Saturday, July 21, 2012

Shopping for Beads

Last weekend I went to a bead show and had a great time.  I was only a few steps in the door and couldn't resist buying my first item.  It's shown in the picture, a beautiful vintage crystal that is emerald cut and a beautiful light blue. 

Then the next table that I went to was selling charms and settings and I found the perfect setting for the vintage crystal.  I had thought about making a setting, it was my intention when I bought the stone, then I came across the setting shown in the picture.

Isn't it beautiful?

I found lots of other beautiful pieces and could have spent a fortune but I gave myself a budget.  In the next few weeks I'll post more pieces for you to see, from the beads that I bought at the show.

Have a great week!
Denise

Sunday, July 8, 2012

52 Week Challenge Wrap Up


Since my 52 week challenge finished last week I decided to ask a favor of all of my readers.  I would love to hear your comments on the challenge and wondered if you help me out.  Would you browse through the posts for the challenge and let me know what your favorite piece of jewelry is?

Your feedback would help me to decide the direction to take for the upcoming holiday season. Should I made more of an item, drop an item?  I can’t decide on one item that is my favorite because I like them all.  What do you think? Let me know.

If you would rather not post to my blog, or have trouble posting, then send an email to me with your thoughts to denise@jewelrybydm.com

Thanks and have a great week.
Denise

Monday, July 2, 2012

Challenge Week 52!

Finally made it to week 52!  The challenge was well worth doing, I learned a lot and stretched my creative muscles and I’m thankful for all of you that stuck with me, made comments and kept me going.

For my last challenge I used beads that I bought about 2 years ago from another Etsy seller; they are the rectangular shaped beads.  When I saw the beads I fell in love with them because of the unique color combination.  I didn’t know what I was going to make with them and over the past 2 years have looked for other beads to compliment them and inspiration for what I would make. Then I went to a bead show and found the oblong beads in the same colors and had to buy them to go with my original purchase.  About a month ago I found the bicone beads online, again in the same colors as my original beads and when I received them put all the beads on one of my bead boards to see what shape they would take. The necklace and earrings shown here are the result of my two year journey and, I think, a fitting end to the journey that this challenge has been.

The bicone beads are Swarovski crystals, the oblong beads are crystals and the rectangular beads are glass that reminds me of sea glass.  I used a clasp that is elegant enough to dress up the necklace and used silver beads as spacers to make the colors in the beads stand out.  I used all of the beads that I bought in the burgundy and blue blend, so this is a unique set.

I hope you like these pieces and will make comments below.  This set was a long 2 years in the making but I think it was worth the wait.

Just  because the challenge is over doesn't mean I'm going to stop writing so don't forget to come back often.

Have a Happy Independence Day!
Denise