Ocean Moods Necklace

Hi Everyone!

I'm so excited to finally be able to share the publication of one of my designs in Beadwork magazine!
I created this back in June, so it's a while between creation and publication!

I love the ocean and I always love to create in ocean colors.  Here I used blues and greens with bits of purple and brown.  All the beads were from Halcraft, which you can find online or at Michaels.  I chose some of their beautiful agate and amazonite slices, cut points and rounds in fire crackle agate for the main beads and accented them with smaller rounds and rondelles.  It's very easy to put together also with easy knotting on waxed linen.

Ocean Moods Necklace

Look for Beadwork magazine online or in your favorite craft store.  It's chock full of great designs in stitched beading as well as a section on stringing (there are nine strung necklaces in this issue!).

Here it is in Beadwork in the "fast and fabulous" section:

Ocean Moods Necklace

Thanks for stopping by!

Pretty Palettes :: Ocean Inspired

Hi all,

This month the Pretty Palettes jewelry challenge has a wonderful ocean palette - perfect for summer. 
I'm a summer child and the ocean has always been my happy place.  I head to the ocean any chance I get.  I'm very lucky this year; I've been to the ocean at least three times and have camping trips set for two more!

Here is one of the photos chosen by Erin Prais-Hintz from a site for free use photos called Unsplash.

[Photo credit :: Aleksandra Boguslawska :: Unsplash]

Here are the beads that Erin chose for the challenge from Bead Gallery line from Halcraft:

Here are the beads that I chose:

They are also from Halcraft, but these are the Bliss Beads line, which is available at JoAnn's. 

I threw some Bead Gallery beads into the mix also.  I had some of the gold bicones and some brown shell beads from past designs. Then, I found some at Michaels that I thought were perfect for this theme.  They remind me of driftwood on the beach.  I played with these for hours!

Here is one pair of earrings:

Here are some other earrings with waxed linen, shell beads and howlite discs.

Here's the necklace:

Beachcomber Necklace

I made the necklace with wood chips, starfish, fish, gold bicones, shell beads, and turquoise dyed howlite pieces.  I used a mix of metals and added a little patina to color the metals. 

Here's a closer view:

Beachcomber Necklace

I picture myself in my favorite summer activity - searching tidepools for bright anemones and starfish or strolling the beaches poking among the seaweed for shells and driftwood. 

Head back to the Pretty Palettes : June Reveal for all the other beautiful ocean-inspired designs.  Thanks for the inspiration, Erin!