I like to stay busy, and this version of my Bead Box did that well. As I mentioned when I stocked Bead Box 11, it wasn't going to take me long to work my way through it because of #the100DayProject and my commitment to #100DaysofMakingJewelry. Sure enough, I was done in no time. Now, it's time for me to reveal what became of the designs in that box.
Let me first explain that my bead box is a simple plastic organizer with 17 compartments. Into each compartment, I place most of the elements for a jewelry design. This is the eleventh iteration of this box. I'll have links to all the others below. Now, here's what I made.
These Which Way Earrings are also on Etsy. I've been looking for ways to use those little arrows (I still have so many of them). I let the turquoise teardrops weigh them down a little while the arrows still dance around a bit, pointing in all directions. They remind me of those signs with all the arrows that point to different destinations so you know which way to go.
I really adore these earrings with the simplicity of their lightweight brass leaves, vintage plastic buds, and brass bead caps. I waited to put on the ear wires until I finished almost everything else in the box. I know they're destined for the Etsy shop, but I'm not sure I'm ready to get rid of them yet (soon, though.)
I've had a bag of ceramic shards that were found on the shores of Mobile Bay for a few years now without really doing much with them. Recently, I began soldering around them to turn them into pendants and charms. This piece reminds me of a wave. I added matching amazonite pebbles and some frosted faceted clear beads to make a chain with silver-colored wire. This Blue Wave Necklace is available on Etsy.
Using fun items from the hardware store in my jewelry brings me a sense of joy. And, these internal snap rings have been so much my jam lately. I simply added a few charms to this one and made a long chain with e-beads and a few beads that match the charms. You can find this Dark Assemblage Necklace on Etsy.
There's not much to these earrings: just some hand-cut tin discs and a couple of interesting beads to go with them. They weren't in the Etsy shop long before they sold.
I was in love with that fairy brass stamping from the first moment I saw it. So, I've been hoarding it away, stealing it away from its purpose. The time was up. Since she is so beautiful, she is simply accented with a chandelier crystal hanging below her and some clear beads to make up the chain. You'll find this Golden Fairy Necklace on Etsy.
I shared how I made these Bead Cap Fringe Earrings a few weeks back once I got one made and realized how fun they were. I had to show you how to make them too. This original pair is available at the antique store.
I found all the elements for these already gathered and bagged up. So, I tossed them in the box. They quickly came together and can now be found at the antique store.
Bracelets are always a bit of a struggle for me, but these Tim Holtz word bars have made them a little easier to design. Before stocking the box, I added the golden Vintaj Patina to accent the words and bent the bar to fit more comfortably on the wrist. From there, it was just a matter of creating the chains with small black beads and gold beads. I added another short length of chain as a bracelet extender along with a few bead dangles for accents. It will be headed to Etsy when I can get some pictures.
With spring upon us, I was drawn to the little flowers on a Mary Englebreit tin. I let the tin hang rather loosely from silver chain but matched the flowers with oaque red and yellow beads to hold the chain and give the earrings a little weight. These are at Southern Antiques and Acccents.
If you read about how I designed this necklace in my previous post, it was simply that I decided the girl in the picture is Juliet (of Romeo & Juliet fame) and used yellow pearls and light blue fire-polished crystals in the chain to symbolize the Capulet family colors. It worked out nicely even though the blue doesn't come through strongly.
I believe I bought this key blank (along with several others) from the same vendor that sold me the brass fairy stamping. While I knew at the time that they were a great blank canvas, I've had a hard time really finding ways to use them that I like. For this one, I added a small glass pebbled and wrapped AB crystals. They key hangs from a soldered glass pebble that also has a bit of an AB coating to it too. For the chain, I used a combination of silver beads and more AB clear crystal beads on silver chain. It's nice and long and will be available on Etsy soon.
Dipping into my chandelier crystal stash always makes me giddy. These two small ones were attached to a chain of vintage crystals. I simply used antiqued copper wire to add the ear wires and attach the little reproduction copper clock hands. Keep an eye out for them coming to Etsy in the next week or two.
I don't even know what had me combining these three elements: amazonite drops, black cultured sea glass coins, and silver spiral beads. But, I do know that all three of these came from ZNetShows and ended up working nicely together with the addition of a little silver wire. They're in the booth at the antique store.
I think these are just too cute! The large frosted faceted glass beads at the top give the earrings a little weight that the other elements don't add. But, it's the brass bow, garnet half-circles, and garnet-colored beads that really give these earrings their cute. I'll be adding them to the Etsy shop later when I can get some sunlight.
If you're interested in taking a look at my other bead boxes and their reveals, here's the full list.
I'm already working my way through Bead Box 12, so I hope to share what's stocked in that one before too long. Oh, and if you're interested in any of the ones that haven't been listed yet, please don't hesitate to contact me (e-mail is best: CraftyHope@gmail.com)
So, which is your favorite?
