Genea's Beads - so full of color, texture, and endless creativity! That is what I think of when I see her beads.
She named this bead - Desert Serpent Jewel / Mermaid ....
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| Photo courtesy of Genea's Etsy Site |
First of all, the base of turquoise blue DOES remind me of my past travels to the Caribbean - the water so transparent, so teal-blue, so tranquil, that one can actually feel the stress leave your shoulders. The rainbow raku reminiscent of the sea shells found along the beaches.
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The tiny spacer beads - above - reflect the colors of the focal perfectly. I like that the focal is etched, a contrast to the shiny rainbows in the spacer beads.
So what to do with these beautiful beads??? The focal is large - 25mm - and I did not just want to string it on beading wire - it had to stand out! So...
I took some very heavy gauge copper (12 gauge I believe), forged the bottom end into a paddle shape, slipped on the lovely focal, added a few jump rings in the shape of love knots - and one more cranberry red bead to complete the focal. I forged the other end of the paddle in the opposite direction and wired this to a handmade bead connector. I oxidized the pieces, buffed, and gave them several hours in the tumbler to add that beautiful shine!
That clasp is made by Genea, too! I made some bead connectors from heavy gauge copper, and I wired the spacer beads to the copper links.
The clasp is in the front to the side - I could not bring myself to hide that beautiful clasp!
I had some spacer beads leftover, so I made a matching bracelet.
If you look closely in the picture above, the links for the bracelet are the same as the necklace - I just made them much smaller. This link was inspired by a bracelet made by Cindy Wimmer in Wire Style 2 - I do love this link!
I made a simple pair of earrings - I balled up the ends of some 16 gauge copper and made some quick swirls. Tiny deep garnet seeds have been wired to the copper ear wires (admittedly - those seeds look black in my picture....it may be time for me to get a new camera???!!)
I really love how this turned out! Please be sure to visit Genea and see all of her beautiful, wearable art:
To end this post - a sincere thank you to all of those who have served our Country and continue to serve - Have a Blessed Memorial Day!
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| Photo Courtesy of http://www.middletowninsider.com/ |
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