Design This - Custom Beaded Necklace to Complement Inlaid Gemstone Pendant

Earlier this year I made time for a project for myself that has been a few years in the making. A while back I purchased a silver pendant with inlaid gemstones at a trade show. The most prominent inlay was a beautiful piece of charoite. The pendant also showcased opal and shell. I have been collecting strands of beads since then to make a beaded necklace that would incorporate the pendant. Early on I identified some oblong quartz beads that would work well to secure the pendant in the design. While I had some amethyst beads, I did not have any charoite and set out to find some as I thought their character would work better with the charoite in the pendant than the amethyst I had on hand. While obtaining some charoite strands, I also increased my stash of amethyst beads.

When I finally carved out some time for this project of mine, I gathered up all of the beads that I thought I might work into the design. The strands of beads pictured here are just the ones that made the cut. What turned out to be pretty funny was that none of the charoite beads that I picked up found their way into the design but quite a bit of amethyst did. I am glad I waited to create this necklace. The large faceted amethyst beads I included were a recent acquisition and I also had a better variety of the smaller amethyst beads with color variations that made them a good pairing with the inlaid charoite, better than what I had when I bought the pendant. In addition to amethyst and quartz that I have already mentioned, I also incorporated beads of rose quartz, faceted crystal and a couple of shades of naturally colored pearls in to the necklace design. I finished it off with sterling silver findings to match the metal of the pendant.

Whether designing around a newly obtained component or updating vintage jewelry, I enjoy making custom pieces of jewelry that will be cherished accessories for the wearer. I know I will enjoy my new necklace for a very long time. Contact me if you have a project in mind.

Design This – Bridesmaids’ Bracelets

Last year when a customer of mine was picking up her custom jewelry set, we got to talking about her daughter’s upcoming wedding. It was coming together as an outdoor summer wedding. I asked if the jewelry had been decided on yet and if not did she have any idea what style, colors or types of jewelry were being looked for. She said that her daughter already had her jewelry taken care of but the bridesmaids’ details had not been worked out yet. I pulled out a strand of pretty, shell leaf beads that I thought would go well with an outdoor wedding, pearls and whatever the wedding colors were going to be. My customer liked them and I suggested that if her daughter liked the necklace and earrings that I had made, that perhaps she would like to come over and look at materials that I had on hand to see if we could work up a design that she would be pleased with.

After being told that a brainstorming session would be welcomed by her daughter and that the materials for the bridesmaids’ bracelets should incorporate clover green, some sparkles, some nature components such as the beads that my customer had seen previously, some pearls and possibly some chain work as I had used in a section of her necklace, mother and daughter came over to look through the materials that I pulled together and examples of some jewelry that I had in stock that I thought might serve as inspiration. After looking over the jewelry and materials, an idea for the bracelets began to take shape. The bride to be liked the idea of a double stranded twisted bracelet for each bridesmaid. She wondered about incorporating “something blue” in the bracelets with another crystal color that complemented her tanzanite ring. Luck was with us and I had what she was looking for. She picked crystals in clover, golden beige and the tanzanite match for one strand and pearls, a pressed glass Czech leaf bead similar but more dainty than the beads I had originally shown her mom and an antiqued gold plated chain for the other strand. She wanted the bracelets to close with a toggle clasp. I was going to have to locate antiqued gold plated toggles to go with the chain that she had picked. We had time though, so I searched.

First I searched at a couple of traveling jewelry markets when they were in town. I could only find shiny gold plated or gold filled, no antiqued gold findings. Then I turned to an online supplier that I had purchased from previously. They had so many choices in a variety of styles that I wanted input from the bride to be to see if she had a preference. We finally settled on a dainty toggle with a leaf motif to complement the Czech glass leaf beads. Once these were ordered the only thing I still needed to know was sizing for the bracelets. After a bit of discussion back and forth, we decided to make two of them the same size with one a little longer.

Now it was time to sit down at my beading board and compose a design from the chosen materials that would look essentially the same in both lengths and put everything together. The twisted design allows for a bit of flexibility in sizing. While there is some twist already incorporated into the bracelets, it is possible to twist them a bit more, shortening them slightly before clasping them. I was very pleased to hear from the bride after the wedding that all three bracelets fit perfectly.

While this design came together through a couple of face to face meetings, it is not necessary to do so for me to design a custom piece for your needs. You can find several other “Design This” posts, using the "search this blog" widget, that describe my custom design process at a distance. Whether near of far, I’d be happy to discuss your custom design needs with you.

Design This – Carnelian n Pearl Bracelet

A couple of months ago, in another “Design This” post, I mentioned that my customer also had a bracelet project for herself in mind after I finished with her daughter’s jade and pearl necklace. During our discussions about the necklace, a few directions emerged for the custom bracelet order. My customer liked the tigers’ eye beads that she had seen, wanted to use some of her leftover pearls, liked carnelian and wanted the bracelet to be double stranded with an ornate clasp and gold plated findings.

Before I began a design, I took a photo of some of my carnelian and tigers' eye beads with a couple of pearls for size comparison so that my customer could let me know which ones she liked or disliked. (see photo #1) Next, I put together three different patterns with the beads that made the cut, along with the tigers’ eye beads and leftover pearls. (see photo #2)

While we were exchanging design ideas, I needed to locate a clasp and spacers for a double strand bracelet. Since I hadn’t made one before, I didn’t have these supplies on hand. I appreciate my customer having faith in my ability to tackle a new form. (I found the double strand bracelet to be a little more challenging to finish off than a single strand, due to the proximity of the second strand. I also had to be careful as the natural components had to be matched for size to keep both strands the same length. Other than that the process was essentially the same.)

When my supply order arrived, I strung up a design based on my customer’s feedback and sent a photo of it before finishing off the other end in case any adjustments to the design or length were needed. (see photo #3) The reply I received back was, “I really love it, can't wait to wear it.” With that, I finished off the other end so that I could get the finished bracelet off to my customer as soon as possible. (see photo #4)

Custom work is really gratifying when my customers are so thrilled with their orders. I also have to admit that this was the first custom piece that I was sorry that I hadn’t designed for myself, so I’m glad it was well received. Contact me if you are interested in discussing a custom design project.

Design This – Upcycled Jade n Pearl Necklace

What do you do with material from broken or outdated jewelry? You can recycle, repurpose and upcycle it into “new” fashionable jewelry that fits your current needs. This is exactly the charge that I was given by a recent customer.

My customer had some loose pearls from her mother’s necklace and an outdated double strand jade necklace. (See inset customer's photo in photo #1.) My instructions were to design a fashionable necklace for her daughter from these materials and any others that I thought would give the necklace a more contemporary look. The only other must have was to use 19 of the pearls in the design.

As with my other custom design orders, I took a photo of some possible designs and materials for my customer to give me feedback on. (See photo #1.) The feedback was to just use the jade and pearls that she had sent and surprise her with the design. She also mentioned that she loved the tiger’s eye beads and suggested that I might be able to use them in the bracelet that she wanted me to make for her. (I’ll share this project with you later.)

As I laid out the necklace, I took care to match the color and shape of the jade beads that would be across from each other. At first glance, they may look alike, but they varied by how the holes were drilled, their shape and length and color just enough that attention to these details would make a difference in the look of the finished necklace.

After I was happy with the design, I took a photo with all of the materials laid out, ready to string up the necklace if my customer liked it. (See photo #2.) I got the go ahead, so I assembled the materials into a “new”, upcycled necklace. (See photo #3) I had also had enough jade from one strand of the original double strand jade necklace for this project, that I was able to return it as an updated single strand necklace. At this point I still had some pearls and loose jade beads left. Since the daughter was going to have two new necklaces, I asked if she would like some earrings to go with them. Again, I gave a couple of design options to my customer and then assembled the winning one for a new set of earrings. (See inset in photo #3.)

So don’t rashly throw out that broken bracelet or dated necklace. Think about your current likes and see if they can become a new piece of recycled, repurposed and upcycled jewelry that you can cherish for years to come.

Design This - Custom Yellow Necklace

I have a friend that loves the color yellow. I thought of her after I had put together a necklace that included some pastel yellow gemstone teardrops. I sent her the link and though she liked it, it was not yellow enough for her, however she liked the thought of a custom yellow necklace. A week or so later while I was rummaging through my materials for inspiration, I noticed/remembered a variety of beads that I had picked up at different times that were a more intense yellow than the teardrops were. I took a photo of the beads(1) and sent them to my friend to see if they sparked her interest.

While she was pondering my offer, I decided that even if my friend didn’t want a necklace at this time, the colors in the beads would make a great necklace for accessorizing summer outfits, so I got to work on a design. I sent my friend a photo of this(2) before I strung up the beads. By this time my friend had an idea of what she wanted. She wanted to use the three types of beads from the first photo along with freshwater potato pearls. I put together a design and sent another photo(3). She suggested a small change which I made to one side of the necklace so the she could compare the two designs(4). This was a winner except that the necklace would now be a little longer than my friend wanted so I removed one bead from each end of the necklace for the final version and strung it up.

I enjoy sitting down with my assortment of beads and having the beads suggest a design like my most recent, summertime inspired, necklace and earring set. However, it is really gratifying to be able to fulfill a specific request for something that a customer is looking for. I look forward to my next design challenge.

Girls Gotta Have Pearls (June Birthdays)

Is there a special someone in your life in need of a special gift for her June birthday? If so, consider showing her how special she is by pampering her with pearl jewelry. After all, pearls are the birthstone of all June babies.

Pearls can be man-made, cultured or totally made by nature. Man-made pearls range from lower quality plastics to higher quality coated glass and shell beads. The process of producing cultured pearls was discovered about 100 years ago. Until this process became more widespread, the only pearls that many people could afford were man-made. Cultured pearls differ from totally nature made only in that a “seed” is intentionally introduced to the oyster (saltwater culture) or mussel (freshwater culture) instead of having the mollusk acquire one by chance in nature. The process of pearl farming has produced a more affordable supply of pearls for everyone.

I work with cultured freshwater pearls. I gravitate towards the lovely, undyed colors in white, cream, peach and lavender. Pearls make a statement on their own or pair well with, crystal, gemstones, coral, metal and glass beads. Find a special gift of pearls for your June birthday girl at edccollective.etsy.com or ask me to create a custom creation for you.