Earthy Spring Vibes:
By Ashley Bonney-Summer Wind
I have been playing around a lot lately with mixing different elements in my jewelry. When I was designing this piece, I wanted to have some fun bright elements, but I also wanted to keep it earthy. I found that adding leather cord to the end and some natural stone beads kept it nice and grounded.
When I am adding leather cord, I like to take a long piece, fold it in half and then use a crimp end to secure it. I then add a lobster clasp and jump ring for the closure.
I really like using Vintaj Brass Findings because they age really well and are very easy to manipulate. You can see in the picture that I just linked the stone beads using eye pins and jump rings. I’ll be sure to post the sizes at the end.
The wood beads on this necklace were tricky, because one hole was very small and the other was larger. I find that wood beads do best when they are secured with twine or hemp. I have tried using eye pins in the past, but I experienced more movement than I like, so I switched to twine. In this case, because the smaller wood bead’s hole was much smaller, I had to actually take the twine apart so I had a nice thin piece. I then just made a loop and the top and knotted between the beads and at the bottom.
I hope you got a little inspiration from my post, I am always so inspired by all the ladies that post to Art Bead Scene. I have soooo much to learn, as far as techniques go, and I am so glad that we have so many talented artists here. Hope everyone has fun creating!
Ashley Bonney
Summer Wind Art
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SummerWindArt
Supplies:
Twine-I used Baker’s Twine from Lima Beads
Leather Cording from Micheal’s Craft Store
Stone Beads, any earthy color or shape
Wood Beads- Summer Wind Art
Findings:
Vintaj Natural Brass
CE20 – 9mm Crimp End
CL0003 – 12mm Classic Lobster Clasp
JR60 – 15mm Smooth 15ga Jump Ring
JR40 – 7.25mm Smooth 16ga Jump Ring
EP1 – 1in Eye Pin
Terri Del Signore
March 21, 2017 at 3:22 amLove your combination of beads Ashley!! Leather cording is a total favorite of mine!!
Lynn
March 21, 2017 at 2:17 pmGreat post, Ashley! Love your necklace!