“Carmen”. A Jean Cambell Design

"Carmen"

“Carmen” is another design from Jean Campbell’s, “Creating Glamorous Jewelry”.  I struggled with this pattern more than I thought I would.

My thread broke twice. Both times, I was running the needle through one of the 2mm swarovski round beads around the outer edge. The thread didn’t break by the needle though, instead it broke the thread in the peyote stitching around the base of the ring. The third go round, I took a very close look at the beads as I was adding them. One of the crystal beads was chipped, so I think that was the culprit. I traded the bead out for a new one, and then waxed and re-waxed my thread. I also lessened my tension a bit.

I love the way that the peyote stitch shank attaches seamlessly to the ring top. It just zips right in. I also like the edging used around the outer edge of the shank of the ring. I wasn’t sure that I was going to like it, but now that it’s done I’m finding that I do.

“Carmen” was inspired by a photograph of Carmen Miranda. Like Carmen, the ring is hard to miss.  I have long fingers but I think that this design might be a bit overwhelming on a more petite hand.  I slipped the ring on my finger when I finished it. I was on my way out the door to pick up my daughter from school and I wanted to see what she thought of it. We swung by Starbucks, and the gentleman at the window noticed the ring right away. “Carmen” is definitely not for wallflowers!