By special request

An old friend surprised me a few weeks back by asking if I would make some jewellery for her. She's started being a little more adventurous in terms of her fashion and was lamenting that she didn't have jewellery that could match her new clothes. She specifically wanted a long necklace. And if I could come up with some earrings, that would be great too.

I decided from the start that I would stick to a silver/neutral tone for the pieces so she could wear them with almost anything in her wardrobe. And I also knew that the pieces would have to be fairly simple and understated, while incorporating some 'bling' if possible. This is what I came up with. 

New stuff on Etsy

I made a couple of new pieces and have added them to my Etsy store. I personally love the earrings. The beads have been with me since last June when I bought them in Tokyo from a little bead store tucked away in the wholesale beads district - Asakusabashi. I love that area and can't wait to get back there again. I think I'll do a post on the wonderful shops there soon. As for the bead caps in that pair of earrings...well, they've been with me even longer. I picked them up when I was in Bali in late 2008. They're gorgeous Bali silver and cost me a pretty penny.

As for the washi pendant, I've been dabbling in making pendants using washi paper and cache of bezel settings I bought on a whim. I was supposed to start using them with resin but have been putting it off since to be honest, I'm a little scared of all the mixing and care that resin seems to need. Anyway, I quite like how the pendant turned out. The chiyogami design is suitably cheery for this time of the year.

Selling on Etsy

If you look at the sidebar on the right, you'll notice that I've started selling my jewelry on Etsy. Yes, I finally got around to doing it. I hesitated for a long time before I took the plunge. It was partly the listing and transaction fees that put me off - what can I say? I'm cheap. But mostly it was because I'd saddled myself with a less than stellar name. I started the Etsy account mainly to buy items, not sell them, so I thought up a name quite hurriedly thinking that it was cool. How wrong I was. So you'll have to pardon the oddly embarrassing name of my Etsy store. I hope it won't put you off visiting. I'm going for a more classic, understated feel for this store - so you'll find a lot more sterling silver and gold-filled pieces than on my Artfire shop. The pieces I list will also be more of what I would personally wear....simple, pretty pieces that aren't too over-the-top. Of the 4 items I listed, I think my favourite would have to be this necklace. I'd wear it in a heartbeat. What about you?

Yet another..?

I'm amazed at myself. I actually got inspired to make a pair of earrings after visiting my Artfire Store and seeing the rather miserly collection. I seriously need to beef up my offerings. So, without further ado, here's my newest piece. I call it 'Heart of Gold'. I used pewter spacer beads and brass heart charms - both in antique gold - and 10mm fire-polished rounds in Transparent Champagne Luster. Another addition to my store...way to go, me!

PS. Any photo-taking tips you might have would be much appreciated :-).

Pics...finally

Ta-dah! Here's a photo of that necklace I mentioned in my previous post. Finally. I don't think my photography skills are getting any better LOL. Anyway, hope you like what I made. I'd love any and all comments. For the record, the beads are natural white wood with a laminated banana bark finish. I got them from Fusionbeads about a month ago. The chain is gold-plated and I finished the necklace off with a gold-filled twisted toggle clasp. The necklace has quite a heft to it, thanks to the sizeable beads. I think it'll look great with a white tee and jeans. Off now to add it to my Artfire Store.

New jewelry

I had some time to spare yesterday so I took the opportunity to mess around with my beads. I recently bought some huge beads from Fusionbeads.com and have been stumped as to how to use them. This happens a lot. I get seduced by all sorts of beautiful beads I find online. I usually end up buying them, even when I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to incorporate them into jewelry designs. I figure I'll come up with something. Anyway, I opted for a really simple chain-and-bead design, using some gold-plated chain I bought from Japan years ago. I haven't taken any photos yet - it was too late at night when I completed the necklace for any sort of photo-taking. But I'll take one soon and post it here. I draped the necklace around one of my coat hangers and I like how it looks against the backdrop of my black jacket. I'll probably add it to my Artfire Shop at the weekend.

Something new

I made this for a friend who recently got married. I used Swarovski glass pearls, freshwater pearls, gold-plated pewter spacer beads, gold-plated crystal rondelle and a vintage faux pearl clasp. I think it turned out quite pretty after all. I haven't given it to her yet. I hope she likes it.

Check out my Artfire store if you want to have a peek at my other jewellery.