You Lovely Little Yellow Opal You Need 2 Designs - Mission 2 Simple Yet Interesting

Mission 2 - Simple Yet Interesting

Blog on the versatility of using pendant groupings in your jewelry designs. This is a 2 part blog series.  Click Here for Mission 1 - Earthy Jewelry Design.

The majority of my stone comes from my wonderful friends at Dakota Stones.  I have truly found the most interesting and unique cuts, varieties and drills.  Plus they are 5 minutes from my house....okay I know I have said that before......BUT THEY ARE 5 MINUTES FROM MY HOUSE.  Jeff Elvin the owner is truly on the side of the designer....before he heads out on one of excursions to hunt for stone he often sends me a message asking for ideas and wants to know what designers maybe looking for.  Guess what.......everything that I have asked him for he's brought home.  Not only are they interested in what us artists are up to they are just fun!!!!!!! 

They had some really fun advertising at the last Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee.

Anyone with a sign like this is after my purse strings!!!!!!

It is so fun to go to their warehouse.  So if you can ever make it out to their warehouse sales that he has 2 times a year............IT IS WORTH THE TRIP.  Get on their mailing list so you can get the details.

Click Here To Head Over to Dakota Stones.

So now on to the business at hand!!!!  I made this Earthy Design below for my first part of this mission.  The general consensus on my blog and on Facebook was to keep the dangles so that is what I am doing.

Island Sunset can be purchased here.

My next task was to come up with a simple yet interesting design for Mission 2.  Simple is a little more difficult for me to make as all the endless possibilities come to mind.  It has value and is a great way to have the stone take the lead rather than the design.  There is the saying less is more and I am a firm believer in that.  So I do design in both realms.   

Sunny Dispostion Necklace can be purchased here. 

(I remade a second necklace for sale...instead of a dragonfly it has a Hill Tribes Fine Silver Flower....same link)

Sunny Disposition Soft Tribal Necklace is simply strung on Beadalon wire with the lovely Yellow Opal, Pineapple Jade, Bone, Hill Tribes Fine Silver Dragonfly and Sterling Chain and hook.  Compare the 2 designs and ask yourself.....Which Design Appeals To You Most?  I bet in the realm of my readers we get a vast array of opinions based on their personalities and style preferences.  I would love to hear from you on which you like and why....so I hope you will comment below as I truly love to hear from my customers and my jewelry associates in crime.

This design is simple yet elegant and the Yellow Opal takes the stage.  Note that I haven't lost my earthy bent in the process of making this.  I have different customers and as long as I can be true to myself I love to design in all realms.  This is why I AM NEVER BORED with jewelry design.

Sunny Disposition Earrings can be purchased here. 

(I remade a second pair for sale...same link)

I even threw in a simple pair of yellow earrings.  I took the smaller stones at the back of the strand and simply wire wrapped them with the Pineapple Jade and set them on some simple handmade sterling silver earring wires.

Look all the Yellow Opal beads I have left!!!!!!!!  Amazing isn't it!  I have at least a necklace or two that I can make and even some earrings. Contemplating a bracelet not sure....hmmmmm it's an interesting location for drill hole for a bracelet.

My point is this ......... these pendant sets are truly versatile!!!!!!  Cost effective if you are a jewelry designer.  Yes you may look at the price and shy away but in the end look how many designs you are getting out of it.

I HAVE A SUPRISE!!!!!!!!

At Dakota Stones last warehouse sale I nabbed a strand of Kunzite Pendant Bead Set in their CLEARANCE BIN.......yes you must dig through that!  Crap now I have some competition.

These are just some of them below as I already made the below design.

Kunzite is a lovely stone.  Not a stone that I would originally gravitate toward mostly because it has a pink sheen in it and I don't typically design in pink.....but it is really growing on me.  So it is very much like Kyanite in its iridescence.  It has some lovely pinks, light greens and creamy whites in its shimmer.

This strand was a little more unusual in that all the edges were rounded.  HINT HINT.....UNUSUAL. That is what I always go for when I buy.  

This does not meet the SIMPLE YET INTERESTING part of the BLOG.......ok maybe the interesting.  I threw this design together last night as nothing on the television was grabbing my attention but designing another necklace.

Polynesian Queen Necklace can be purchase here.

(This necklace recently sold but I have a different one in the works)

This is a new design for me and I am really liking the play of the texture over the smooth of the Kunzite.  I like the soft and hard mix, its interesting to me.  This piece is hand knotted with 4 ply waxed linen in Kunzite, African Turquoise, Carved Jade and I added a handmade copper clasp.

This necklace is on reserve but I added the link so you could view the photos.

These pendant grouping are versatile and cost effective for designers....the above photo of the Kunzite is what I have left over from the strand after I made Polynesian Queen Necklace.

Want to see my latest....here is my store.

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Thanks for coming to read my blog..... I know its been sending out cricket noises for awhile......guess I'd rather design jewelry than blog.  I would love to have some new followers, as that is sending out cricket noises to.  You can follow on the right side of the blog.

Its all about creative play......till next time.

 kiss kiss ------- Kristin

Pendant Grouping Jewelry

I am always interested in taking materials and attempting to use them in atypical ways.  You can see what a typical design would be, all the pendants grouped together.  I am drawn to the unique and atypical uses of materials.  I can't tell you how many times I have ogled over a designers jewelry and said now "Why didn't I think of that"?  I love to see those designers work.  Seems that they just have a special place in their brain for that type of creative thought.
I strive to be one of them!!!!

So I received these really lovely pendant bead sets by Jeff Elvin of Dakota Stones and he asked me to  come up with with some designs for him.  Jeff was launching them to his website and he wanted a few designs to show his customers how they could use them. What I love the most about them was the rough hammered surface. It also has a smooth surface to but I only see myself using the rough surface.

Khaleesi Necklace

With this necklace I used all 5 of the pendants in the grouping. I love Game of Thrones and new season was airing soon and I was thinking about Khaleesi. I made some copper accents, added some Brecciated Jasper and Greek Mykonos and tied it all up with waxed linen.  I primarily tie all my jewelry and I am always looking for different ways to added the texture of tying into my jewelry.  I did a tying technique in between my copper points.

Lapis Necklace - SOLD

I was really excited that these pendant groupings came in Lapis and couldn't wait to get my hands on those for my Between the Lines collection that is one of my newer styles this 2014. Here I used only 1 of the pendants.  I do have to tell you if you are planning on tying it is helpful to have an 

Euro Tool Electric Bead Reamer.  

This is my go to tool!!!!!  I bought mine at Rio Grande but you can find them and extra bits on Amazon.  All of the stones are from Dakota Stones and the lampwork is from Outwest.  Good part about this design is that now I still have 4 LAPIS PENDANTS LEFT!!!!!!

Fossil Coral Necklace

I have an obsession with peachy coral and that has been going on for nearly 2 years.  I love Sunstone, Moonstone and Fossil Coral.  I used all 5 pieces in this Fossil Coral Set.  Added some Sea Urchin, Wood, Greek Mykonos and Pink Agate.  This was an interesting design to tie as I had to start from the clasp and move in from their to do that tying technique at the pendant.

Some simple designs with tying in Lapis and African Turquoise.

Sunset Over Water Necklace

I love Dakota Stones for many reasons really but this is a big one.  They have so many beads in the same type of stone in odles of shapes, drills finishes you name it.  I am a very textural jewelry designer and they are a stone lovers dream come true and personally they do it like no other.  Here I used one of the pendants in Rough Sunset Dumortierite.  They recently came out with these great rectangle beads in matte and glossy finishes and in many types of stones.  I added one of them here and was fortunate enough to have some nearly identical Lampwork by Bokamo Designs.  I also added Sunstone, Lapis, Jade and Greek Mykonos.  The clasp and copper bail were handmade by me.

 Winding River Necklace

Made with Red Creek Jasper, matte carved Amazonite, Brecciated Jasper, Wood and Lampwork by Bokamo Designs.  One of my friends called it Lyrical and I think she got that right.

Tribal Turquoise Necklace

Another very Tribal piece using African Turquois Pendants.  Here I use only 3.  I added Rough Carved Onyx, Greek Mykonos and some handmade copper components by me.

Butterflies From Heaven Necklace - Mine

I know my mom was smiling down on my from heaven as I made this necklace.  She loved butterflies!  This one was made with Amazonite, Carved Matte Amazonite, Greek Mykonos, Lampwork from Firelily and some fancy wire work made by me.  For now this one is mine.  I will be making some for my shop.  I have a few kinks to work out.  One of my favorite colors!!!!!

Many of these designs can be purchased here or click through the links to the above necklace.

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