Holiday Jewelry

I miss holiday corsages. When I was growing up, we would often get a surprise corsage as a gift or some holiday jewelry, usually a sparkly pin. I still have a red and white candy cane pin that was in my Christmas stocking. Every year we looked forward to picking out one special outfit to wear for the holidays and to go visiting. It was always so special to add a pretty corsage to our coat lapel.

Speaking of Bows

I have really been enjoying working on the bow bracelet, and it is coming along, almost done. My client requested more purples and green, a frog charm and an initial. I LOVE custom orders, and it has been so much fun to see how this bracelet keeps changing. When it is done, I'll post one more photo.

Bows are one of the themes I enjoy using for inspiration for designs, I am always collecting bow beads and bow charms. I also LOVE working with ribbon. I found these tiny bows quite some time ago. Recently, it occured to me  that the colors of the bows really complimented this "oh so yellow" vintage glass pendant. The yellow reminds me of lemon meringue pie. I am still enjoying working in threes, so look for more of these necklaces, coming soon, in purple and blue.

Almost a Bow Bracelet

This is a work in progress, the first version of a custom order for a customer who loves bows. So far, we have three bows in the middle of the bracelet. I will be adding a burgundy bow and an amber bow button. I am looking for more green and burgundy bows. I didn't think it would be so hard to find them, but even the usual vintage sites I visit seem to be pretty low on bows right now. Searching the internet for a specific type of button or bead is half luck, half putting in the right search words. Sometimes it's amazing serendipity, and with one click the perfect little item appears.

The Last Rose of Summer

This fairy tale rose was a gift. I watched the bud appear, but really didn't expect a bloom so late in the season. This is one of my favorite roses. It is called "Heirloom Rose" and its' color is as luxurious as its' scent. If you walk past it or sit near it, a romantic aroma glides by.

Come See Me

Come see me at a show: Oct.17, 10-3 HOLIDAY INN OF TOTOWA, NJ 1 US HIGHWAY 46

I LOVE meeting customers! You will see a lot of the items that are listed in my Etsy shops and some surprises too.  If there is something special you are hoping to see, send me a convo in my Etsy shop or on this blog, and I will bring it along to the show. 

The Rest of the Necklace

 

Here's the rest of the "sneak peek" necklace. The "Queen of Kindness" necklace is composed of one strand of vintage faux pearls and one strand of beaded purple vintage chain. A rhinestone clasp adds an opulent touch, a nod to royal treasures of long ago. Patti and Karren, thanks for guessing! Karren, isn't it fun? You pretty much got it!

She will make her debut in my shop this week, along with "The Queen of Patience" and "The Queen of Wisdom."

On the Bead Board

I've always got a running list of what I am planning to make. Also, I never know when inspiration will strike, so if I get an idea, I write it down or sketch it and keep it in a notebook that I carry around with me.
I call my list "On the Beard Board". A few things that I have started working on are: Filigree necklaces and bracelets, some new charm bracelets and birthstone jewelry for my other shop (keepsakejewelry.etsy.com).

I have almost collected everything I need for the necklace that is sketched in the picture. The vintage book chain is a lovely shade of light copper. The pendant is almost ready.

A Blue Match

Isn't this a pretty pair? This lovely shawl comes from "Mommytyme" on Etsy: mommytyme.etsy.com

There are all kinds of charming gift items in her shop.
The BeadRee "Midnight Peacock" earrings are made from vintage glass buttons.

A Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peek at one of the necklaces I have been working on this week. I am so excited about these! Can you guess what the rest of the necklace looks like?

A Pretty Match

These charming peridot green earrings from Rose of Sharon Jewelery make a pretty match with my BeadRee Kimono Bracelet. Looks like they were "made for each other".


http://www.roseofsharonjewelry.com/

My Treasure Necklace and a Special Locket

Every beader needs a treasure necklace. I have made lots of treasure necklaces to sell, but a few months ago I decided it was time to make one for myself. I got out a pretty tin and started collecting favorite beads from my collection. When I made something with beads or crystals that I especially loved, I put one of the beads aside. One day, I went through all my bead boxes. The secret to picking beads for a treasure necklace lies in a simple question: When you come across that bead or charm, does it make your heart go pitter pat? If so, nestle it amongst the other ovals and roses and rounds and bicones, the milk glass, the magic sparkle, the rouge red and the dreamy purple. Eventually, I had enough beads and I just waited until I felt ready to begin.



I decided to use one of my favorite types of vintage style chain. Just before I started to work, I realized that I wanted something very special as the pendant for my treasure necklace. I looked over my pendants, but couldn't seem to find "the one". A few weeks later, not even looking, I discovered a beautiful Victorian locket (used for postage stamps). It stopped me in my tracks! I knew my Treasure Necklace was complete.

For all you locket lovers and vintage afficianados out there, the locket came from a very special Etsy shop: The Eclectic Diva.




It's so much fun to browse through Diva's shop, but bring tea or coffee because there's LOTS to look through.

I love this locket so much I decided to keep it on a matching chain, so I can where it with my treasure necklace or solamente.

I used almost all of the beads from my tin, and I saved a few beads from the next version.

A Lovely Surprise From a Dear Friend

One day, a dear friend of mine sent me a mysterious email message....."This could only be worn by you". I love surprises, but I forgot all about her message, and not long after, a pretty package arrived. Imagine my delight when I opened it and saw this lovely gift, a beautiful vintage necklace:



I love the creamy sherbert colors and the beads have such a luscious feel to them.
Thanks again, B. You are so sweet to think of me!!!!!

I included the name of the Etsy shop in my photo: Carmen and Ginger. It's a wonderful shop, definitely full of all kinds of vintage surprises.

A Series of Brooch Necklaces

Lately, I've been making things in threes. I like taking one type of component and making different versions of a design. I finally finished my series of brooch necklaces. I enjoyed these so much I ended up making five of them. I love off-center focals, and I knew I wanted to start with that basic design concept. I searched and searched for focal pieces that "grabbed" me. Then I searched and searched for matching beads and clasps that would play off the focal component. When I found this lovely, detailed Madame de Pompadour stamping, I knew I had my first piece to work with for this series. The brooch necklaces also include a shepherdess, a lotus, a romantic cameo and a sugarplum swirl.

Ribbon Bracelet Trio

I love making ribbon bracelets and, each month I try to set aside one week to work with treasures from my stash. I had been saving these trims for awhile and decided to design all three bracelets at once. Usually I work piece by piece, but I really wanted to see how each trim would look done up as a bracelet. I just loved working with the silky gold charm balls. I changed the charms on the rosebud bracelet several times. The mysterious face bracelet added just enough whimsy to the week.

A Favorite Shop of Treasures

If you love antique and vintage jewelry, stop by this beautiful shop:




http://www.poshadornment.com/

Inspiration Revisited

Remember my "Inspiration" post? I wanted to use the colors in the picture to create some pieces. I finally finished a few pieces using this striking blue and dark mauve combination. I think my favorite is the vintage button bracelet. The earrings are made from very dramatic vintage glass buttons. I started with some flashy dangles on those, but in this case, less really is more, so I opted for focusing on the buttons. Both the buttons and the blue leaves on the charm necklace have been in my bead boxes for a long time. I am glad they are finally "out of the box". With the inspiration from one picture I ended up with one pair of earrings, a bracelet and a necklace. I would LOVE to hear what inspires you when you work. All comments are most welcome!

With Love From BeadRee

The "Dearest" Bracelet

The colors of the flower charms and the accent crystals spell out the word "dearest" as so:

D: Diamond
E: Emerald
A: Amethyst
R: Ruby
E: Emerald
S: Sapphire
T: Topaz

Valentine Swap

Here's my ATC for the Valentine Swap from Creative Souls Network, organized by Patti (Treasure Barn). My first swap. You have to start somewhere. I LOVE ATCs and LOVE collage. It was much harder than I anticipated, but it was also such an interesting creative sojourn! Can't wait for the next one.

Inspirations

Last week I worked on some new necklaces and several Valentine charm bracelets. My inspiration came from an article I read about Victorian miniatures and secret admirers.

I love mixing colors in unexpected ways. The colors in this picture are two colors I wouldn't necessarily think to put together, but I absolutely love this combination. I am always drawn to the red palette, so I already have some beads in those tones. I'm going to see if I can find a similar shade of blue to work with. When I'm done, I'll post the finished design,

Three New Button Bracelets

Inspired by my love of classic movies and favorite movie actresses, I have started a series of button bracelets. They remind me of all those scenes when an actress such as Grace Kelly or Myra Loy walks into a club, "dressed" for dinner, a wonderful dash of sparkle on each wrist. The Grace Kelly is my favorite so far. I held onto this button for so long, waiting for the perfect beads to set it off.

More photos to be posted soon.