Winter Garden Necklace

"Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

As I scan the social networks I see the most delightful images testifying to the beauty that only winter brings. One photo in particular was this one by Joan Regal Ahier from the Dalles, Oregon. Although she considers herself to be an amateur photographer, her talent captures the essence of many a moment like no other I have seen. I used this photo as inspiration for my Winter Garden piece.

A nearly monochromatic work, this 18-inch necklace is meant to mimic an ice-covered garden in winter. In it you will find all of the delightful elements a lady loves.
The upper neck of this stunning piece was accomplished with dainty silver pearls and sterling silver beads to rest comfortably on your neck. As the neck transforms into the main body there are shimmering Swarovski crystals peaking out from the weave to catch the light and add flashes of color the way only these lovely Austrian crystals can. Next the weave (and the fun) begins!
I used sparkling crystal AB seed beads to give the effect of sunlight in the ice-covered trees and frosty Magatama beads to capture the look of snow on the ground. The lovely opalescent flowers give the sense that the temperature change came quickly and suddenly thus freezing the flowers in place. It serves to remind us that Spring will return again, the branches will turn green once more and blossom. The slight breaks in the weave not only allow more light to play on the necklace, but also allows for me to incorporate gemstone beads into the piece. As with most of my pieces this one draws to a close with a sterling lobster claw clasp. On the other side is an oval jump ring for added security, also in sterling.

For a piece that is nearly absent of color this necklace shimmers dramatically!

Blog for Beads by Artbeads.com contributed a large part of my materials in exchange for my honest evaluation of their merchandise in my blog. I am not paid to endorse them in any way.

Lucite Flower Earrings

Here are some nice little treasures for your ears and you can see more at Divella Delights.

I have been having a good time putting these together, getting ready for Spring. In Maine we like to dream early, think of our gardens while the snow flies.
The flower earrings make a great gift if you are just trying to find a little something without breaking the bank. It is always nice to say 'I was thinking of you' and this is a great way to do it. I can even put a nice little gift card in with your gift boxed jewelry for you and mail it right to your recipient.

Bead and Button Feature

Monday morning I am sending this necklace to Bead and Button to be featured in their June 2011 issue and I am very excited.

When I decided I wanted to learn some of the bead stitches I looked at all the popular bead magazines and after checking into all of them for a couple of issues I decided on Bead and Button. they had the best instructions and great photos. With my subscription I get online extras and a place where I can post photos of my work.

I am honored to have one of my pieces in their fine publication...you better subscribe now because I intend to buy the newsstands out come June!

Winter Frost

Although Autumn is my favorite time of year there is much to be appreciated in the winter months as well. I live in Maine and there is not a more beautiful place to be in either season. The flamboyant colors and cooler temperatures of Fall ease us into the stunning monochromatic flavor of winter. Last year I was quite taken with the icy patterns on my porch windows. I went out each morning to see what gift Jack Frost had left for me as the patterns changed every day.I have wanted to do something monochromatic in sterling for quite some time and when I saw the Hill Tribe sterling Poinsettia pendant I knew I had to have it. I went back through those photos from last winter and here is what Artbeads.com, Old Man Winter and I came up with.

Over 700 sterling silver beads are woven together with Swarovski Crystal and beautiful, genuine silver button Pearls. The center is a large Hills Tribe Sterling flower; the clasp is a sterling lobster claw. The Swarovski sparkles beautifully from behind the silver weave as the light hits them and give this piece a subtle splash of color

Military Memories Charm Bracelet Free Tutorial

Do you have someone special in the military? If so here is an idea for a wonderful and meaningful gift and one they can add to throughout their military career. You will need:
A variety of charms,
6 inches or so of chain
oval jumprings (20 gauge open/unsoldered)
pearls, gems, beads of your choosing
headpins
The first thing I did was think of my daughter, her passions, and funny or meaningful times in her life. She took ballet, she loves horseback riding and so on. The main focus though was on her military career.
Where did it start? Where has she been?
First let me say that most of the charms are sterling silver as is the base chain. I found everything I needed at Artbeads.com; the selection of charms is astounding and the prices are great. I will highlight each item with a link for you. They also have a learning center.
The first charm I selected was the USN charm and I chose this one because she has a tattoo on her back with the anchor and of course, the daughter charm. They have other, more delicate military charms as well. She began with Boot Camp so I got the Illinois State charm, then A school was in Florida so I had to have that one. I live in Maine so I got that one and so on for every place she has been so far. I also chose an opal because it is her birthstone. She loves the leaves in the Fall so I got her some vintage Lucite leaves. They are pink but I wanted to stay with a theme. What woman does not love pearls? Right, so I put those in as well.
When I do charm bracelets I really like the oval jump rings because the stress is not on the opening.
You have gathered the items for your bracelet, now what?
If you need to put any beads on headpins now is the time. I prefer a wire wrap as opposed to a loop because it makes it so much more secure. You will want to do this if you use sterling or gold for certain! Video tutorials are available.
Cut your chain…make sure you subtract the clasp from the total. For instance if you are making a 6 inch bracelet and your clasp is an inch you only want the chain to be 5 inches. Lay out your chain and begin putting the charms on the table where you want them to go, don’t attach them just yet. After you get that all sorted out begin by putting on the clasp. I put 2 jumprings on here just for added strength. When you open your jump rings make sure you do so by twisting and not pulling apart. If you pull it you will never get a clean join again! Hold your jumprings with 2 pair of pliers. Twist one towards you and one away from you just enough to allow the chain to fit There are great tutorials all over the Internet so I won’t go into all that. Attach it to your bracelet and twist back. Put all your charms on leaving space for new charms that she will acquire later. Not only is this a lovely and meaningful gift but you can send charms to have put on later. There are a couple of fun charms, a cowboy boot (she learned line dancing recently) a high heel shoe for my little shoe queen. The guys that did her home of record move even made comments on the amount of shoes!
Please send me photos!

Charmed Affections

My youngest daughter, now 23 lies enlisted in the US Navy. She left for Boot Camp in Great Lakes, Illinois November of 2008. When she got out of Boot Camp it was off To Pensacola for school and now she is stationed in Hawaii and will be deployed sometime this year for 7 months.
I wanted to do something special for her before she left and Artbeads.com came to the rescue. It was time for the Valentine’s Day Blog for Beads!
I have wanted to do a charm bracelet for some time now but never really had a theme I could decide on. This was it! They have an amazing selection of charms and some beautiful sterling chains, they even have a stunning US Navy charm, which I quickly added to my chopping cart. I cannot tell you how fast the wheels began to spin after I spotted that. I decided to get some state charms for every state she has been in since enlisting; Illinois for Boot Camp, Florida of "A" School, Connecticut where she was living when she enlisted, Maine because that is home, and Hawaii because that is where she is now. I also chose a beautiful daughter charm in the shape of a heart and a flower toggle clasp in sterling. I was very pleased with the charms I received. They have a very nice weight to them unlike charms I have seen elsewhere.
Now I wanted a little color so I added Swarovski crystals in pink, and then added a couple of pink opals and pink pearls that I placed on sterling headpins. I found another really cool item while shopping, sterling oval jump rings, which are better than round. This was the first time I have used them and I love them! I will probably never use the round again. You can read the how and why here.
I have also invited her friends and family members to stop by Artbeads.com and take a look, choose something and have it sent to me so I can add it to the bracelet. Artbeads.com has free shipping with every order no matter how small or large so it makes it easy for others to contribute (I love that when I only need a couple of items). As difficult as it was I left space for more to be added during her Navy career.

Blog for Beads by Artbeads.com contributed a large part of my materials in exchange for my honest evaluation of their merchandise in my blog. I am not paid to endorse them in any way.

A classic combination with a twist. Toumalinated Quartz is a milky white quartz with striking black needle-like inclusions of black tourmaline and was the inspiration for these pieces. The necklace is 17 inches and has 4 layers of high quality seed beads, Tormalinated Quartz, Black Onyx, black and gray Pearls and Snow Quartz. As is the case with this piece I usually add in some Swarovski fine lead crystals from Austria for some extra sparkle. The Onyx in the necklace center is faceted for a little sparkle of it's own. All of the silver in the the necklace and both pair of earrings is Sterling. You can see more photos of this piece and a lot more at my new website at http://www.divelladelights.com Come and browse and sign my guestbook!

WOUND AND WIRED

Judy, a Portland, Maine artisan by night and a librarian by day has a true knack for twisting things up in a fabulous way. Pictured here are 3 of the items from her Etsy shop located at http://www.judyb.etsy.com/. She works primarily in sterling silver and occasionally incorporates semi precious stones such as the blue one pictured here with turquoise. Pounding the evenings away she creates beautiful and truly unique pieces of jewelry including earrings, bracelets, rings and necklaces. Hers is a style I have not seen anywhere else which makes me love it all the more. You can check out her profile but she does not have much to say about herself, with talent like this I guess not much is needed!

Shell Jewelry

OOPS! I promised to put up the shell lampwork jewelry. Well, here it is. These luscious shells were made be Generations Lampwork. They were made to order for me, I just call her up and tell her what colors I want and she does a perfect job every time. These little beauties are all surrounded by layers upon layers of gemstones, pearls, silver and gold. These pieces take me about 2 hours a piece to make but I love every one of them. I don't work from a pattern so I just let the gems take me where they will.The nice thing about this style is that they can from casual to formal very nicely. Perfect for vacation!

HANDMADE BRIDAL JEWELRY

Although the big June wedding season has come to a close there are still a lot of brides out there who want something a little (or a lot) different for that wonderful and unforgettable day. If you are one of those brides, check out this stunning set with pearls, opalite, sterling and those well- loved fine Austrian crystals by Swarovski. I am also available to make one especially for you that will distinguish you from all the other brides out there with that traditional strand of pearls. We can incorporate different colors and we can even make a more subtle version of your design for your bridesmaids. This jewelry will make a wonderful gift to those special women surrounding you and supporting you throughout your weeding planning. Make a statement!

Wedding Jewelry

With the big day quickly approaching for a lot of Brides, I thought I would introduce a couple of my wedding pieces. These luscious and elegant pieces are made with pearls, Opalite and sterling with some Swarovski crystals added for a little sparkle. I have traditional pieces to a more Rock and Roll set with cascading pearls and original lampwork by (you guessed it) Generations Lampwork. I do not have these on my Etsy site so if you are interested send an e-mail to dlculbertson@verizon.net and I will send more photos and a price list. You can also contact me there for special orders! I just received an order of really gorgeous white stick pearls I am anxious to use.

Etsy favorite- Birthdesigns

You have to check out this shop for Mother's Day. We are actually having our wedding rings made by http://birthdesigns.etsy.com/ so we can have something made just for us. They have a lot of wonderful ideas and an ongoing contest for free jewelry! They have fabulous customer service...all around a great find!