Busy Bead Up

It seems appropriate that I post some of the jewelry I have been creating on Mondays since lately it seems like I can only get around to setting time aside to create in the first place over the weekend! Here's what I managed to pump out this weekend: Last Christmas I gifted one of my dearest customers, Nilsa, a thank-you necklace on the house. Nilsa said that she really liked the necklace I custom made for her friend for Christmas (read all about it here!) and that she would like something kind of similar that she could wear to her upcoming beach vacation. For some reason a long, brown toned dangly thing came to mind, something that could go with a dress and a swimsuit :) Nilsa looks great in browns and oranges and especially likes pieces with an unexpected color combination. I knew that I would want to eventually blog about the piece, since the piece itself would be unlike anything I have ever posted on Etsy before, so I asked my artistic brother (the one who is currently -- still -- living with us) to draw a dress form of a person on which I could sketch the necklace concept. After looking at a few pictures of Nilsa, he drew a, uh, rather artsy figure, on top of which I drew my idea of what the necklace could look like (made of shells, pearls, and crystals, knotted by the torso): When I showed Nilsa the sketch, she replied: "Those drawings are awesome. Thank you to your brother, for making me have a banging body. =) I love the idea of the necklace. I love the design. Gorg! Can I make a teensy request for a pop of color. A turquoise or aqua marine???? I think that would seal the deal for me. My oh my. Love" Turquoise it was! After a few hours of conceptualizing and creating, I came up with this: I am really happy with the result and know Nilsa will be, too! I have thought about putting the item on Etsy, but the piece itself pretty much depleted my fall-colored pearl supply and I don't know if I want to reinvest in more (it was kind of nice to feel like I really - and finally - got use out of them!). I can't wait to post pictures of Nilsa in the necklace and on the beach! I recently (and randomly?) got 4 orders for the wire wrapped birds nest necklace I created a few months ago. All of the orders were for mommies-to-be, except an order I got from a loyal client who has a friend who recently had her 4th bebe! At first I thought that making the necklace with 4 pearls would be harder than making it with 2 or 3, but it proved to actually be easier since the pearls formed a circle naturally (I usually have to heavily manipulate the wire to get a line or triangle of pearls into a circle shape). I have since updated my Etsy listing to include a picture of the nest with 4 pearls -- I heart it! I also met with a client who asked me to make her June-wedding jewelry for her bridesmaids. I had a blast with her and can't wait to blog about it after the pieces are finished! I'll keep you updated! :)