Blue Kyanite and Gold Flower Necklace

I bought some gorgeous Kyanite last year and have finally used them in my latest necklace. The gemstones are AAA+ quality marquise cut gemstones so I wanted to come up with a design that would really showcase them.

I had been toying with the idea of making flowers with them for a while but knew that being briolettes I would somehow need to secure the base of each gemstone. I finally came up with the idea of weaving the wire across the inner end of each petal, just enough to secure the stone, leaving the rest of it free.

Securing five petals on each flower I then wirewrapped a topaz bead into the centre of each flower to represent the stamen.

I made five flowers and then linked them together with jumprings. The flowers are then suspended from a simple chain, thereby allowing them to be the sole focal of the necklace.

And so here it is - my Blue Kyanite and Gold flower Necklace.

Sunday Themes - Orange

My theme for this week is the colour Orange. Orange is vibrant. It's a combination of red and yellow so it shares some common attributes with those colours. It denotes energy, warmth, and the sun. As a warm colour orange is a stimulant — stimulating the emotions and even the appetite. Orange can be found in nature in the changing leaves of fall, the setting sun, and the skin and meat of citrus fruit. Orange brings up images of autumn leaves, pumpkins, and Halloween. It represents the changing seasons so in that sense it is a colour on the edge, the colour of change between the heat of summer and the cool of winter.

My best example of a piece made in the Orange colour is my Sterling and Carnelian Ring.

Here are some more examples of orange being used by the Jet and BrisStyle teams:

Halloween Pumpkin Earrings
by
Erika Price

Jefferson Avenue Mini Pendant
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Emotional Oasis

Clutch Purse - Sunflower
by
Ali Pink

Small Handmade Polymer Buttons
by
Ogekko

New Website

As part of my new branding I am excited to announce the launch of my new website - Shazzabeth Creations. While not yet a full ecommerce site, it gives me a presence on the web under my own domain name and also gives me a chance to announce who I am, display the various options for buying my jewellery as well as allowing me to showcase my sold jewellery. There is a new permanent link to my website via my logo, now at the top of the side bar here on my blog. Let me know what you think - I would love your feedback.

Friday Favourites

Blue Stained Glass Music Box
by
Tara Sawchuk

Gold and Crystal Quartz Necklace

Having had some gorgeous focal sized pieces of Crystal Quartz for a while now I decided it was time I did something with them - or at least one of them.

I decided on a necklace, using one of the briolettes as a central focal. I decided to wrap the briolette in gold fill wire in order to create more of a contrast between the stone and the wire. Then, in keeping with the idea of pure and simple, in line with the stone itself, I just added a few crystals on either side of the wrapped stone, the crystals being in pure crystal and in alabaster white. The necklace is then completed with a simple gold fill chain.

I think this necklace would be perfect for a Bride on her big day, but equally would suit a special night out - so, my Gold and Crystal Quartz Necklace.

Sunday Themes - Patchwork

I just love the variety of colours and patterns that you can get in patchwork and that is why I have chosen it as my theme this week.

Patchwork enjoyed a widespread revival during the Great Depression because it was a way to recycle worn clothing into warm quilts. Even very small and worn pieces of material are suitable for use in patchwork, although crafters today more often use specially bought 100% cotton patchwork material as the basis for their designs.

Patchwork is most often used to make quilts, but it can also be used to make bags, wall-hangings, warm jackets, skirts, waistcoats and other items of clothing.

Here are some great examples of patchwork that I have found from the down under BrisStyle and Dust teams.

Shirred Sundress, Patchwork Voile
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Hot Fudge

Patchwork Doily Pincushion
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Moose and Bird

Eco Repurposed Fabric Quilt Circus Circus Crib
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Vintage Sew and So

Paper Quilled Blue Floral Patchwork Fabric Blue Own Greeting Card
by
Enchanted Quilling

Branding - Logo

Wanting to try and take my jewellery business further, making it have a more professional look on the way, I have been working with a designer to get some branding in place. The first thing we did was work on creating a logo for my business. Inspired by the links in my Chrysanthemum chain, and keeping with the silver and red colours that I have been using to date, my logo is now finalised. So what do you think?

Seashore Pendant

Having a "spare" shell shaped lampwork bead left over from a set I had bought from Debbie of Debbie does Beads, I decided to make a pendant with it. I decided to make it the focal bead of a pendant with some smaller beads dangling from below it. Continuing the theme of the shell shape of the bead, I first suspended two sterling silver beads, one in the shape of a starfish and the other in the shape of a shell. I then used a swimming dolphin shaped bead cap with a lilac fresh water pearl, the lilac picking out one of the colours of the lampwork bead. Finally I added some amethyst beads, again, complimenting the colours of the lampwork bead.

So, the finished piece - my Seashore Lampwork Pendant.

Sunday Themes - Stars

My theme for this week is stars - the type that twinkle in the sky at night. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Other stars are visible in the night sky, when they are not outshone by the Sun. Historically, the most prominent stars on the celestial sphere were grouped together into constellations and asterisms, and the brightest stars gained proper names.

Shapes and pictures of stars have always been popular in designs and I too have used them. My current favourite "star" design are my Fine Silver Star Earrings.

Here are some more examples of stars being used in design, the designers coming from both the Jet Team and the BrisStyle Team.

Sterling Silver Star Bracelet with Blue Topaz
by
Metalicious

Swarovski Pink Crystal Star Oxidised Sterling Necklace
by
Glitz Glitter

Edible Fondant Sugar Star Cake Toppers

by
Enticing Icing

Vintage Style Halter Navy Stars and Stripes
by
Miss Kitty Boo Boo

A Bit of Druzy

I have been fascinated by Druzy stones ever since I first realised they existed. These are stones containing crystals that have been naturally formed within the earth, creating a lovely sparkly effect in the stones.

Having had a couple of these stones in my gemstone collection for a while now I have finally used one of them to create a pendant.

Wiring up the pendant in sterling silver wire, the most important aspect of the design for me was to ensure that I used the wires to accent the stone with its gorgeous crystals rather than to detract from it. I therefore decided to use prongs to hold the stone in place so that there was a minimal amount of wire actually holding the stone, and then simply finished the wires at the top of the stone with two simple sweeps in a loop shape.

So here it is, my Druzy Agate and Sterling Silver Pendant.

BiDM - Saturday 4th Sept

There will be quality handcrafted products in plenty at the next BrisStyle Indie Designers market happening in Hamilton this Saturday. With stallholders frantically working to add new products to their ranges as well as several new stallholders making their first appearance at this market, there will be plenty to see and shop on Saturday. Pop on over to the BrisStyle Blog to catch up on all the updates from several of the stall holders. Hope to see you there!