Between making the bridesmaids' jewelry and the bridal set, I worked on gifts for the bride and groom to give to their wedding party. They ended up with a wonderful collection of gifts for their bridesmaids, groomsmen, and their close family. My contribution, of course, was jewelry for the women in the wedding. This was different from the jewelry they would wear during the wedding; it was a "thank-you" for being a part of the event.
Handmade Lampwork Beads Rakuli Whirled
from Flame on Glass (Etsy)
Early on, I had found this lovely set of swirled lampwork beads that I purchased, just thinking they might be used for the wedding. Once we decided on our other designs for the bridesmaids, I offered to put them to use for the thank-you gifts to be given out at the rehearsal dinner. My niece like the idea, so I set them aside for that purpose.
Time was starting to crunch a little when I got to these. I knew I had just enough beads to put use one as a focal bead in each necklace. Being a one-of-a-kind designer, and these being items the women would wear away from the wedding, I knew each should be unique. It was so wonderful that the beads had streaks of many colors in addition to the central color of purple.
I pulled together some beads with coordinating colors,
added some accent metal accent beads,
and went to work designing.
I don't have photos of all the necklaces to show, but have a couple samples below. The five bridesmaids and mothers-of-the bride and groom received necklaces with the purple swirl beads.
Some had strung sections of beads attached to chain.
This one used freshwater pearls in two colors.
Others used faceted Czech glass crystal.
And others, small spacer handmade lampwork beads.
Others were pendants designed utilizing the focal bead and integrating others,
then hung on chain. The bride matched each necklace to the recipient.
For the two junior bridesmaids, I selected a different style bead. These purple pottery flower-stamped beads by Natalie Pappas from NKP Designs seemed to fit the theme and be a good match for the younger participants.
Dark African Violet Porcelain Daisy Imprint Beads*
from NKP Designs (Etsy)
Each of these younger women received a unique design created just for them.
A Small Gift for the Bride Too:
While the bride was busy giving away gifts, it seemed only fitting she should receive one of her own:
A little something in purple for the bride too!
Earrings with lampwork glass beads from Koregon on Etsy.
Finally, What's the Jewelry Maker to Wear?
I'll add this last part here, although chronologically, it belongs at the very end of the story! In all the scurrying, I nearly ended up with no jewelry for myself! I was wearing a black skirt and pale blue-grey summer sweater. I had made these earrings to sell this Spring, but never listed in my store, so I "claimed" them for myself!
The light blue swirled lampwork glass beads are from Koregon.
I patinized silver-plated brass leaves in pale blue to go with this pair of earrings and handmade the ear pieces from sterling silver filled wire.
Similar altered and handmade metal jewelry components are for sale
in my Sharyl's Jewelry store on ArtFire.
I had ordered a batch of beads in pale blue and blue-gray colors and decided as the wedding neared to make myself a memory-wire bracelet. This was the same technique used for the bridesmaids' bracelets.
And below is the necklace, which I made in the hotel room the morning of the wedding!
Large lampwork bead from InspireGlassStudio on Etsy
"Light of India" Connector from LilysOffering on Etsy
"Something blue" for the jewelry designer to wear!
I hope you will join me next time for the final installment of "The Wedding!" The bride's jewelry will be featured!
Thank you all for reading along!
Sharyl
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Image Credits:
Photograph of Dark African Violet Porcelain Daisy Imprint Beads taken by Natalie Pappas of
NKP Designs (Etsy). Used by permission. 2013.
NKP Designs (Etsy). Used by permission. 2013.
All other photos by Sharyl McMillian-Nelson, 2013.
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10 comments:
Very nice pieces Sharyl! Congratulations to the married couple and blessings!
Just want to say Wow as my mind stops to focus on what an awesome job you did with the jewelery and credits in your blog! Love the colors, I am a blue girl and just loved the pale blue hues!
Can't wait for your next post!
Blessings
Anzia aka Zia Parks
All of it is absolutely gorgeous Sharyl!! You never cease to impress me! Every single piece is just beautiful.
Crunch time for sure too! In the hotel room, I hope you werent panicking too badly at the time.
You do great work.
Sharyl, you made an amazing amount of jewelry!! I can't imagine myself creating all that you did. I don't know when you started to work on this project. I've talked to you about it a number of times as it was ongoing, but I didn't really, not really really understand the scope of it. I wish you had photos of all of the Thank You Gift pieces. I love the large swirly lampworks you used. I don't think if I would have seen those, that I would have had the foresight to envision them as you did. And I really love the pieces you made for yourself, especially the necklace you made in the Hotel Room!!! lol It's lovely. thank you for taking the time to share the journey. I'm looking forward to seeing the bride's jewelry!
Sharyl, thank you so much for choosing our beads for such a special event. I LOVE LOVE the blue set you made, the bracelet, necklace and earrings are perfect for "Something in Blue" beatutfiul jewelry! Kaye ~koregon
Sharyl~ these pieces are great. I always love your combinations.
I have to ask about the word "patinized" is that the proper past tense of patina? I struggle with that word and end up using 'patina-d' as a poor substitute. Have a great weekend~ Tammie
Your creativity just thrills me, my friend. I love the fact that each lady got a OOAK piece, yet they were all similar, tying them together in yet another way to a very special day. And your set is gorgeous! Thanks so much for sharing where the beads came from. You've already turned me into a customer of Natalie's, now I need to go visit the other wonderful designers.
Thank you all, kind friends! I'm so thrilled you are liking what I made! That means so much to me!
Tammie and all, I find this a most confounding word! I think (and HOPE) I'm using this term correctly now. There was a big discussion on on Creative Bead Chat some months ago regarding the proper spelling and usage. I had the same idea you did about using this as a verb. I was always saying I was "patina-ing." Someone in the chat group pointed out the proper usage. I wish I had saved that conversation! I see this online though: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patinize
So I think the noun is "patina," the verb is "to patinate" and in past tense it's "patinized." It still sounds wrong to me every single time I type it. So if anyone can correct me, please do!
You did an amazing job on all of the jewelry. I am glad that you wore your jewelry to the wedding. I love what you made for yourself. It must have been very rewarding to be part of this wonderful occasion.
This jewelry is just lovely! I have had a lot of fun reading about your jewelry making for the wedding, and I look forward to your next post and pictures. Thank you also for introducing me to a couple of new sources for great beads. I always appreciate that.
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