Because it was a fairly quiet week with little on my schedule, I was able to make several pairs of earrings in styles you have already seen, and then tried another variation on the couched beads technique. This time I made a pendant of 20g sterling with silver-lined blue #10 Miyuki triangle beads. Excluding the bail, the pendant is 2" tall by about 1 5/8" wide. The center of the spiral features a Swarovski crystal in a similar blue for a bit of sparkle. It is finished with my signature herringbone bail. Because this will be placed for sale at the same gallery that sells my chains, the bail is sized to fit either a medium byzantine or double spiral chain as well as a cord or ribbon.
If I make another version of this pendant, I will use a heavier base wire, maybe even as heavy as 16g, to give it more solidity. I would even consider hammering it a bit for texture and a more rustic look. As it is, it is delicate and open and that is nice, too.
Next week I'll be going back to string art with a couple of new ideas. If you came here from Jewels by Jules or from Camille Sharon's site, welcome, and I hope you'll come back for more. Don't forget to check out all the pretties at the Year of Jewelry, as well.
I always appreciate your comments and critiques. Thanks for looking.
4 comments:
This is beautiful! I love the neat way you have woven the beads in this pendant.
Thanks, Swati. I'm glad you like this. Neat weaving is purely a result of practice, but I'm lucky because all those years I spent doing embroidery and sewing evidently count as practice -- the wire acts like stiff thread.
This pendant came out beautifully! I've used this technique for wrapping beads but never on the top like that. It's simply gorgeous! I had never heard of "couching" so thanks for explaining it. It's so great to learn new things:))
Hey Sandi,
Thanks for mentioning me in your post and for the nice compliments! Very much appreciated :). I am really trying to blog more and write some more helpful articles - some days it feels like such a chore LOL! Thanks again. Sincerely, Jodi, Jewels By Jules
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