tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:29:45 +0000http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/TheBroadroom.NetBlogger315125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-1930464137426686797Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:24:00 +00002008-04-06T14:29:45.957-07:00earringsbeading notesThe more I think about it, the more I like the idea of using a tiny round bead, instead of a crimp (see previous Rambles...). What I had on hand were crimp tubes. They actually don't look bad, crimped on a hoop like that, but a tiny round bead would likely look much better. I've been turning it over in my mind about soldering. Wondering how feasible it would be to solder an earring frame, say, http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/04/rambles_06.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-1739445094730569997Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:26:00 +00002008-04-05T23:32:51.723-07:00earringsbeading notesI got to finish some earrings today. Boy, were they a pain to finish! I had this idea of making a round hoop, with a curved bar inside it, like a much simpler version of these: Gokul earrings. Just the bottom hoops with the bar inside, and stuff hanging from the bar and from the bottom edge of the hoop. (Not even the fancy dangles hanging from the bottom, just regular little dangles.) Thing is, http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/04/rambles_05.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-8199003724857087925Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:37:00 +00002008-04-02T18:14:07.455-07:00earringsbeading notespicsHi! Haven't had much time to blog lately... It's occurred to me...a new earring design usually takes me several days, at least. Sometimes longer. Once I have the design, it takes me several hours to actually fabricate the earrings. I was thinking of that today...from the beginning, I had wanted to develop several designs and just use those. Part of it is sheer laziness, no doubt, but I believe http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/04/rambles.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-4292095617789531721Thu, 27 Mar 2008 05:34:00 +00002008-03-26T22:55:02.035-07:00beading notesBlogged some here: Fashion Notes: Trekking through Etsy. No original work, just some pics from various Etsy merchants. I did go ahead and make spiral earrings. It's experimental...in a way, I don't care whether it's a commercially viable design, since I'm not selling it. I just want to know how it feels to wear them. The ones I made feel different on, having a long "stem" to balance off the http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/03/rambles_26.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-8891680738917661451Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:36:00 +00002008-03-23T18:01:13.964-07:00earringsbeading notesHappy Easter! Was fiddling around with some earrings today...I still need to finish the three-hoop necklace. The front is fine, but I finished the back with two grey moonstone rondelles. I love how the grey color looks, but the drill-holes were small. I really prefer using heavier wire in back to finish a chain, plus it could stand to be a bit longer anyway. Anyhow, about the earrings. These http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/03/rambles_23.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-8145182025478400851Sat, 22 Mar 2008 23:34:00 +00002008-03-22T16:47:11.204-07:00hoopsnecklacechainpicsmoonstone Not sure about this one yet. It's experimental, because these aren't soldered hoops; they're strictly bent and hammered. On a personal level, I like geometry, and therefore geometrical shapes. I've had the notion of making an abacus pendant for months, not because I know how to use an abacus :) nor even because an abacus is itself useful. It's the concept of making a square pendant that's http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/03/necklace-with-three-hoops-and.htmlTheBroadroom.Nettag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-3939661202610172046Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:08:00 +00002008-03-20T19:29:55.592-07:00necklacelabradoritechaingoldfilled In the top pic, I was leaning at a funny angle, trying to capture the schiller in the stones. It hangs much more the way it does in the bottom pic. I made this for special occasions, imo it's too much for every day. Unless you can pull something like that off. :) BTW labradorite is light for its size. I thought these stones would be way heavy, all together on the chain like that, but they're http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/03/labradorite-pear-necklace.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-5565866762894386788Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:03:00 +00002008-03-20T19:06:44.001-07:00hoopsvermeilgoldearringssapphiregoldfilled This is a somewhat lower grade of sapphire. Still a tiny bit translucent, but without the rich color of blue sapphires. I was very pleased these beads had been hand selected...I bought them online, three packages of four beads each. Someone had gone through and made sure I got two of each color. That's how I could make matching earrings. This is goldfill and vermeil, with karat gold beads.http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/03/sapphire-and-gold-hoop-earrings.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-5773263276867270567Fri, 21 Mar 2008 01:55:00 +00002008-03-20T19:01:09.768-07:00labradoriteearringscitrinewirepics Here's my first attempt at using a herringbone weave. I realize I linked to it earlier from the beauty & fashion blog, but now that I can get screenshot thumbnails of the posts here, figured it would be useful to post here for future reference. Ultimately I was disappointed in using half-hard wire for the weave, because I found it impossible to bend the wire just so on the sides. I think the http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/03/citrine-and-labradorite-earrings.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-5839625730142102613Thu, 20 Mar 2008 19:06:00 +00002008-03-20T13:43:44.367-07:00pearlscitrineaquamarinepicssapphirependantmoonstoneperidot This is a pic of what I was blogging about yesterday. As you can see, it was a bit of a bugger to photograph. You can get a nice still image by hanging the piece, but then the scale is unclear (plus you can't see all the stones). I'm quite pleased with how this Mom pendant turned out. When you wear it, it looks different, depending on the light and how the stones have fallen. So sometimes the http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/03/mom-pendant.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-3374502913525452753Wed, 19 Mar 2008 01:12:00 +00002008-03-18T18:41:14.252-07:00necklacelabradoriteearringsbeading notescitrinepicssapphire...where was I? :) I ditched the earrings...I can't make the herringbone weave work with half-hard wire. It'll make a bezel, but I'm not happy with it. Latest projects: Fashion Notes: Earring synergy (the ill-fated half-hard herringbone weave!) Just Notes: What I've been into, lately (also featuring some pics I found on the Net of my home town) Fashion Notes: Labradorite necklace Today I'mhttp://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/03/rambles_18.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-5387461007790714978Mon, 10 Mar 2008 04:57:00 +00002008-03-09T22:49:28.202-07:00beading notesMade some new earrings today, didn't have time to photograph them. Actually I'm wearing them...part of the test process, of course. :) These use several ideas...Dain's concepts of color combinations, and Eni Oken's herringbone weave, which I've been wanting to try for a long time. Thanks to Eni's tutorial, I found the weave relatively painless and managed to mangle only the first pass, when I http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/03/rambles_09.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-6340134577023873806Sat, 08 Mar 2008 19:41:00 +00002008-03-08T11:49:37.861-08:00hoopsearringscitrinebalisterling silverpics Not sure what to make next. Thinking of going ahead and making another copy of these frames, though I don't know what to put in them. I'm just thinking of "something symmetrical, using one or two chains, and a small stone."http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/03/better-pic-of-madeira-citrine-earrings.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-6901298342233687524Sat, 08 Mar 2008 06:05:00 +00002008-03-07T22:39:14.661-08:00beading notesThe more I look at this picture, the more I like the frame itself. It's a straightforward enough frame...you can buy readymade ones of the same shape...what I like is the slight roughness, the effect of it being handmade. I've concluded, anyway, I am a bit different from other people. I would rather look at a picture of gears...or ships...or a machine that makes stuff...than look at what people http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/03/rambles_07.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-6730969678012178782Sat, 08 Mar 2008 00:38:00 +00002008-03-07T16:58:37.527-08:00hoopsearringscitrinesterling silverpics Been playing around with these for a while...had the idea of capturing this "winter tree full of robins" idea--not even sure they were robins? They weren't like East Coast robins, with vivid red-orange breasts, but rather a softer color. Anyhow, because the citrines are wrapped to the chain, they move around a lot...rather like birds on a tree :) I tried this out initially with some bright http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/03/madeira-citrine-earrings.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-2408973595388677616Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:40:00 +00002008-03-05T11:49:42.222-08:00beading notesOh well, the idea of leaving the chain necklace as is lasted about one day. It's not practical, because the majority of the weight is in front. The weight would have to be counterbalanced by something in the back, whether an actual clasp or a fake clasp, or something. Plus, I'm liking the idea of it as a sort of summer necklace, the kind of thing you could wear with a summer top. In short I'll http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/03/rambles.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-8181479886989884114Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:13:00 +00002008-03-20T13:39:40.176-07:00topaznecklacechainsterling silverpics Finished this today (top center pic). I added an extender chain in the back, with a small round citrine and Bali sterling bead at the end. I blogged about the development of the piece here: Fashion Notes: Something I've been fiddling around with if you'd like more detail. I've come to realize...most of the time, what I'm looking for is a sort of industrial look. Or I should say, I miss the http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/03/london-blue-topaz-necklace-sterling.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-7943698754630889125Tue, 26 Feb 2008 04:38:00 +00002008-02-25T21:07:15.881-08:00beading notesI've already changed out the silver hoops I used on yesterday's Madeira citrine earrings. The ones I'd made were too big and heavy. I realized I'd made them that way because I'd intended to hang a single citrine in the center of each...then figured the citrines I had were too small for that...and ended up using a seven-stone design instead. The small hoops I made today are so much lighter in http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/02/rambles_25.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-682581105313986268Mon, 25 Feb 2008 02:59:00 +00002008-02-24T19:11:41.246-08:00beading notes I made some earrings today, but no time to photograph them. So these are two pictures of a whole bunch of robins in a winter tree. The earrings, coincidentally enough, use a bit of the same color scheme. I have some Madeira citrines, and had the idea of pairing them with silver. Actually I was thinking oxidized silver...though it's the current trend to oxidize, I haven't oxidized anything yethttp://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/02/rambles_24.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-7582341645197734378Fri, 15 Feb 2008 20:09:00 +00002008-03-20T13:58:09.128-07:00necklacequartzsilver This is a beautiful necklace. Rose quartz isn't that easy to work with--higher grades of it are more transparent, with a delicate pink hue, unlike your more robustly-colored dyed quartz. Hence most rose quartz pieces I've seen feature a lot of quartz at a time, typically a multi-strand design, or else big chunky quartz. In real life the Softflex color isn't as obtrusive as it appears in the http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/02/multistrand-rose-quartz-necklace-with.htmlTheBroadroom.Nettag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-3899205091932055929Sun, 10 Feb 2008 00:10:00 +00002008-02-09T16:43:32.242-08:00emeraldnecklaceearringspicsprehniteamethyst Playing around with backgrounds. The black background shows the structure better, but the white one shows the color of the stones. Pretty pleased with the necklace...the key is the weight in back. Without adding extra beads, the weight in front would be too much. Another idea I'm playing with is of making pieces which can be worn either casually or more formally. This one might do it. If http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/02/green-amethyst-and-prehnite-necklace.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-6846819838881069148Sat, 09 Feb 2008 01:49:00 +00002008-02-08T18:34:21.619-08:00beading notesStill fiddling around with the green amethyst/prehnite necklace. I took the little chain and vermeil bead off the back...I think the idea would look nice if I had the right vermeil bead for it, say something like this mint leaf charm from Nina Designs: I don't have anything like that currently, so I'd tried using the same square vermeil bead here: And it didn't look so great. Today I went http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/02/rambles_08.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-6032018235444635766Fri, 08 Feb 2008 00:21:00 +00002008-02-07T19:55:26.011-08:00beading notesPlaying with a new design today. Actually it takes me at least three days now, most of the time, to finish a single design. I'll come up with something, then start wearing it, or start thinking it's too ordinary...how can I make it more special? This will be the first time I've had to counter-weight a necklace, beyond adding a couple of beads in the back and/or a heavier clasp. This design uses http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/02/rambles.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-8414816578653716869Sun, 03 Feb 2008 23:17:00 +00002008-02-03T15:25:38.331-08:00hoopsemeraldearringschainpicsgoldfilledamethyst Quite pleased with these. The emeralds shown are really tiny, the ones that come at the ends of a graduated strand. Supposedly they're at least 2mm (which is already small) but some struck me as being even smaller. Stringing them though, they look quite pretty. If you look at the right-most bottom pic, you can see the emerald "frame" is bent a little. I've fixed that since the photo.http://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/02/green-amethyst-and-emerald-earrings.htmlColleen Shirazitag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18614498.post-1000519599277765514Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:16:00 +00002008-01-31T16:27:01.236-08:00necklacelabradoritechainpicsgoldfilled I have this on the LP blog actually, only now I've worn it a few times. It's interesting, because often there's a problem putting a flat stone in front of a necklace. On many designs, the flat bead will turn sideways and stick straight out instead of lying flat. This is particularly true of a string of flat beads; it looks nice, but is impossible to wear. This works somehow. I suspect it hashttp://thebroadroom.net/fashion/beading_blog/2008/01/labradorite-necklace.htmlColleen Shirazi