Indian summer at the door!

It's already autumn outside... the grass is getting yellow... the leaves turn to red, brown and yellow... Some people can say, the nature is dying, I say it's falling asleep, and it makes us enjoy with its fantastic, cheerful and festive colors - Indian summer at the door!


When the sun rises, autumn colors flash out showing fall beauty, and water drops after night rain sparkle like diamonds! I like this season, and once I've already created the Autumn Splendor Necklace. This year the spring was pretty long and cold - but the fall is warm and beautiful, that's why I returned to the autumn theme.


Remembering my Tropical Blossom Necklace, I decided to use Swarovski pendants again, and that brought me to Artbeads.com. My husband said, "Good choice!" I have no idea what he meant, whether Artbeads.com or beautiful pendants they sell. In general, it doesn't matter, I found out what I was looking for.


I received red magma, olivine, light topaz, and copper Swarovski crystal pendants, and bought silk ribbons of bright autumn colors at the closest craft shop. Appropriate Czech glass teardrop and leaf accent beads, and TOHO 15/0 yellow and green seed beads should have been good much to my staff.


I wrapped up memory wire blank necklace and used it as the base of my piece, and embellished it with Czech beads; then I wound it with bead strings and made fringes with crystal pendants. The last touch was the brass leaf closure. The necklace could be named Autumn Wreath, but I call it Indian Summer, because Indian summer is outside!

Disclosure. Being a reviewer of Artbeads.com products and a participant of its blogging program I received Swarovski crystal pendants free of charge. This post reflects my honest opinion; and Artbeads.com is not compensating me for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received and reviewed.

Hot copper warms me up!

Is it Russia? Is it Siberia? Oh, no! That's Alexandria, VA, on February 6. In D.C. metro area a snowstorm totals around 1.5 to 2 feet are common, with some places up to and past 30" or 36". Unbelievable! And I'm glad, that these severe days I'm warmed up with the stuff I received from from Artbeads.com.


For sure, Valentine’s Day beads and components can make happy any beadworker because of coming holiday, but copper elements did warm me up this weekend when I worked!

Don't wonder please, as a focal of my first copper necklace I used Copper Heart Toggle Clasp; and I added a mix of copper beads, bright and dark copper color seed beads, copper coins from oriental countries, jasper donuts and leopard skin jasper rounds, some other elements, and I'm done! Hot Copper Mix Necklace is ready.


Close-up of Hot Copper Mix Necklace.


The focal of my second necklace is a regular Copper Heart Shaped Leaf Pendant; Delica beads and teardrop beads with AB coating were a nice addition, they helped me create Copper Heart Leaf Necklace.


Close-up of Copper Heart Leaf Necklace.

Disclosure. Being a reviewer of Artbeads.com products and a participant of its blogging program I received all Copper Heart components free of charge. This post reflects my honest opinion; and Artbeads.com is not compensating me for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received and reviewed.

Russian Pendants

The story with The Dream by Pablo Picasso will continue! Last week I bought seven more Russian pendants!


Birthday, by Marc Chagall


The Painter: To the Moon, by Marc Chagall


Judith, by Gustav Klimt


The Kiss, by Gustav Klimt


The Virgins, by Gustav Klimt


Winter, by Alfons Mucha


Renaissance - Mask Your Face

Picasso's Dream Necklace

Not in a couple of days, but the necklace with the Russian pendant featuring The Dream by Picasso is finished! It was a pleasure to play with colors and texture. I decided not to round angles you can see in my previous post on the base of my necklace, because the pendant is rectangular and I wanted to keep the common shapes. I've tried to use the same colors as on the miniature, but without big bright spots, just to accent the beauty of the pendant. By the way, I used in my work seed beads I bought on sale at Artbeads.com. I hope people will like my new beadwork. Thank you, Artbeads.com!


Here is the finished necklace live, I mean here is how it looks on. It seems to be pretty, and my model looks great wearing the necklace. Top secret: this girl is also Russian!

Incorporating Art

Once I've already written, that I added Artbeads.com to my list of on-line stores where I buy jewelry supplies. Surfing that website for some interesting things in June, I noticed the word "Russian". Hmmm... I wondered, what about Russia and Russians was there? I opened a page - OMG! Try to imagine: I found pendants replicated portions of famous paintings from artists such as Chagall, Mucha, Klimt, Botticelli, Matisse and Picasso, handpainted by Russian artisans! These Russian pendants feature just a small piece of the whole paintings, but in doing so, the essence of the artistry is captured!


For sure, my customers and I would love to wear a true piece of art with one of these gorgeous masterpieces, and I grabbed one pendant featuring The Dream by Picasso, first of all because I'm a fan of Picasso's talent. It doesn't mean I don't like the artworks of Chagall or Klimt, but The Dream reminds me of the traditional Russian folk art - Palekh lacquer miniatures.

The backing of the pendant is a piece of black onyx, and the pendant is drilled from top to bottom. It's great for a wide range of stringing opportunities but not for beadweaving. If we had those pendants drilled on top from side to side, it would add much more opportunities for beadworkers. Anyway, I found how I can incorporate a piece of art into my jewelry piece! I haven't finished my beadwork yet, it's in process, we'll see the result in a couple of days...

Purple Tulip, aka started wire wrapping again - SOLD

After a few months of abstinence from wire wrapping, here my next piece. My fingers were itching to do something, so I came up with this pendant. It's really beautiful, I couldn't capture it with the camera properly. I guess it's time to get myself a new camera as well...

Gorgeous amethyst briolette hanging from a sterling silver pendant. Size is ~ 3.5x3.5cm (~1.5 inch). Comes with the silver chain in the picture, and of course, free shipping all around.

I tried Artbeads.com

I understand that jumping from one media to another, from one style to another, or even from one supplier to another is not in favor of my business, but I cannot sometimes resist if I see something unusual and interesting, and want to try new materials and beading supplies. Recently my attention was attracted by canvas on wood pendant from Artbeads.com. I found a lot of such pendants, but the red-almost-black seemed to me the best one.

Though I've never used such pendants I decided to play with that one, moreover I had in my trunk matching polymer clay beads (I made them a few years ago but had no idea where to use them) and bright red coral beads. Carmen! That's the name of my future necklace that came to me! I was a simple string, that I accented it with the narrow golden ribbon.


In a couple of days I continued my research, and created another version of Carmen: the same polymer clay and coral beads, and seed beads. I decided to let the strings go where they want, and it turned out to be a free-form necklace.


I guess, my first try of pendants from Artbeads.com is successful, it was great to play with colors and materials to focus the pendant! The only thing I don't like is that the silver-color bail doesn't match the pendant color palette, yellowish bail would be better I think.

Cyprus silver pendant - SOLD

A few weeks ago while on holidays, I went with hubby to the beach (in Paphos area, if anyone has been in Cyprus, will know where it is), for the particular reason of collecting rocks and pebbles for tumbling and cabbing. We came home with over 5 kg of rocks. It was really a fun day.
Among all those many rocks, I found this small stone which I'm not yet sure what it is. It's either goldstone, or reddish serpentine (I've only seen yellow, brown and green serpentine until now). I've asked around, if I find out what it is, I'll post here. It was such a sweet stone, and just the right type, sort of oval, that I decided to cab it. So this is not only cabbed and wrapped by myself, but also collected by me (or by hubby, lol). Talk about 100% handmade and 100% Cyprus item!
Free shipping and silver chain included!

28 Euros

Mushroom Jasper pendant

I'm quite proud of this piece as it's one that I actually cabbed from a small slab a friend in the US sent me, and then wrapped it as well. It's looking quite cool if you ask me (yeah yeah blowing my own horn here :p )
It's a mushroom jasper (or so I've been told, but from the looks of it, the name really fits) which got quite a nice shine to it while cabbing.
As usual it comes on a sterling silver chain and with free shipping all over the world.

28 Euros

Byzantine and herringbone

I was busy the whole week with this byzantine necklace, a piece on commision. Now hope they will actually buy it :)
Sterling silver with a gorgeous clasp bought on Etsy. AR 3.5 on 1mm wire.
I love the byzantine, it's a timeless beautiful weave which is gorgeous either on its own, or with beads in between. This piece took me pretty much the whole week as I had hundreds of silver rings to cut.

Tonight, after all this chainmail, I wanted to do something entirely different, but still something in my comfort zone. So I picked the herringbone weave, which I love so much. The beads are goldstone, they sparkle so much in the light, they're simply gorgeous. For the first time since I make herringbone, I've used thicker wire for wrapping, it has quite an interesting effect. I might use it again for larger beads.

Cloisonne silver pendant

I bought recently this gorgeous cloissonne heart from Etsy and I was dying to do something with it.So I've wrapped it lightly in sterling silver and added two little Bali style cloissone beads hanging from it.
The colors are really strong and vibrating, I really love this one. Simple but beautiful.
If interested, you can find it in my shop.

A few more jewelry things

I've been busy yesterday and today. Love it when my creative 'juices' are flowing. Sadly only during the weekend when I'm rested and I have the whole day ahead of me...
Pendant uses a lampwork bead made by an Etsy artist, and it is wrapped in sterling silver. Really small one, hubby liked it (he prefers the smaller ones usually).


Second is a herringbone weave set I made today in sterling silver. I wanted too much to oxidize it but I was afraid. Nevertheless I said if it won't come out nicely, then I won't sell it and just keep it for myself. But I think the result is quite nice. LOS'ed it, then polished the heck out of it with the steel wool, and then put it (actually them) in the tumbler. I've also made a pendant but I still have to take a picture of it. Will do it tomorrow.

Learning to border wrap a pendant

I am learning wire sculpture and in all the pieces at least the main stone needs to be wrapped secured around. I've played around already with Remy's style of setting, and now I decided to try the 'other' border wrap, where the wires have a nice slits in the middle, I like this style so much better. Plus it used much less square (of half-square) wire, of which I hardly have, as I have to order this type of wire from the internet. Expensive!
Stone is turquoise jasper, a very soft stone as I've sadly noticed today. Wire is all sterling silver. I've found that setting the stone this way is so much more secure and it gets shaped somehow easier too. I will do more like this and then attempt again the wire sculpture pendants.

If interested, you can find it in my shop. Looks like it's one of the most viewed, pinned and added as fan items in my shop :)