died, I could get it with my Tesco Clubcard points and not pay extra and it is a pleasing pinky purple colour.

I tend to use my phone because I get cross with my camera. It has now become apparent that is because I have had it accidentally set up for sports photography for the last few months :)

I also bought a book called "The Crafter's Guide to Taking Great Photos". It claims to be foolproof and was very helpful, but clearly I need to practice much more.

As my next lot of projects haven't arrived yet and someone asked me the other day what my "style" was I decided to pick some of my own favourite necklaces and explain why I like them so much. So here goes:


                                                                  Star Necklace 

This is a favourite because it is simple and reminds me of an ex boyfriend who called me an irregular star. :) I wear this when I want bling but nothing over complicated.  I got it as a treat to myself one night when I was very fed up.  It wasn't expensive, I think I got it from Amazon. 

Flower Bowl Necklace

 This was made by the lady who taught me when I did a jewellery making night class a few years back.  I made my, now, husband's wedding ring as my final project. I love the shape of it and the colour of the enamel work. You can see more of her excellent work at her website.

Red Swirly Necklace 

This was a gift from a dear, dear friend who is one of the nicest people I know.  No idea where it is from, but I love it and have had it years. It goes with loads of stuff, things you wouldn't think of  particularly big maxi dresses and tops in contrasting colours. Also it's really good for playing with when I am concentrating on complicated things :)

Purple Leather Flower Necklace

I always get lots of compliments for this one which is nice as I made it myself! It was a kit I got from Yum Yum Beads in Leeds. They do some lovely things in there and I have spent many happy half hours mooching through their beads and accessories.  They have a really good website too. 

Christmas Cracker Necklace

When I bought this I have never felt less like a Christmas Cracker. I was struggling through the most horrible, miserable pregnancy. But there was one bright spot on the horizon, the staff Christmas party. I was determined to go. OK I couldn't drink, OK I had to wear a maternity dress and flat shoes, but I was bloody going! Who knew when I would EVER go out again?  I had a lovely time and even danced. I got home at midnight and paid for it by being sick and exhausted for the next few days but I had a great time and I think part of that was due to my cool Tatty Devine necklace.

Pink and grey beads

I don't really do pearls. I like the idea but I look like I stole them from my Nan. So this is my alternative for when I want to go a bit Mad Men. I have a 50's style prom dress I have worn them with. They also look great with a grey lace mini dress that I have.  But the best thing about them is that they were £1 from the vintage market in Huddersfield. 

Winged necklace

I have yet to wear this out of the house but I can't wait to! I fell in love with it the first time I saw it in a shop window in the little town I live in. I walk past the shop every week as I collect my baby son's medicine and milk. After several weeks, I finally went in and bought it. It's a BIG statement, like something a Greek goddess or a Valkyrie would wear but I adore it. In these post baby blue months I have had no occasion or inclination to make a statement or draw too much attention to myself, mostly I have wanted to hide. But things are getting better, slowly. I think I might fancy a bit of a flight in a few months time :)

Taj Mahal Jewellery Box

This isn't a necklace but it is where some of these necklaces live. It was a gift from my husband.  He travelled to India with work and visited the Taj Mahal. It is made from the the same sort of marble and inlaid with the same stones as used in the decoration of the Taj Mahal. The craftsmen who make them are in many cases direct descendants of the men who decorated the the monument itself. I think it is really cool and a good place for some of my favourite things to be stored. 

August project part 2 - bracelet and earrings

Here are the finished articles. The bracelet is on stretchy elastic and I have added the same birds as I did to the lariat.  The head pins were again a nightmare to cut and shape, I did change from the round nosed pliers supplied with the kit to another pair I had, with a bit more success. 

Bracelet and earrings

Lariat, bracelet and earrings

But I have to tell you I am not loving this project I found it boring, probably because it is nothing new to me and also if I was a complete novice I would have just given up with those head pins!
It's clearly something I need to work on so I have ordered a few other kits that will get me working hard with my pliers from Creative Beadcraft   Hopefully these will improve my skill set and also provide some Christmas presents perhaps?

August project part 1 - lariat necklace

This project has been troublesome to me. Not because of any real technical difficulties but because I didn't really like the materials that came with it and I struggled to come up with something I would actually wear!

This is what arrived. A nice case with some round nosed and flat pliers, some side cutters a snipper thing (will come in handy) a good pair of jewellery tweezers, a metal bead scoop and some little bead boxes that fit together quite cleverly.

I got a number of head pins, jump rings, stretchy wire, cord, ear hoops and an assortment of beads. The task is to make a lariat necklace with matching bracelet and earrings.

This i could do, I have done this before at college but I didn't like the beads, not at first anyway, now i appreciate the colour mix a little better, but my first thought was YUCK!

A lariat necklace one that is just a long piece of cord or chain with embellishment either end.  You fold over or twist the ends together to make a long necklace.

I tried lots of different bead combinations and making little links with the head pins but it felt like there was somethiing missing from it. I tried adding some old keys, that looked daft, so I eventually added a couple of these little birds  to add extra interest.

I struggled with the positioning of the different jump rings to hold on the head pins but as they are just knotted on it was fairly easy to adjust. I though the head pins provided were very difficult to shape and too hard for the cutters provided, I had to really give it some welly, so I am not happy with the quality of the loops in the pins. I have done much better in the past, in fact I might post a pic of a similar piece for a long time ago to show you at some point.

*update here are some pictures of the finished article.

Next thing to do now is the bracelet and earrings...

Inspiration

The August project isn't here yet but I have had some inspiration from various sources and I have got my crafting head on today and plan to make something new!

I have been visiting family and friends and saw a good friend, one of those friends that you don't see for 18 months and you carry on with your conversation like it was yesterday, someone I can be totally myself and honest with. I love her to bits. She encouraged me to entered my Hedgehog pendant on the Cookson's designer of the week Facebook page competition. It won't win but at least I have been brave and got my design out there. Some kind people even liked it!

But what was more interesting was seeing the other (far superior) entrant's work. It was really inspiring.  My favourite was the work of Kim Styles who does the most amazing floral designs. I hope to be half as good as her one day and failing that, to own one of her floral necklaces :)

I could, in theory have a go at some simple floral designs, I have worked with sheet metal before but it would be worth doing it in copper first as it is much cheaper and easier in some respects to work with.  I can solder and shape metal quite well but it's been a while and I would need access to a proper workshop or at least a few things I don't have right now.

I have also been reading this book that I got for Christmas. I have had an Amazon wishlist every year since my mother decided "Curious" by Britney Spears was the perfect perfume choice for a 30 year old woman.

It's a really good book on different techniques with some good ideas for projects and I am going to try some filigree techniques today and see how it goes.