The La Penombra necklace...

Last night, I made another necklace. I planned this one for 2 days or so, and could only finish it after I found the right combination of beads and colours. Because of the colours used I decided to call it La Penombra, which is Italian for "the twilight". And an Italian name once again due to the use of several Murano pieces.

At first I thought about calling it Valentine's, as a very obvious reference to the upcoming date, but then I thought: "Wait a sec, these colours are not Valentine-ish at all and, if anything, a bit on the darker side..." And I realised that it was a twilight, dusky piece, thus La Penombra.

The main bead is an Antica Murrina pendant, which I bought for myself two or three years ago and never used because I did not have a proper necklace to hang it to (mine are either too thin, or too thick!). It came in a nice velvet pouch and has the Antica Murrina certificate still.

I also used some tiny wedding cake beads that I have recycled from a necklace bought on eBay, an interesting vintage piece that seemed to be either a choker or maybe a little girl's necklace. At any rate it was too short and the links were getting tarnished. Also the clasp did not work anymore. Then I reused the beads. Actually, I bought it with the purpose of recycling already in mind.

This is La Penombra:

I guess it is easy to see why it is called Penombra. The colours are those you see after a sunset and the heart looks like a twilight sky: blue, gold, crimson, peach. Besides the Murrina heart, I have also used here:

- Twelve small blue vintage wedding cake Murano beads with gold foil and pink forget-me-nots;
- Several Swarovski bicones in different sizes;
- Two round Dorado Swarovski faceted round beads;
- Four medium dragon veins in a shade of pink guava;
- Smal faceted Czech Fire beads in shades of blue, gold, purple;
- Stardust bronze plated round spacers;
- Antique bronze small disc spacers;
- Gold plated filigree bead caps for the dragon veins and smaller ones for the wedding cakes;
- Two antique bronze ornated Bali beads and S-hook clasp.

Some close-ups...


A close-up of the Murrina heart, placed over three stardust beads and crimps to lock it in place. Some of the Swarovski round beads can be seen as well. And the surface of the heart, magnified to show the colors and gold foil, which also reminds me of a galaxy, the xplosion of a supernova, things like that!


On the 1st picture we can see some of the dragon vein beads in detail, along with the antiqued bronze beads and filigree bead caps. We can also see the Swarovski bicones and stardust spacers interspersed with the stardust balls. On the 2nd picture, the tiny wedding cakes in detail and more of the dragon veins and Swarovskis bicones, with a lovely AB (Aurora Borealis) reflection.


Another detail of the wedding cakes, Swarovskis and bronze disc spacers, along with the S-hook clasp.

And to finalise for today, another view of Penombra...

The Juuni Kokuki necklace...

This necklace I finished today was inspired by the Japanese epic anime series, "The Twelve Kingdoms" (Juuni Kokuki), written by Fuyumi Ono. It is a wonderful series and I would recommend it to anyone. The novels are wonderful too. However, only two volumes have been released so far here in our region (and by Tokyopop, of course!).

The necklace is a little tribute to Youko Nakajima, the heroin of the series, coming from Japan (pretty much against her will) to become the Empress of Kei, one of the kingdoms where the story takes place, and which is not located in our physical world.

The predominant colour in my necklace is red, like Youko's hair. And the main bead, a huge cinnabar Chinese carved disc, alludes to the Riboku tree, from where people and magical beasts are born. The story is based in the Chinese (mostly) and Japanese mythology, and is full of action, magic and political intrigue. However, I see all that as a mythical background for Youko's own personal saga: her first steps into adulthood and the changes she has to face in order to become a more assertive and confident young woman - which is comparable to her assuming her role as the Empress in that new world.

Here is Juuni Kokuki...


For Juuni Kokuki I used:

- One large carved cinnabar pendant;
- Ancient gold-plated rondelle at the top of the pendant;
- Small stardust spacers in several sections of the string;
- Chinese cloisonée beads in red and gold;
- Two Japanese Tensha beads;
- Ten small vintage Japanese red millefiori beads;
- Swarovski crystal bicones in shades of ruby red and dorado;
- Fire polished Czech tapered beads;
- Red faux pearls and stardusts near the clasp;
- Antique gold toggler clasp.

Some close-ups below...


On the left, a detail of the cinnabar bead, the large antique gold rondelle to hold the pendant in place and then the stardust spacers intertwined with red Swarovski bicones and followed by the cloisonées. Also visible are the clasp tips, faux pearls and more of the stardust beads. On the right, a close-up of one of the Japanese Tensha beads (acrylic), and more of the bicones. In the background we can peek at the Japanese red millefiori small beads.


Above, the Tensha and the golden and red cloisonées can be seen in more detail, along with the lovely Japanese millefiori, the Dorado Swarovskis and some of the iridescent Czech fire red beads.

And to finalise this post for tonight, another view of the necklace...

The La Campagna necklace...

I have been feeling quite bad at the moment, with a really bad flu. I try to spend most of the time in bed, however, it makes me cough compulsively. Then I have to stay up, because it improves the cough somehow - and the blocked nose etc... I use this time to think about new necklaces and, yesterday, I even made a 2nd one, late at night, very much with the intention of cheering myself up somehow.

I called it La Campagna, meaning "the countryside" in Italian. It is a quirky piece, in shades of green, and pink, very much like wild flowers in a field. Here it is:

It turned out to be not only shorter than my usual, but also much lighter since I have not used any gemstones this time. Instead I have used:

- Three Murano Millefiori beads in shades of green with pink and blue flowers;
- Several oval tapered Czech beads, fire polished, also green-blue with lovely and subtle iridescence;
- Some Swarovski pink bicones in two different sizes to accentuate the pink present in the Murano beads;
- Tiny aqua Czech faceted beads interspersed with bronze/antique gold stardust spacers;
- Two different kinds of Tibetan spacers: one an ornate drum and the other a smaller flowery round bead, all in antique gold-plated;
- Gold-plated flower bead caps enclosing the millefiori;
- An antique gold hook clasp.

Some close-ups next:


Detail of the Murano millefiori surrounded by the complimentary Swarovski pink bicones and a shot of the hook clasp, wire loops, Tibetan flower bead and stardust bronze spacers.


The Tibetan drum spacers, smaller Swarovski bicones, tiny Czech aqua beads and stardust spacers and, on the 2nd picture. another detail of the millefiori with the gold-plated bead caps.


Again, a closer shot of one of my Tibetan round flowery bead followed by three stardust bronze spacers (which I really love to finalise the clasps) and also the tiny aqua beads and some of the tapered Czech fire ones in a bluish-green shade. These really matched the background of the millefiori.

The Carmilla necklace...

I have finished the Carmilla today. It is a very dark and heavy necklace, and named after the short Gothic novel "Carmilla", by the Irish writer Joseph Sheridan le Fanu. Yes, it is a novel about vampires and preceding "Dracula" by 30 years or so. If you wish, you can read it here.

Here it is:

For Carmilla I have used the following:

- One big black obsidian carved rose;
- Ten large dragon vein purple round beads;
- Two oval Indian amethyst wedding cake beads with gold foil;
- Twelve medium Argentinian amethyst beads;
- Six small purple jade beads;
- Eight smaller purple chrysocollas;
- Four Swarovski bicones in purple velvet;
- Antique gold bead caps and stardust small spacers;
- Two small black Swarovski crystal pearls for a finishing touch near the clasps;
- Antique gold flowery clasps.

Some close-ups below...


On the 1st picture, a detail of the Indian wedding cake, much similar to the ones I used for Violeta and Violeta 2, along with the bead caps and pretty dragon vein beads, with their fabulous texture. Right above it, you can see a bit of the chrysocollas and jade beads.
You might think Jade is a green stone mainly, but there are many other wonderful colour occurrences, such as: purple, violet, different yellow shades, orange, pink, fuchsia, red, blues, white etc... It is an amazing stone to work with, always smooth, strong, and not very heavy. I love it.
On the 2nd one, a magnified shot of the obsidian carved rose, very heavy and shiny.


The 1st shot shows the back of the necklace. I had to use two stardust spacers to cover the wire as usual and also crimps to hold the large rose in place. This can be seen in more detail on the 2nd picture at the right. The stardust balls are followed by some lovely purple velvet AB (Aurora Borealis) bicones and two smaller spacers on both sides.
The rose being that heavy, it actually broke the necklace the 1st time and had to re-string it using a thicker wire.


These pictures show the clasp in detail, front and back, along with the stardust spacers and the little Swarovski black pearls. The loop and crimp can also be seen, along with a knot cover that I used in one of the ends to hide a little gap that left the wire exposed at first. It worked great actually, and I turned the cover into a little ball with the help of my pliers. Very cool!

The La Sirena necklace...

"Sirena" is an Italian word that means "Mermaid". I was once again inspired by the South of Italy, and the blue waves and swirls of an imaginary sea where mermaids might certainly be found.


For La Sirena I used...

- One silver-foiled long Murano focal bead with aqua swirls;
- Six medium Amazonite beads that I brought from Brasil last time;
- Four long Czech glass creamy aqua beads;
- Ten Czech crackled glass aqua rondelles;
- Several Swarovski bicones in different sizes;
- Six lovely but very fragile fluorite beads;
- Two round silver-foiled aqua Murano beads in the same design as the focal one;
- Stardust silver-plated round spacers (between the fluorites) and Silver Heishi spacers between the Amazonites;
- Two elliptical silver-plated beads;
- Several tiny silver-lined Czech glass beads;
- Silver-plated Tibetan clasp with a complimentary design.

Some close-ups, as usual...


The focal Murano bead...


One of the round Murano beads, also with the swirls (or spirals) as in the main bead, and the fluorites. These are of a lovely, extremely pale shade of green/blue, almost clear. Actually, the colour is barely detectable. As I mentioned before, they are very breakable and fragile, so, extra care is required when handling this necklace. However, that must be said of ANY glass necklace - not only this one! Between the fluorites, you can have a peek of the stardust tiny balls and, immediately underneath, the aqua crackled Czech rondelles, intertwined with some Swarovski bicones.


A detail of the Amazonite beads, flat Heishi spacers and one of the Tibetan silver beads in the shape of a tiny rose and surrounding the focal piece. And on the right, a close-up of the clasp, which has pretty much the same design as the Murano main pieces and would represent the waves , erm, quite well... No?... I also added some rose beads to the ends of the wire and before the clasps. I think it gives a nice finishing touch and reinforces the structure as well.

The Kaeru no Uta necklace...

The necklace I made today is called Kaeru no Uta, which, in Japanese, means "Frog Song". I made it mostly because my Mother LOVES frogs, and I managed to put my hands on some really lovely Chinese lampwork pendant beads, with super-cute frogs over a leaf. They are very delicate though, and should be handled with extra care.

In Japanese though, Kaeru not only means "frog", but is also a verb, meaning "to return". So, little ceramic frogs tucked inside your purse are meant to bring good luck, and a safe return home. Or even, money! In that sense, they are somehow linked to things or people coming back to their places of origin, even if only by a simple play on the words. It is said that if you have a frog around, it will indeed bring the good things back: friends, money, and so on...

Frogs are also linked to the Summer, and the rainy season in Japan.

Here is my Kaeru no Uta:

For this necklace I have used:

- One Chinese lampwork focal bead in the shape of a leaf with a cute frog grabbing it;
- Small Red Sea coral beads;
- Two big jade beads and two medium ones;
- Several aqua and dark green with black stripes dragon vein beads;
- Some few blue goldstone beads;
- Tiny red Swarovksi bicones;
- Six vintage Czech fire round beads with blue opalescence;
- Tiny faceted Czech fire beads in metallic, iridescent shades;
- Small gold-plated and bronze-plated stardust spacers;
- Antique gold bead caps and clasp in the shape of a leaf.

Follow some close-ups...


On the 1st picture a detail of the lampwork pendant. Note the back of the frog has some gold foil speckles, very pretty and delicate. His tiny toenails are painted blue, which may be the tendency for Spring-Summer, no? You can also see the two small Red Sea coral beads that I used as an accent. Between them, I placed two stardust balls, in order to support the pendant and cover the wire. But they are not visible.

In the middle picture, the green dragon veins (teal and dark green) are visible, along with one jade bead at the top (light green) and the blue sandstone beads. These beads have a light golden dust effect that is not quite visible in the picture, pretty much as if they were oiled and then submerged into gold/copper powder. Goldstone is actually a man-made gemstone, not natural, and produced by adding copper salts to glass, inside a furnace. These salts (copper) are responsible for its star-shine characteristic. The gold-plated bead caps can also be seen here.

On the 3rd one, a detail of the tiny Czech fire faceted beads, and right underneath, three of the Vintage round Czech beads. The red bicones, one coral bead and some of the stardust spacers are also visible.


On the left, detail of the back of the lampwork pendant and two of the coral beads, along with those lovely blue toenails! And, on the right, two big jade beads and some of the others (goldstone, dragon veins, coral).


On the left, we have another view of the different Czech beads I used, the small stardust spacers, coral beads and Swarovski bicones. On the right, a detail of the leafy antique gold clasp and some of the stardust spacers I used in both ends.

And, to end this post, a view of the back of the necklace, showing the lampwork pendant and also the back of the clasp...

The Ryu necklace...

I made this necklace tonight, really excited about the ojime beads. This time, it is also a round one, but with a lovely Dragon carved. For this reason I called it Ryu, which means "dragon" in Japanese.


For Ryu, I used:

- The ojime focal bead;
- Several Swarovski bicones in different sizes and shades of red and clear beige;
- Four Chinese golden cloisonée beads;
- Two glass pearls wrapped in golden mesh;
- Four Japanese wooden beads;
- Some Czech fire faceted small beads and Chinese glass pearls in powdered almond;
- Antique gold spacers, bead caps (only for the ojime) and S-hook clasp.

Here are the close-ups:


On the 1st picture, we can see a detail of the ojime bead, measuring less than 1 inch and very detailed. A little dragon with scales and beady eyes! The bead caps are also visible, as well as the copper crimps I used to prevent them from running while working on it, and which also compliment the overall look and colours. On the 2nd one, a detail of the new S-hook clasp, antique gold (plated), and very easy to handle.


On the left, you can see a detail of two of the cloisonnée beads used, the faux peral with mesh wire, some Swarovski bicones and Czech faceted crystals and another small glass pearl, almond-coloured in the right upper corner. On the right, another detail of the cloisonnée beads and Swarovski bicones.

The Chuu-chuu necklace!

Happy New Year! My 1st post for 2009! Holidays have been hectic, as they are supposed (and expected) to be, and I did not have much time for posting or making necklaces. But I will re-start today, and hope to make much more nice things in 2009!

Today's necklace was more or less based on my previous Mori. I almost called it Mori 2, but then I looked at the focal bead and it was so cute that I changed my mind immediately. It is an Ojime bead in box wood, with little mice and leaves carved in. I even thought I might call it Mori no Nezumi (Forest Mice), but then again, I thought it might require a cuter name.

Then I came up with Chuu-chuu. "Chuu-chuu" is the Japanese onomatopoeic word for the sound mice make (which I think of as being "kee-kee"!). Also, it has to do with the little bat in the animated series "Rosario + Vampire", who always makes that squeaky sound at the end of the episodes or, well... Whenever he wants to, really!

The main piece here is the central box wood Ojime bead, which is hand carved and inspired by the ancient Japanese ojime beads - which were mostly made of ivory years ago (long before the ban). These beads are intended to work along with netsuke and inro boxes, as a way to hang items to the kimono sash (or obi). The inro boxes are the equivalent of mini-pouches/pochettes, where you would carry cosmetics, tobacco, money etc. They would hang from silk braids attached to the obi or obijime. The Ojime beads would help to keep the silk braid intact, so it would not frail. The netsuke, in the other hand, would close off the end of the silk cord.

Here is a detail of my ojime...

It is indeed very detailed and intricate, measuring no more than 1 inch. The eyes of the little mice have tiny beads embedded, as you can see here, very lovely.

For Chuu-chuu I have used as well:

- One focal Ojime bead as I babled about before!
- Swarovski bicones and round beads in Dorado. The round ones can be seen in the above picture, surrounding the Ojime;
- Six medium-sized jade beads;
-Two medium-sized dragon veins rondelles;
- Two green-striped round agate beads;
- Four small jade rondelles surrounding two flat oval dragon veins in shades of green-black;
- Six smooth round amazonite beads;
- Brown Czech faceted small beads;
- Some few gold-plated round small spacers and antique gold toggle clasp in a lovely flowery (leafy?) shape.

Some close-ups:


On the 1st picture, a close-up of the clasp I used and some of the gold-plated spacers. In the centre, you can see one of the oval dragon vein beads, a small jade rondelle, the green-stripe agate and part of a dragon vein rondelle. On the 3rd picture, a detail of the lovely Amazonite beads, in shades of blue, green, yellow, beige. All very earthy.


On the left, you can have a detail of the green-striped agate ball and the Swarovski bicones, and also one of the dragon vein rondelles. And, on the right picture, the bicones once again, placed between the jade beads.

And, to finalise this post tonight, the Chuu bat from Rosario + Vampire. Note one of his functions is to cover any shots of the girls' pantsu (aka, panties!)...