Sparkly Crystal Bracelet: Sex and the City-Style

Happy Friday, everyone!  And what a gorgeous day it is! 

The project that I have to share today was inspired by the gorgeous ladies of Sex and the City! 

I was just floored by the colors that they are wearing in this issue of Entertainment Weekly.  And I literally started designing this bracelet in my head as soon as I saw this photo of them.  I mean, just look at those colors!  Icy, silvery blues – GORGEOUS! 

And to make it all more timely, this week’s challenge at Friends Having Fun is all about Sex and the City!  And of course, the movie has just opened, too — all sorts of SATC-related excitement happening now.  (And yes, I have heard that the movie reviews are not good, and I do not care at all.  The first SATC movie is one of my fave movies ever.  So, I’m still in.)

So here is my bracelet, inspired by those icy blue and silvery shades.  Here’s a look at the entire bracelet – click to enlarge!

And a closer look at the front of the bracelet – again, click to see this larger.  Lots of Swarovski crystals went into this one – white Swarovski pearls, a crystal in a color called Silver Shade, and also Aquamarine crystals.  The colors reminded me SO much of the dresses that the women wore on the EW cover.

Here is a closer look at the dangle piece of the bracelet that hangs from a little charm loop on the side.  I love the way this swings!  The “love” charm just felt totally appropriate for Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha.  After all, that is what it’s all about!

Oops – almost forgot!  For a laugh, I took the “Which Sex and the City Character Are You” quiz that was linked on Friends Having Fun.  Here’s my result – sounds about right, I think. 

I hope that everyone has a great long weekend!  Thanks so much for visiting – see you again soon!

Showing Off Some Presents Today…

Hello and Happy Monday! 

I posted a few days ago about things I’ve made lately that I’ve kept for myself – today is about the things that I’ve made for and given to others – always a lot of fun.  So let’s check ‘em out!

Here is a bookmark that I made for Tonya – made with her fave colors!  The full view of the bookmark is below and a super-close-up of the dangling section of beads on the bookmark is above.  I loooovvvvvvvee the way the beads look all clumped together like that – they look just like candy to me!

And…here is a bracelet that I made as a birthday gift.  (Close-up first, then the full view of the bracelet follows.)  Making this bracelet marked one of the first times I’ve ever actually put a clasp on a bracelet, which is  a momentous occasion for a new jewelry-maker like me!  One more milestone down – whoohoo! 

I’ll be back again soon with more to share – thanks so much for visiting and reading!

Some Jewelry I Just Have to Keep for Myself…

…like these two bracelets I’m posting today. 

Since I’ve started making jewelry, I’ve been giving lots of stuff to my family and friends, but these two I made just for me.  Want to see?

This one is a stretch bracelet – really easy to put on and take off, which I seem to do several times a day.  And I added the fleur de lis charm since that is one my favorite shapes.

This next bracelet has a clasp, and the sterling silver tube beads on this make it nice and light to wear.  Since it has fewer beads, it weighs so little! 

I have been making a LOT of stuff lately, so I expect to be posting a lot in the coming days.  I am planning to get more jewelry listed my Etsy store really soon too (there are a just few bracelets in the store right now).  I’ve been feeling really fussy about learning, and practicing, and practicing, and practicing some more before I start to sell the stuff – that is just my way – but soon, I will start putting some things up for sale.  Should be pretty fun!

Thanks so much for visiting – see you again soon!

A Bunch of Bracelets

HELLO world!!! 

I decided I would let the photo introduce the post this time to show you where I’ve been lately — making BUNCHES of bracelets! 

Before I discuss the bracelets a bit – a word about my lack of posting here lately.  I actually have an explanation for that!  I have realized lately that I do not even consider doing blog posts while I am in the midst of learning something new.  And I seem to be learning something new constantly lately, especially since I started getting into beading – so that is why I have such gaps between posts recently.  I am just not the type to post things that are in progress, or practice runs, I guess.  I just sort of put my nose to the grindstone and work on stuff during those times. 

But today, I do have some things to show you – a bunch of my stretchy bracelets!  Since I’ve started this beading adventure, I have wanted to make stuff that I would actually like to wear.  And I am the type that will take off any bracelets the minute I start cooking, cleaning, getting hands wet, etc.  And since that basically describes my day-to-day life as a stay-at-home-mom, stretch bracelets suit me REALLY WELL.    So I took some time to find a really good, strong, clear elastic cording that I was happy with and these bracelets were born!  They pull on and off in a second and are nice and comfy to wear.  And once I made one of these bracelets, I just kept on going since I like the look of the clear beads with the colored crystals so much. 

(Ignore the fact that there is no heart charm on the bracelet on the far left.  There is one on there now – who knows why I photographed it without the charm….)   Click the pic below to enlarge…

The clear beads are a crackled glass and I love ‘em – they look like little crystal balls to me – and the colored beads are Swarovski crystals in various colors.  This is another way I’ve been spending my spare time – collecting every single Swarovski crystal bead I can get my hot little hands on.  I am totally obsessed with them.  It is like collecting Stampin’ Up! colors – once you start, you feel that you need EVERY SINGLE COLOR imaginable.  You start seeing all sorts of possibilities – and possibilities are SO exciting and must be encouraged, right?  

I will have LOTS more to share in the coming days – I have been making a lot of stuff lately! 

Thanks so much for visiting – see you again soon!

Bird Song

Hey everyone!  I’m back with a card to share today.  How’ve you all been? 

This card I made for my dear friend, the lovely Beth of StampInsanity.  I needed to thank Beth in a big way for a gift she had given me – the gift of THE BROTHERS.  She lent me her entire set of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books, and I adore them so much it’s not even funny.   If you haven’t read the books yet, READ THEM!  They’re amazing! 

If you’ve read the books, you might get my (admittedly vague) reference to the 5th book in the series, Lover Unbound, that I included in this card.  (Once I explain the reference, that is!  It’s not obvious – lol.)  I was really touched by the events in that book with Vishous and the birds – I will say no more for those who might want to read the book – and this card was inspired by that.   But hopefully it’s nice to look at if you have not read the books, too, so see below!

I absolutely love this stamp (the sentiment) by Verve and I was really excited about using it for this card, along with a bird stamp by Inkadinkado. 

I added a bird charm attached with a bit of chain and glittered up the bird image a bit – you can see that below.

I will be back again soon to share more stuff – I have been working on SO MANY projects lately that I’m honestly losing track of all of them!  They’re all in various states of completion, which is why I have not been posting much lately.  Bringing them to completion – that is what I need to do right now!  I can’t stop myself from starting new things before I’m done with other projects.  It’s just too exciting – I HAVE to!  In any event, I hope to share more here soon. 

Thanks so much for visiting!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink Rustic Cream cardstock; Stampin’ Up! Brocade Blue and So Saffron cardstock; Bo Bunny Summer Cottage designer paper

Stamps:  Verve Stamps (sentiment); Inkadinkado (bird)

Ink:  Stampin’ Up! Brocade Blue

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Victorian embossing folder, Spellbinders Nestabilities petite circle dies; brad; dimensionals; Sakura Jelly Roll pen in clear; chain and bird charm; Stampin’ Up! ticket corner punch