Tag Archives: jewelry

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Tassel Necklace Project 2

In my previous post Tassel Necklace Project, I explained how I created my own gold-tone version of a Stella & Dot necklace that I love, and already own, in silver-tone. I also worked on a different Stella & Dot inspired collaboration recently with my BFF Nikki.

We are both head over heels for Stella & Dot’s Windsor Tassel necklace so we decided to make our own version. We started by taking a gold colord eye pin and snipped it to the length we wanted, then cut several pieces of goldtone chain in various lengths and “strung” them on the eye pin. After creating a loop in the cut end, we attached one end of long gunmetal chain to each loop. For the next step, it helps to place the necklace on a dressmaker form (clip it in the back if you have to). We draped a few additional pieces of gold chain over the eye pin and then wrapped Industrial Chic rhinestone trim around the chain a few times (below the eye pin) to create a tassel shape. If you are not familiar with Industrial Chic by Susan Lenart Kazmer, you can check it out here and purchase it at Michael’s. The trim can be secured with wire or glue in the back. Very easy and chic, and a great DIY version of an amazing design by Stella & Dot.

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The Possible Dream

This gallery contains 8 photos.

I started making jewelry about 5 years ago per my mom’s suggestion. I’ve always been drawn to the arts, but jewelry design is where I’ve really found my niche (thanks, Mom!). For the first few years I would just carry my supplies around in a plastic container and bead all around the house. For the […]

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Bead Fest Texas!

I went to my first Bead Fest this weekend with my BFF Nikki and had a blast!  I got to meet Sara Lukkonen of C-Koop Beads.  I’ve loved her enameled metal components since I first saw them on the cover of the November 2010 issue of BeadStyle.  I also scored tons of metal flowers from Donna Rasco of Unique Creations.  They will be perfect for the garden style necklaces I’ve been making lately (see my previous post “Inspiration Strikes!” or check out my etsy shop StrandedInTheCity to see what I’ve been up to).  I got an AMAZING bird bezel and tiny vintage style ornament along with a couple of tins of Gilder’s Paste at an awesome price from Beth Botak of Kabela Design.  Be sure to check out what she created with the same bird bezel in the next issue of Bead Design Studio magazine! I visited with and bought from several other vendors.  Here are a few pics of my loot.  Enjoy!

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Tassel Necklace Project

So I’m not ashamed to admit that I cannot figure out how to add a photo to a comment I made on Agness Rae’s awesome post Trendy Tassels.  If anyone knows, please share 🙂  Anyway, here’s my comment and the photos of a necklace I made that was inspired by the Stella & Dot Gitane Tassel necklace that I own:

One pic shows my gold-tone version compared to the real thing in silver-tone. The other 2 show me wearing the necklace doubled with the tassel, and then long with the tassel removed (just like the way the Stella necklace works). Basically I just rosary wrapped a TON of 4mm czech beads in various metallic colors on 26g wire (I believe the Stella necklace has mostly 3mm beads but I had to work with what I could get quickly!). About halfway I added a jump ring on each side, then gave up on the rosary wrapping and just added dangles and spaced them out a little bit more (this is where mine really starts to differ from the Stella necklace). For the tassel, I just cut up some old chain, put it on a jump ring, added a larger glass bead and a lobster claw clasp, and voila!  Enjoy 🙂

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Inspiration Strikes!

I was pouring over some back issues of bead magazines earlier this week, as I often do and was captivated by Naomi Fujimoto’s necklace on the cover of the September 2010 issue of BeadStyle. I sat down in my studio and after a lot of trial and error, ended up with my Midnight Garden necklace. It’s amazing how the two necklaces can be so different, yet one inspired the other. I love this feeling – being moved enough by another artist’s work to use it as the launching point for something that’s completely my own. I plan to wear this one to an upcoming gala and can’t wait to tell anyone who compliments me “oh, it’s one of my own designs”! Who knows, maybe it will inspire someone else 🙂

The inspiration:

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The Little Red Bead

I have a little, red bead in my possession that I’ve had for as long as I can remember.  I don’t recall how or when I got it and I don’t remember how old I was.  If I had to guess I’d say it was a loose bead that fell off some jewelry my mom had, and I must have been around 5 or 6 years old.

How this bead has stayed with me for 30 years and made it through at least 3 or 4 moves is beyond my comprehension.  Needless to say, although this bead’s monetary worth is probably only a few pennies, because of its persistence to remain with me, its significance to me personally has grown as the years go by.

So what can I do with a bead that means so much more than all the vintage gems and pricey jewels in my studio?  One idea is to encapsulate the bead in a glass bottle and create a necklace from it.  Thoughts?

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Kicking off June with fun summer bracelets

June is here and that means cookouts and lots of weekends soaking up the sun poolside, or if you’re like me, balancing the jewelry-making madness inside with spending time outside.  While most of the jewelry work I do would be difficult to take outdoors, the following idea is a pretty easy one to work on anywhere.  Last night I made four wire-wrapped bracelets and covered them in tons of colorful glass beads.  These bracelets only require 2 materials (beads and wire), a pair of round-nose pliers, and a pair of wire cutters.  I love to take my bead soup bowl, sit on the couch, and make these while I watch tv.  They’d also be easy to make while sitting outside by the pool!

I learned this technique from Joanna Hanna, owner of Crescent Moon Beads in Eureka Springs, Arkansas (you MUST stop in and visit her if you’re in the area) http://www.crescentmoonbeads.net/.  I may add a tutorial in the future to share the technique with you, but for now enjoy the photos and visit my shop on Etsy at http://www.etsy.com/shop/strandedinthecity to purchase one 🙂