Sunday, November 29, 2015

Art Jewelry Elements Component of the Month - November 2015

When I realized who was hosting the Art Jewelry Elements Component of the Month for November, I was instantly excited.  Caroline's work always inspires me - for some reason I feel like our design and color aesthetic meshes really well.  Just look at these awesome lichen pendants and cabs that we got to play with this month!
I couldn't choose between the turquoise or purple, so I asked if Caroline would just choose one for me.  I already had an idea in my head...
This is not quite what was in my head.  I envisioned a fringe loaded with little beaded cups, just like the face of the pendant.  When I had them made and strung onto the fringe, I realized that I just didn't like it.  The movement was wrong, they didn't hang properly, the plain part of the fringe didn't fit with the rest of the piece.  
So I wadded it all up in frustration...and realized that the problem had solved itself!  I went back in with a new thread, tangled and sewed the fringe into a jumble - this allowed the little cups I had beaded to lay in a cluster facing outwards, like the cups on the pendant.  I added a few more short fringes with bright blue vintage seed beads, to add back in a bit of the wiggle I had taken away. 
More of the bright vintage seed beads and pretty labradorite ovals make up the strap.  I love that these stones perfectly match the grey on the pendant. 
These stones are really light, compared to some labradorite.  Because of this, the flash is a little subtle, but every single one twinkles in its own way. 
Here is a clearer view of some of the beaded cups and tangled fringe.  
I used a rhodium plated TierraCast toggle, as I wanted something substantial, and I love how the dimpled texture ties in with the rest of the necklace.  You can see the flash in some of the labradorite beads here...
Finally back to the beauty shot!  I'm really excited to wear this piece tonight!  And to explore this color combination again.  I'm finding that I really like a light neutral-tone grey with saturated colors.  

Please hop along and see what everyone else has done with Caroline's lichen pendants!  I can't wait to see how the other color combinations look!

Guests

10 comments:

  1. Wow... that's a beautiful piece Lindsay! I so admire your skill at bead weaving, this design is just perfect! And I love how it all turned out in the end. Thank you so much for joining me in the challenge!

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  2. Very cool Lindsay - I love your beaded cups...they're really neat.

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  3. Lindsay, I love what you have done with the fringe, it goes so beautifully! I'm always amazed when I see what you create, so original and such show stoppers!!!

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  4. Lindsay-The colors and design are amazing. Well done!

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  5. what a great idea, to tangle the strands - ended up being perfect! Really love the labradorite with the cab too! Great job!

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  6. Quite lovely - very organic and ocean-like.

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  7. Beautiful. I love your fringe and the story of solving what didn't feel right in the beginning.

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  8. What a brilliant idea to make little cup shapes to echo the pendant! The whole necklace is stunning!

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  9. Great design! I wasn't as ambitious as you with my seed beads lol. Love what you did

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  10. Ooh - its like a Flamenco dancers skirt with those ruffles. Can I say the way you beaded around the loops - very cool. Is that ho its all attached? Or were you just hiding the wire loops? Labradorite for the win!

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