Swarovski- out of the blue

I'm a big fan of Swarovski jewellery, Mr C always brings me a little something from his golf trips, (to keep me sweet so I let him go next time, he-he), here are just a few of my favourites from Swarovski's new summer 2010 range.

Lychee bangle.

Two brightly coloured fish float playfully on this summery gold-plated bangle. The articulated fins and tail give a sense of movement. Red and white crystals set in the Pointiage technique add extra sparkle.

Lychee earrings.

Love them!

Lychee ring.

Look ring.

I want this!

This ring certainly won’t go unnoticed when you raise your champagne glass at a cocktail party! A true statement piece, it has a unique and intriguing design that opens up like a treasure chest. The outside of the rhodium-plated ring is adorned with coloured crystal pavé while the inside is covered in red epoxy. 

 Liz brooch.

I am a sucker for brooches!

Inspired by the underwater world, this rhodium-plated coral brooch sparkles in vibrant red with Red Magma effect. The lower part of the coral shines in various different crystal colours in Pointiage. 

 D-light metal.

Now this is super-cool! Not cheap though, at £925.00p

Reflect innovation with a bracelet that turns into a watch at the touch of a button. Specifications: case - stainless steel, 34X56mm; time display - 171 crystals; numbers - digital display; strap - stainless steel bracelet; movement - Swiss quartz. 

 Anchor pendant.

Boat charm.

I have a thing for nautical!

See the full collection here.

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Crystal & pearl flowers with sieve backs

I am working on a very exiting project, all a bit hush hush at the moment, it's for a design competition, I will fill you in with the full details as soon as I finish.

I will need your votes!

I will be trying out a few new techniques for this project, today I have been making crystal and pearl flowers using sieve backs.

In my box of vintage goodies I have some 1950's beaded brooches, pictured above, thinking to myself, Mm I wonder how these are made? pliers already in hand!

When I took the back off the brooch I discovered that the beads had been wired onto a metal plate with holes.

After a little snooping around I found out that the metal plates were called sieve backs. Now, what I found quite a lot when searching for sieve backs was that most places sold them singularly without the base plate, which is rather silly as you need the base plate to hide all your wire!!!

I did eventually find some (above) with double loops, perfect for necklaces, bracelets, earring dangles, the list goes on.

(These are the ones I made, they measure 2.5cm when finished)

On my first attempt I used head pins, I found it difficult to twist the wire, it didn't turn out as neat as I would of liked, then I tried 0.4mm wire, still, not quite neat enough, I found 0.3mm wire was the best to use.

To make one flower, you will need:

1x 14mm sieve back & base plate

19 lengths of 0.3mm wire

19 seed beads

1x 5mm Swarovski crystal/pearl

18x 4mm swarovski crystal/pearls

You will also need some pliers and flush cutters. First you will need to cut 19x 10cm lengths of your 0.3mm wire. Next you will need to prepare your wires, push a seed bead to the middle of the wire, then fold over, then push on a crystal, you need to push it over the 2 ends of the wire, the seed bead will stop it falling off the end, pull the ends of your wire with the pliers so your crystal is up close to the seed bead, continue with your other wires. If you are using crystal ab beads make sure the iridescent coated side is facing towards the end of the wires.

Now, time to create your flower.

First, your biggest crystal, post the two ends of wire into two separate holes in the center of the sieve back, twist the wires together tightly with the pliers, then trim off the excess wire (about 0.5cm of wire remaining should be enough).

Then you are going to take two of your prepared wires (4mm crystals) you can push the two ends of each through a single hole on the sieve base, then you are going to twist these together (hope I'm not confusing you too much). Work out from the center till you have your flower.

Trim and flatten your wires, then add your back plate, I found it best to use a pair of small scissors to push down the claws of your back plate, when I used pliers they made dents, I also positioned my back plate so the loops were hidden underneath beads.

And there you have it, all you need to do now is add it to your necklace.

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Vintage marcasite tiara

Today is Free Friday (no children), this day is my creative day, I'd made a pact with myself to devote this day to me, and do only things I loved, but it hasn't been going as planned lately :( you know how it goes- just need go grocery shopping, doctors appointment, fold some washing, mop the floor, and before you know it the day is gone, so today I put my foot down, enough is enough!

So I got creative and this is what I have made.

A vintage tiara.
I wired Swarovski pearls and a vintage marcasite flower brooch to a tiara band ( the brooch back was removed).

This is not the tiara I originally planned to make today, my first attempt was using another vintage brooch, I wasn't sure how I was going to get the brooch to stay in place, I had it in my head that with wire alone it wouldn't stay put, maybe I would need to solder it first, but I haven't had enough practice with my blow torch, soldering is a whole different ball game I have come to discover! I know, epoxy resin, big mistake! straight in the bin it went, horrible stuff, I won't be using that again! so I tried wiring it, and to my amazement it stayed in place, so that's how they do it! I wasn't quite happy with how I had wired it, so I cast it aside and started a new one, I'm quite a perfectionist.

And this is the finished product, will be listing it in my Etsy shop soon.

I will be taking part in some link party love this week, you will find links to participating blogs in my side bar, come and join the party:)

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Making a statement

(Necklace form Urban Rose jewellery designs on Etsy)First, let me share my exiting news, (drum roll), I logged into my Etsy shop yesterday, thinking to myself, I'm sure I had more stuff listed, it never entered my head that I had sold something, and guess what? I had! so I jumped in the air and shouted YEY, the kids came running, what's up Mum? thinking I'd won the lotto, I've sold my flower basket necklace, oh! looking at me like I had gone insane, and off they trotted back to the TV, well, I was exited :)Then, today when I logged on, I had sold a tiara, hopefully many more sales to come! It's that little bit of reassurance you need, and hey maybe the stuff I make is ok after all :)So, I need to get my making head on!

(Necklace from Green Eyed Girl on Etsy)Lately I'm in love with statement necklaces, there's so much inspiration around, and so many talented designers. I'm planning to make one of my very own, will have to bring the sewing machine out of hibernation and brush up on my embroidery skills, am looking forward to getting started. The images are but just a few of my Etsy favourites.

(Necklace from E.Sightler Designs on Etsy)

(Necklace from Katherine Cooper on Etsy)

(Necklace from Sol Bijou on Etsy)

(Necklace from Sol Bijou on Etsy)

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Opulent Oddities

(All images from Opulent Oddities photo stream)

If you like something a little bit different, a fascination with the weird and wonderful, then a trip to Opulent Oddities is a must! It's right up my street, and to say I'm the new biggest fan, well, that's an understatement.

And with each piece a wonderful story is told.

"Living in her small trailer house, all she seemed to have control of was her small garden made of pots and hanging ivies. She kept memories of when she was a star in public school, but now she just seemed to fade into the rest of the crowds of unwed, unloved women who kept these small gardens, from which her old memories thrived. Life just isn't what she had expected it to be"

"Whenever he tipped his hat toward me, whenever he briefly brushed against me, butterflies would fly up from my stomach and I'd lose my head and turn giddy"

You can see what the very talented Jordan has to offer over at her Etsy shop, and latest updates on her blog.

I love this necklace.

"Before her hair turned ashy and her knees bent under her rheumatoid, she was a dancer. With her can-can kicks and her fluffy skirts she kept the crowd in love"

 I just had to show you this, not the usual choice of necklace to wear to a ball, very imaginative to say the least :)

Jordan collects antique dentures, partials, bridges, dental molds, dental cards, which is what those are on the necklace above.

"Pressed. Molded. Pushed. Shoved. Cut. Forced. Paint a pretty pink lip on, and your out the door"

"When she was a young girl, she didn't know the things she did wrong. It was all a mistake, children don't have judgment, they plain don't know any better. But now, she's all grown up, with every choice she makes is a conscience effort to dig dig dig"

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