A walk through the forest - aka Sharyl's Bead Packet Design Challenge #2, the reveal

As you know from previous posts - this weekend is home for 3 Blog Hops.

This post is for Sharyl's Bead Packet Design Challenge #2 - featuring Natalie Pappas of NKP Designs

Are you looking for Solar Flare Blog Hop? You'll find it right here

When I first saw Sharyl's original post I almost fainted: along with gemstones and glass I am in love with ceramics too. I saw many ceramic beads, but being quite new to the artistic world I saw very few ceramic art beads, and even fewer up close and personal :) The colours weren't the ones I would pick for myself but I threw my name in the hat nonetheless, the whole package looks truly delicious.

A few weeks after the registration I was the proud owner of my first ceramic art beads. No, scratch that - my first and gorgeous ceramic art beads! I received them shortly after attending a Rock and Gems Show where I bought a few beauties, one of them being an Onyx small bowl... which became the first home of my new beads (see below).

I kept them on my table and played with them for a little bit - imagining various ideas, none being worthy of their beauty. I knew I wanted a simple yet very elegant design, something to let the finesse in the beads prevail.

Luckily for me the muse decided to take pity on me and this is what they became shortly after:

Is there a way to take good pictures of long necklaces?! This is a very long one - doesn't even need a clasp :)


Each bead has been carefully wrapped sandwiched between 2 antique copper spacers. The beaded components have been linked with 3 strands of copper chain (2 different chains, one antiqued, one not). Around the neck I used a piece of leather, wrapped with copper - it makes for such a soft and easy wear!

I love tassels and I used the large focal ceramic bead to create one - pulling all the elements together: a strand of leather is kept together by one copper spacer, and a few more strands of chain give the tassel a playful and charming air.

These are the beads I started with: and have used all but 2 white stones for the necklace.

What do you do when you have 2 stones? I don't know about you - but I made earrings:

As simple as the necklace, and lovingly brushing my neck with the tassel chains :)

I need a real-size mannequin - my necklaces are getting longer and longer and I have no neat way to present them properly.

Anyhow - I am uber-pleased with my set, I just love how it drapes and how it wears. It has the ability to change a low-key attire into a very elegant combination, and to match the elegance of a cocktail dress and make it playful and charming.

P.S. Since Kashmira asked so nicely, I tried my best to get a complete picture of the necklace - not my best pictures, but you'll get the idea of how the necklace will look like (a lot slimmer than in the pictures, I widened it as much as I could)

 That is, in fact, the blouse I've been wearing it with a lot!

Thank you, Sharyl for the opportunity to play along - Natalie's ceramic is absolutely gorgeous and Sharyl's matching of the stones was perfectly done.

Thank you for visiting with me for this challenge.
Please make sure you visit the other participants (and if you are curious my Solar Flare blog hop too!). Remember to visit tomorrow too, for the Oktoberfest :)

Sonia Smith - her piece will appear on Sharyl's blog

Kashmira Patel of Sudafulee... Always in Bloom

Alicia Marinache of All the Pretty Things  <-- You are here

Cheri of Creative Designs by Cheri

Laren Dee Barton of Laren Dee Designs

Shirley Moore of Beads and Bread

Alice Craddick of Alice's Beads and Baubles

Cilla of Tell Your Girlfriends

Whimsical Monkey

KayzKreationz

Jean A. Wells Handcrafted Artisan Jewelry