Diana posted a call for interest on Facebook just after, literally, I found the following in my dining room:
(No, we have not yet fixed the floor where we knocked down a wall to enlarge our dining room.)
This is my daughter's Golden Retriever puppy Lux. It's a good thing for her she's so cute and lovable. That was a lovely spool of black waxed linen that she pilfered from my studio without my knowledge.......... So, I felt it was kismet that Diana posted about joining the hop.
Anyhoo, we've had plenty of time to complete our projects, but because my middle name is Last Minute Sally, I only figured out what I was going to create a couple of days ago so I was up 'til 2 this morning finishing. I really like it though, so that's a plus!
I made the focal several years ago. It's a tumbled glass ring (cut from a vintage bottle or vase) I picked up at The Beadin' Path by Trinket Foundry (I believe). I used it as a backless bezel and filled it with treasures I've collected at the beach - pottery shards and tiny chips of glass that I then filled with Ice Resin. Unfortunately, I had forgotten that it needs one more pour of resin to compensate for the slight angle it was sitting on when it cured to even out the dome. Sigh... Here's a tip for you though, should you even wish to embed pottery shards into resin - seal each of the pieces with either gel medium, decoupage glue or some other sealant. Quite often the color from the shards will leach out into the resin. The pieces, most often, are very, very old and they're not colorfast. I have a couple of pieces I made at the same time as this one that are ruined because of this.
The yellow crystals and double drilled quartz point are from the soup my Bead Soup partner Kelly Hosford Patterson sent to me. Yellow is a color I struggle with a bit, but they went with this focal so well.
I then culled through my ridiculously huge collection of sea glass (just about all is craft grade) and double drilled each piece. Finally, I wove two strands of blue waxed linen around and through each piece, knotting in between and covering the knots with African metal beads. All-in-all, a successful project. I'm not gonna' lie though, a LOT of Irish Wax Linen was killed in the making of this project.....I tore it apart four times. Thankfully most of the strands are fairly long so I should be able to do something with them some day. I'm sure there's a fail-proof technique for knotting the linen between beads - it took me a few tries to find a method that worked for me.
Now, hop along and see what these other lovely folks created with waxed linen:
That is a really fun necklace and something I would wear! The focal is also VERY cool! Thanks for participating!
ReplyDeleteWhat a delightfully spikey piece. Love the shards in the focal and how you accented that with the sea glass.
ReplyDeleteBtw, an awl is quite helpful in getting precise placement of knots.
Sandy @ KeepsakeCrafts.net
I really love this necklace. Your focal is great. I love the beads you picked out to go together, and it's very clever to cover the knots with the metal beads for an extra bit of interest. It could cover up a few knotting sins I think as well! Thanks to Sandy in the comment above too. My knotting is never as perfect as I like. I'll try my awl.
ReplyDeleteHi Lori, You made an awesome focal with the shards and glass. Your necklace is beautiful. You chose the perfect accent beads and linen color to showcase the pendant. The silver beads add just a touch of sparkle to make the whole necklace come together. I struggle with yellow too. You made it look easy in your lovely necklace.
ReplyDeleteLove your necklace Lori - the linen works really well with the crystals and the focal is very unusual.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the tip on the sea pottery. I've got some to use and if I ever use it in resin I'll hopefully remember to seal it.
ReplyDeleteLove your piece - great reminder of a beach vacation!
What a great necklace! I love how you made the focal yourself so this necklace is really personalized.
ReplyDeleteOh no! What a naughty puppy!!! Your necklace and pendant are so neat.
ReplyDeleteI am a last minute person usually, so I know the feeling. It's a lovely last minute up until the wee hours of the morning piece.
ReplyDeleteI love it! Someone else has my middle name!!! Kindred spirits :)))) Fabulous necklace! What a beautiful focal. You've given me a new idea I haven't tried yet!!! :)) Thanks a bunch :)
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful piece! It's nice to know I'm not the only one pulling it together in the final hours :)
ReplyDeleteGreat necklace! I am impressed that you drilled that sea glass!
ReplyDeleteVery unique and creative. I love the way it turned out.
ReplyDeleteLove your finished project! I know what you mean about linen getting killed in the process... I destroyed my fair share with one of my bracelets too!
ReplyDeleteSuch a cute puppy. Glad she didn't get in too much trouble for demolishing your linen. I love your necklace. The focal is great and all the color in the beads/shards you used are great. And the blue in the linen really makes everything pop. Very pretty.
ReplyDeleteThat's a beautiful necklace and I love how it lays. Your focal is great, I love collecting things at the beach too, but they just sit in a jar! Great idea to use them in resin!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love your necklace so much! I think your handmade pendant is just about one of the coolest things I've ever seen, seriously!!! I'm a beach-combing lover my self, so I just adore the sea glass and pottery shards. Wonderful piece!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful necklace! I know what you mean about killing lots of linen cord. I seriously need to vacuum--I've left these little strands of purple and turquoise cord all over my carpet.
ReplyDeleteAwesomesauce" I love it, Lori. The pendant is so cool. The crystals go perfectly with it. Love the way you wove the fiber through. A little hint... I did find that the knots were fairly easy to pull out with a corsage pin when I made a bad knot. It would have been way to much to redo had I not been able to salvage each mistake.
ReplyDeleteLove the colors you picked for this necklace...they work so well together!
ReplyDeleteFabulous! I love the focal and how the beads and sea glass you put with it match it so well
ReplyDeleteso much work went in to it and it turned out amazing!
ReplyDeleteI also have a Golden Retriever (named Nim), who steals stuff out of my studio. At the age of 6, she's no longer a puppy, but a certified kleptomaniac. Onto the necklace....I love it! What a special pendant, and I love the supporting cast as well. The way you wove the cord is fab and I love the color blue you selected.
ReplyDeleteExcellent Jewelry!
ReplyDeleteI also like it very much .I think that your article is very nice.
I think that you should add many types of Beads and style.
Thanks a lot for sharing this article.
Ghana Beads "
patricia@mail.postmanllc.net
ReplyDeleteperhiasan yang indah dan elegan
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