More Beach Glass

I have several more pieces of beach glass to show you today.  I explained beach glass a little in my Beach Glass Baubles post, where you can also see more beach glass pieces (though my beach glass earrings are in this post).  I have since learned that beach glass can also be called sea glass, if you've heard of it by that name.  All of these pieces range from $20 to $25.

I'm actually going to start off with one you've seen before.  I'll be putting most of these on adjustable waxed black cotton cords, which you can sort of see here:

This next one is about 3cm, or just over an inch, long including the bail.  It's silver-plated copper wire over white-frosted beach glass.

I have a similar design made with brass wire if you're more into gold tones.  It's slightly larger at 3.5 cm.

I have a larger (4cm or 1.5 inches), opal-shaped pendant in warm brown glass with a very minimalistic wrap in silver-plated copper wire.

An interesting thing happened while I was working on some of these free-form wraps.  I realized, as I was finishing them up, that the back looked just as nice as the front, so I have a set of reversible pendants.

The first is done with copper wire on some lovely bright green glass and is 3.75cm or just under 1.5 inches long.

The next is made with brass wire over brown beach glass and is just over 2.5cm or an inch long.  The side shown in the right hand picture makes me think of bars of music for some reason.

This next reversible pendant is brass wire on fairly young, clear green glass and is about 3cm, or just over an inch long, including the large bail.

The final reversible piece is made with copper wire and white/clear beach glass.  It's 3cm or just over an inch long, and the one side is mostly bare to showcase the frosted glass while the other has more complex criss-crossing of wire.

Speaking of more complex, I'll show you one of my favourite pieces next.  This one is done as a cage with a triple scroll embellishment.  It's brass wire on white beach glass and is 3.5cm or 1.25 inches long, including the bail.

And because I like it so much, here it is again from another angle:

The rest of the pieces have charms attached. 

The first is a nice rectangular piece of white beach glass with brass wire and a fish cut-out charm.  It is 4cm or 1.5 inches long.

The next is also done with brass wire on a lovely rounded chunk of white beach glass and features a small starfish charm.  It is 3.5cm or 1.25 inches long.

The final brass wire on white glass piece is a dainty little piece featuring a sand dollar charm.  It Is only 2cm long, just under 3cm with the bail (just over an inch).

I also did a new silver-plated copper wire on white beach glass piece with a lovely textured star fish charm.  This piece is just under 4cm or 1.5 inches with the bail included.

The final piece I'm going to show you today also has silver-plated copper wire, but is on dark brown beach glass, which really sets off the silver fish cut out charm.  I like to think the little scroll (spiral) floating above him was a big hiccup from the little fish.  This pendant is 4cm or 1.5 inches long including the large bail.

And that's it for this set.  Next time I'll post some non-beach-glass pieces.

Some Odds and Ends

It's been a while since my last entry, so I figured I should share some new photos with you.

I'll start off with what could be considered a continuation of my last post -- some beach glass earrings.

These first ones are not available as I gave them away as a gift, but I'll post them so you have an idea of the kind of design I'm working on.  These feature smallish pieces of white/clear beach glass, fresh water pearls, icy blue seed beads, and silver-plated copper wire.

As you can see, I kept the wrap simple so as to showcase the beach glass.

This next pair is $39.  It makes use of the same materials, minus the seed beads, but the design is very different.  I used a lighter gauge of wire and made the wrap a bit more complex.

That's it for beach glass.  Next up are a pair of earrings I made for my mom for Mother's Day.  Obviously, these particular ones are not for sale, but if people like them I can make similar ones using the same or different stones.  These are made with faceted tiger's eye beads.  One nice thing about these earrings is they are super light weight.

My next two pieces are not actually jewellery.  I had a request to make some wine glass identifiers/personalizers, so I made a couple prototypes for the person who made the request to test out.  Currently they are in the testing phase to see how they hold up to use.

The first type is a clip type.  You just "snap" it around the stem of your wine glass (or in the case of my quick photos, my super cheap made-in-China plastic martini glass) and then if needed pinch it closed a little again so it won't slip right off.  The goal was to get the wire so it is sort of springy and "closes" on its own again.  We'll see how it holds up after use, but here's the general design.

The next type is a spiral type.  I made this with a heavier gauge of wire.  For this one you feed the stem of the wine glass through the spiral until it gets to the center.

I have quite a few ideas for charms for these (though I was pleasantly surprised at how nice these little plastic tulip ones looked), so I hope at least one type holds up pretty well and I can make a few sets.

That's it for today.  More photos to come soon.

New work! Beach Glass Baubles

Hello all!  As promised, this week I'll be posting pictures of some of the pieces I've been working on lately.  I thought for today I'd focus on some wire-wrapped beach glass.

I collected all of this beach glass on beaches right here in Victoria.  For those who don't know, "beach glass"  or "sea glass" refers to glass that's been weathered by being tossed around among sand and rocks, usually in the ocean, then washed up on the beach.  The older it is, the more frosted it looks and the rounder the edges get.  According to some websites I've viewed, this process usually takes a minimum of five years.

All the wraps I'm showing today were done using silver-plated copper wire.  Any charms included are silver-plated at most -- just general metal charms picked up in bead stores.  I haven't made chains for any of these pieces yet, but I'm considering making a couple fancy beaded chains for some of the fancier wraps.  For the rest, I was thinking of getting some black cords and tying double slip knots to make them adjustable.  That or ribbons with clasps.  Preference?

Prices here are assuming I sell them online or at a market.  If I decide to sell them through a gallery, the prices will change depending on the commission.  I'll do my best to remember to update that here.

The first piece I'm going to show you is actually already sold, but I liked it, so I'm going to post it (4 cm or 1.5 inches).

 

The next piece is also on white beach glass (well, clear, but due to the frosting effect, it looks white) but is a more freeform wrap rather than a classic cage (3cm or 1.25 inches, the glass part's length just a bit bigger than a quarter).  $25

Up next is another freeform wrap on white beach glass (just under 3cm, about an inch).  $20

Next up is a spiral wrap of dark brown beach glass (4cm, 1.5 inches).  $20

The next piece is pretty neat.  It's a marble turned beach glass.  I think it was a pretty standard catseye with a blue swirl inside, but unless I'm holding it up to the light, the frosting on the surface makes it look a nearly uniform aquamarine blue.  The flash of the camera and the white background make the swirl a bit more visible in the picture (3cm or 1.25 inches with the collar and bail).  $20

The final piece for today's entry is a rounded piece of dark green beach glass, so I wrapped it in a similar fashion as the marble (3cm or 1.25 inches with the collar and bail).  $20

And that's it for today.  Next entry will probably be more of a jumble of different types.  Feel free to tell me if there's anything you'd like to see me make more of.

Final Photo Update: Miscellaneous Pieces

Hello all,

Here are the last of the pieces I photographed on my big photo spree.

I'll start with the daisy chains.  Up first is a necklace of violet blooms with leaves in between, giving it a sort of 1920s retro fringe feel (seed beads, bugle beads, lobster claw clasp):

 These necklaces (I do have them in more colours now and am happy to make them in any colour requested) are $29.

I also have some daisy chain bracelets of various designs, any of which can be made into necklaces if someone wants (seed beads, bugle beads, e beads):

The violet one with the leaves is $15 and the pink and forget-me-not blue ones are $12.

I have a few more simple and inexpensive bracelets made from seed beads.  First up are some looped varieties, for $10:

I also have some looped with an extra strand which because of their colours I call my goldenchain bracelets.  I think I stole the term from Dylan Thomas.  They're $15.

At the other end of the pricing spectrum I have a new shot of my Treasures of the Deep necklace.  I want $299 for this, so that's what it is if I sell it directly.  If it goes into a gallery though, the price will go up based on the commission they take.  I'll let you know if that happens.  (seed beads and mother of pearl focal bead, filigree hook clasp)

And finally I have my celestial charm bracelet, which can be worn one of two ways.  This bracelet is $15.  This first photo shows it in a spread out bangle style (seed beads, various metal charms):

It can also be worn twisted up in a tight rope:

And that concludes the updated set of photos.  Next post you'll be seeing some of the new pieces I've worked on since then and/or some fresh photos of my earrings.

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.