Tuesday, 07 February 2012
It's cold, dark and grey outside. Some days it seems the sun will never grace the world again and you wake, day after day, enveloped in fog. Help break up the dull, bleak routine and give yourself a bit of cheer with projects designed with fantastic, sparkling, glittery amulets.
Use anything flashy such as silver-lined seed beads, Charlottes, tri-cut seeds, Czech fire polished, especially those with an AB finish, and Swarovski crystals. Adding shimmering chain will add even more glitz to lift your spirits. Using copper and bronze findings and components will make everything look modern and fresh.
Anything goes with projects to chase away the feelings bad weather can bring. Tap into the same ideas you used for making all of your glittery holiday pieces. When it comes to chasing away the winter blues, no bauble is off limits, and no jewellery idea is too much. It can also help to try something new, such as wirework.
Using heavy gauge wire, make any graphic shape, be it a square, circle, abstract, crescent, or Christmas tree. Take fine gauge wire and wrap your graphic shape with rows and layers of wire strung with silver-lined seed beads. Use the completed item as a brooch or pendant.
Wirework can also be used to adhere crystals to a metal form, such as headband or cuff bracelet. Using fine gauge wire, wrap the forms with AB-coated Czech fire polished or round crystals.
Weave small Czech fire polished beads into collars, cuffs and chandelier earrings. Using baubles that do not have an AB finish will help you keep things glittery, yet understated should you prefer to take the shine factor down a notch and save the over-the-top designs for holiday pieces.
Right angle weave and ladder weave are fun and will enable you to design items of bodily adornment that look old and romantic. Wearing your new, romantic jewellery, while enjoying a cup of tea and a bit of chocolate will definitely perk your spirits. Use nothing but crystals of different shapes, or combine pearls with crystals for added romance.
Have you taken a shine to all the new metal findings available right now? They have old world charm with modern practicality. They are the perfect, bronzed, antiqued backdrop for hot new finds such as rivolis and other crystals and rhinestones. The colours of these vibrant rhinestones burst forth with mood lifting energy, and with all the new shapes of rhinestones available, you will find the perfect pairings!
Some of these old style metal components are elongated, which makes them great for cuff bracelets! If yours is not long enough to wrap around your wrist, affix small bits of chain to the component, or make a chain using wrapped loops and crystals that match the focal trinket. Try layering the components by using small dabs of epoxy or silicone glue to adhere them to one another. You cannot go wrong with any combination of crystals and metal findings.
If you want something with a modern art look, try dichroic glass. It is available in pendants, cabochons, spacers, clasps, and other styles just for stringing. The sparkle and sheen of dichroic glass is sure to cheer anyone on a gloomy day.
Dichroic spacers look their best when paired with more simple textures and finishes, such as plain glass or pearls in a complementary colour. Try fashioning bracelets and stunning neckpieces.
Use thick gauge wire to form a cuff for your neck. It should rest on your collarbone. Use thin, flexible wire festooned with dichroic glass beads and wrap the form. Affix more dichroic cabochons to the form. Presto! You will have a gorgeous piece of wearable art that looks futuristic and joyful. Try copper wire with trinkets in shades of blue and aqua for truly stunning, updated jewellery.
If the beads themselves fail to lift your spirits because for you, the joy comes from how they are used, then this next suggestion is for you. Grab some pressed glass leaves and join five of them together making a flower. Place a round bead set in a bead cap in the centre of the blossom. Create five flowers and set aside.
Create a rope of netting or spiral stitching, and adorn it with sprinklings of tiny glass flowers and more leaves. When the rope is finished, adhere the five blossoms to the rope. Affix a clasp, and voila! Say hello to your new, cheerful, adorable neckpiece that will lift your spirits any time of year.
It is difficult to be sour when working with beads, but on occasion, picking the right baubles can help elevate your mood even more. Even if the clouds look heavy and are raining buckets on your world, the right beads will make you feel as if the sun is shining and there isn't a cloud in the sky. Happy beading!