Two new necklaces!

I have a few pieces left over from the vintage necklace that resulted in this piece:

Black Cinnabar with a Twist



Some of the link loops had broken off of a few of the pieces. They're so nifty, though, that I've been trying to decide what I can still do with them. Well, today, I figured it out:

Victorian Necklace Vintage Silver Charm Blue Glass Beads on Sterling



That's a classic Victorian style, but the vintage bit gives it a slightly more modern twist, I think!

I've also had a necklace idea playing around in my head for a few months. I saw a piece at a local antique mall, from the late 1960s or early 1970s, and while I loved the style, I hated the materials. I have never been a fan of what I've always called the "scrambled egg" variety of amber, the bright yellow opaque kind, and that's what this necklace was made of, nuggets of this variety with brass chains. I've been thinking ever since that it would have looked so much better in crystal and silver. So here it is:

Rock Crystal and Vintage Chain Choker Silvertone Adjustable Length

Friday Favorites!

This week, it's all about adorning the neck!

Handmade gold color crochet wire lace necklace with freshwater pearls, by ArjasUni:



Sterling and nickel silver collar, by jennapierson:



Mesh brass collar necklace with white pearls, by Cheli:



Cream Shabby Chic Collar Necklace Choker, by My Fair Maiden:



Chess BLACK Lace Victorian Gothic Collar Choker, by MedievaltoModern:



Deluxe Scale Mail Chain mail Mantle Stainless steel collar Dragon Scale Punk, by worldinchainmaille:



Copper Collar & Scroll Pendant Necklace, by zoraida:



, by noracatherine:



Vintage 70s Gold Tone and Filigree Goldette Victorian Choker Necklace, by TheDustyDog:



Purple and Topaz Spikalicious Necklace, by DesignsbyAlladania:



Black lotus Lace Choker Raven Eve Jewelry with vintage jet glass scarab cameo, by ravenevejewelry:



Salome Bead Embroidered Collar, by CircesHouse:

What’s Old is New Again!

Today, I get to present my newest creations for the Artbeads Beaders who Blog program!****

The theme was "What’s Old is New Again!" and the challenge was to incorporate vintage or antique components into our pieces. Hey, I can do that! ;)

This time around I decided to do something completely different, and ordered a selection of resin cameos. I also got a length of some antiqued brass chain, and a fun hook and eye clasp. As usual, the ordering process was smooth and I received my new shinies speedily. It took me a bit to figure out what to do with them, as I don't normally work with undrilled pieces, but after some finagling I figured things out, and I'm quite happy with the results.


One of the cameos in an antiqued brass frame, with a combination of new and old chain for stringing, a hook and eye clasp in the shape of a bumblebee, and the tassel made from more vintage chain and a bit from an old necklace:



Another cameo, with more new and vintage chain, accented by an antique glass pearl from another old necklace:



The third was strung with several different styles of vintage chain, draped and layered:





The fourth, another of the smaller flower cameos on vintage chain with vintage copper colored glass pearls and glass beads:



And the fifth I did as a choker with strung freshwater pearls, more vintage chain, and some antique crystal beads with the original black filigree bead caps.






****This post is a part of the ArtBeads Beaders who Blog program. They provide the beads to us free of charge, and we provide an honest review of their products. We are not paid to review or endorse them.

More old/new Celtic knots

So I finished up going through my y-necklaces yesterday, remade several pieces that no longer seemed to be in my stock anymore, and today I started going through my Celtic knot necklaces. I retook pictures of 10 necklaces today, have two more to retake, but also discovered 18 of this style that I had never listed. 18! That's insane! What was I not thinking when I made these? I worry about my moron-ness sometimes.

So here's a bunch of things that I've had but hadn't listed, and a few things I had listed but didn't have:

Faceted Amethyst Celtic Knot Necklace



Hot Pink Freshwater Pearls and Celtic Knot Necklace



Black Onyx & Milky Quartz Celtic Knot Necklace



Malachite and Celtic Knot Necklace



Cobalt Blue Glass Celtic Knot Necklace



Garnet and Antique Opalite Celtic Knot Necklace



Pale Mint Green Freshwater Pearls and Celtic Knot Necklace

Goodbye, Summer!

I spent all day yesterday laid up with the onset of my regularly scheduled autumn cough. It is settling today. Well, the cough is, at least. My sinuses are a different matter. I don't know which is more miserable, the coughing or the sneezing. And we have the first PTA meeting of the new school year this evening, and the kickoff assembly for our fall fundraiser tomorrow morning. Oh, joy. I will make a wonderful first impression, I'm sure. *aaaaCHOOOOO!* *sniffle*

In protest for summertime going bye-bye, here's a couple of flower bouquet necklaces:





Iridescent Bouquet of Flowers Necklace



Wish me luck for tonight, I'm fading fast.

A Year in the Making, day 272

I'm in another photo situation. The camera battery is dead, and I can't find the recharger this time. Dangit. Finding one black piece of black plastic in a house that's filled with lots of black objects ... yeah, that needle in a haystack thing? Worse.

I spent the evening after making today's necklace at my second waltz class. One two three one two three. We were short gents this evening, so took turns leading, to much hilarity.

Two necklaces today, one from last night and one from tonight:

Pearl and Celtic Knot Y-Necklace:



Amethyst and Pearl Choker:



Now off to a night of watching Dresden Files on Netflix and sipping a glass of cider.

A Year in the Making, day 270

We just got back from watching Shrek 4, which despite the number in the title wasn't half bad. I didn't have high hopes after #3, but it made me laugh and cry in all the right places. Munchkin highly approved.

The husband has been working on finishing up a drinking horn over the last couple weeks, and he's almost done:



Just needs to do a bit more sanding on the outside, then finish it with bees' wax. We were going to attempt some carving on it, but decided it probably would be wiser of us to leave it au naturale.

And I did some stringing today, a fused glass pendant I acquired in a lot of bits and bobs that's been sitting around begging me to do something with it:

Blue and Burgundy Fused Glass Pendant Strung with Pearls and Fire Polished Glass



Now we're off to do something nefarious and tasty to the leftovers from last night's salmon dinner.

A Year in the Making, day 267

I got all caught up in my project yesterday and forgot to post here! Of course, I do have a bit of an excuse. I went for a lovely lunch at the Crepe Cafe, but afterwards the stomach wasn't happy. Spent the rest of the day as a pathetic lump on the sofa. It worked out, though, because I finished a new parasol! This is a custom order for a friend. I'm calling it the "Cotton Candy" Parasol, for obvious reasons:


Cotton Candy Parasol by *dbvictoria on deviantART



I also got a new necklace completed before I went off to brunch yesterday:

Amethyst Necklace Hand Wrapped in Sterling Silver Wire



Be heading off to the farmers' market this afternoon for work, but hoping to get out and about and maybe take a few pictures beforehand. Mother Nature looks to be drooling today. We'll see.

A Year in the Making, day 265

I'm celebrating today!



Last night, I had my 100th sale from my Designs by Victoria's Etsy shop! Hooray!

Weather continues to be grey and gloomy and a little too cool. But I shouldn't complain, because that's better than a little too hot, right?

Here's today's silver lining, a new steampunk piece:

OOAK Steampunk Pirate Queen Necklace with Freshwater Pearls



Now off to go play with electricity, because the lights just went off in half the upstairs for no reason we can determine. Booo.

And more for the girls

Because, hey, why not? Here's some great chic, contemporary, handmade jewelry from another Jewelry on Etsy teammate, LotusStone.

She's got some great sets available, each matched by name in her listings. My favorite is the Kathleen set:







There's also the Adriel necklace, a delicate silver leaf:



And look! More garnets! A set of earrings with my favorite stones and matching freshwater pearls:

A Year in the Making, day 258

I spent a fruitless evening trying to get Mass Effect I to install on my computer, and I've given up. What a waste of money. Very disappointed.

Here's a quickie tonight, and then I'm going to go drown my game sorrows in another bit of Dragon Age.

Sardonyx Necklace on Sterling Silver and Chain

A Year in the Making, day 257

One two three one two three ....

I went to a dance class and had my first lesson in 19th century waltz. I'm still dancing in my head! Looking forward to more lessons. Somehow I can find the time, I hope.

Two new pieces today, one I actually made last night before bedtime.

Green Jasper and Wood Necklace



Steampunk Necklace - Sardonyx and Sterling Silver



Now off to nomnomnom on something. What, I'm not sure yet, but it will have avocado on or in it.

A Year in the Making, day 220

Day two back in the wire-wrapping saddle. Going to have to cut back a bit, as the arm is feeling a little sore. That's what I get for feeling cocky. But I did finish another necklace. And I'm still ahead of the game - clocking in at 251 items for day 220.

Steampunk Y-Necklace with Faux Pearls:



This piece will be donated, along with a pair of matching earrings once I get them done, to the silent auction for the Seattle Steampunk Film Festival, May 8th & 9th, as a part of their fundraising efforts to repair the historic clock at the Seattle Museum of History and Industry, which was vandalized on Christmas Eve last year, barely a year after it had been donated.

Part of the repair cost is covered by insurance, and the festival is hoping to raise the funds to cover the deductible, and hopefully also a security camera system to prevent a recurrence.

They'll be showing the old classics Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Time Machine, and there'll also be classes in a variety of topics offered through Steampunk University, including a session on thriftstore Steampunk costuming by yours truly, because I have a little experience in that.

A Year in the Making, day 184

Time to get back to work! Spring is here, my tulips are beginning to poke their little heads out, and I'm hitting the green box. I've also got some gorgeous 3mm peridot Swarovskis coming soon.

Tulips are a very vivid childhood memory for me. There's a lot of Dutch blood in our American mongrel pedigree, and my mother had these amazing tulip beds when I was growing up. I remember the catalogs coming every fall, and her picking out the new varieties to add to her beds.

Here's a necklace from yesterday, March's birthstone.

Bloodstone chunk necklace



The second piece, mixing some brand new pearls with one of the last of the most amazing fluorite beads from the stash:

Green Chinese Fluorite and Freshwater Pearls