Statement Necklaces for a Black Tie Affair, Etc.

Bead Up had a very, very busy weekend. A very project filled weekend! For starters, the husband and I made 3 (count 'em, 3!) display holders for the upcoming jewelry party! I will be blogging about them every Wednesday until the party :) Let's just say that they all turned out better than I had expected and well within our budget! Secondly, I finished making the most of what I call "dainty necklaces" for the party, and have now moved onto making earrings (I find that I can make more when I stick with one type of product and just produce them in mass quantities rather than jumping all over the place). Next on the list is bracelets and then gifts, and before you know it, it will be party time! I also made a few pairs of earrings for one of my high school friends who asked me to make her something to match the heirloom yellow pearl necklace she is wearing on her wedding day. Abbey originally asked me to make all the wedding jewelery, but after finding her grandma's pearl necklace she made some earrings to match it for her bridesmaids. She called one day in a frantic because she just couldn't come up with a design she liked for herself. On the right is a picture of what Abbey made next to her Grandma's necklace for her bridesmaids, and below is what I came up with. I figured I would give her options in addition to paying homage to the design she originally came up with, but with some extra length to differentiate :) What do you think (I personally like the middle ones the best!)?

Lastly, I also spent some time making several attempts at a statement necklace to go with a little black dress I planned to wear for a taping of Dancing with the Stars. A few months back while in Chinatown I bought some crazy golden coral stick-lookin' beads (which my shopping buddy Erin though were horrendous!). I also bought some beautiful turquoise crystals in downtown LA last month that I have been dying to use. Here is necklace #1:

($26 on Etsy)

I like how it turned out, and though I never mind wearing brown and black together, I didn't think this necklace went well with my dress. On to design #2. I bought a bunch of REALLY heavy, funky, beautiful agate pink and purple beads at a craft store next to Mood Fabrics (the one as seen on the current season of Project Runway) in West Hollywood a few weeks ago and have been itching to use these, too. Here's a little choker of a piece that I came up with:

($30 on Etsy)

I liked how this one went with the dress, too, though still wasn't 100% satisfied as it still seemed to lack the WOW factor I was hoping to achieve. So I finally tackled some crazy big amethyst chips I have been avoiding in fear that I would only find frustration in them. Turns out, I found a winner! I added some little green beads as accent colors and double-wired the thing to make sure it wasn't going anywhere! So yesterday we set off to see a filming of Dancing with the Stars! Here we are before leaving for CBS Studios in West Hollywood. We waited in line for 2 hours before finally finding out that more VIPs came to the taping than they had expected and we were about 30 people shy of getting in. Though that was the sad news, the good news was that they would give us free confirmed seating VIP tickets to a taping of our choice! I left a happy camper after all :) I will let you know when I finally do end up going (I am hoping for next week!). Lastly, did you get a chance yet to enter Bead Up's October Giveaway on Etsy It Up? If not, what the heck are you waiting for? You have up to 13 chances to win one of my Fall Line necklaces! See you tomorrow when I replace tomorrow's I Love You, Wednesday's with I Love DIY Projects that Save Me Money!! ;)

Fashionably Friday: Statement Necklaces on "Sale"

So in light of last week's post on super chic, yet super pricey, Padma Lakshmi's new jewelry line, I wanted to dedicate this week's post to something a little more affordable. I originally intended on talking about some of the fun finds on Target.com, until I came across this interesting article from "Stylelist.com" --- "Statement Necklaces under $150." "$150?" I thought to myself. These better be some darn niiiiiiiiiice statement necklaces for that amount of money (this is coming from the gal who just "splurged" on a $9.99 purse and a pair of boots for $16.99 at Ross!). So I took a look. What I found? Some Good, some Bad, and some just plain Ugly. I'll tell you my thoughts if you tell me yours! The Good:

Black Chiffon Flower Ribbon Necklace

A garland with a Goth aesthetic, this necklace is made of grosgrain ribbon accented with chiffon flowers. Flowers have raw edges and black gem centers.

$16 on Torrid.com

"OOOooooooooooooh," I literally said when I saw this necklace. Me likie. I can see this as a great accent piece to any simple white t-shirt or even formal dress. And the best part? It's only $16! I have seen similar necklaces for sale at Forever XXI, yet had never heard of this "Torrid" shop. I sent the link to a friend and told her to check it out (since she likes affordable trendy jewelry, too). She later snapped in shock: "Woman! It's a plus size shop!" Woops! Totally didn't mean anything suggestive by it, Nicole!

Ranuncula Necklace Tightly packed cotton voile petals, inset with gilded gems and strung between mixed chains. $42 at Anthropologie

The second necklace that the Stylelist originally listed wasn't available on Anthropologie's website for some reason, so this was the next best thing. And best indeed. I like it - ALOT. I wish I had thought of it - the combination of colors, the chain, and the delicate and beautiful flowers. And for $42, I think it would be an excellent Christmas wish-list item.

Floral Grid Necklace Acrylic, Base Metal setting, silver plated $125 at Banana Republic

Though I don't think I would buy this on a normal day, I certainly wouldn't buy it for $125. Especially since it's made of base metal and acrylic (in other words, fake stuff). Oh, BR, you do know how to over price yo' stuff. Don't think you can fool me for a second. However, that doesn't mean it's not totally cute. Especially in comparison to the following...

The Bad:

Stamped Circles Necklace Gold look stamped circles layered neckwear measuring 66cm in length. 100% Metal. $25 from "TopShop"

Arugh, me hearties. Bin turned me facebook settin's on to scurvy pirate mode this day hearty thanks to 'tis treasure chest 'o a necklace. Never run out 'o doubloons fer th' parkin' meter again! (translation courtesy of this website - hilarious)!

Cluster Necklace A modern cascade of interconnecting golden chain links and smoky lucite hexagons. 17"L with lobster claw clasp. Was $39, now $34 on Spiegel

Makes me want to eat the 80's-tastic Honeycomb cereal. Looks like a bulls eye for stingers!

Carmen Cabochon Necklace Faceted cabochon-style stones with rhinestone accents. Hematite-colored chain. $58 by Guess by Marciano

This isn't a total fail... totally... I feel that it's trying to be statement-y yet is lacking a "ka-pow!" element to it. In fact, it looks a little cheap and tacky, if you ask me. And for $58, well, you probably already know where I stand...!

Antique Gold Manor Necklace A wonderfully lush necklace, dripping with dozens of various-size resin beads hand painted in metallic hues to evoke an antique glass effect. 12K shiny, textured gold-plated double oval ring brass chain. Signature spring clasp closure.

$128 from JCrew

I really, really, really don't like the first necklace. It looks like seaweed or some kind of growth from the underworld. However, when I noticed that they also offer it in a bronze color, my heart softened a bit. Then it went back to cold thanks to the $128 pricetag. Ugh.

And the Ugly:UO Mixed Media Necklace Short bib statement necklace with braided fabric and faceted stud detailing. Finished with a lobster claw clasp. Exclusive to Urban Outfitters. Imported. Wipe clean. Was $34, now $19 from Urban Outfitters

So I went back to the 80's and brought back this poop brown piece of rope from when rope bracelets were cool. Then I added some poop brown beads in between, ya know, to give it an urban flair. Then I used the most plain and boring imitation silver clasp I could find to, ya know, give it some chic. And of course it's exclusive to Urban Outfitters because, well, no one else wanted it. But no worries! We've put you, the customer, in mind and lowered the price to $19! That's $15 in savings - you can buy one for you AND your friend! And all you have to do is "wipe clean!" Makes a great dog leash or boating accessory, too!

Ok, now that I've gotten that outta me, I am off to enjoy the weekend. Hope you have a fabulous one, too!

Fashionably Friday: Statement Necklaces Gone Wrong

I think I got in over my head when I started investigating designer statement necklaces gone bad for today's Fashionably Friday post. I originally intended to just post some pictures I found of fugly statement necklaces from Project Rungay's blog (I know I have told you before how much I just adore this blog, right?). Then I thought I would look up the designers listed to see if the items they feature on the runway translate to the items they offer on their websites. Yes, and um, yes. I found more outta control statement necklaces that I could handle, resulting in lots of images on my computer and not enough time or space in just one blog post to handle them. So be prepared for similar posts in the future (I envision reviewing individual designers one at a time)... but for now, I'll stick to just these few. Tom and Lorenzo (from Project Rungay, seriously, check the site out) posted last spring that statement necklaces are in and looking good. Except for these - the fellas really, really didn't care for these. Take a look for yourself and comment on which you do and don't dig. I of course will be doing the same (really? Christyn sharing her opinion? NO!!)... All images can be found here.

It's supposed to be a fashion NECKLACE, not a fashion COMPOST HEAP. Marni

Anyone else getting vibes from Sigourney Weaver in Ghostbusters in this one? Viktor & Rolf

Oh whew! THAT's where my grandma's soap dish went! Stella McCartney

The 80's called. They want their shredded t-shirt back. Marc by Marc Jacobs

A perfect solution for mothers with children who keep losing their art supplies... Louis Vuitton

So glad that all those doilies Grandma taught me how to knit finally paid off! Lanvin

Just in case you forgot your knob for the power switch down at the plant, I brought a backup. Emilio Pucci

I don't know what's worse - the necklace, the awful collar on the shirt that's under the necklace, of those Swedish shepherdess curls this chick has going on! Bottega Veneta

Hey guys! I just got back from the natural rock and gemstone show and bought this in the sale section! Chanel

Thankfully I had extra tile samples left over from when we remodeled our kitchen... Burberry Prorsum

So my daughter took this bead weaving class at JoAnn fabrics last week and made me this! Anna Sui

The aliens have landed. Christian Dior

What's even more horrifying is that from this list of "horrifying" necklaces, I foud myself liking many of them and couldn't bring myself to including them on my "wtf" list! I copied them to include in the post and, after a few double takes, couldn't bear to rip them apart! We'll get to that next time! In the meantime, get the angst from your week out and comment on these doozies! And have a happy weekend, y'all!