A necklace or two

Here are some necklaces I completed, and a groupings of beads for a future piece.

Going back the farthest, is a plummy purple one. This gorgeous hollow bead focal was made by a local Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, lampwork artist, Grace, who owns The Glass Shoppe. This focal is so beautiful.  Grace keeps trying to talk me into taking her intro to lampworking class; I just don't have the time to commit to driving into the city to play with glass (on a regular basis) right now. Young twins, and a full-time job would get in the way. I think that is the type of thing you would have to work at regularly to get any decent results. Plus, there are so many talented lampwork artists out there, I will leave it to them for now. (I did try the enameling class she set up - that was just a blast. Would love to do more of that.)
I first saw lampworking in progress through a window set up in the store adjacent to Grace's glass studio/shop, Canada Bead, which specializes in stones. So I credit Grace with introducing me to my passion with lampwork beads. May I have time in the years to come to try my hand at it.
The smaller beads are by Amy  here, in a dark metallic plum. The findings and chain are from Fallen Angel Brass on Etsy. I thought that the dark chocolate on the bead blended well with that dark brass, to let that focal shine.

I love that look of the large chain at the front with the small chain around the back.

This necklace features a focal by Sheri Mallery, of Slingin Mud, here .The lampwork bead spacers are by Leese of Glass by Leese. The hand-dyed silk ribbon was made by Jamnglass on Etsy as well.

It is very spring-y, n'est pas?

This butterfly focal is made of porcelain, by Nancy of Round Rabbit. I so adore porcelain. The ceramic squares were created by Captured Moments on Etsy. The findings are Fallen Angel Brass. Nancy's pieces sell quickly; I was lucky to get some of her porcelain pieces when she had one of her Round Rabbit Extra listings. They tend to disappear in minutes.

I was striving to keep it simple, to allow the butterfly focal to be star. I know that I tend to add more and more beads. I really made an effort to make some necklaces with less. I really love this one.

This focal was created by Sarah of Slate Studios Supply, here . I love the mix of matte and shiny glaze, plus the design in the background. I paired it with Vintaj findings. The bail is just a link that I bent over (with some filing of the edges to make it smooth for the silk ribbon). I added a little bee to visit the fleur. The silk ribbon was hand-dyed by Shauna Blake, here .
(Sorry for the French words creeping in, my twins are in French immersion in kindergarden, and I am trying to recall more of my French.)

That coral orange with the neutrals is yummy, huh. I didn't get a good angle to show how the flower is raised from the base. A really lovely layered focal that Sarah made, for sure.

Here is a gathering of materials for a new necklace. The ceramic beads  - Gaea, here, are going to be fun to play with. Not sure what else I am going to add, but I am thinking of using the copper wire that I antiqued, and my handmade hook. It looks like I need to shine it up a bit, and seal it. I love doing handfinishing. I may start with wrapping each bead, and make a bail, and then see if I need to add chain or silk or leather. Have to see what it looks like.

 

 

Speaking of the hook, I do so love to work with wire to make hooks. That is what I do when I am heading to my work table after a long day of work, and the kids are finally in bed. You know, when it has been one of those days, and I just need to play with the wire. Love that. Some days, 16 gauge is the best relaxing time there is - to bend it and swirl it, and cut it...and the hammering of course.

Andrea