Commissioned work with new materials

I heart figuring out a new jewelry method by mistake or chance encounter. Actually, no - fewer things make me happier than when people ask me to make custom jewelry to celebrate a loved one. Wait - no, I am happiest when I have returning customers asking for more. Scratch that - I am happiest when a returning customer asks me to make jewelry for their loved one and I learn a new technique in the making!

Recently, my friend Nilsa's husband Sweets contacted me with a simple request: leather. Apparently this is the traditional third wedding anniversary gift and Sweets wanted to go traditional and romantic, yet stick within his wife's tastes and aesthetic, which he knew I knew. I was up-front with him: as a vegetarian, I will admit that I have never really worked with leather before. Oh, and did I mention that the necklace was needed in less than 4 days? :) He asked me to go for it and see what happens. 

After doing some "research" (i.e. browsing around the internet for inspiration) I had an idea of the type of necklace I wanted to do (i.e. no hammering or welding required - heck, I prefer to stay away from glue, too) though knew that leather string is thicker than your average beading wire and would thus require beads with very large holes. The only beads I had on hand with large-ish holes happened to be some beautiful gemstones and crystals I purchased from Arizona and LA. So, after some playing around, we had this:

The little white beads are especially cool... my mom purchased them for me from a Native American craft vendor in South Dakota. Apparently they are hand-cut glass beads that are over 100-years old. When she gave them to me, I thought to myself, "Where the heck am I going to use these?" It makes sense that I used them with leather! I also avoided having to use glue thanks to some gold crimp beads. 

But then came the real challenge - closure. How dost one secure leather strings with a clasp? After tying the strands in two large knots, I played with all kinds of methods of getting a clasp on there. I even gave in and used glue to make sure that the leather wasn't going anywhere. Then it dawned on me - duh - free-style wire. Thanks to that pesky glue, I know this closure is there to stay.

Nilsa was tickled when she received the necklace: "You are so sneaky! I cannot believe you worked with Sweets to make such a GORGEOUS necklace for me! I absolutely love it and hope that your first go with leather wasn't too painful. =) We went to a concert last night and I picked an outfit that ensured I could wear the necklace. LOVE IT!!! Thank you so much for turning it around so quickly!" See, this is why I love working with returning customers who want to make something for their loved one while I learn a new method in the process...! 

Meanwhile, I was sitting on another piece that was quite overdue. At one of my shows, a client noticed that I had a porcelain Chinese bracelet on display. She bought it, then handed it back to me: "I would like a necklace to match a pair of earrings that I own which feature the same beads." Her earrings seemed simple:

But then I realized - though I have wrapped beads before, I have not necessarily wrapped rounded beads, let alone such smooth and glossy beads! I sat down at my work table and just stared at my material: a bracelet that I made which I will have to cut apart, and some wire. I played and played with the beads and wire with no luck - that wire was movin' everywhere and would not stay in one place. Then I noticed a Sharpie marker nearby and LIGHTBULB! I first wrapped the wire about the Sharpie to create a coil, then popped the bead inside the coil to get it to stay in place - rather than trying to make the coil around the bead itself. After some working, I finally had this: 

Not quite what I had envisioned, but it worked and resembled the inspiration earrings. Now that I know how to work it, I think I will play with this method more often! 


What are some new materials that you have worked with and ended up loving?

Maternity Jewelry

A few months ago I blogged about a custom, commissioned necklace I made for my dear friend Nilsa. Nilsa asked for a funky, bold statement necklace to coordinate with the orange, teal, and lime colors of her nursery:

After discussing our options, we came up with this: 

Nilsa not only wore the necklace to her maternity shots, she also wore a "vintage" Bead Up lime green cluster bracelet (one of my first creations - you can read about it's anatomy here!):

So, what am I waiting for? Here are the best of the best!

Thanks for including Bead Up in your very special photo session, friend! 

Oh, and be on the lookout within the next few weeks for a very special Blog update! Craft on!

New Items and A FABULOUS Giveaway!

Sometimes you just need a little ::umph:: to get motivated to get a daunting task done. Take for example posting new items on Etsy. This used to be one of my favorite aspects of selling on Etsy. Well, let me rephrase that -- SEEING my product finished and listed on Etsy is one of my favorite parts, actually photographing, measuring, and describing the items can be a little tedious. That said, I have had quite the pile of "new" items that I made before my Christmas jewelry shows. At the time, I figured I would show them and then post on Etsy that which didn't sell. Needless to say, this task has been hanging over my head for 3 months! So yesterday when I found myself with a whole day with nothing on the calendar, as I was staying home sick from work so as not to infect my colleagues with a head cold that's building, I FINALLY got around to listing some of said new items! Click on each image to see it's Etsy listing! The other main ::umph:: reason to get back on the ball was because Bead Up got alot of online visits yesterday! My dear friend Nilsa wrote the most lovely blog entry on the necklace I made for her a few weeks ago. Not only did she say some flattering things about Bead Up, but she and I also collaborated for a GREAT GIVEAWAY, featuring the following products! Also - anyone who mentions Nilsa's blog during checkout when buying a product from Bead Up will get FREE SHIPPING! It doesn't get any better than that, lovelies! Click here to enter the giveaway now :)

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! :)

Prom Jewelry and Treasury

Well, looks like the bracelet and ring I made for Courtney's prom worked out well. She said she got more compliments on the bracelet than the ring, which is fine by me since it was the first ring I ever made! Glad to have helped. Next on the list is still my friend Kelly's wedding necklace and her bridesmaids necklaces. I have been going back and forth with the design of her necklace in my head for months now, especially since she was on the fence about her dress and then ended up getting a different one with a different neckline. This new one is all lace - beautiful, thick, creamy lace. In my opinion, such detail should be the centerpiece of the outfit, so I am thinking twice about the wrap-around necklace I was envisioning before. Though I am totally inspired by this necklace I noticed in my friend SoMi Speak's wedding picture (click it for a link to her photographer's site): What do you think? I would probably use some kind of a crystal or pearl pendant. I think it's close enough to my first design idea, yet simple enough to not take away from the dress' detail, too. Meanwhile, a high school classmate asked me today via Facebook (an admittedly great marketing tool!) to make her a bracelet for her wedding. Also got asked to do a swap of goods with my friend Chrissy, who needs several pieces of jewelry to go with a Indian wedding bridesmaid's sari. In exchange, she's going to either make me a purse or some screenprinted t-shirts! Me like! Finally, I was informed that I was listed in an Etsy treasury this week -- my first! Thanks, VintageEmbellishment!