(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!

100th post!

That's right - this is my 100th post! I started this wee-little blog last May with the intention to expand my Etsy shop through blog lovin' and interaction! Since then, Bead Up's blog has ranked in 227 Google followers, 33 Networked Blog readers and another 176 fans on Facebook, readers from every continent, and over 10,000 hits! Wahoo! Thanks for being one of those faithful followers :) This past February also marks the anniversary of my first Etsy sale (now which ranks over 150 on the website with 105 feedbacks of 100%, and over 300 custom and in-person sales)! It's been a great year - especially since I never thought that Bead Up would grow at such an encouraging rate! Though most people do big-ole' giveaways when they hit milestones such as these, I don't want to over-do it since I just had a series of giveaways and am still co-hosting one that ends on Sunday (click here to enter if you haven't already)! Instead, I am pleased to announce the winner of the Lovely Clusters giveaway. In case you forgot, Bead Up was in the running to be announces a user favorite Blog or Etsy shop. Thanks to all of you who voted, I came in 3rd for Favorite Jewelry Shop (only losing by 2 votes - dag nabbit)! After numbering your entries and using the Random Number Generator, I am pleased to announce that the winner is my buddy John (who actually blogged about our recent doggie adoption on his own doggie blog)! John asked that I either raffle or donate the necklace's price to Used Pets, the organization in which I found my new doggie. I love this idea, and am going to put alot of thought into how best to raise funds for them through Bead Up'in! Lastly, I finished a custom wedding set of jewelry for a friend of mine here in LA. Adrienne asked if I could make her some statement necklaces to match her brown and sage colored themed wedding, and if she could provide the beads herself? Not only do I LOVE making statement necklaces, but I really love when the client provides some of the materials - it makes the process that much more reflective of their own style! I recommended some of my favorite locations in LA's jewelry district to Adrienne, and a week later she presented to me some really cool looking wooden disc beads and some round sage gemstone beads. After showing her some ways that I could string and arrange the beads, we agreed on using brass colored findings for the 2 bridesmaids's necklaces, one junior bridesmaid's necklace, and a flower girl bracelet (which Adrienne requested be made with crystals).I even had enough beads remaining to make a necklace for Adrienne, too! I hope she likes them!