Artbeads.com Blog - "What's Old is New Again"

Hello friends!

I LOVE my piece I made for the most recent Artbeads.com blog! I blame this burst of creativity on not being able to create while I was moving and the sudden release of stress after being temporarily settled again. *blissful sigh*

I got so many great shots in the sunlight today I am posting several of my favorites :)

We will start with this one. I made all of the lampwork beads based around the colors of the Retro Copper Coin Bead Heart-Lock. I immediately fell in love after spying it on the suggested categories! I thought at first I would add some hints of red, which is NOT my favorite color at all, but I have been warming up to it. After receiving the beads I was enamored by the color and style of the lentil and just HAD to make things to match! I also LOVE this antique brass soaring bird link , this AMAZING loopy antique brass-plated round link round cable chain and Tierra Cast brass oxide pewter lock and key toggle they were perfect compliments to my design!

 

Here is a close up of one of the twisted rose beads I made to match and can you believe  I found a use for the crappy 591068 transparent pink! lol. 

For all of you that aren't lampworkers they passed this transparent pale "pink" off on us. Excuse me if it looks peach to me, but whatever ;) lol. So finally there is a use for it! It was a lovely "vintage" colored glass.   

 

Here is a close-up of the other twisted rose bead I made using CiM unique Desert Pink 511957-2. The thing that I LOVE about CiM is their amazing additions to the color palette. This unique being on and Sepia being another. It is one of my very FAVORITE CiM colors and again just perfect for this design!

I tried out 2 different style leaf glass headpins. The first try is the hp on the right. I thought it was too pointy for the design and really loved the design on the left best for this piece.

 

Here you can see the leaves in action. Don't you LOVE them dangling from the loopy brass chain?!  Oh if you didn't already notice in some of the photos the crystals look blueish. They are Swarovski's "Cantelope" crystal. They are the perfect vintage pink hue. They do shift in different light so just keep that in mind when designing ;)

 

Here is a full view of the necklace. The other components I used were: 4mm antique brass fancy end cap ring, 1.5" antique brass plated 23ga hp's,  4.5mm antique brass plated 21 ga jump rings, antique brass plated crimp ends, and 3/8" organza black ribbon.

 

Here is another shot of the necklace with the key side of the lentil showing. I was really stoked that we could pick items from every category as I have literally NO brass components and they were just the right metal for this piece! I was really lucky to have a scrap of sari silk that was the tie for another bundle I purchased from Mudhound Studio on Etsy. It was the perfect color to go with the brass! I used the black ribbon to do my little knot ties of ribbon over the top of the sari silk. I really LOVE the way the ribbon looks cut to points. I was also SUPER excited to find that I could string my lampwork beads on the ribbon as well! It was stiff enough to string through the hole and thin enough to fit the tiny 1/16th(2mm) bead hole :D Super sweet!

You can see on the right how I made loops of brass chain that go on either side of a lampwork spacer knotted on organza ribbon :D Schweet!

 

Here you can see the necklace worn. I have the perfect porcelain skin tone for this vintage style necklace :D I named it "Love's Locket" :)

I hope you are inspired and go check out some of Artbeads.com's awesome new booty for your designs!

**EDIT** Here is a shot of the altered design. Just moved the clasp "right side up" with a little tweak and some crimp covers.**

Much love,

Genea

**DISCLAIMER** I have received these products free of charge from Artbeads.com. I am reviewing these products honestly and have not been paid for my endorsements as it pertains to products received.**