If you didn't catch it in the other thread, by the way, I did receive your gift and it was perfect and very thoughtful of you. I still have both, it was a nice sentiment to send me one to give to someone else, but, well I read more than one book at a time so I have need for more than one bookmark.
Anyway, I finally got some of my pictures downloaded from the digital camera. Here is the pic of the bookmarks, I know it's hard to make out details. The one on the far left has a dragon charm, the one in the middle has a charm that says "imagine" on it, and the charm on the far right, with the pink and green is a unicorn.
Also, here are some of my earrings that I made this year, I know the color isn't great, but it was hard to get a good shot of them. The ones on the left with the black hearts, the beads are turquoise I got from a broken necklace. The middle pair are blue/white ceramic beads with indigo cats eye and a small blue crystal, and the final pair is a ceramic bead with plum and metallic gold accents, plum crystals and a small pearl. The findings are all stainless steel lever backs with a shell accent.
I am loving the whole jewelry creation thing, and I'm doing more and more. It's addictive. I'm now trying to find good sources of swarovski crystals on the internet because I love their sparkle and how they can be fit into almost any design, and yet I hate the priciness of them in the craft stores.
Edit: changed the links to Flickr - someone tell me if they can see them now, please.
[ January 01, 2006, 05:02 PM: Message edited by: Belle ]
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Bummer, I can't get into the links Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Oh no! They're yahoo photos.
Posted by Theaca (Member # 8325) on :
I keep signing in but that doesn't seem to make the photos appear.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
I signed in, but I can't see them, either.
-pH
Posted by Valentine014 (Member # 5981) on :
I hear Flickr is a nice place...
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
Did you make the albums public, Belle?
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
okay, I can take a hint. I'll move them to Flickr. Give me a minute.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
I thought I'd made them public, kq. I know I made the Flickr album public, so hopefully it works now.
Posted by Boon (Member # 4646) on :
Yes, very, very pretty.
Posted by MandyM (Member # 8375) on :
Belle, the pics are working now. Your work is just beautiful! You should set up an online store or something! Wow!
And since you were looking for crystals, this might be a good source.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Thanks, MandyM. You're sweet, but my work is extremely amateur! I'm still trying to perfect the whole triple wire-wrap, in fact if you look close at those pictures you can see that in the middle pair of earrings, one bead has a decent wrapped loop but the other doesn't. That's the mark of a beginner, for sure!
But, I'm practicing, and getting better. The main thing is that I can make earrings for myself, that I like, and it helps to be able to buy nice clothing that's somewhat plain and dress it up with jewelry. By making it myself I can afford to have several matching sets - necklace, earrings, and bracelets to go with just about every outfit I own. So that's my goal, just to make stuff that I like, and for gifts, and to have fun.
One thing I've only done a little of so far is recycling old jewelry. My mother gave me access to some of her old stuff that had broken clasps and such and I just removed the findings and re-strung it with new ones, or I've completely dismantled it and harvested the beads, like I did with that turquoise. Which I don't think was real turquoise, anyway, but it's still pretty. I'm thinking of hitting thrift stores and estate sales and buying up old jewelry like that, maybe I can get hold of some good stuff that way.
Posted by larisse (Member # 2221) on :
Belle, Love the earrings, especially the pink ones. Very, very pretty. Don't worry about the wrapping. I've been doing that for over a year, and I still mess up. It all depends on the hardness of the wire and your tools. A flatnose and a round nose work great. I was told to hold with your dominant hand and twist with the other. I thought that was a bit counter-intuitive, but the woman who told me this has been doing it for decades. She does mostly pendants, which is something I've only attempted once with humerous results. Well... it was funny to me anyways. I tend to wrap with whichever hand is holding the flat-nose.
Look on Ebay for some good deals. I don't use crystals in my work, but I've seen some very nice beads on Ebay.
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
ooooh, sparklies! Very nice work Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Beautiful work, both of you!
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
larisse, can you link to some pics of your stuff? Anybody else have some beading to share? I love looking at what others are doing.
Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
Those are very nice, Belle. I really like the dragon bookmark and the one next to it. In the earrings, the hearts are my favorite.
I find wire wrapping to be a bit challenging, myself. The earrings I made, I just did with a closed loop at the top instead of actually wrapping the wire, but I used headpins and didn't have enough wire left over to wrap with.
I'm glad you got the bookmarks. I've been wanting to send you something and thought they were something you could use. Happy New Year. Posted by desta (Member # 8777) on :
Those bookmarks look beautiful. Belle, can you tell me how you made them? I would love to give it a try. One thing confuses me... It looks like there is beading on only one end of the bookmark? Is that correct? If so, what keeps the bookmark from falling out. I'm one that is constantly on the go, so I often grab my book(s) as I'm running out the door. If the one end is more weighted (due to the beading), what keeps it from slipping out form between the pages?
Your insight would be great!!
Posted by larisse (Member # 2221) on :
I'd like to know where the dragon charm came from?
Oh, and here are my photos.
Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
Wow larisse, those are beautiful. Very elegant. I especially liked "Leaves Falling" and "Peruvian Waterfalls". Nice work!
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
desta, they're beaded on both ends. IN the pictures, the two ends are being brought together to show off the beading. The book thongs that Karl sent to me are plenty long enough for a full sized hardcover book with quite a bit of tail hanging, they're probably long enough for the average textbook.
And I should probably take pictures of mine and link them here too...
Posted by larisse (Member # 2221) on :
Thanks, KarlEd. Those two were some of the first pieces I made. I think I just did the small hook at the top for the wire work in the waterfalls piece. Now, I do the wrap around. I am currently practicing the wrap around to make a little cap on the briolettes. I have one success, but it took a lot of wire.
Ahhh.... we have a talented bunch of folks here. We could so open our own market.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
larisse, very, very nice! Excellent craftmanship. I like them all, in fact as I saw them I was saying to myself "That would look so good with my teal skirt set and my boots."
That's the ultimate compliment to an artisan, I think - if I can see myself wearing it, then hey, it's nice.
I love natural stones, I really want to get some Botswana agate and make it the focal piece in a necklace and then make some earrings to match. I also love amethyst, especially in the raw, rougher forms rather than all nicely faceted and polished. I think the natural looking materials make a piece more alive, it has more personality because it's not perfect, there's room for the unique, the organic in it.
I also covet your display, you have a talent not only for making jewelry but for displaying it. I love the addition of the shells.
The dragon came from Artbeads.com. I really liked him. He had personality. The person I gave him to was very, very happy with him.
Posted by larisse (Member # 2221) on :
Thanks, Belle. I agree about the compliment.
Hmmm... some Botswana Agate. I'll see if I can find some for you. I made a necklace out of that awhile back that had the loveliest shades of gray and pink.
Oh, I know about Artbeads.com. I've just never checked on their charms before. I usually use them for sterling silver beads. They have some of the best prices for stardust silver beads out there. Can't beat the shipping cost either. Oh, have you been to Bluemud.com? They have some great silver charms and pendants there. When I first started making necklaces with seed beads, I would get most of my charms from there.
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
It's addictive. I'm now trying to find good sources of swarovski crystals on the internet because I love their sparkle and how they can be fit into almost any design, and yet I hate the priciness of them in the craft stores.![[Frown]](frown.gif)