Fancy - The Gala Necklace

Recently, Pathways, my favorite organization, threw a big party—a gala! I love any excuse to get dressed up, wear heels (now that I can actually walk in them), and have a good time, and the cause was also great: raising money for families of soldiers and special needs children, and for Teen/Family Camp.

While I did some small things to help with the gala (helping set up for the silent auction and processing silent auction winning transactions at the end of the night), the biggest thing I did to help was make a necklace just for the silent auction.

This is a special necklace. Not only is it the only thing I've made in months... I purposely made it using high-end materials, in hopes it would bring a hefty winning auction price (and therefore lots of money donated to Pathways). That... didn't quite work out, but one happy bidder did get to go home with this lovely necklace. 

Did I mention it's valued at over $650?

I made matching earrings, too, but I only remembered to get a crappy cell phone picture of them on that night.

This necklace has all kinds of yummy details. It’s got high-end stones, first of all: ruby, sapphire, and emerald… and the rest of the stones are very high quality: seraphinite, tourmaline, peridot, citrine, smoky quartz, kyanite, turquoise, larimar, amazonite, amethyst, lapis, hematite, pearls, jade, chalcedony, rhodochrosite, moonstone, sunstone, carnelian, malachite, and garnet.

I also used some large Swarovski crystals to draw extra attention.

I used 14k gold wire, and all of the findings were 100% handmade. This necklace can be worn long, or it can be doubled. It looks pretty darn fabulous either way.

I just love the cluster of sapphire, peridot, ruby, and moonstone hanging in the middle of the gold wire circle.

I seriously had a hard time giving this one up… may need to make one of these for myself, too.

Be sure to click the pictures to see the full-sized images. It's worth seeing, if I do say so myself!

The Lori - A Custom Wedding Necklace

Riding the wave into a new chapter of life... This necklace turned out exactly as I imagined it would. I painted the picture in my head of a wave of sterling silver wire, with two large silver pearls attached to it, and a wired amethyst flower in the middle.

My co-worker and friend is getting married this weekend, and I offered to make her a necklace to wear.

This is the result.

She likes simple designs, and while I think this fits (at least loosely) the "simple" part... I think this necklace is particularly special. I'm very pleased with how it turned out, and honestly-- if I didn't make this necklace specifically for her, I would probably keep it!

She and her fiancé have a special story. They met as co-workers and became fast friends... helping each other heal from their divorces. They've been bonded ever since!

They are a wonderful couple, and I wish them all the best as they start their new chapter of life together!

Wordless Wednesday - Joy Necklace

"What I know for sure is that you feel real JOY in direct proportion to how connected you are to living your truth." - Oprah Winfrey

Mother's Necklace

This is the mother's bracelet concept taken to a whole new level! 

I had a request for a custom mother's necklace... two kids, so two names and two strands. Except-- the necklace needed to be longer, about 32 inches. 

Woo, a challenge!! This was so fun to do, and yes, it was a bit of a challenge. For someone like me, who is so used to flooding my jewelry with color... I needed to minimalize the color in this necklace so it would be as versatile as the mother's bracelets I make (which are all sterling silver beads and Swarovski crystals-- clear ones). 

Well... mission accomplished! The husband, who requested the necklace, was pleased, and so was his wife. I'm thrilled... and I have to say, I'm quite pleased with the necklace as well. I think it's really cool!

I used at least four different types of chain, big BIG gorgeous pearls (3 of those), a few smaller pearls, and some silver pearls, with crystal clear Swarovski crystals and sterling silver beads.

The result? Well, see for yourself...

It can be worn as a single super-long necklace, a double-strand necklace, or even 3 or 4 strands. I added little danglies to make it more fun... and there's a clasp on each end, so it can literally be clipped anywhere. This is probably the most versatile necklace I've ever made, and I certainly hope to make more of them. It was a ton of fun! Really a fun challenge for me.

Now... something else exciting will be happening either later tonight or tomorrow. Stay tuned!!

Also-- I'm going to start sending out update emails, so you'll know when I have a sale, when I'm at a craft show, when my shop is updated, when I update this blog, etc... so sign up! The box is in the upper left hand corner!