I finished the tourmaline, bead bracelet. I kept it simple, just how my friend likes it and added a pair of earrings to go with.
She absolutely loves them! The metallic DMC floss was a real bear to work with but I’m glad I stuck it out. I so love the drape that comes with knotted beads as opposed to flexible beading wire.
If you decide to use the DMC floss with tiny gemstone beads, use lots of wax. LOTS. I made this bracelet quite a few times and each time I started over I had to go through and cut each bead off…. Which is probably why so many people just go the route of beading wire. Also, as soon as you get the bead off the needle, if it seems like it isn’t going to move smoothly, take it off and try another bead. If it snags at all you run the risk of fraying the thread.
Happy Beading!
hand made gemstone jewelry in the works
I love tourmaline. Tourmaline comes in so many pretty colors, it’s an easy to love gemstone.
Between other projects, I’ve been working on two bracelets for a very dear friend of mine. She adores a bracelet that I made for myself several years ago so I wanted to recreate something similar for her. My version, which I don’t think I ever posted about is made with pearls, faceted sapphire beads and copper colored metallic DMC floss.
Crazy right? I love how the Metallic thread looks with the sapphire stones. It’s a very simple bracelet. I braided the thread so that the gemstone beads are spaced evenly and that resulted in a very delicate bracelet. Very Delicate, I’m sure that it’s going to come apart on me one day. So sure, that I told myself that I would never, ever sell a bracelet made with DMC floss. Embroidery floss isn’t really designed for beading.
Which is why I say I’ve been “working” on these two beaded bracelets. I’m not sure if the holes are smaller in the tourmaline beads or what, but I’ve restrung these two multiple times. The beads are just shredding the floss which really isn’t all that surprising. Also noted, the DMC floss has a lot of give to it. So once I knotted them, I gave it a little tug to straighten it out and the thread stretched quite a bit.
I love the drape that comes with knotted gemstone beads and pearls so I really don’t want to string it on wire and crimp it. I’m not giving up just yet, before I throw in the towel I’m going to give it one more go with copious amounts of bees wax. I’ve also decided to switch the metal beads from copper to silver and I hope to have it done in the next few days. I’ll post a photo as soon as I do!
As a side note, I love the center bead on the top strand. I bought the tourmaline beads some time back in either 01 or 02. It was one of the very first strands of beads that I purchased, and the center bead above is the only watermelon tourmaline bead on the strand. If she weren’t such a fabulous friend, I wouldn’t part with it.
At any rate, this is what my creative process looks like. It’s pretty messy and often times I end up with something completely different than what I set out to make. I’ve never been one to plan stuff out on paper…
"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!
Cleo
I finally finished my “Cleo” earrings and it feels good to get them off of my bead board. I heard back from Jean Campbell and there is an error in the supply list that is listed in the book.. The beading pattern in the book calls for 12 metallic blue 2x 4mm swarovski, crystal, bicone beads but you will need 24 beads to complete the project.
You can find very easy to follow instructions, with great photos in her book “Creating Glamorous Jewelry”.One of the things that I love most about this book is that Jean talks about the inspiration for her pieces. “Cleo” was inspired by a photograph of Vivien Leigh in the theater production of Cleopatra. Long and elegant, these earrings are definitely for someone with a slender neck. My first post about these earrings can be found here.
