Braided

I actually wore this necklace today. I like this one because it's simple and it goes well with my work uniform, which is a light-blue button-up.

If you look at the image close up, you can see that the seed beads I used are blue, but also kind of give off a purple and sometimes teal coloring. 

I say this necklace is "braided" because there are three wires to this necklace. I strung them all separately but combined two of them together at intervals of 10 seed beads with a Swarovski crystal bead (light blue, dark blue, purple, and teal). The wire that wasn't used would get 22 seed beads (instead of 20 and a crystal like the other two), and would be used in the next segment of the "braid."

It's kind of difficult to explain  how to "braid" with beads, so I'll give you an illustration! The stars are where the wires connect with a crystal bead.

I'm not sure if my illustration helps, but that's how it's done!

That's all I've got for today!

Oh, and eventually I'll get to some simple "how to's" on jewelry making. I think I'll even do some short videos (30 second) for some of the harder things to explain.

Multi-Layered

I really don't have a name for this one. The best thing about this necklace is that it's recycled! Yay! Granted, a recycled necklace to me, means that it's made from the remaining beads of other necklaces (I buy too many beads, but never throw the excess away).

This necklace looks really nice with dresses, slacks, or jeans. It's very versatile. It's made from different shaped glass beads in clear and black, strung on two 60" wires and spaced with black seed beads (on one wire) and greyish silver seed beads (on the other). Both wires go through the large glass beads, keeping the wires together.

The necklace was made to wear as a double layer: 

But also looks great if you triple-layer it:

And I may shamelessly plug my brother's Web site, but I want to point out that he did not take the pictures of the necklaces. That was actually my oh-so-great photography in my "studio."* I think I'll have to get some models (probably just myself) for future necklaces. Fall is a big necklace-making time for me because as of last year, it started to be a Christmas present tradition of mine.

*(My studio is actually a wall sconce covered in a black spandex skirt on my bathroom counter.)

How to start...

Well, here it goes. My first post. I think I'll start with one of my favorites, a necklace I like to call "Twilight." 

About a year ago I saw a necklace in a jewelry catalog that was made from crystallized rhinestones that were spaced apart on a series of ball "dog tag" style chains. It was a cute necklace, with the spaced sparkles, and I just loved the name that the jewelry company gave it, "Twilight" (I'm actually a huge fan of the Twilight books by the way). Well, I figured I could make a necklace with the same kind of basic design (spaced crystals on multiple lengths of chain), but make it a little more my own; plus I needed a necklace to match my rehearsal dinner dress for my wedding (which was royal blue). 

The necklace I ended up with turned out great (in my opinion). I used small Swarovski crystal beads (in three different shades of blue) surrounded by silver spacer beads and then clear and AB (aurora borealis) Swarovski crystals on a beading wire strung with silver seed beads. The beads were strung on wires of different lengths and with different numbers of seed beads to space the crystals out.

It sparkles beautifully and it had the perfect amount of blue to accent my beautiful blue dress for my rehearsal dinner. I couldn't have pictured a better necklace to wear on that special day, maybe because if I could have pictured a better one, I would have made it instead!

Thank my brother for the awesome (and sometimes comedic) photography. He did all the photos for my wedding and rehearsal dinner, and he's actually a great photographer. Go see his Web site: www.selfridgephotography.com