The Rest of the Necklace

Inspiration for jewelry can come from all kinds of unexpected sources, beyond color and shape. When I first glimpsed upon the dainty vintage red and white cabochons, the charms in this necklace, I immediately thought of redwork embroidery. I knew I wanted to design a necklace or bracelet based on this theme. I have so many happy memories of my mother teaching me how to embroider when I was quite young. As a young girl, I loved the classic British novels, and taking out my needle and thread and sewing hoop and working on a piece of embroidery created a quiet camaraderie with whatever character or plot I was caught up in at the time.
So I had my redwork cabochons set aside in my bead box, but there they sat for a very long time because I just couldn't find the "rest of the necklace". It was truly such a thrill, when one day, when I wasn't even looking, I found the glass cabochon with the lovely floral basket, so typical of embroidery themes, and how wonderful that it was red and white. The crisp white background of the cabochon reminded me of embroidery cloth. Now that the necklace is done, I have a few of the smaller cabochons left over, so I am thinking of working on a matching charm bracelet.

Mix and Match Sunday

When I saw this coral tea dress, it was love at first site. You will find this dress and many more delightful frocks at sohomode on Etsy. (sohomode.etsy.com) Not to mention the most amazing collection of tea dresses for your wedding party. Absolutely charming!

I thought it would be fun to browse through Etsy to find a necklace match for this dress. There are lots of different ways you can add jewelry to this dress, and there were so many possiblilities to choose from.

In the end, this Autumn Fields necklace from Ferry Tales Gifts on Etsy totally won me over. (ferrytalesgifts.etsy.com)

 

I love the way the dress and the necklace play off each other. The vintage buttons and lucite flowers in the necklace seemed so compatible with the dress. I can see this dress with all kinds of jewelry, including a vintage brooch. I know if I were lucky enough to own this lovely tea dress, I would try one after another of different colors and styles of necklaces, and earrings too.

Actually, what I like about the dress is how it's lines and colors can be used for many different kinds of "jewelry moods", so each time you change the jewelry you wear with the dress, you've created a completely different look. 

What I love about the necklace is how it will work with several different colors and add such a finishing touch to any look. Aren't the layers of texture in this necklace so rich! This necklace puts the "s" in statement!

Friday Favorites

One of my favorite shops on Etsy is: Surprise Supplies. I love using flowers and leaves in my designs, and this shop has such a delectable selection. I often plan to pick out some flowers, and I end up ordering other items as well because there are so many pretty beads here. I can never resist browsing through the shop to make sure I haven't missed any new listings. It's not just the delightful "garden of beads" here that makes it one of my favorite shops. The shop owner is wonderful, always answering all my crazy bead questions, checking for a particular style, and from day one to the present, has been so kind and welcoming.

Care to take a peek?  http://www.etsy.com/shop/surprisesupplies

Do you have a favorite Etsy shop? Please post your favorites here.

Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peek at one of the necklaces on my bead board this month. Can you guess what inspired this necklace? Post your guess. The first poster with the correct guess will receive a surprise.

Happy Halloween

Tonight, as Halloween nears, we took a ride around the neighborhood to see the nighttime decorations. Wow! Rather macabre and downright creepy on some streets. I just like the classic pumpkins, some tricky cheerful witches and twinkling orange and purple lights.

Lately, I have been enjoying making vintage style earrings that add a "dollop" of color. They have a timeless look and are versatile as well, so they work well for a casual or a dressy look.
The earrings shown in this photo come in caramel, cherry red and spun sugar pink.
Hope you have a Happy Halloween!

Story Necklace

I love how the elements in this photo create all kinds of possibilities for stories. A dog and a happy pet lover are out for a stroll, but looking again, is this a quest? Is the bird in the photo swooping in to bring a special message or guiding the master and the dog to a happy ending?

Beads can also tell a story. It's an old tradition, and a part of bead culture that fascinates and delights me. Over the years I have created different kinds of story necklaces that can be used for story telling.
 The necklaces are composed of background "narration" beads and special "plot" beads.The storyteller can look over the necklace and create and tell a story, bead by bead.

I love sitting with a group of children and showing them the special beads such as a magic bird, a golden boat or a farmer and his wife and letting them make up a story. Sometime the blue beads are the ocean, sometimes the sky.

Fairy Happy and My Beadboard Update

Who doesn't love a fairy door? They create heart happy moments of enchantment. I adore them and love to tuck them away in secret places in my garden.
For a lovely fairy stroll visit: Singingwoods and enjoy fairy doors from around the world.
 http://janet-singingwoods.blogspot.com/2010/09/fairy-homessome-jewellery-and-my-first.html

What's on my beadboard? I am finishing my third "Story Necklace". They are near and dear to my heart, and I have been collecting trinkets to use with these for a verrrrry long time, so I am happy  the trio is just about done. I will be posting some photos soon. Waiting in the wings, I have some beautiful vintage charms and cabochons that I will use for a series of color theme charm bracelets.

July Snow

In the middle of this NJ heatwave, here's something to cool you off.
 One of my favorite things about living in this lovely community is the path outside my back door which leads to a park. The park is steps away, perfect for an after dinner stroll amid the honeysuckle, bundles of yellow lilies, paths lined with rose of sharon and corners dotted with deep blue hydrangea.

Here's how the back path looks today:

Serenity Bracelet

The BeadRee Serenity Bracelet is back. It's been on my to do list for quite some time, but I thought it would be fun to include it with some of the Spring items. It's one of my most popular bracelets, and I've done them in lots of different colors. I have even made them for a customer who wanted them for her bridesmaids. 

Parlour Roses

Every once in a while, I come across some beads, images or charms that instantly tug at my heart strings and instantly inspire me. These lovely botanical prints of old roses took my breath away. I couldn't get out my bead board fast enough. I adore roses, and I love the lush blooms in these images as well as the old world backgrounds that are used. The roses make me think of old fashioned bouquets of garden roses, placed in a vase in a parlour or foyer. I have been working on a few different new designs for pendant frames, and working with these images has given me lots of new ideas.

March Wind With Mary Poppins

Chapter one of the delightful classic story,"Mary Poppins", begins with Mary Poppins, magically drifting down from the sky with her umbrella, landing on Cherry Tree Lane, directly in front of the Bank's house. So begins the timeless tale....When I found this charming, vintage (1920s) gingerbread stamping, it immediately made me think of Mary Poppins, and I thought it would be perfect for my "March Wind" series. It is paired with a lustrous sky blue button and hangs from a copper vintage style chain.

There's one more "March Wind" necklace in my Etsy shop. I've so been enjoying creating items by following the seasons. Spring is just about here. Lots of birdies are coming, already have some Spring ideas on the bead board.

More March Wind

Here's the next "March Wind" theme necklace. I went on a quest to look for vintage illustrations of hot air balloons, and I thought the colors on this image were very rich. The back of the pendant has this luscious Maxfield Parrish style sunset. I embellished the chain with some matching vintage floral drops and mother of pearl charms, suggestive of floating clouds. Tiny balloon like beads and blue "sandbag" bags I like how all the elements on the necklace contribute to the theme. There are two more "March Wind" theme necklaces coming, so I will post them soon. I am deliberating on "the ides of March"! I see dark crystals and ????

Sneak Peek - March Wind Theme

Here's a sneak peek of of one of the March Wind necklaces that will be floating into my shop this week. I had loads of fun working on these, and some frustration too as I ended up on a quest to find large light blue mother of pearl buttons. Recently, pearl buttons in all shapes and sizes, have become one of my favorite things to design with. I LOVE using large ones with cabochons, and tiny ones as charms.

Treasure Necklace

I LOVE making treasure necklaces. The design emerges based on favorite colors, shapes, themes and personality. This treasure necklace, created in shades of blue and purple was made for a very special friend. She filled out a "Treasure Necklace Questionnaire", and from there, I began working on the design. She selected many of the beads and the type of chain that was used. As a surprise, for this lover of cats, I added a waving lucky cat charm. Another surprise is the hand painted bead of the pretty Asian beauty to symbolize her daughter,  adopted from China. I placed the bead on the necklace  so it would be just above her heart.

 

Overdressed or Personal Style?

 

Dear Friends of BeadRee,

It's been quite some time since my last post. The holidays have come and gone. Several snowstorms have made billowing postcard views through the evergreens and some wonderful friends and family have come to visit, hot beverages all around. Through it all, this damsel stayed on my desktop, waiting to stroll her way into the blog. 

I enjoyed embellishing this image. The moment I saw her, I loved her elegant, graceful demeanor, her ribboned hat and dainty shoes. I am thinking that if I were going to carry firewood, I would love to do so in such rosy attire. 

Okay, so I added the lariat, but she wears it well. I have, on many occasions, been been told I was overdressed. My walking partner looked askance at my shawl. People sometimes say to me: "You look awfully dressed up. Where are you going?" Where am I going? I am going into the beautiful precious day, hour, moment of my life, and I have these tiny violet earrings, touched here and there by seed pearls. They were my grandmother's. They look pretty with a cream blouse and a dark skirt. As I get older, I just wear what I enjoy, and I don't wait for "events". Years ago, I gave up wearing blue jeans. It was so liberating. For a while, mostly out of convenience and back pain, I gave up carrying a purse. Purse. Even the word has a sour shape to it. Then, I lost my wallet because it fell out of my coat pocket. I decided if I went back to carrying a purse, I would opt for those wonderful vintage purses that have cloth straps and snap shut in a somewhat bodacious way. My favorite overdressed moment came with equal amounts of drama and regret. That was the day I decided to emulate CocoChanel and wear six strands of pearls. I was on my way out and developed a sudden furiously high fever. I began shaking uncontrollably and found myself in an emergency room bin. The nurse came in carrying a pea soup green gown for me to put on. She took one look at the pearls, dropped the gown on the edge of the cot and walked away. Ah well, I bet I had the best dressed fever in the ward.

Now that this pretty damsel has introduced the pearl lariat to you, I hope you will peek in my shop to see the secret message that it carries.

I am working on a new treasure necklace and will post  it when it is done. I am also really looking forward to my March projects. I have been enjoying following the seasons, choosing some projects based on the time of the year and certain holidays, and I found some wonderful vintage items to work with for a "March Wind" theme. As those are finished, I will post them too.

Wishing you all the best,

BeadRee