Today's Necklace--decisions, decisions

I need to make ten of the same necklace for a future press gifting event. I was playing around with some ideas and took these pic along the way. I wanted to use these pale blue jade beads I got at the San Diego bead faire. When I was adding the chain components, it looked very simple and sweet. 

I wanted the piece to have an edgier feel so I decided to add some pyrite in gunmetal to the other side. 

I could have left this just like a chain but I wanted to see what a pendant would look like. 

Hmmmmmm pearl? That always looks classic and elegant. But not too edgy. Pyrite??

I decided to go with the cool shaped pyrite bead stacked with a silver spacer and a silver toned pyrite. The finished necklace looks like this. Would you be happy to receive this as a gift? 

Easy DIY Teapot Necklace--no skills required.

Today, I wanted to post a necklace I "made" over the weekend.  I put "made" in quotes because really, what I did was walk into the craft store in search of a storage container, meandered onto the beading section, saw an impossibly cute package of tea themed charms and bought them.

I suppose this would look terrific on a charm bracelet or something more complicated but all I did was buy a16 inch sterling silver chain. The simplest one.

That was it. I put the teapot on the chain and viola. The perfect necklace for me. Why? Because I drink a lot of tea. I love tea. Its my go to drink. There's a cute tea cup in this package. That may be necklace number two.

Perhaps next time you  are at the craft store you will walk over to the beading section, find a charm/pendant you like and put it on a simple chain. I saw some adorable Alice in Wonderland ones, I saw Acorns for Wendy lovers from Peter Pan, I saw hearts, turtles, fish, dragons, and so much more! 

What an incredibly inexpensive way to make custom gifts for your friends!

I feel guilty posting this as a DIY.  But maybe someone will make a necklace seeing this post and have that "AHA that's so easy I could totally do that" moment :)

Happy snowy Monday.

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Dreaming of Summer and Working with Turquoise

Saturday means piano at 9:30, tennis at 11 and now, acting classes at 1pm. Here I sit for hours waiting for both boys to learn the fundamentals of acting. My two future Keanu Reeves? I'm trying to think of other half asian male actors....

And it's cold. Just cold. So I hunker down with my hot tea in my hot cup and my travel beading bag. 

Today, I've decided to work with turquoise. It's making me think of warm days, white t-shirts and summer jewelry. 

I oxidized some 26 gauge silver wire to make it black. I thought that would look nice against the smooth but uneven shaped stones. After starting, the 24 or even 22 gauge may have been better bc the 26 is thin and hides into the holes of the beads but it's subtle and I like it. 

I got about 10 inches done in the lobby of the acting school and now that I'm home, I'm thinking about clasps and a possible pendant to dangle off the clasp. 

Because the beads are large, a hook is probably easier than a toggle. So, I lay out my options. 

Left to right my options are

-baroque silver pearl 

-baroque cream pearl 

-a large moonstone

-pale pink tear drop shaped pearl 

The sizes are roughly the same so I think at this point, it's personal preference. 

Not sure what I'll pick just yet. 

This is a peek into my process :) 

And this is the final finished product 

Can't wait for warmer weather. :)

Here is me wearing my new turquoise necklace with a summery top.