Serenity Necklace- February Challenge Day 7

[Serenity Necklace]

For those of you who like your jewelry to be a bit calmer, today's necklace is the Serenity Necklace. It's classic percent jewelry- a mix of vintage beads, chains and natural stones- but in a very simple piece that you wear daily.

The chain is the same used in the Cascading Necklace, but the best part of this necklace is the  beautiful vintage beads hung off center. With light blue, purple and magenta, they add interest in the otherwise organic feeling necklace.

The lighting has been poor and Partner-in-Crime hasn't been home to help me take pictures of my necklaces being worn, so apologizes about the low quality of this pictures. The colors on the top image are true to life.

A Necklace A Day will continue all of February. See all the daily necklaces here. I'm joined in this challenge by a fellow East Bay Arts Collective member, Gwen of Gwen Harlow Design who will be crafting and blogging as well.

weekend review: marin adventures

[Check out those ripples in the distance- that's ocean waves!]

It's been a while since I posted a weekend review, but I figured if I was late on my necklace challenge, I should share why.  This series of images is a little of the "this is my perfect life" variety but I have to say, anytime I have a rare weekend off and get out of the city, it does feel like a perfect life. Just for the day. Images after the jump.

Necklaces Five and Six- February Challenge Days 5 & 6

[Glass and Pearl Necklace]

 

Okay, a necklace a day gets even tougher when it overlaps with my first weekend off in a month. Instead of making a necklace yesterday, Partner-in-Crime and I lunched at Thai Temple, ran errands for the house, took Gracieface to the dog park, and even went to a potluck in the city. Since I didn't get it posted yesterday, today is a two-fer.

Day Five's Necklace is a multistrand necklace with two strands of pearls in cream and gray, gold chain and green recycled glass made in Africa. It hangs from a cream ribbon and is adjustable to whatever length you'd like to wear it.

[Sydney Necklace]

Necklace Six is the Sydney Necklace, named after my friend Sydney who gave me the amazing necklace that is the base of this piece. I wrapped it with orange, lime green and blue embroidery floss down one side and continued the blue onto the charm. A shorter piece, this necklace sits on your collarbone.

A Necklace A Day will continue all of February. See all the daily necklaces here. I'm joined in this challenge by a fellow East Bay Arts Collective member, Gwen of Gwen Harlow Design who will be crafting and blogging as well. If you'd like to join the challenge, email me at kat.mceachern (at) gmail dot com.

Prism Necklace- February Challenge Day Four

[Prism Necklace]

 I'm especially excited to share photos of this necklace because I'm on Instagram! If you follow me on twitter, you got to see a special sneak peak this morning. Then I was off to Marin County for hiking on Mt. Tam and lazing on the beach in Bolinas. 

I've done many necklaces with chandelier crystals before, I cannot get enough of them, but this is the first I've combined with natural stones. These are dyed green stones that are an incredibly variegated green. Simply gorgeous. The Prism Necklace is available now on Etsy and I have a handful of these green stones left. I have the feeling they won't make it through February!

A Necklace A Day will continue all of February. See all the daily necklaces here. I'm joined in this challenge by a fellow East Bay Arts Collective member, Gwen of Gwen Harlow Design who will be crafting and blogging as well. If you'd like to join the challenge, email me at kat.mceachern (at) gmail dot com.

Cascading Necklace- February Challenge Day 3

[Cascading Necklace]

 Day three of the February Necklace Challenge and I'm having a great time. My desk is just staying messy with beads (sorry, Partner-in-Crime) and I have a half dozen ideas brewing for the coming days. Today's necklace I almost named Fishtail, because it reminds me of these rainbow fish children's books but "Fishtail" isn't the most enticing thing to put around my neck. This necklace deserves a better name, doesn't it?

The gold chain is a vintage piece that is absolutely gorgeous. It has a nice weight to it and looks gold (though as you can tell by the price, it is not.) The beads are glass and each row has a pattern of different sizes and cuts in the same color. I hand formed the wire to bend in a nice curve and wrapped it closed around the chain. And once again I was inspired to make matching earrings!

[Earrings!]

A Necklace A Day will continue all of February. See all the daily necklaces here. I'm joined in this challenge by a fellow East Bay Arts Collective member, Gwen of Gwen Harlow Design who will be crafting and blogging as well. If you'd like to join the challenge, email me at kat.mceachern (at) gmail dot com.

Neon String Necklace- February Challenge Day 2

[Neon String Necklace]

Happy Groundhog's Day! (And happy birthday to my big brother.) Apparently we're getting six more weeks of winter. If this makes you crave something bright, today's necklace is for you!

[Wire wrapping]

A bright pink neon string has been repurposed to replace my usual gold chains. Neon is everywhere (including my purse) so why not around your neck? On the string is a big bright orange wood bead with three light blue clay beads on one side and six on the other. The blue beads have a great variegated color that adds texture and interest. Hangs perfectly offcenter just below your collarbone. This piece is finished with wire wrapped ends that keep the string secure and let it lay smoothly on your neck. The Neon String Necklace is now on Etsy, get it before it's gone!

[Necklace two]

A Necklace A Day will continue all of February. See all the daily necklaces here. I'm joined in this challenge by a fellow East Bay Arts Collective member, Gwen of Gwen Harlow Design who will be crafting and blogging as well. If you'd like to join the challenge, email me at kat.mceachern (at) gmail dot com.

Colorblock Necklace- February Challenge Day 1

[Colorblock Necklace]

 Necklace One is complete! I'm so excited about this piece. When collecting vintage jewelry and bits and pieces, sometimes I buy something I like but don't have any clue what to do with. Other times, I find something and know immediately what I want to make. This necklace started as one and ended as the latter.

I recently bought a strand of multicolored vintage lucite beads, unsure of how to use them but I never pass up gorgeous lucite beads. Then a friend who also makes jewelry (check out her work!) gave me this necklace to cut up and remake. 

[Okay, I didn't take a picture before I cut it open. You get the general idea.]

Pretty cool, right? But also a little boring. I knew it needed more color and less symmetry. I love the colorblocking trend that is going on so I made a colorblock necklace. I used the vintage lucite beads, the necklace from Sydney and one extra awesome rock shaped teal bead that I found long long ago (it's the awesome rock shaped teal one below.)

[Random rock shaped bead really makes this necklace]

 Oh, what's that, you ask? Did I overachieve and make earrings too? Yes. Yes, I did. Both the earrings and the necklace are listed on Etsy. Perfect to add color to any outfit you wear on a rainy day like we're having here.

A Necklace A Day will continue all of February. See all the daily necklaces here. I'm joined in this challenge by a fellow East Bay Arts Collective member, Gwen of Gwen Harlow Design who will be crafting and blogging as well. If you'd like to join the challenge, email me at kat.mceachern (at) gmail dot com.