Shiny Things Gallery | Search

Total matches for gemstone: 41

Dreaming of Spring

Dreaming of Spring

Well. I failed the assignment to do something simple with these components, but I did manage to something different and interesting. Also admittedly the actual inspiration for this whole thing was being deeply offended by a necklace that was made of real silver but fake turquoise. Yeah, this'll... show you, probably rich designer who hasn't done your own jewelry making in who knows how many years. ...Lucky.

Anyway. Most of my gratitude for these truly gorgeous materials goes to a friend who traded me shinies for shinies (and leather! and cookies!). It took a long while of staring at the shiny pile before deciding what I wanted to do. Generally I cringe at the idea of just putting things on a string, because I... cannot do something that bores me. So I complicated. Things. But in an interesting way! And I wanted to do earrings again anyway, so. Many many simple things all jumbled together in labradorite, malachite, turquoise and silver. And predictably trying to get all the colors and flash to photograph was very difficult, but additional challenges.

Also I guess there's technically a whole lot of illustrating things I've learned and ways to improve the strength and comfort of supposedly simple things. It's where the complications come from!

Currently available for sale.

Date: 08 June 2024
Goes With Anything

Goes With Anything

The title is somewhere between a joke and a completely sincere statement. I mean, what does a shock of pink and black not go with?

I'd been wanting to do something with these beads for weeks, but I just didn't have a centerpiece. That came from a surprising source, an acquiescence giving away a literal bag of tangled old jewelry. I untangled and disassembled all of it into component pieces, and this amazing fused glass piece was one of those things. No artist name attached, no company, just a lovely glass pendant to make use of. All of the other beads are resin (the black beads with delicate silver "cracks"), glass, dyed and natural rose quartz, and Swarovski crystals. The spring ring clasp is a heavy duty silver piece I've had for years upon years. I'm deeply pleased by how this drapes when worn.

Currently available to buy.

Distant Shores

Distant Shores

It draws you in, sometimes. That call from distant shores.

This was a "tinkering project" in the middle of so very many more. I've had this agate pendant for an awfully long time and just pulled it out of a drawer to set on my desk. The little pieces came together slowly: labradorite beads, seraphinite beads, abalone chip beads, acrylic "silver crackle" beads, and silver. I briefly contemplated gold, but... nah.

Generally I'm very happy with the result, but I was using a different clear enamel coating to bring out the color on the pendant and it shows brushstrokes. Guess I'll know for next time. So far so good on the other elements of the enamel test, but. Argh.
(Available for sale.)

Date: 19 October 2020
Neon

Neon

Yeah, the moment I saw the centerpiece I had to have it. The rest was acquired later. In service to the theme, you know? And, shocker, that theme is 1980s-adjacent.

I just needed to do something different, and the combination of colors was obviously a draw for me. Very bright, very much not subtle, very fun, and as tempted as I am to keep it... well, material world etc.

(For Sale)

Date: 17 January 2019
Something Else

Something Else

Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" popped up on random while I was laying out the pieces to start this, and... there could not have been a better time.

I needed a mini-break from building the enormous and all-consuming yearly chocobo, so I picked up a few beads I had laying around, some cord, and one of the gorgeous heated and dyed agate pendants along with a swivel bail so it's easy to show off both sides I've had hoarded for a little bit. A two-day project in the middle of a ???WEEKS??? bout of madness. Yes, good.
(For Sale.)

Date: 26 April 2018
OP Material Necklace

OP Material Necklace

The commission started as a simple request: all the FFVII materia on one necklace. So I asked if all the materia meant all the materia, black, white, and Huge Materia included, and... result!

This was a fantastic project with a lot of communication and encouragement, and an overall great experience. I've also been made aware that the receiver of the gift was very appreciative, which is always a joy. Handmade geeky bling for Christmas, y'know?

As for the materia themselves, the small ones are my usual uber-glowy acrylic beads in the usual spiral wire wrap, but I wanted to do a little something different with the Huge Materia. Not just make them bigger, clearly, but give them all a little sparkle. I kind of liked keeping everything "rounded", so I used larger jade beads, dye, and so many coatings of iridescent pigments to give them a different look. Plus I both really liked the idea of the "caged" wire wrap for them, thanks in part to in-game "Huge Materia container" field model, and just the fact that the beads were a bit heavier and needed some extra security for long-term hold.

I also decided to do the spacer beads myself. They're black epoxy, hand-formed and then hand-drilled because it ain't FFVII unless it's super extra. Plus I just wanted to see if I could do it, and behold.

Date: 26 December 2017
Reminiscence

Reminiscence

I stumbled across the stone itself by accident, as is usually the case with these things, and... well, seraphinite tends to look so much like shiny etched feathers. So I snatched it up and put it aside for a while, finally starting to get the project going and-- There was a chocobo and a convention and a move and a whole lot happening before I picked it up again and somehow continued exactly where I left off. ...Then I made a chainmaile chain for it too, because. Well. I just did. Reasons.

I love how this silly little "I wonder if I could..." idea turned out. It was so ludicrous at the time, and yet. It worked out very well, allowing the light to bounce off of and through the stone itself to really maximize the shiny. And then I made chainmaile for some reason, I don't know.

(And if you happen to get a mild Sephiroth vibe from this... I won't tell if you won't.)
(For sale.)

Date: 27 November 2017
Corrupted Water Crystal

Corrupted Water Crystal

Like a good many things, this started off as a nebulous concept I hadn't taken in any way seriously until it was too late. My girlfriend had been talking about wanting some version of a water crystal pendant (ala Final Fantasy 1), with the mention of "corrupted" in there somewhere, and the Fiend responsible being the Kraken so tentacles were a given and... I let my mind wander and tried a few things with a spare crystal I'd had around for ages to add color and some extra sparkle. I was only encouraged further.

Several layers of sparkly and a wide variety of techniques later and ta-da, there be a corrupted water crystal. As is the standard case with me, trying to get a decent representation of the colors under various lighting proved... challenging. There's a depth of purple beneath the blue, and the crystal itself remains translucent, so depending on how the light bounces and how much there actually is shining on it, the crystal itself has waves of both purple and blue, while the tentacles are always a darker blue with an opaque black base.

This one's both spoken and paid for, but I'm definitely planning to play more with the concept in the future. I'm also open for commissions, as per usual.

Date: 27 September 2017