A Day With Jean

As a gift to Mummy for organising the wedding for me and Chris, we aarranged to have her spend the day with Jean Power in an intimate one on one lesson.  Mummy is amazing and said that I could join them too though!

It was utterly amazing!!!  She bought all her finished pieces along and we saw pretty much the entire contents of her gallery in real life, which was AMAZING!

We decided to choose three things and have a jam packed day of learning: Icos Pendant, Beaded Frames and the amazing Interlocking Crystals and it was outstanding how much we learned from her.  The wedding was the best day ever but this came a close second!

This is mine and Mummy's work for the day:

A wedding!

On Halloween, Chris and I got married.  It was the most wonderful day of my life:

He looked utterly spiffing in his 3 piece tweed suit, and I felt like a princess in my Georgette wedding dress. It could not have been more perfect. I wore pearls in my hair, made by Mummy:

 

 

My bridesmaids wore red satin and I made them a simple necklace and matching earrings using Swarovski Elements in Siam paired with Silver Duracoat Delicas:

My flower girls had silver bracelets with matching Swarovski Hearts dangling, but I forgot to take a photo of them because I'm an idiot!!!

Mummy's necklace was spectacular!  She bought a pattern from BeAdInfinitum called Starburst Galaxy and made it in Swarovski Pearls and made a few adaptations to make it perfectly perfect for the wedding:

How gorgeous is that??!!  She wore it with petrol blue silk and looked amazing!

All in all, we had a wonderful day and it was glorious bringing our craft into it - not least because it saved us plenty of pennies!

Mummy's Makes: Earrings Galore!

Mummy has been on a bit of an earring frenzy recently.  We wanted some cheaper, smaller items available in our Etsy shop because we both felt that we want to be more accessible to all purse sizes.  No matter what price we sell things for though, only sterling silver or gold fill ear hooks will suffice because who wants earrings that turn your ears green or itch like crazy by the end of the day?!

I had some Swarovski Heliotrope rivolis left over from my Necklace & Earrings Set so I gave them to Mummy and she concocted these gorgeously simple earrings adapting Jean Power's 3D Geometric Triangles to bezel the rivolis using silver duracoat seed beads!  Gorgeous!

These are some simple 14mm Swarovski emerald rivolis simply bezelled (again using silver duracoat seed beads), to let that rich green sing.

She also made a pair using gold seed beads and those delightful green AB 15s to add some interest to the rivolis.

Some gorgeous 16mm Swarovski Heliotrope rivolis simply bezelled using gunmetal seed beads.  I honestly can't believe the difference between these and the first ones in this post.  The heliotrope is really darkened and more indigo, whereas the ones at the top seem much more purple.

These cute little earrings were made using Swarovski Cosmic Squares in Crystal and some Swarovski pearls.  I love them and may have something similar for my wedding in October!

Again, Swarovski Cosmic Squares in Crystal but the Aqua AB delicas look almost denim coloured in daylight and make these earrings seem much more 'everyday war'.  I really love these for their chic simplicity.

A simplified version of her Crystal Triangle Earrings, I love these for the addition of the 2AB bicones at the corners of the triangles.  

And then finally this bad boy!  Rather than make a pendant for a necklace, Mummy decided that this Swarovski Golden Shadow stepped rectangle would make a perfect medal style brooch/lapel pin.  Of all the items she has made recently, I love this the most.  It is so unusual and so stylish that I almost wished I wore suits to work so I could make me one of these!

All of the above are available in our etsy shop.

Ultra Blue Swarovski Triangle Necklace

I've been making so much big jewellery recently that I fancied a bit of a change so I decided to make a pendant inspired by Jean Power's Heroine Necklace.  

This is what I've made.

I bought a 14mm Swarovski Ultra Blue rivoli and used Jean's method of bezelling (not sure I'll ever go back to doing it the old way to be honest!) and then had to figure out the maths to make the triangle even and integral to the bezel.  Lots of trial and error as maths really isn't my strong suit!I used silver duracoat delicas and silver duracoat seed beads in size 15.

The triangle didn't look great until I zipped the edges together and then it became a very solid and firm triangle.  In this shot you can see how I was inspired by the clasp of the Heroine necklace, although this one is solid, rather than being a tremendously clever three way clasp!

I left the back of the rivoli open so that light can travel through it and make it shine.  Also, I quite like the back being blue, rather than the usual silver or gold foil!

I added a very small and simple square stitched bezel and sewed it closed with the sterling silver chain in situ so that it was tight around the chain, not so tight that the chain won't move, but tight enough that it won't slide off the end when putting it on and taking it off.

I hope you like this simple necklace.  It is Available in my etsy shop here.

Swarovski Heliotrope Necklace & Earrings

I've been concentrating so much on geometric beadwork for the last few years, after being heavily influenced by the unbelievably fabulous Jean Power and the work she inspired for the Contemporary Geometric Beadwork community started by Kate McKinnon, that I recently felt like I needed a bit of a break from structurally impressive beadwork. I didn't start off with this necklace and earrings set in my head.  Originally I was going to make an asymmetric and bonkers necklace inspired by Jean's Marun Bracelet but as I was bezelling all the rivolis, my plan changed and  I decided to make something a lot more traditional and basic.  I needed some serious sparkles in my life and some old school Hollywood glamour! 

I chose silver duracoat delicas for the simple reason that I wanted the rivolis to take centre stage.  I did think about other colours, but wanted simplicity of form and background colour to fade so those rivolis really sang.

This is what I made:

It's an extraordinarily simple but uber glamorous necklace made using Swarovski Heliotrope rivolis in an assortment of sizes (from 12mm to 18mm), with a 27mm vintage Heliotrope Reverse Fancy Stone as the centrepiece.


I started by using Jean Power's obvious, but previously unthought of, method of bezelling smaller rivolis (soooo obvious now she's pointed it out here!)

It felt like a never-ending bezelling job!  Although I did find some Swarovski 2AB bicones in my stash that I had utterly forgotten about that went beautifully with the heliotrope rivolis.

I don't think I was even half way finished at this point!  (I also really need to do something about how messy my bead tray gets when I'm creating!)

Then came the moment to bead that gorgeous vintage Heliotrope Reverse fancy stone.  No picture can do justice to this bad boy!  It has some serious sparkle and the colour is just so intense.  I love it!

I started joining the rivolis using the bicones.  I used 3mm bicones round the back to join the 12mm rivolis and then switched to 4mm for all other sizes.

Halfway there and the threads are starting to be tamed!

I decided to use a sterling silver magnetic clasp on this necklace.  Mainly for aesthetics, but also I would be absolutely distraught if someone was wearing it and it got caught in something and ripped - it would be such a waste of a lot of work!

Look at all those rivolis!  Sparkles from every angle!

I enjoyed making the necklace so much I decided that I would make a pair of simple matching earrings.  I don't often make earrings - generally I find them too small and fiddly - but this time I knew that they would compliment the necklace perfectly.

One earring done...

And finally I made its match.  They're extraordinarily simple and pretty plain.  I really just wanted the rivolis and the bicones to do the talking.

It is available in my etsy shop here

Sparkles and Spikes Bangle

In my last post I teased a little...  I said that I'd made something similar but a little more bonkers...

Well here it is:

I call it Sparkles and Spikes and it just makes me laugh every time I look at it because it was such an unbelievable joy to bead! Horns, wings, rivolis suspended in mid-air? Yeah baby, it's got it all!   It's a bit of a bugger to photograph though!

As you can see, I kept the pallette pretty simple, using only silver lined crystal and silver lined smoke delicas to complement the Swarovski rivolis in black diamond.

Starting with a simple MRAW band of 84 units, I increased the plain silver mid section into horns with enough space between them for the rivolis to sit quite happily between them.  Then I turned my attention to the smoky wings and increased them just enough so that , using one of the beads in the bezel as the tip of the wing both top and bottom, the rivoli would hang there, away from the bangle.  I wanted them to be close to the tips of the horns but not quite as far out - mainly to give them a bit of protection but also so that the horns attack first!  Surprisingly, the wings are exactly half the number of rows as the horns, even though they look so very much shorter to me.

The inside of the bangle is nice and smooth on the inside.  It's pretty stiff and solid but squishes down just enough to get it over the hand - phew!

I do hope you like it and that it makes you laugh as much as me!

It is available in my Etsy shop here.

Golden Chocolate Rick Rack Bracelet

Oh my goodness it's been a while!  I didn't quite realise just how long it had been though!  Ooops...

Anyways, I have been incredibly busy with my needle, thread, beads and a smattering of Swarovski rivolis and am pleased to show you my latest bracelet:

As you can see, I used Jean Power's amazing Rick Rack pattern, started off by using the incredible Contemporary Geometric Beadwork MRAW start.  As this isn't the first Rick Rack bracelet I've done, I also made the Double Layer Rick Rack bracelet last year, I noticed that those delicious v shapes could be perfectly filled using Swarovski pear shaped crystals.  This got me thinking....

I used MRAW to bezel the Swarovski crystals (I used 18x13mm Pear Fancy Stones in Golden Shadow), which was surprisingly easy on the hands.  The stones didn't pop out or misbehave in any way whist I was beading - highly recommend using this method of bezelling!

I used delicas in Dark Bronze Matte and Galvanised Light Champagne Duracoat for the front.  I used the champagne for the ladders in the MRAW on the stones so decided to echo that in the main bracelet as well and then do a zigzag stripe of the gold to really draw those crystals into the design as a whole.

As you can see in this shot, the bracelet is double layered.  It could work single layered but I think that because I decided to use the bigger crystals, the body needed to be much more sturdy than a single layer.  I'm a tight beader and even one layer of rick rack is pretty strong but I really didn't want this bad boy to buckle over time with lots of wear! The reverse of the bracelet is just plain matte dark bronze as there was no need for there to be any ornamentation as it generally won't be seen.

It was finished with a simple gold slide clasp, the loops of which were securely attached and hidden inside the bracelet to give it a fully finished and sleek look.  

I must admit that I'm really proud of how well this bracelet turned out.  It sits really closely to the wrist (well, mine anyway!) and looks quite chic and elegant - not my usual style at all! It is exactly what I imagined when I first put needle and thread to beads - that never happens! I hope you like it too.

It is available in my etsy shop here.

I've also finished another bangle that's along these lines but a teeny touch more bonkers - I'll blog it soon!

Mummy's Crystal Triangle Earrings

Once again, Mummy is the creator behind the pieces in this post (I really need to get more beading time in!).

Inspired by the most marvellous Jean Power and the triangles she is famous for, Mummy decided that she wanted to see if she could use the triangles as a bezel in which to hide some delicious little Swarovski rivolis.  Of course, she couldn't stop at the making of one pair of earrings, so made three!

How sweet are these gorgeous little earrings?!  Unfortunately, the light was rubbish (blooming England in Winter) so you can't get the full delight that these earrings are.  The back side is a simple triangle and then decreased around the front, using 3mm rounds at each point, which helps stop the rivoli wriggling about in it's triangular cocoon, and then sparklied up with a picot edge in 15s.  I love this set in gunmetal and steel with the smoky grey rivoli.  Very me!

Isn't it strange how a different colour can change the whole look of a piece?!  The exact same pattern as above, just with shades of pink yet they look so delicate and girly and definitely not something that I'd wear (sorry Mummy!).

And then again, with black and dark red.   These look quite gothy compared with the more industrial gunmetals and the girly pinks.  I love them!

 like how the rivoli is completely encapsulated at the back, reducing the risk of the point being knocked off and ruining the whole earring. Also, how different these earrings look just with a change of colour.  It always astonishes me that colour plays such a huge part in the whole feel of a piece, even something as small as a pair of earrings.  I shouldn't be so surprised but because I'm rubbish and generally have my go to colours, I always am!  If Mummy had just shown me the pink set, I would have been impressed with the construction, but never in a million years thought they were my bag, yet the exact same earring in the gunmetal and steel may simply have to find their way into my jewellery box!

My Sister's 40th

Last year my big sister turned 40 (although she looks in her 20s, the cow!).  I decided to make her a little something special for her birthday present.  Something that she could wear to posh parties as a set or earrings for when she wanted to sparkle only a little.

Unfortunately I don't have a better picture than this so I'll have to talk you through what I did.

First of all, my sister is a gorgeous brunette with the most dazzling brown eyes that range from almost amber in some lights, to deep chocolate it others.  She loves gold so I decided that the base colour should be Metallic Earth Batik Gold Iris (DB1010), using purple iris Charlottes as the detail and the stones are Swarovski in Amethyst. 

First I bezelled the stones with the delicas and the charlottes.  Around the large stone I "stitched in the ditch" to add an extra round of peyote and then a simple picot edge with the charlottes before adding a very simple bail and suspending it on what has to be my most perfect herringbone rope ever!

The earrings were simply bezelled and then hung on solid gold ear wires.  No frills around the edge so that she could wear the earrings with anything and so that they didn't distract too much from the large oval stone necklace.


It's simple and understated but I like it and I know she does too.

Sabine Lippert's La Fleur Bracelet

I've done a Sabine Lippert pattern before (her Sweet Hearts pattern - these earrings beaded by Mummy) and found them easy to read and thought I'd give myself a bit of a challenge for a Christmas gift for one of my staff.  After much deliberation (and I mean lots - Staff 3 is a delicate young thing and is girly in ways that I'm just not so this was a massive challeng!) I decided upon Sabine's La Fleur Bracelet (found in her book Beaded Fantasies).  As I've never really made anything like this, and Staff 3 is a delicately coloured redhead I played it safe and used turquoise and bronze as the colourway.

The bracelet is made up of these darling little flowers made with 8mm Swarovski chatons (an absolute bugger to source in this country!) and tiny 3mm Swarovski bicones, with mainly size 15 seed beads!  I've put a 50p next to the flower so you can see how small these blighters really are!

I made what seemed like a bazillion of the flowers - each one with thread left on, as you can see in the picture, with which you do the most sublime links with (Sabine really does take care that even the bits of the work you don't see are as beautiful as the bits you do).

Then it came to joining them together and working out if I needed to do another flower or if it was long enough.  The pattern calls for 9 flowers (if I remember correctly), but Staff 3 is a tiny little thing so she needed only 8 flowers.  Which is a good thing as I'm not much of a component maker - I get bored!

The finished bracelet.

All in all, it was a nice make.  Not difficult by any stretch of the imagination, just blooming fiddly!  I think I got through 2 or 3 needles per flower, and definitely needed my pliers on more than one occasion for pulling the needle through.  It was a complete change of direction for me, the instructions were clear and concise and Sabine explains things very simply. It's not something I would wear, but I think it looks lovely on Staff 3 and I know that she likes it, which is what is important in a gift after all!  I did buy another colour of chatons and matching bicones that would go with steel/gunmetal seed beads but I think it'll be a long old while before I make this pattern again.  Life is far too short to repeat the same patterns when there are so many to try, as well as so many ideas in my own head!