Andrea's Random Lil' Blog

The La Sirena necklace...

2009-01-06T13:01:00.003Z

"Sirena" is an Italian word that means "Mermaid". I was once again inspired by the South of Italy, and the blue waves and swirls of an imaginary sea where mermaids might certainly be found.

For La Sirena I used...

- One silver-foiled long Murano focal bead with aqua swirls;
- Six medium Amazonite beads that I brought from Brasil last time;
- Four long Czech glass creamy aqua beads;
- Ten Czech crackled glass aqua rondelles;
- Several Swarovski bicones in different sizes;
- Six lovely but very fragile fluorite beads;
- Two round silver-foiled aqua Murano beads in the same design as the focal one;
- Stardust silver-plated round spacers (between the fluorites) and Silver Heishi spacers between the Amazonites;
- Two elliptical silver-plated beads;
- Several tiny silver-lined Czech glass beads;
- Silver-plated Tibetan clasp with a complimentary design.

Some close-ups, as usual...

The focal Murano bead...

One of the round Murano beads, also with the swirls (or spirals) as in the main bead, and the fluorites. These are of a lovely, extremely pale shade of green/blue, almost clear. Actually, the colour is barely detectable. As I mentioned before, they are very breakable and fragile, so, extra care is required when handling this necklace. However, that must be said of ANY glass necklace - not only this one! Between the fluorites, you can have a peek of the stardust tiny balls and, immediately underneath, the aqua crackled Czech rondelles, intertwined with some Swarovski bicones.

A detail of the Amazonite beads, flat Heishi spacers and one of the Tibetan silver beads in the shape of a tiny rose and surrounding the focal piece. And on the right, a close-up of the clasp, which has pretty much the same design as the Murano main pieces and would represent the waves , erm, quite well... No?... I also added some rose beads to the ends of the wire and before the clasps. I think it gives a nice finishing touch and reinforces the structure as well.

The Kaeru no Uta necklace...

2009-01-04T23:55:00.011Z

The necklace I made today is called Kaeru no Uta, which, in Japanese, means "Frog Song". I made it mostly because my Mother LOVES frogs, and I managed to put my hands on some really lovely Chinese lampwork pendant beads, with super-cute frogs over a leaf. They are very delicate though, and should be handled with extra care.

In Japanese though, Kaeru not only means "frog", but is also a verb, meaning "to return". So, little ceramic frogs tucked inside your purse are meant to bring good luck, and a safe return home. Or even, money! In that sense, they are somehow linked to things or people coming back to their places of origin, even if only by a simple play on the words. It is said that if you have a frog around, it will indeed bring the good things back: friends, money, and so on...

Frogs are also linked to the Summer, and the rainy season in Japan.

Here is my Kaeru no Uta:

For this necklace I have used:

- One Chinese lampwork focal bead in the shape of a leaf with a cute frog grabbing it;
- Small Red Sea coral beads;
- Two big jade beads and two medium ones;
- Several aqua and dark green with black stripes dragon vein beads;
- Some few blue goldstone beads;
- Tiny red Swarovksi bicones;
- Six vintage Czech fire round beads with blue opalescence;
- Tiny faceted Czech fire beads in metallic, iridescent shades;
- Small gold-plated and bronze-plated stardust spacers;
- Antique gold bead caps and clasp in the shape of a leaf.

Follow some close-ups...

On the 1st picture a detail of the lampwork pendant. Note the back of the frog has some gold foil speckles, very pretty and delicate. His tiny toenails are painted blue, which may be the tendency for Spring-Summer, no? You can also see the two small Red Sea coral beads that I used as an accent. Between them, I placed two stardust balls, in order to support the pendant and cover the wire. But they are not visible.

In the middle picture, the green dragon veins (teal and dark green) are visible, along with one jade bead at the top (light green) and the blue sandstone beads. These beads have a light golden dust effect that is not quite visible in the picture, pretty much as if they were oiled and then submerged into gold/copper powder. Goldstone is actually a man-made gemstone, not natural, and produced by adding copper salts to glass, inside a furnace. These salts (copper) are responsible for its star-shine characteristic. The gold-plated bead caps can also be seen here.

On the 3rd one, a detail of the tiny Czech fire faceted beads, and right underneath, three of the Vintage round Czech beads. The red bicones, one coral bead and some of the stardust spacers are also visible.

On the left, detail of the back of the lampwork pendant and two of the coral beads, along with those lovely blue toenails! And, on the right, two big jade beads and some of the others (goldstone, dragon veins, coral).

On the left, we have another view of the different Czech beads I used, the small stardust spacers, coral beads and Swarovski bicones. On the right, a detail of the leafy antique gold clasp and some of the stardust spacers I used in both ends.

And, to end this post, a view of the back of the necklace, showing the lampwork pendant and also the back of the clasp...

The Ryu necklace...

2009-01-03T00:43:00.003Z

I made this necklace tonight, really excited about the ojime beads. This time, it is also a round one, but with a lovely Dragon carved. For this reason I called it Ryu, which means "dragon" in Japanese.

For Ryu, I used:

- The ojime focal bead;
- Several Swarovski bicones in different sizes and shades of red and clear beige;
- Four Chinese golden cloisonée beads;
- Two glass pearls wrapped in golden mesh;
- Four Japanese wooden beads;
- Some Czech fire faceted small beads and Chinese glass pearls in powdered almond;
- Antique gold spacers, bead caps (only for the ojime) and S-hook clasp.

Here are the close-ups:

On the 1st picture, we can see a detail of the ojime bead, measuring less than 1 inch and very detailed. A little dragon with scales and beady eyes! The bead caps are also visible, as well as the copper crimps I used to prevent them from running while working on it, and which also compliment the overall look and colours. On the 2nd one, a detail of the new S-hook clasp, antique gold (plated), and very easy to handle.

On the left, you can see a detail of two of the cloisonnée beads used, the faux peral with mesh wire, some Swarovski bicones and Czech faceted crystals and another small glass pearl, almond-coloured in the right upper corner. On the right, another detail of the cloisonnée beads and Swarovski bicones.

The Chuu-chuu necklace!

2009-01-02T19:29:00.002Z

Happy New Year! My 1st post for 2009! Holidays have been hectic, as they are supposed (and expected) to be, and I did not have much time for posting or making necklaces. But I will re-start today, and hope to make much more nice things in 2009!

Today's necklace was more or less based on my previous Mori. I almost called it Mori 2, but then I looked at the focal bead and it was so cute that I changed my mind immediately. It is an Ojime bead in box wood, with little mice and leaves carved in. I even thought I might call it Mori no Nezumi (Forest Mice), but then again, I thought it might require a cuter name.

Then I came up with Chuu-chuu. "Chuu-chuu" is the Japanese onomatopoeic word for the sound mice make (which I think of as being "kee-kee"!). Also, it has to do with the little bat in the animated series "Rosario + Vampire", who always makes that squeaky sound at the end of the episodes or, well... Whenever he wants to, really!

The main piece here is the central box wood Ojime bead, which is hand carved and inspired by the ancient Japanese ojime beads - which were mostly made of ivory years ago (long before the ban). These beads are intended to work along with netsuke and inro boxes, as a way to hang items to the kimono sash (or obi). The inro boxes are the equivalent of mini-pouches/pochettes, where you would carry cosmetics, tobacco, money etc. They would hang from silk braids attached to the obi or obijime. The Ojime beads would help to keep the silk braid intact, so it would not frail. The netsuke, in the other hand, would close off the end of the silk cord.

Here is a detail of my ojime...

It is indeed very detailed and intricate, measuring no more than 1 inch. The eyes of the little mice have tiny beads embedded, as you can see here, very lovely.

For Chuu-chuu I have used as well:

- One focal Ojime bead as I babled about before!
- Swarovski bicones and round beads in Dorado. The round ones can be seen in the above picture, surrounding the Ojime;
- Six medium-sized jade beads;
-Two medium-sized dragon veins rondelles;
- Two green-striped round agate beads;
- Four small jade rondelles surrounding two flat oval dragon veins in shades of green-black;
- Six smooth round amazonite beads;
- Brown Czech faceted small beads;
- Some few gold-plated round small spacers and antique gold toggle clasp in a lovely flowery (leafy?) shape.

Some close-ups:

On the 1st picture, a close-up of the clasp I used and some of the gold-plated spacers. In the centre, you can see one of the oval dragon vein beads, a small jade rondelle, the green-stripe agate and part of a dragon vein rondelle. On the 3rd picture, a detail of the lovely Amazonite beads, in shades of blue, green, yellow, beige. All very earthy.

On the left, you can have a detail of the green-striped agate ball and the Swarovski bicones, and also one of the dragon vein rondelles. And, on the right picture, the bicones once again, placed between the jade beads.

And, to finalise this post tonight, the Chuu bat from Rosario + Vampire. Note one of his functions is to cover any shots of the girls' pantsu (aka, panties!)...

The Mizu no Hana necklace...

2008-12-23T21:31:00.002Z

This is a green necklace, or rather a blue-green one. I decided to call it Mizu no Hana, or "Water Flower", flower from the water. Another necklace of Japanese inspiration. When working on it, I thought about lotus flowers, pearls and a peaceful, Zen-like, Japanese landscape.

I have used for Mizu no Hana:

- One green aventurine carved rose;
- Two large green crystal pearls and two medium ones;
- Several Swarovski bicones and two round Swarovski faceted beads;
- Rice-shaped dark green freshwater pearls;
- Czech dark green iridescent bugles;
- Tibetan silver clasp;
- Silver-plated round spacers and bead caps.

Some close-ups:

On the left, we can see the back of the carved rose, where I had to use two cloudy jade beads to hide the wire, as well as one crimp to keep the beads from running while working on it. On the right, one of the big pearls is visible, along with a very ornate silver-plated bead cap, with garlands of flowers, very pretty. Swarovski bicones of different colours, silver-plated spacers, Czech bugles and one jade bead are also visible here...

On the left, a detail of the jade beads, some Swarovski bicones and small filigree silver-plated caps. The other picture shows the lovely fresh water pearls and some of the small silver spacers.

And a final view of the necklace -rolled-up, the way I like!

The Strega necklace...

2008-12-17T01:45:00.003Z

I made another necklace tonight. I was dying to use some of my new dragon veins beads. Then I remembered that Mark once said I should make something really gothic, very, very dark. Dragon veins are ideal for that kind of thing due to their variety of colours and a very peculiar texture that really resembles a reptile's skin. Or indeed the veins of some magical beast.

I decided to call it Strega (which means "Witch", in Italian). I also had in mind some books by Carlo Ginzburg, Italian historian, notably the brilliant "Ecstasies. Deciphering the Witches' Sabbath", which I read years ago and enjoyed a lot. I was thinking about revisiting it perhaps. All related to witches and gothic, magical stuff, so there you go.

This is Strega then:

I have used:

- 14 bat wings;
- 7 frog nails;
- The tongue of a basilisk;
... oooops, not really!

Seriously now. This is what I REALLY used (easier to find than the above):

- One purple dragon vein agate focal bead, disc-shaped and very pretty;
- Several Swarovski bicones and two small pendants (also Swarovski);
- Four round dragon veins beads also purple;
- Four big dichroic glass beads;
- Two black onyx round beads;
- Two Czech Fire faceted beads;
- Swarovski crystal pearls of different sizes;
- Twenty small obsidian beads insterspaced with silver-plated crimps;
- Some very few silver-plated balls;
- Tibetan silver clasp (my favourite kind).

Some close-ups:

On the left, we can see the dragon veins focal bead. The "veins" are very strong, very marked. Above, a little detail of the obsidian beads and seilver crimps. On the right, we have one of the dragon veins beads and one of the dichroic ones, as well as some Swarovski black pearls and amethyst bicones.

On the 1st picture a detail of the Swarovski bicones and pearls, and obsidian beads. On the 2nd one, the clasp, a S-hook in Tibetan silver. They are very secure and look quite nice.

The Koyo necklace...

2008-12-14T17:59:00.003Z

As Hanami (viewing of the cherry blossoms) is for Spring, so is Koyo ("colourful leaves") for Autumn. Viewing of the Autumn colourful leaves, is what the name means.

Then, I made my Koyo necklace today, inspired by this seasonal ritual. Main colours are reds, golds, maple shades. It is quite heavy due to the amount of gemstones I decided to mix here:

For Koyo, I have used:

- One Murano focal bead with gold foil;
- Several antique gold plated bead caps and small beads;
- Six red jade beads;
- Four fire agate orange beads;
- Four beige/brown jade beads;
- Two orange turquoise beads (probably man-dyed);
- 2 faceted rubies;
- Fourteen goldstone beads (also called aventurine or sandstone);
- Golden crimps in-between the goldstones;
- Two heart-shaped Chinese lampwork beads;
- Czech fire faceted crystal beads and AB (Aurora Borealis) bicones;
- One of my favourite clasps, a copper leaf.

Some close-ups...

The 1st picture shows the Murano focal bead in detail, with gold foil and a red rose swirl. The 2nd one shows some of the gold-plated spacers, some Czech Fire faceted beads and one dark red ruby surrounded by two bead caps in the shape of a leaf (or flower). I tried to vary the bead caps for different stones in the necklace, also to represent the variety of trees and leafs you can find in a single forest. They also look a bit like fallen leaves, due to their antique gold, copper hues. And, on the 3rd picture, you can see one of the red jade beads followed by a fire agate deep orange one. Other types of bead caps are also visible here.

On the 1st picture, you have a detail of the nice goldstone beads. Their lovely red brick colour derives from the amounts of mica and hematite present in their composition. They are insterspaced with tiny gold crimps, as I said before, and which are visible here. The 2nd picture shows one of the Czech AB beads, one red jade bead at the top, and further down, another fire agate bead. The 3rd one shows the copper leaf clasp.

A different view of the necklace here...

Slung over a screen,
a dress of silk and gauze.
The autumn wind.

Taniguchi Busan (1716-1784)

The Tartuffo 2 necklace...

2008-12-14T09:52:00.002Z

I made this necklace yesterday and, since it is kind of similar to my previous Tartufo, I called it Tartuffo 2. I know, it's not quite an exciting name, but they are born of the same idea and made on the same day more or less, so...

Here it is. Note it is much shorter than the usual, since some people do prefer shorter necklaces. I personally prefer them longer, but I cannot make necklaces solely based on my personal tastes, so...

For the Tartuffo 2, I have used:

- 1 round lampwork paperweight pendant in shades of purple;
- 6 small purple chrysocolla beads;
- Swarocvski crystals;
- Tibetan silver spacers and clasp;
- Czech fire faceted beads;
- Czech glass beads in various shapes and cuts, including 4 really cute square ones.

Some close-ups as follows...

These pics show details of the lovely square Czech beads, Swarovski crystals and some of the Chrysocolla beads. You can also see some of the Tibetan silver lantern-shaped spacers, the tiny silver-plated balls and also one of the Czech fire faceted beads I used.

On the above, you can see again some of the Czech fire beads, spacers and chrysocolla beads, and also the S-hook tibetan silver clasp, which I quite like.

A detail of the Chinese lampwork pendant, paperweight style, some more of the chrysocolla beads and small silver Czech seeds. I use these to make a smoother curve where the pendant is, otherwise it might look a bit too "angular" and "broken". As you can see, the chrysocolla vary a lot in shade: these two - that I put closer to the focal point, ie, pendant - are pinkier than the others.

Finally, another view of the ncklace, this time also on a black background...

The Tartuffo necklace...

2008-12-12T12:12:00.004Z

This one has been inspired by food. The taste of black truffles. Italy again, up in the North this time. I think the colours try to convey a certain subterranean, underground quality that we associate to the truffles, or "black gold"...

For Tartuffo I used:

- 1 black and purple lampwork (paperweight style) pendant, probably Chinese;
- Under it, 3 or 4 small Czech seed beads to hold it in place and make a smoother curve;
- Small chrysocolla beads;
- Bigger dark amethyst beads;
- Tibetan silver spacers and clasp;
- Czech silver-lined bugles and opalescent beads in various shapes;
- Czech fire faceted beads;
- Swarovski bicones as accent beads.

As for the chrysocolla beads, I am not sure if they are 100% natural or man-treated, ie, dyed. They have for sure a nice purple colour (not entirely discernible in the shots, I'm afraid), but the texture is kind of rough. I have some green and blue ones in my stock here and, although they look beautiful, I don't quite like their texture, very heavy and harsh.

Some close-ups:

At the left you can see the lampwork pendant in detail, along with some tiny silver balls, lantern-shaped Tibetan spacer and two Czech fire faceted beads. In the right, a close-up of the seed beads used under the pendant. You can also see one of the chrysocolla purple beads.

Details of the Czech beads, Swarovski crystals and various Tibetan silver spacers.

The big amethyst beads, silver spacers and two of the chrysocolla beads. Also, the clasp, one of the accent Czech fire beads and silver-lined bugles.

The Amé necklace...

2008-12-11T09:03:00.003Z

Amé means "rain" in Japanese. Although this necklace has no Japanese beads whatsoever, the beads I used (Czech fioratto beads, Swarovski pearls and bicones, Czech gold-foiled seed beads) all have a wet, watery feel to them. It is like a string made of water drops. Mark thought so, and I agree. After thinking about it as a rose water necklace, I could not but hear Mark's arguments about it: "it's rain, Andrea, rain".

It is indeed a "wet" piece. Amé, for my love of Japanese things and language.

For the Amé I have used:

- 3 Czech Fioratto transparent beads with gold foil;
- 2 small Czech Fire teardrops in Rosaline AB;
- Several tiny clear gold-foiled seed beads;
- Swarovski bicones in different shades of rose and 2 "dorado" ones near the clasp;
- Antique gold spacers and clasp;
- Swarovski pearls in cream rose;
- 2 pink jade round beads.

Some close-ups:

In the picture at the left-hand side, you can see one of the pink jade beads used, the tiny gold-foiled seed beads and one of the Rosaline drops. The other picture shows one of the main Czech fioratto beads, with the gold foil giving it a "wet" appearance, along with some of the bicones and, again, the seed beads.

Detail of some of the Rose AB bicones, and antique gold spacers. Also, the clasp used. Since Amé is much shorter than usual, I have added a gold-plated extension chain so it can be worn longer if desired.

The Ravello necklace...

2008-12-08T13:25:00.003Z

Still on the (recunrrent) theme of the Amalfi coast, and inspired by the lovely Murano beads, I made another necklace today: the Ravello.

Ravello was one of my favourite spot during our trip to Amalfi: a beautiful town up in the mountains, with wonderful gardens, music in the streets and the best of two wolrds - sea and mountains. Its gardens smell beautiful too, and that's probably why I have selected some beads in shades of green, aqua and teal, just to capture a bit of the sea, trees and sky hues.

For Ravello, I used:

- 3 aqua fioratto beads with gold foil;
- Swarovski bicones in green (erinite, I think, is the shade);
- Swarovski pearls in powder green;
- 2 big green Dragon Veins agate rondelles;
- Small jade beads, round and oval in three different green shades;
- Several small green aventurine neads interspaced with gold crimps as we approach the clasp;
- The usual gold-plated balls around the clasp;
- Two pretty oval aqua crackled Czech glass beads, that look a bit like crystallised sugar;
- Antique gold tulip and daisy bead caps.

Here are some close-ups:

Three pretty Murano fioratto beads in shades of green/aqua. You can also see the antique gold tulips and clasp, the Swarovski crystals and the aventurine beads.

In the 1st picture, a detail of the Czech "sugar" beads, the powder green Swarovski pearls, the erinite Swarovski bicones and some small milky green jade beads.
Iin the 2nd one, a close-up of the dragon vein rondelles, milky green opaque jade beads and powder green Swarovski pearl. And, on the 3rd picture, one of the small fioratto aqua beads with a daisy filigree gold cap and Swarovski bicone.

The Azzurra necklace...

2008-12-07T19:08:00.002Z

This is the necklace I have finished today. Decided to call it Azzurra (Blue) due to the use of quite a number of blue beads - 3 focal Murano wedding cakes, blue jade, crazy lace agate, dragon veins (another kind of agate), turquoise Swarovski crystals and so on.

It is a blue, South Italian theme, the Grotta Azzurra in Capri, those amazing seas once again. It seems I am quite obsessed with them, no?

Here it is...

I have used here:

- 6 Dragon Vein agate rondelles;
- 3 wedding cakes with gold foil, pink roses and forget-me-nots;
- Swarovski Turquoise AB (Aurora Borealis) bicones in two different sizes;
- Blue jade beads;
- Blue crazy lace agate beads;
- Fluted Czech crystals beads;
- Crystal faux pearls in white;
- Small gold-plated balls;
- Gold crimps between the Czech beads;
- Antique gold spacers and clasp.

Some close-ups:

Impossible not to fall in love with dragon veins. Its texture is so amazing and colours so diverse. Here you can see them in the 1st and 3rd pictures. The crazy lace agate appears on the 2nd picture, along with some lovely blue jade beads. The blue jade is, among the 3 stones, the one with more uniform texture and colour.

Detail of the Czech fluted beads, gold crimps in-between, spacers, blue jade beads and one small turquoise bicone. I have used stainless steel gold wire, that can be seen through the Czech beads.

Detail of the wedding cake/fioratto beads. These are vintage, but in perfect state, no wear at all in the gold foil. Swarovski turquoise bicones are separating the bads, and I used some antique gold bead caps for extra protection here...

To finalise for today, a detail of the antique gold clasp. You can also see the loop I made with the wire to attach the clasp. It is the 1st time I use this method: leaving the crimp and wire apparent instead of using a tip to cover it. I quite like the result: it looks lighter and somehow cleaner too - as far as the colour of the wire does not clash with the spacers and clasp, that is.

The Frutti di Bosco necklace...

2008-12-06T20:14:00.004Z

I made a necklace today, probably inspired by my desire for lovely Italian food. Which, by the way, took us to Carluccio's in the city centre. By coincidence they have a Frutti di Bosco crêpe in the dessert menu - although I just had a panna cotta al caffé. Yummy; everything very, very lovely...

The name of the necklace is Frutti di Bosco, or simply "berries". I just wanted to make something red, using my wedding cake beads and some of the red gemstones (jade and coral beads).

It is a light necklace, since the coral beads are small and quite light, not nearly as dense as some of the other gemstones (agate, jade and so on). I also did not use big jade beads, but smaller ones, so they would not interfere with the wedding cake Murano beads.

Here it is...

I have used:

- 3 Murano wedding cake beads with gold foil;
- 6 cherry jade beads;
- 6 Swarovski burgundy crystal pearls;
- Several Swarovski crystal bicones in shades of red as accent beads;
- 20 small dark red coral beads;
- Czech red bugles and cystal faceted beads;
- Gold-plated spacers and little balls, as well as clasp and extension chain.

Sounds like a recipe, but I like to register everything I use in my necklaces anyway. May look a bit edible too, but I would not recommend it...

Some close-ups:

On these pictures you can see the one of the cherry jade beads, which has lovely, organic texture, and the little coral ones at the right, interspaced with the small Swarovski bicones.

Just click on the above picture to see the wedding cake beads in detail, with beautiful gold foil and swirls. I also used some gold-plated bead caps and spacer beads. I think the bead caps help protecting the beads from rubbing against each other somehow. I would hate to damage those little beauties!

Detail of the Swarovski crystal pearls...

And a final close-up of the clasp and extension chain.

And another view of Frutti di Bosco...

Mori necklace...

2008-12-05T11:16:00.002Z

This week hasn't been a very productive one, since I caught a bad cold and was in bed most of the time.

Only today I made a new necklace, that I decided to call Mori (or "forest", in Japanese).

It is all in shades of green, main bead being a wooden one with some strass glued to it, and, most importantly, more Japanese porcelain beads (round and tubular ones), green with a feather pattern.

The Mori is apparently a chaotic piece. It is definitely symmetrical, but uses several kinds of material and beads, thus its "desorganised" appearance at first. I tried to depict how a real forest feels like: there is a harmonic chaos into it, or at least that's how I feel it. A mix of birds (the feathers in the Japanese beads), different woods of course (the focal bead), different shades of green, moss, crystals, sediments, even gold, as well as seeds and bugle beads. The light of the sun refracts through the Czech and some few Swarovski crystals. The moss is represented by two round agate beads (orange, brown, black and green swirls). The leaves and resins are all the different beads and their variegated shades of green, as well as the lovely copper clasp.

I have also used antiqued gold spacers, fresh water dark green pearls and two powder green Swarovski pearls.

Mori also has a smell, the smell of my beloved Mori No Sei (Spirit of the Forest), an old scent by Kanebo, which is woody, resinous and fresh - probably smelling like an old and dark Japanese pine forest would!

And some close-ups:

Details of the green agate beads, Czech Crystals and antique gold spacers. At the right-hand side you can see one of the round Japanese beads and Swarovski pearl.

Above, detailed view of one of the Japanese tubular beads, along with the spacers and Czech crystal bead in green and black.

A detail of the clasp in antiqued copper and in the shape of a leaf, along with some of the Czech crystal seeds and beads.

The Yume necklace...

2008-12-01T10:48:00.003Z

Here is the necklace I made this morning, after a sleepless night. I called it Yume, which, in Japanese, means "dream"... The dreams here are like little globes of light containing images of flowers, waves and leaves...

For Yume, I have used:

- Japanese Millefiori swirl and round porcelain beads, in shades of white and beige;
- Swarovski Simplicity crystals in Golden Shadow;
- Spacer beads and clasp in antique gold/brass;
- Swarovski pearls in pale almond;
- Gold-plated round beads near the clasp and used as spacers as well.

Some close-ups...Millefiori and swirl beads, all Japanese, and also Swarovski pearls and crystals...

Another Millefori bead, round, and small round ones with latte swirls. You can also see more of the Swarovski Simplicity crystals and the antique gold spacer beads - along with the gold-plated tiny ones.

Detail of the clasp...

And another view to finalise for today!

Kokoro necklace...

2008-11-30T11:51:00.003Z

For my latest necklace, named Kokoro, the main inspiration were the Japanese millefiori beads, in delicate porcelain. Kokoro is a Japanese word that means "heart", but not the physical heart (named Shinzou).

The hear Kokoro designates is a spiritual one: spirit, mind, essence, thoughts, emotions, feelings, the heart you use to "love" someone, to cherish for something. An abstract, poetic concept, meaning roughly "the spirit! or "the essence" of things.

It symbolizes my love for Japan, and what comes to my mind when I think about the meanings of "kokoro". It also has a tangible Japanese "presence" somehow, represented here by the use of Jade, silk and porcelain. I have used for my Kokoro:

- 2 oval Japanese Millefiori porcelain beads;
- 3 yellow silk beads;
- Black Swarovski pearls;
- Several Swarovski crystal bicones including four jet black off-centred pendants;
- 8 yellow Jade beads;
- Small gold-plated balls near the clasps;
- Antiqued gold-plated clasps in the shape of a flower.

I like the result: it is shorter and in a complete different style from the others:

Some close-ups:

One of the Japanese millefori beads, in yellow porcelain with colourful swirls and flower patterns. Main colours are yellow and black, thus my choice of the crystals, pearls and jade.

One of the silk beads I used, surrounded by light topaz Swarovski bicones and Swarovski black pearls.

The Jade beads and Aurora Borealis bicones...

More Swarovski bicones and crystal black pearls...

And, finally, a detail of the clasp I used, antique gold (plated)...

6 Earrings for 6 Necklaces

2008-11-27T10:32:00.006Z

Well, yesterday I made some earrings for some of the necklaces. It was a bit hard, I must say I much prefer threading 100 necklaces than making one earring. But hey, what's life without a little challenge now and then?

I am going to show a picture of the necklace and another of the earring in a close-up. The thumbnails below are smaller than usual, so, you should (as ever) click on the picture to see it real-size.

Positano Blú

I used one opal, 1 cream Swarovski pearl, one tiny gold-plated ball and gold-plated earring bases.

Violeta

For that one I used Indian wedding cake barrel beads, Swarovski bicone at the top, and to finalise a small gold-plated ball and gold-plated earring base.

Violeta 2

Again, Indian wedding cake amethyst beads, antique gold spacers at the top and a gold-plated ball to finalise. The base is also gold-plated.

Bonbon

Used Indian wedding cake beads, pink faux pearls and silver plated-plated ball and bead caps, in a stainless steel (surgical type) earring base.

Byzantium

I liked this earring the best maybe. Used 2 cherry jade beads surrounded by gold-plated flower bead caps, finalising with a burgundy Swarovski pearl at the top and the usual gold-plated ball. As before, a gold-plated earring base keeps it all together.

Sol Niger

For Sol Niger it was simple: 2 Swarovski golden shadow bicones, one gold-plated ball at the top, a gold-foil Murano bead and base as before.

The Positano Blú necklace...

2008-11-26T08:56:00.004Z

The Positano Blú was my third necklace on that "productive" day. I called it Positano Blú due to the memories I have from that Italian town. The beads make me think about our very brief visit to Positano. High up in the hills on the Amalfi coast, a very narrow and winding road, and lots of flowers, old houses and lovely boutiques. The sunny day would hit those stones and the pavements, after a drizzle. Wet and shyly sunny it was on that day.

Then, I got a perfume from the Le Sirenuse line from Positano: the Eau d'Italie. It quickly became one of my favourites. And, again, a smell of lemons, wet grass and the sun hitting the stones - like after a day in the beach.

The necklace is thus a mix of the town and the scent. Or at least that's what I had in mind when I put its beads together. Here it is:

For Positano Blú I have used:

- 1 blue Millefiori big Murano bead in blue, white and gold foil, with a lacy texture;
- Gold-plated filigree spacers, smooth gold-plated flat discs, clasp and little balls;
- Swarovski pearls in blue and cream;
- 10 white natural opal beads (that is the "sun in the stones" for me);
- 14 small blue natural turquoise beads;
- Opalite tiny beads with Czech glass seed pearls.

The close-ups:

Here you can see the focal bead in detail, a lovely Millefioriwith blue and white lacy pattern and 24k gold foil, surrounded by filgree gold-plated caps and spacers, and the Swarovski blue pearls.

The above picture shows the fire opals, which clearly make me think of my Eau d'Italie cologne and the sun. If it had a smell, that would be it, lemons, sun and stones in a wonderful Italian village. You can also see the gold-plated spacers and the creamy Swarovski pearls in the middle.

Turquoise beads with black veins, tiny Czech pearl seed beads and opalites. - which are a real pain to work with due to the extremely diminutive size of the holes. I am running out of these already though!

And a final shot of the clasp, tip and tiny balls, all gold-plated. I really like the design of that clasp, it's very sleek in a nice art-nouveau revival way. Easy to use as well, because it's quite big.

The Bonbon Necklace...

2008-11-25T23:14:00.003Z

The 2nd necklace I made yesterday is called Bonbon. It's curvy, pink and looks a bit like a bunch of sugared almonds. Or old-fashioned raspberry bonbons...

Fpr some reason, the camera did not manage to capture the shade as is. Rather than a cherry red, I would say it is an Antiqued Rose hue. Colours are cooler in real life than they appear in the pictures.

For that one, I have used:

- Indian wedding cake beads with silver foil;
- Silver-plated and Tibetan alloy spacers and clasp;
- Cherry jade round beads in two different sizes and slight shade variations;
- Czech small beads;
- Czech Ghost glass beads in pink;
- Small rose Muranos;
- Silver-lined Czech seed beads.

The design follows the scheme of Violeta and Violeta2, roughly. For these 3 necklaces the Indian beads are the main characters.

Some close-ups:

The above picture shows the main Indian bead, which is in the centre of the necklace, as well as some of the silver-plated bead caps and spacers and the Czech seed beads - used as separators. You can also see a bit of the clasp, which is quite pretty and good to use (small hooks).

Finally, the above photo shows one of the cherry jade beads (measuring about 15mm for the bigger ones, and 10mm for the smaller), silver-plated bead caps and silver-lined Czech seeds.

Violeta 2 Necklace...

2008-11-25T14:47:00.004Z

(PS... I am updating this post since I forgot to mention the use of natural amethysts on this necklace! I think it is important, no?... Andrea/1st Dec 08)

Yesterday was a productive day, necklace-wise, I mean. I made 3. As always, it's great fun. I seriously still don't know very well what I am going to do with them, but I keep doing it. Yes, I would like to sell them. Just not quite sure how and where to start.

Violeta 2 is called that because it is a new rendition of my previous Violeta. I think I did not mention but it is "Violeta" not only because of the colour, but also because it's my Mom's name (and I wanted to "flatter" her a bit!). Purples (and a hint of crimson) dominate here, pretty much as before:

Violeta2 has warmer shades of purples, whereas its predecessor was more in the cool side. On this one I have used: Indian wedding cake beads, plum jade, Swarovski burgundy crystal pearls, Murano and Chinese foil beads, Czech crystal beads and antique gold and gold plated spacers and clasp. And last, but not least, 4 natural Amethyst chunky beads surrounding the main tubular bead.

Some close-ups:

The Indian Wedding Cakes in shades of deep plum. They are quite irregular in their colouring, thus, quite unique. They have copper-goldish foil. You can also see some of the small Czech beads and spacers.

On this picture, you can see the main bead and the Swarovski pearls.

Tomorrow I will post some pictures of the other two necklaces.

Sol Niger necklace...

2008-11-20T13:28:00.003Z

I made this necklace today. It's dark, but with some speckles of gold to it. I named it Sol Niger or "Black Sun", an alchemical term that represents the results of the Opus Magnum's first stage, the Nigredo, or blackness, darkness.

Ruled by Saturn, it also means decomposition, putrefaction, whereas everything that lives has to eventually die and give birth to a new stage (Albedo). New life arises from this melancholy process. The focal bead represents the inner fire, the inner, occult sun, and the crystals (black and clear) are both the prime matter and the result itself of the alchemical process - the Gold, and the promise of rebirth, which culminates in the last stage: the Rubedo.

I made this to remind a phase of my life, where I was into Alchemy and all sorts of "magic". It was magic. Even if I am not into it right now, it played a major role in my life one day and I am grateful for that.

I have used:

- Czech dichroic beads, black with colourful sparkles;
- A Murano focal bead in mostly black and gold and multicoloured foil;
- Swarovski Golden Shadow bicones;
- Murano small gold foil beads and sommerso black;
- Czech tiny "black bean" beads;
- Gold-plated oval and round beads, disc spacers and clasp;
- 2 small Czech fire beads.

Some close-ups:

The Murano focal bead, a microcosmic Black Sun, surrounded by Sawrovski bicones (Gol Shadow, a very appropriate name!) and two gold-plated balls.

I love the way the flash is reflecting in the bicone here, it looks very pretty. You can also see the small gold-foiled Murano beads.

Finally, a detail of the dichroic beads, one Murano in-between and a Czech Fire above.