Donut Wraps

Hello everyone!  It's time for the next entry in my updated photo collection.  This post, as the title says, will feature my donut wraps.  You've probably already seen some photos of these posted, but I have added chains to some, so that will be new.  I think this entry will also contain some better closeup shots.

I haven't quite fixed the prices on these yet, but if you're interested in purchasing any of them please get in touch with me and I will figure it out for you.

First up is the only one without a chain.  This one is gold-plated wire over a turquoise-coloured stone.  The wrap also includes some swarovski and some faux-swarovski bicones as well as some e-beads.  The collar/bail is fairly simple and light-weight with a single loop for a chain to pass through and a couple extra scrolls (the spirals) as decorations on the face of the pendant.

As I said, this piece currently does not have a chain, but I could certainly make one if requested.

Next up is a closeup of a pale green stone wrapped in bright copper wire.  This one is a larger stone (I know the scale is off in these photos, but the bicones used in both pieces are the same, and you can see they look much smaller against this second pendant) so it allows room for more fun bends and kinks in the wrap.  The collar/bail is more complex on this one, with some fun bends and structure and a frontal scroll.  Copper wire, unknown stone (sorry, my bead supplier doesn't label them), swarovski and faux swarovski bicones, e-beads.

And here you can see a shot of the chain.  It's made of these beautiful clear copper-cored seed beads with a few highlights of transparent blue copper-cored seed beads.

The next piece is silver plated copper wire over the same turqoise-coloured stone as in the gold piece above.  This one features a smooth rounded collar/bail of clean flowing lines.  Swarovski bicones and e-beads are featured in this wrap.  As you can see, the chain is made of clear silver-cored seed beads interspersed with dark purple e-beads like the ones used in the wrap.

Here's a shot on the stand so you can see how it hangs on the chain, which is a simple single strand with a lobster claw clasp.

The final piece is one you've probably seen before without a chain.  It's silver-plated copper wire over a rose quartz donut.  This is the smallest of the pendants and features glass pearls, a clear swarovski bicone, and e-beads in the wrap.  This donut was also drilled through, so the bail features a scroll in the center of the pendant with a light criss-cross design over the face of the stone and a large textured scroll over the collar.  As you can see, I gave this one a chain of pale rose glass pearls with iris seed beads in my pearl necklace style.  (The colours on my monitor tend a little more to the yellow than they are to the eye -- sorry, but I couldn't satisfactorily edit this out.  Just keep in mind this is pinky, not peachy.)

And here's a shot of it on the stand so you can see how it hangs on the chain.  It's really very lovely and feminine.

That's it for today.  We'll have a couple more entries of updated gallery shots then I'll start sharing some of my new projects and works in progress.  For the past couple of days I've been working on a design for a wire earring stand.  I came up with a prototype I quite like so now I have to make a more robust final version.  Pictures soon.

Beaded Bangles

Here's the next set of photos from my attempt to photograph my inventory a couple months back.  This entry will feature my beaded bangle bracelets.  These sold quite well last season so I'm down to only a few colours. Let me know if there are other combos you'd like to see.

These bracelets are $10 each or $25 for a set of three because they're fun to mix and match and wear in a set like bangles, which is why I call them that.

Here's a photo of my current remaining inventory:

All these bracelets are made from bugle beads, e beads, and seed beads in various colours.  As mentioned, they can be worn alone, or combined.  Here are a few combos I came up with on the day of the photo shoot.

First up, here's a tropical summery blend of golds, blues, greens, turquoise, and a splash of purple:

Next is a more feminine combo of pinks, whites, and purples, with a gentle blend of gold and silver:

Or you can go for bolder reds and blacks and golds:

Or if you're not so keen on matching, you could go for a mix of neutral cool tones with a splash of colour:

Pearl Necklaces

Hello, it's time for entry number 2 in my posts of updated pictures.

This time the focus is on necklaces.  The standard single strand ones are currently priced at $39.

As I said in my previous post, I'm happy to make necklaces in any of the colour combos I have in my bracelets, but at present, these are the colours I have ready to go.  Like the bracelets, all the necklaces below are made with seed beads and glass pearls.

First off, I have a dark gold paired with creamy white pearls (which matches the darker of the two gold and cream bracelets in my previous post:

For people who like warm tones, I also have a necklace with the transparent brown seed beads and lovely caramel pearls:

Next up is the sultry evening combo of hematite-looking black seed beads with deep burgundy pearls:

I also of course restocked on my favourite, the "harlequin" design of silver and transparent black seed beads criss-cross matched with white and black pearls:

All of the above necklaces are made with a lobster claw claps of an appropriate colour.  The benefit of that is that I can easily add an extender chain to make the lengths adjustable.

The next few necklaces all feature fancier clasps which add their own unique flair to the pieces.

First up is a white pearl with silver seed bead combo featuring a bright silver finish toggle clasp. 

Next up is the lovely soft combination of iris seed beads with dark dove grey pearls with a lovely delicate filigree pointed oval box/hook type clasp:

The last necklace that I'd like to show you is a triple-stand piece I made because I frequently display more than one necklace per stand and often had people asking if it was all one necklace then being disappointed because it was a series of separate necklaces.  So I decided to make some multistrand pearl necklaces and I started with one built on my harlequin theme.

This triple stand piece is $99.

The inner strand is silver seed beads and black pearls, the middle strand is my harlequin design of silver seed beads paired with black pearls and black seed beads paired with white pearls, and the outer strand is black seed beads paired with white pearls.  The strands are different lengths so they drape very nicely when worn.

This piece is made with a square filigree box clasp, as can be seen in the picture below.  I arranged the necklace on the stand like that mostly to display the clasp, but when I did, it occurred to me that the necklace actually looks quite nice like this, and this could be an alternative way of wearing it.

And here is a closeup of the box clasp so you can see the filigree work:

And that's it for today.  Since taking these photos, I've done some new multistrand necklaces, so I'll post some pictures of those in the future.  Next up though I'll post some pictures of other styles of pieces, including some of my wire pendants.

Pearl Bracelets

Hello everyone!

Since the excitement leading up the to the Christmas season, things have been pretty quiet.  I've been working on refilling stock that's sold as well as coming up with some new designs and new twists on old ones.

Recently I took photographs of everything, so I figured I would post some of them here.

I'll start with the pearl bracelets.  Currently I'm selling these for $20 each.

For those of you who've seen me at markets or the Gifts show, you'll see some familiar colours, but I've also come up with some new ones.  They're all made with seed beads and glass pearls and use a lobster claw clasp with a split ring, so I can add a chain extender if needed.

I restocked my current personal favourites, which had sold out completely: my harlequin colours.

I also tried out a new variation on the harlequin, with solid pearl-finish seed beads rather than the transparent silver-lined ones I use in my original harlequin.

Sticking with the cooler colours, I also have one with iris seed beads and dark grey pearls.

I used iris seed beads in a new design with a lovely springtime lilac pearl.  This will go beautifully with the light purples coming out in spring clothing this year.  I don't know what this will look like on your monitor, but it comes out a little cooler on mine than the pearls look in person, so remember a lilac tone.

If you're more into bolder colours, I also have this fun aqua and black that will be perfect for summer nights.

And if you like blue but want something a little more toned down, I have this bracelet in icy blue seed beats with soft dark grey pearls.

On to warmer tones.  These next ones are also among my favourites.  There's something about the hematite-finish black seed beads and burgundy pearls that seems so very sophisticated and elegant.

I've also used these burgundy pearls in another design with violet seed beads, and the result is spicy and warm.

The violet beads provide a gentle, rich combination with creamy white pearls as well.

Those creamy white beads are also featured against a couple different shades of gold.

If you like a more dramatic, unusual gold look, I've paired gold seed beads with black pearls and dark grey pearls as well.

I have one more set paired up for comparison purposes.  These both feature caramel pearls, but one has a transparent brown seed bead and the other an opaque seed bead with a golden oily finish.

Here's the one with the clear brown beads on its own.  It's such a wonderful, warm, spicy, earthy, honey-golden, burnt caramel combination for summer.

And here's the one with the opaque beads with the oily finish.  I'm completely in love with these beads, so expect to see more of them in the future.

I also have some harlequin style variations in these colour tones.  The first one reminds me of that decorative multicolour corn you get at Thanksgiving/harvest festival/fall fair time.

I call this next combination caramel cream swirl.

This next one is closest to my first harlequin design in that it criss-crosses dark transparent seed beads with lighter pearls and light transparent seed beads with darker pearls.

And this one is the "flip" of the previous one in that I paired dark beads with dark pearls and light beads with light pearls, but otherwise makes use of exactly the same beads.

And that's my full range of this style of bracelet at present.  Posting this now, I'm realizing there are a couple popular colour combos I still need to replace, though it was very fun coming up with some new ones.

I'll probably post necklaces next.  You'll notice when I do that there's a more limited range of colours with those, and that's just because it takes much much longer to make a necklace than a bracelet so I'm less inclined to experiment at that length.  If you see a bracelet colour combo here that you'd like to see in a necklace, please tell me and I will be more than happy to make a necklace in those colours for you.

Sunday Market Is A Go

Unless the weather changes horribly.

Had a cold time but a good time today.  I want to say thanks to the young man who called one of my necklaces phat. Definitely my favourite compliment of the day.

Here's a picture of my table:

I should probably get some sort of riser so people don't have to bend over to see my stuff.

If anyone is reading this after grabbing one of my cards at the Centennial Square market, please leave a comment and let me know.

See you tomorrow.

Weather Permitting

I will be doing the pop up holiday market in Centennial Square tomorrow (December 14), and depending how that goes, possibly Sunday as well.

Details can be found in my posts below, but just to reiterate briefly, it will be from noon until 5:00pm under the Ferris wheel in Centennial Square, downtown Victoria.  Hope to see you there!

Update on Pop Up Holiday Market

Sadly, we were rained out this weekend, so no market for me.  Next weekend I'm volunteering at a swim meet, so unless I do Friday night, I won't be there that weekend, but weather permitting, I should be there on Saturday, December 14 and possibly Sunday, December 15.  (Details about the market can be found in my previous post.)  I'll let you know when I've decided about Friday.  Until then, feel free to contact me via comments or send me an email.