(Metalless) Bling for a Wedding Fling

Few things ignite my creative urge more than being asked to help a bride create some memorable wedding jewelry for her bridesmaids. Crystals, pearls, rhinestones, and shimmer are standard for most lineups. My pal Cheryl of Cupcakinitup' asked Bead Up to custom create some necklaces for her bridesmaids which focused on the plunge neckline of their pink dresses and incorporated black and silver. One little glitch, though - one had to be metal free! At first I thought nothing of this... but then the more and more I thought of how to indeed incorporate crystals and findings and clasps and closures, all of which are often metal based, the more I realized how much I rely on metal in my creations - from as large as metal beads to metal string to metal clasps to even metal crimp beads. 

Though Cheryl said that I could make the metal-less in a whole separate style, I wanted to take the challenge to make something that looked like crystals and glitz and glam, but that all the women could wear. After tearing apart some plastic-based jewelry I found at a local accessory store and investing in some silk string, we had this (the metal version):

Bet-cha can't tell which one is metal and which is metal-free? :) 

Thanks for letting me glitz-up your gals, Cheryl!

Winter Weddings!

There is nothing cold about winter weddings when their brides ask for Bead Up jewelry! 
First up, my high-school classmate, Liz, a veterinarian living in Georgia. Liz has a heart for all things animals and was planning a winter wedding. She first ordered a Birds Nest necklace for herself to wear for her engagement photo session!

Liz reported that the necklace received so many compliments from her friends that she decided to custom order them for all the gals included in her wedding (including a lime green egg)! 

Not only that, but she also commissioned Bead Up to create her wedding jewelry! The instructions were simple: a necklace and bracelet set for herself and necklaces for her bridesmaids in gold, champagne, and taupe colors to match her champagne-colored dress. Working together, we agreed on pearls and crystals on gold wire for both the bride and her maids. After ordering the supplies, we finally had these (I especially love the filigree clasps!):

(click on the photo for a better close up)

And not only that, but Liz's mom wanted some jewelry for herself, too! She commissioned me to make a broach, which I admittedly had never done before, but since I am always up for a good challenge, I tried it out and made this set (a sewn combination of Swarovski crystals under taupe-colored pearls with matching earrings on brass findings):

Put it all together and you have one lovely bride and M-ot-B

(with her broach worn on her collarbone)!

Liz was kind enough to share some of the professional shots from the big day:

Thanks again for being such a great customer, Liz!

Second winter wedding belonged to my sorority sister, Alwynn. This crazy lady and I have many stories from our college days which, well, let's just say that they are confidential ;) Alwynn was planning a January wedding in blues and silver and wanted some bridesmaids jewelry to match. She literally said: "Christyn, just go for it. I trust your judgment." Sweet! Her invitation was beautiful and a great source of inspiration:

Hoping to incorporate the swirls, navy and light blue, creamy white and silver, I used Swarovski, gemstones, and pearls to come up with these:

 (top bracelet is a little something something I threw in for the bride herself!)

Each bracelet and earring set were unique, and of course finished with a little heart clasp. Photos from Alwynn's big day to follow!

Congrats again, Liz and Alwynn :)

Weddings: Fall, Y'all!

Though Bead Up has been MIA on the blog scene, she's been making up for it by being equally and steadily busy making custom creations! (And I do apologize for being blog MIA - it's not you, it's me)! I hope to fill you in little by little with recaps of some custom pieces and wedding ensembles -- here's the first of hopefully many!
You know how in Project Runway the contestants are often given a client-based challenge, but afterwards chastised for not incorporating enough of their own "voice" into the final design? I will admit, this is often the case when I create wedding jewelry - I do what the bride asks and often tone down the Bead Up flair so as to keep it wedding respectable. 
But when my dear friend and sorority sister Regan asked that I not only make her wedding jewelry, but also consulted for my Bead Up design itself, I knew this would be a different kind of wedding job :) Regan started with the basics: she planned to wear a white wedding dress but wanted to accessorize with dark greys and charcoals with a bracelet, earrings, and a broach. After a few more series of questions, we agreed that making a dangly charm-crystal bracelet of sorts would be great, but an exaggerated one would be even better! Though as for the broach - she was leading that all up to me! Lastly, she asked for some matching dangle earrings - but not dainty bridal... funky bridal! LOVE IT. So, after showing Regan some hues of crystals and findings, we agreed on these: 

I have never purchased so many crystals for one piece of jewelry in my life! You can also see the materials I bought for the broach at the 3 o'clock of the photo. I am not going to lie - I had never made a broach before, but I love a good challenge. So I finally found a random pin holder thing, and along with some unique oversized Swarovski crystals and floral wire, I twisted and tied up this:

 And when I applied the base to the form, we had this:

Next was making the charm dangle bracelet. I wire wrapped over 200 Swarovski crystals and, one-by-one, bound them to a gun-metal chain. I loved how the crystals reflected the sunlight!  

After 200 rounds of measuring, clipping, wire wrapping, applying, and arranging, we had this bracelet!

 I sent Regan a photo of the earrings as seen above, though we both agreed that they needed a little "umph!" So...!

Regan's was the first wedding I was able to physically attend this year (that whole moving across the country thing got in the way of traveling across the country again)... and best of all - she got married in the exact same Garden Court where my hubs and I married nearly three years ago! It was a great "homecoming!" As for the jewelry, the trio was the perfect finishing touch to the already perfectly beautiful bride!

http://www.angiewilsonphotography.com/

She and Matt looked so chic and modernly romantic!

And though I had a hard time initially conceptualizing the dark grey accents to this wedding outfit... 

That not only did it match the men's color pallet...

But it even matched Regan's shoes! PERFECT combo!

http://www.angiewilsonphotography.com/ 

Oh, and let's not forget the Bridesmaids (and many of my other sorority sisters)!

...which were a combination of some gold leaf charms from LA's jewelry district and small orange crystals (which included a clip-on version, too!). 

...which, I must say, went very well with the orange fall leaf theme. Who would have known it would have gone so well with the dark grey?  

And when I wasn't helping with the jewelry at the wedding, I was busy taking photos of the guests at the photo booth! Regan's wedding was so well planned and Bead Up is still thrilled to have been a part of it. Thank you for including me, Matt and Regan - you are loved! 

From Kids Earrings to Sophisticated Necklaces to Wedding Jewelry...

Knowing that I start work in a little over a month (I AM LOVING THIS SUMMER-off STUFF!), I have been spending whatever minute I am not busy at church or with the house on, you guessed it, making jewelry :) Ah, this is the life. Where to being?


A few weeks ago a girl from my church was wearing some super cute earrings. I told her that I liked them... her mom told me that she loves wearing glamorous earrings...  but not the price tag. I told them I could teach her how to make them herself for free. Next think you knew, I had two 11-year old gals (the first brought a friend) and her mom at my kitchen table ready to learn! Making dangle earrings really is quite easy (and after this whole teaching lesson I am going to make a tutorial and start selling DIY earrings kits for kids - not sure why I didn't think of that before!), and these kids (and adult) got it with little instruction! Here is what they created in less than 2 hours!:

Needless to say, I was quite proud :)

Next on the list was several sets of bridal jewelry. Someone contacted me on Etsy awhile back and asked if I could make several sets of my pearl ball necklaces with matching earrings, though change up the color a bit to include white pearl ball rather than a salmon one. Consider it done!

After I sent Laura her earrings and necklaces (I threw in a set for the bride, too!), she wrote:
"I just got them- they are beautiful!!!!!!  I love how everything turned out- thank you so much!!  Thank you for including an extra for myself :) I put it on immediately haha (figure it has to go away till the wedding, but couldn't help myself)- they are so beautiful!!! Thank you so much for working with me on this- was a pleasure!! :) would def recommend to anyone who asks. Thanks again!!!!!!"


I also got a last-minute phone call from a few friends at church stating the need for a mother-of-the-bride necklace for a wedding a few days away! The gals brought the dress that the MOtB planned to wear and we collaborated to make a necklace/earring set of pearls and crystals - my favorite! Best of all, I spotted the MOtB at church the next weekend wearing the pearl and crystal earrings with white jeans and a blue shirt - it was an unexpected match made in heaven! I have since duplicated and posted the earrings on Etsy - thanks for the inspiration, ladies!

Last but most certainly NOT least, one of my most favorite customers turned dear friend (whom we met via this blog, actually!) commissioned me to make a necklace with a rather unique source of inspiration - the colors and art she plans to use for her baby's nursery! Nilsa plans to wear the necklace at her maternity photo shoot in a few weeks, and asked that we focus on turquoise, lime, and orange based on these pieces of art she is loving from Etsy (check out Nilsa's blog for the link to each piece!):

Focusing on the vibrant orange, turquoise, and lime color scheme Nilsa requested, I started by sending her a picture of some beads I had on hand that might work:

From there we agreed on these beads:

Now for the actual layout. I had some lofty ideas for this project, but after a few failed attempts, I knew I could easily do something like this as seen on Michael's.com:

Nilsa and I agreed on making the necklace 3-strands and measuring right above the bust... so I went to work and sent her these pictures along the way to make sure we were on the same page:

After getting her OK, I finished the wire strands off and put it all together on the toggle clasp!

This project was a great way to use some of the more upscale beads I have been collecting but too afraid to use up :) The turquoise, jade, and crystal beads make for one mighty fine statement necklace, if you ask me, and it's not made of plastic! Can't wait to see your maternity shots, Nilsa! Congrats on your pregnancy and thanks for allowing me to be a part of the celebration!

Oh, and I almost forgot. Bead Up has some VERY exciting news! Not only am I now an official business in the State of Missouri (it only took me 2 hours total to get it done - amen for the Midwest!), but I have set a date for the Second Annual Cupcakes, Cocktails, and Creations party! I have been working with local artists and bakers to get some other vendors in on the party, which will be held in my house (again, hooray for Midwest suburban super sizes!). Buckle up, Kansas City, and start saving your spare change!

So save the date for August 28th from 2-5! I couldn't be more excited!

Reasons to Celebrate

Well, friends, it's been a busy few months in the Bead Up world. Lots of custom orders, lots of creating a cohesive Fall Line, and lots of sales :) Here's a little re-cap of things to celebrate: Wedding jewelry I made custom pieces for some friends' weddings this summer. I blogged about making Roni's custom bracelet back in May, and had a hard time waiting for her August wedding to arrive so we could see pictures of the combination! Her pictures not only turned out beautifully, but I must say, I am super please with the combination (thanks for taking the time to take these great shots, Roni!).

(Photo by Lisa Leigh)

Back in July I also blogged about making a pearly bracelet for a high school classmate's August wedding. At this point I have yet to see any of the professional pictures I hope Sarah took of her bracelet and dress combination, but I did manage to find a few thanks to Facebook stalking ;) Finally, my child-hood friend Chrissy asked me to make her several pieces of jewelry for an Indian wedding extravaganza she was in last month. After going back and forth on the design in my mind (and blogging about it here), I am happy with how the pieces turned out (and that Chrissy was happy, too!). Custom Necklace I have been amazed with how powerful homemade advertising has gone in my little Bead Up journey. For example, I have made a point to only wear jewelry I have made as a means of showing off my products in person. This method has worked at work, in stores, at parties, and especially at church. A few months back a friend named Sue asked me if I could make her a custom necklace for a blazer for which she just couldn't find a matching necklace. Sue said that she especially liked a Red and Black Glass necklace she had noticed me wearing, but wanted it to match the hues of a very colorful blazer, particularly the pink and navy of her coordinating belt. I took mental note of the colors and was really disappointed with what Michael's had to offer, but bought a few matching tones and went with what I had. Thankfully, Sue was really pleased with the end result. Here is the necklace and her blazer, in addition to a picture of Sue and me (with respective husbands in between) in her new necklace and me in the original inspiration piece (purely coincidental!). Pi Necklace So I made this "Pi Love" necklace a month or so ago in hopes of gaining Bead Up exposure among my Sorority Sisters. Though I sent out about 200+ messages on Facebook promoting the items to my gals, I only sold 4/6 of the necklaces to ADPi's. A gal in Spain bought the 5th necklace to give to her boyfriend who, according to her, was a math student and loved Pi (I of course suggested I take off the crystal bead and replaced it with a silver bead, instead!). The last necklace I had available sold last week to a gal in Texas. After she got the necklace in the mail, she wrote: "I got the necklace today and it's soo beautiful. Just like my friend. I can't wait to give it to her. She has done so much for me in the past it's insane. Our relationship irrational and never-ending just like the digits of pi." What a great interpretation of the necklace that I had made for a totally unrelated reason - thanks, Priya! Reasons to celebrate! Bead Up has experienced several milestones in the past, but last week's was a most highly anticipated one: my 100th Etsy sale! (Don't get me wrong, I have sold more items than that since I do alot of sales off-line, if you will...). A special thank you to my dear friend Cheryl for buying the 100th item - make sure you check out her FABULOUS Cupcake Blog while you are at it! I also noticed on my map widget the other day that I had people on 5 continents visit my blog within a 24-hour time frame! Sweet! Cupcakes, Cocktails, and Creations And speaking of Cupcakes and sweets... a friend of mine from church has offered to throw me a JEWELRY PARTY! The vibe I am getting is that it's kind of like a bridal shower, but without the giving of gifts. Almost like a Tupperware party ;) My gal Marla has offered her home and her food so long as I bring the goods for an October 24th afternoon get together, entitled "Cupcakes, Cocktails, and Creations." This will (hopefully) be a great way for me to both gain exposure, sell some items, and hopefully get rid of some older items and make way for newer ones! I have never had a jewelry show before, and deciding what new items to post to Etsy and what to save for the party has been a bit of a dilemma. I anticipate having at least 50 products at the event, in addition to samples of things I can custom create and order forms for such creations. I have asked my sorority sister, Mary Ellen, to design a postcard for the event, and have asked my 100th customer Cheryl to help provide the cupcakes (she's LA's up-and-coming cupcake critic!). I'll keep you updated as to the progress of the event - let me know if you would like an invitation in the mail :) Fall Line And last but not least, I have been working hard at creating a cohesive and thematic Fall Line for this new season. I made 10 necklaces on Saturday afternoon alone, and have lots more materials within the color and material scheme to make more! As mentioned, I am torn between posting them all at the same time to Etsy, or saving some of them for my Jewelry Party. Since I am not good at keeping things to myself, I just had to post a few - more to come, of course! Here are a few that are new on Etsy. What do you think?

Forever Linked Necklace - $26

Ring Around the Copper Rosie - $14

In Bloom - $15

Happy Fall, Y'all!