I am always torn between using existing skills and being on the safe side or trying something new and exciting which could potentially turn bad. I also do not tend to leave myself enough time as creativity isn't always there when you need it. Maybe we should have loan-in muse for such times.
Do you plan you present well in advance, even if it means loosing the thrill of a timely present, or do you hope to find the perfect fit risking to rush or have to settle for an okay present?
If you're the former, then being late is not an issue.
If you're the latter, like me, adrenalin is your friend.
I started a bit of an industrial making of little lingerie bags. After tuning in an excel document to get the dimensions rights (did I mention I loooove Excel?) I made 4.
Fabric is key with this model and good quality cotton is delightful to work with, especially the interfacing bit. I'll create a post on this at a later date.
Today let's talk about...beads and jewellery.
In the midst of pressure and not many ideas, I set off to put together a few things most of the ladies awaiting a gift. These pieces had to be small and light enough to go by post. Once mad and posted, I would light up a small candle for the parcel to arrive and on time. And it did!
The first item is a sterling silver bracelet with pearls and beads purchased in South America. I used freshwater pearls, silver findings and tiger eyes with silver pieces to give the impression of fullness with clean lines.
The bracelet closes with a toggle clasp for ease of fastening and has a bigger fresh water pearl dangling to keep the bracelet facing the right way up. The weight of the dangling pearl positions the fastening facing down.
The second bracelet is made of many garnet pearls mounted on a silver plated chain. The fastening is a sterling silver toggle on this one too. I thought it would be much easier to fasten given the weight of the bracelet.
The garnet was initially mounted on a pair of earring a friend gave me with the instruction "I'm not wearing those anymore, do something nice with them". I'm glad they found a new lease of life.
For this present, I wanted to create a classic piece that this person could wear for a long time. I knew it wasn't the type of jewellery she was into right now, however the idea is that this would be a failsafe necklace for a special occasion. The 3 freshwater pearls are mounted on a sterling wire pin and fastened with 2 twists. The chain is a 16" snake chain.
The last pendant was created for a younger lady who has a very unique sense of style. A young a urban-stylish lady. The chain is different this time, it is what is called a "trace" chain. the links make it very flexible, which makes it interesting to attached a weighty pendant! The pendant is made of 5 freshwater pearls stacked up and threaded onto a sterling silver pin.
What did you craft for Christmas?
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