Goddess Necklace & A Long Skull & Crystal Rosary Chain...

I wrote that last Sunday Lynn was over for a jewellery-making session and came up with a goddess necklace using a resin pendant she'd been keeping for some time. She roamed through my bins picking out earthtone bone and horn beads. The thin white and black spacers are African ostrich egg heishi. Yesterday, she brought the necklace to the market where I crimped and added a copper clasp and wire-wrapped the earrings. Here is the final result:

Lynn's goddess necklace

Hi Barbara,

I'm famous again ! . . . thanks to you!!!

I enjoyed wearing my necklace all weekend.

Thanks, Barbara, for your help --

I like coming to your 'Jewellery-making boutique on the Grand'. 

While at the market, I had time to rosary-wire-wrap black skulls and Chinese crystals. I debated about making this into a choker as is, but I decided to add a long adjustable Greek leather cord. This way, the necklace will extend to about 40", or it could be wrapped multiple times around your wrist and still be perfectly adjustable to fit anyone. I used jump rings to join each section, so it's possible to piece in more segments or to add your own dangles.

Tiny dyed black howlite skulls, Chinese rondelle & bicone crystals,
tinned copper wire & black Greek leather, adjustable to 40"
SOLD

Nice drape

I can't believe how chewed up my fingers get wire-wrapping

Because Lynn had brought her own pendant and sterling earwires and did her own designing and stringing, the final bill for everything was about $20 in new beads and wire-wrapping/crimping on my part. This is a very cost-effective and easy way to make your own jewellery that will look exactly the way you want in the colours you like and fit perfectly while spending productive time hanging out, sharing a potluck lunch and laughing a whole lot. You can learn techniques and how to use tools, or just pick beads and I'll do the rest for you. Email me to chat about what you'd like to do and I'll give you a quote for a morning, afternoon or all-day jewellery-making session (except Saturdays). For now I can only accommodate two people maximum.

Yikes, in a week and a half I'll be at The Gem Expo at the Hyatt Regency on King Street in downtown Toronto where I'll have turquoise, matte lapis, jade and carnelian, lots of handmade reproduction Javanese glass beads all in full or partial strings or loose, as well as interesting and unusual pewter and fetish beads and pendants. And skulls. Lots and lots of skulls. I will also have finished necklaces, bracelets and earrings made with my turquoise and lapis ready and waiting. Do all your Christmas shopping in one fabulous 3-day weekend, November 22nd, 23rd & 24th, with me and all the other great vendors at the show.

Thanks for looking -- if you're local, come and see me on Saturday mornings at the Woodstock Farmer's Market or check out my new showcase seven days a week at the One-of-a-Kind Antique Mall, and definitely see you at The Gem Expo!



Mailiing list entry for personal $2 off coupons
http://www.thegemexpo.com/index.php/2coupon

Raw Lapis & Javanese Glass Choker...

Strangely unproductive afternoon. I had all these plans for making things but time slipped away. Fridays are like that for me. I have to be pretty much finished up by 5:30, packed up by 6:00 and then winding down so I can be horizontal by 7:00, 8:00 at the latest, and asleep not much later than that depending on how much I read. I did get a half-dozen guy-style chokers with pewter pendants put together, as well as this raw lapis and Javanese glass bead leather choker. What usually happens is it looks okay for real, but then I can see all the holes and/or weaknesses in the colours and shapes when I see the photos.

I'm trying to decide if those beigy-coloured stone beads should get replaced by lapis beads of the same shape. Probably... d'ya think?

I'm also curious if there will be any response to this tinned copper seed bead rosary chain necklace with the very subtle addition of a dangling clear glass skull and Chinese crystal pendant.

I have lots of rosary chains in different colours all made to about 19" in length. I plan to spend tomorrow adding clasps. But now I'm wondering about an all-crystal rosary chain... Having finally finished watching the currently available Bones seasons on Netflix, I will queue up the last few episodes of Human Target and start making a crystal chain. I have been immensely productive here in terms of chain-making. I need to set up a small table at 90 degrees to my computer setup here for my beads and bead mat and I'll be able to string, as well.

It took me a while, but by the second season of Human Target I figured out it was filmed in Vancouver. (Bummer that it's been cancelled. It's a pretty good show. I'm not sure if that's because so many other movies in particular that I've tried to watch are so abysmally awful that this is good in comparison or not. Certainly the fight choreography is pretty good.) My first sight of Vancouver was in September of 1978, arriving at the train station after three days crossing Canada. Absolutely magnificent scenery and, certainly in those days, fabulous food and service on VIA Rail. It was almost shocking to see that it looked exactly like in my memory of the place, minus the TV show carnage, of course.

Thanks for looking!