Mel's Makes: gems

Showing posts with label gems. Show all posts

Monday, 30 June 2014

Top 5 Gems

I saw a blog challenge on Jewellery Maker TV's website the other day, asking jewellery makers to name their top 5 favourite gemstones, and why or how they are used. I thought this was going to be a bit hard for me; how wrong I was!

I know straight off my top 2 are Opal and Rose Quartz.

Opal is my birthstone, and I love every version of it. I must admit though, I have a soft spot/magpie eye for Fire Opal. The colour change which can happen depending on the light it is in and the iridescence that can also happen always catches my eye.

I'm a sucker for vintage things. Proper vintage that's pre-1950's and 1950's too. Rose Quartz has the ability to create a vintage look and also a modern look with very little effort. Last year I bought some carved Rose Quartz from Jewellery Maker TV, in the shape of a Rose - I couldn't help myself, they were beautiful - I used them to make classic pieces within a couple of days after I received them! Versatile is an over used word, but with Rose Quartz it's too true.

Rose Quartz rose and leaves with pink banded agate and dyed purple Jasper

Rose Quartz leaves with purple dyed jasper

close up of the Roze Quartz rose and leaves

These are available as unique pieces at my Etsy shop, BubblyDuck Beads

The next 3 of my favourite gemstones are in no particular order.

Like me, Snowflake Obsidian is perfectly imperfect. The natural inclusions which make the "snowflakes" are why I love it so much! It makes classic black and white or black and red jewellery zing with that added dimension which the snowflake provides with no effort or gaudiness. I have lots of strands of this, and generally will team it up with dyed, ethically sourced coral or blue goldstone for that starry night piece.

Snowflake Obsidian with dyed coral and metallic silver beads, also available on Etsy

As I said on my previous post, I love pearls and pearly things. I love Swarovski pearls for the colours they provide, and I love shell pearl for sheer availability and affordability. Real pearls are for when I have a little bit saved up, or I get them in a bundle or kit. Always classic, evoking vintage era designs for fashion and jewellery, pearls are an evocative gem. English Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy even wrote a poem about pearls. Look it up, it's beautiful and captivating, just as a pearl should be.

Not real - re-purposed glass pearl necklace given to my cousin as a present, she too loves anything vintage

Haematite (also known as Iron Ore Stone) is one of my basics. I find it in almost any shape I can imagine, and often pay no more than a couple of pounds for an 18" strand of fancy shapes. I recently purchased some "mystic coated" haematite double holed spacers which I re-dubbed "disco coating" because it reminded me of dance floor lights, sparkly shoes, dancing around my handbag and rock music fashion (don't ask me why about the latter - I just thought they would look good as an edgy rock-chic piece). It also does pretty good for jewellery that pays homage to Art Deco & Art Nouveau styles and periods,

My favourite earrings - haematite chevrons and milky glass diamonds

Sunday, 29 June 2014

Stash busting, pearly dreams and festivals

Well, after a rather swift accumulation of Swarovski and shell pearls for pieces I will be creating for the craft fair I'm appearing at in July, I felt that I needed a good dose of stash busting (especially as I haven't been let off the norty step by my fellow beaders at Operation Tackle That Bead Stash for months!).
But what could I do? What could I make?

A few magazines and websites later, I decided to have a go at a piece of Cubic Right Angled Weave (CRAW). I must admit, I love the straight forward RAW, but had been a bit apprehensive about trying CRAW, especially as a lot of the written instructions I found a tad confusing. Then I saw a wonderful video how-to on beadmavens.blogspot.co.uk that was straight -forward and easy to use (go to beadmavens then look up the post from 9th September 2011).

My Mum was going to a wedding reception, and had a beautiful dress which obviously needed a new and beautiful necklace to go with it! Approximately 30g of size 8 seed beads later, a gorgeous rope had been created! The addition of a couple of little swags and a small slab of blue opal which I designed to simply fill the "V" in the neckline of aforementioned dress. I haven't taken enough photos of the full piece yet, but these will be up here very soon!!

Festival fashion has been thoroughly on my designing brain this month, and some beautiful and colourful clothes and jewellery have been released in time for the festival season. I'm no exception; again using my stash of dyed shell-strands, neon swarovski pearls and a beautiful strand of orange dyed shell pearl.

If you want to see a sneak peek, go to either etsy.com/shop/uk/bubblyduckbeads or my new facebook page facebook.com/bubblyduckbeads

Monday, 8 July 2013

Sunshine, beads and ogling gem strands

It's not as weird as it sounds. A couple of weeks ago, I bought some semi-precious gems from Jewellery Maker (www.jewellerymaker.com) and they arrived last week! I got some gorgeous products, including my favourite, rose quartz. Although I now have decided that I need to have a mental "top 10" favourite gems, as I now have realised there are more out there than I originally knew about. So, in said top 10 are Opal (my birthstone and absolute fave!), Rose Quartz, Aquamarine, and Chalcedony to name a few.

I've put all my purchases away, and as I did, I simply stared at them, wondering at their beauty and the possibilities of making jewellery with them! I've also got some Sterling Silver products to compliment the gems.

Here is one make, made from multi-coloured shell and glass chill pepper beads, on rose gold coloured chain, made for myself.

I've also completed one of my half-finished/do again projects that I talked about in my last post, and here it is!!!

I realise that there is a very unflattering reflection of me in the stand. Regardless of that, isn't the necklace pretty? And it's all with rose quartz on silver played copper.

Plus, as a new piece, I've made this

Rose quartz and aquamarine bracelet with toggle clasp.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed today's post, and have been inspired a little - even to finish off that lingering project!!!

Enjoy the sunshine and hot weather, all you UK readers!

Happy beading!

Friday, 5 July 2013

New stitches, new goodies and...

...a new meaning to bits and BOB's!

The capitalisation is deliberate. I have decided, just by looking at the mess that is in my craft drawers and my occasional dining-come-regular crafting table, that BOB's in my case means Boxes of Bits. The other bits in that phrase don't -as yet- have boxes, or anywhere to go. I know, be more organised I hear you say, well it's easier said than done, as I am sure a lot of crafty people out there know and understand.

As a result of this revelation, I have decided to challenge myself to finish at least one of the myriad projects I have unfinished. Here are a couple of my newest candidates

Sorry about the quality, taken on my phone with no flash and poor lighting.

These are two strands of coloured shell with glass chillies dotted through the strand. They will be bracelets/necklaces, but I have to finish some of my older projects first....

And so to finished projects and new stitches! I've been to two more beading classes at The Bead Shop Liverpool*

in which I have learned Right Angle Weave (my second fave stitch) and flat spiral weave (my newest and first fave stitch). Have a look at the flat spiral bracelet I made this week!!!

(The crystals are all Swarovski!)

Me thinks I'll be making a lot more of these!

I have also tried my hand at bead bezzling (embellishing large beads), of course I have used Swarovski rivoli's, but I love doing it so much! I made this set for my mum with sterling silver findings and chain (from Spoilt Rotten Beads)

(With genuine Amethyst round drop on the necklace central pendant)

I've also bought some wonderful genuine

gemstones from the lovely people at Jewellery Maker TV (with some compelling encouragement from my family) all I need to do is make a few things and figure out where/how to sell them! I will update you as and when about all that.

Well, it's late, and I must go, so for now have a happy beading!

* The Bead Shop Liverpool has been mentioned as a supplier in this month's edition of Making Jewellery magazine on page 55!

Mel's Makes