Off The Beaded Track: January 2006

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Blush! (Necklace) $ 45


The reason for naming it 'Blush' is because the colours are very subtle. The Amethyst beads have a long, barrel shape and are of a mixture of colours, from white to pale purple and dark purple.

The pearls are 'jagged', irregular Japanese Keishi pearls which have a champagne-peach-offwhite tone. When worn, these pearls appear to be very 3D, making the necklace look like a tiny garland of small jasmine flowers.

Length is not too long, about collar-bone length. The metal parts of the chain are 925 silver (can be polished when tarnished). Try matching it with collar working shirts! :)

Limited no. of pieces as I couldn't get many of these amethyst beads.

Monday, January 30, 2006

My New Beads Corner


Chinese New Year is a good time for me to shift my beads, parts, tools and stock from the dining table to another corner of my house - my bedroom. I haven't seen the surface of the dining table for a LONG time :) It had been totally covered up by beads and parts, except for a working area of about 10cm by 10 cm!

My husband is very supportive of my shift from dining area to our bedroom. The study room is quite full already, while the piano room is too 'remote' and empty.

As you can see, the little corner is quite cozy and private. I even bought Laura Ashley boxes to keep my beads! :D

Friday, January 27, 2006

Happy Chinese New Year!

Hello everyone! Eat more bak gua and Kueh Lapis! Spend a meaningful time with your family :) A time to give thanksgiving and a time to cherish what we have! Hope to have time to make some more new stuff with the new batch of stones I ordered....hee can't wait!

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Evergreen (Necklace) $ 55



This necklace is requested by Stella :) I can understand why she likes the Evergreen combi so much! Peridot, Citrine, Pearls and Crystal always go very well together. Necklace is about collar-length.

I have attached also a picture of the previous Evergreen Earrings.

Mona Lisa (2-Tier Neckace) $ 45






If wearing one necklace is not enough, wear two! :) I will be making more of these 2-tier necklaces.

I personally like this piece a lot. The colours are slightly Bohemian combi, stones used are dark Amethyst, Aventurine, silver-tone pearls and well-cut purple Fluorite. The Fluorite stones are really very nice, different from the normal round beads I often see. It is well cut in the shape of 'Star of David', like a 3D star. The difference between Fluorite and Amethyst is that the purple portion of Fluorite has a much lighter purple, and the purple is heterogenous, i.e. you see some parts of the stone colourless, and another part in purple. I have been saving these stones for something nice this Mona Lisa.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

New pics coming soon....:)

There have been a few requests asking me to customise jewelry...challenging and I LOVE it! Will be busy for while but I do have a few new creations which I have yet to take photo of.

If you are wearing something made by me during CNY, please continue to help me publicize my blog, thanks a bunch! :D

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Me and Christine :)

Well someone asks me to post a pic of Christine when worn...so since I was leaving home in a hurry I took a quick picture of myself in my bathroom so it was a bit blur.

The purpose of this photo is to demonstrate how it could it worn and the size of the necklace, rather than to show you the beauty of the delicate details. For instance, the tear-drop crystal right at the middle was not captured well due to the shadows. Also, ignore the rashes on my skin as I just came out of the shower. Refer to the pics below to see more clearly.

What you see here is the pink Christine.

Christine $ 55




Another beautiful creation which I foresee will be as popular as Gloria :) Simple colours but beautiful contours. I have become more open to involving Swarovski Crystals among natural minerals, and appreciate the additional shine that Swarovski crystals can give to the jewelry. But in any case I will only use a few because I still like natural stuff more.

Comes in either champagne pink or white freshwater pearls. Mabel likes the sweet and clean-looking white one while Heather loves the pink one with a subtle colour that makes the necklace suitable for casual wearing.

Stones used: Natural crystal, freshwater pearls, moonstones.

A note to Mabel in faraway HK: I think this is the most suitable chain for this piece, instead of something thicker as it will steal the limelight of the centrepiece!

A note to Heather: Well, somehow I really can't think of any names more suitable than Christine! :P The name sticks to the piece!

Christine Earrings $ 25


Two tear-drop Swarovski Crystals dangling below clusters of freshwater pearls, moonstones and crystals. Comes in either white or champagne pink (refer above pics of necklaces).

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Purple Potpourri $ 19



I haven't been making pendants for quite some time, until I saw this beautiful deep-blue stone, Sodalite in its faceted rectangular shape.

Bunched together in the blue Sodalite 'vase' are wild flowers consisting of Rose quartz, Pearls, Moonstone and Emerald chips.

Any suggestions for its name are most welcome :)

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

- Ceased - Pink Lavendar Mismatched Earrings $ 30


This is a more clustered version of what I made for Heather, who wants something sweet in pink and purple. The pink comes from Rose Quartz while the purple from light-purple Amethyst. Small white freshwater pearls add a touch of brightness to the creation. Set in 925 silver, as usual.

Autumn Earrings $ 25



This pair of earrings matches the Autumn choker I posted quite some time back, suggested by Delphine who is dedicating it to her good friend. Yellow jade, Peridot, Citrine, Carnellian and a bronze-gold pearl nugget.

Sunday, January 08, 2006

-Ceased- Spice Garden (Mismatched Earrings) $ 32


Dots of dark purple, light purple, grass-green, pink in gold setting. Very delicate. Hanging on the fine chain are Amethyst, Emerald and Rose Quartz. Try wearing these with a pink/purple/green short dress...and feel romantic. :D

-ceased- Princess Clary $ 45
















Amethyst in both light and dark shades wired together on a string of freshwater pearls to form clusters of lilac flowers similar to Clary Sage, a kind of herb flowers. The clear, blue Aquamarine and crystal quartz help to enhance these flowers.

Purple has always been known as the colour of royalty. This necklace is created to have that air of royalty. I have tried out different types of 'chains' to link to this exquisite centrepiece and I found that big, white pearls work the best.

If you are wearing something simple to a concert or wedding, this piece of jewelry does the trick of elegantly dressing you up.

'Anna Sui' Earrings $ 20


This pair of earrings matches a necklace I had previously posted 2 months ago - Anna Sui. Jasmine has requested for it :) The Amethyst looks a bit too dark here on the photo. Emerald (grass-green in colour) chips and Peridot wired together complement the dark purple perfectly.

A romantic design.

Friday, January 06, 2006

More necklaces coming! :)

Yeah tomorrow is Saturday! Don't have to leave home early. I will be able to get the daytime sunlight that I need so badly to take new pictures of my new creations. Have tried taking with the table lamp at night when I return from work, but the effect was miserable.

This time I have used mainly clear stones and crystals on the necklaces. Lots of wiring too. Keep coming back to my blog ya? :)

Sunday, January 01, 2006

Peaches N Cream (Set)



Peaches N Cream Ring $ 25


Together with the necklace and earrings, I have made a ring with similar materials - coral and pearls with a tint of peridot (as the leave). Simple and nice!

Peaches N Cream Necklace $ 60




This is another necklace with some wiring work. Small clusters of tiny pearls connected with coral beads and bigger pearls....more than a hundred big, medium, small freshwater pearls are involved. You can picture the clusters of pearls to look very much like popcorns!