Shiny Things Gallery | Necklaces | Beaded
Surprisingly soft and always shiny beaded creations for your neck.
Bite Me
I think I spent as much time waiting for supplies to arrive as I did actually putting them together. It started so simply, this: finally using some beads that I had been keeping together for... years... as well as a few new ones I'd traded for recently, and I'd wanted to try something new with the multi-strand thing. Then, as is The Way of Things, Getting Ideas made it all a little more complicated, and some things I'd wanted to make use of didn't work out, so I got different ones, and finally this is a thing that's complete!
I was initially inspired by diamondback rattlesnake patterning and then just kind of meandered from there. Obviously I enjoyed adding "fang" beads and some "droplets" of red pearl at the bottom, but the actual title of the necklace drifted into being a little before that. Gotta entertain myself somehow, you know.
Really happy with how this turned out even if it did take F O R E V E R to space out every individual row to fall exactly where/how I wanted it to. Nine rows of beads, where seven of them had to work perfectly with the one above and below it, but the top and bottom gave me a little wiggle room up until the very end when everything got attached to the clasp. Which, by the way, is successfully comfortable against the back of my neck. But, it's been designed specifically so that the clasp can be changed at the buyer's request, because it took me quite a while to decide on a slide clasp as opposed to various types of multiple trigger/spring clasps. It was an adventure I'm not sure I want to repeat, is kind of the point, but I'm still glad I did the thing.
Currently available to buy!
I was initially inspired by diamondback rattlesnake patterning and then just kind of meandered from there. Obviously I enjoyed adding "fang" beads and some "droplets" of red pearl at the bottom, but the actual title of the necklace drifted into being a little before that. Gotta entertain myself somehow, you know.
Really happy with how this turned out even if it did take F O R E V E R to space out every individual row to fall exactly where/how I wanted it to. Nine rows of beads, where seven of them had to work perfectly with the one above and below it, but the top and bottom gave me a little wiggle room up until the very end when everything got attached to the clasp. Which, by the way, is successfully comfortable against the back of my neck. But, it's been designed specifically so that the clasp can be changed at the buyer's request, because it took me quite a while to decide on a slide clasp as opposed to various types of multiple trigger/spring clasps. It was an adventure I'm not sure I want to repeat, is kind of the point, but I'm still glad I did the thing.
Currently available to buy!
What It Wants
22 March 2022The heart wants. You know how it is.
Upon fully disassembling a bag of random shinies given to me, I made plans to use bits and pieces. ...I then immediately lost track of those plans and have been doing whatever I want since, but this one kind of begged to happen. The rhinestone heart centerpiece was just on a boring silver chain, and what good is that? It deserves more. Most of the beads were the ones gifted to me, but there are plenty of others I've had for years that could be tossed in. Hey, I tried for simple, I mostly succeeded.
Currently Available.
Upon fully disassembling a bag of random shinies given to me, I made plans to use bits and pieces. ...I then immediately lost track of those plans and have been doing whatever I want since, but this one kind of begged to happen. The rhinestone heart centerpiece was just on a boring silver chain, and what good is that? It deserves more. Most of the beads were the ones gifted to me, but there are plenty of others I've had for years that could be tossed in. Hey, I tried for simple, I mostly succeeded.
Currently Available.
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.
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.
Hubris Nebula
26 January 2022The entire motivation for doing this: because I could. The title came from a joke between a friend and I, ending in the suggestion that I name this "Hubris", while I was going to name it "Nebula". HENCE.
A grand total of 230 Swarovski crystals, and a... bunch of other beads. Over the course of... a week..? About. I don't know, I should have been resting my hands more thoroughly but I just had to know if an idea would work. It sure did! With spectacular results and the slightly irritated realization that several of these beads are no longer in production. Happens far too often these days.
This choker is heavy, being made of crystal and glass, but every single layer is reinforced with four strands of high quality nylon thread. There are some points along two specific lines where some of the thread can be seen, or one tiny bead is missing; tension adjustment had to be done to make sure it was still able to flex and move without the thread drawing too tight and possibly wearing down to the point of snapping. Lessons have been learned here.
Available to buy.
A grand total of 230 Swarovski crystals, and a... bunch of other beads. Over the course of... a week..? About. I don't know, I should have been resting my hands more thoroughly but I just had to know if an idea would work. It sure did! With spectacular results and the slightly irritated realization that several of these beads are no longer in production. Happens far too often these days.
This choker is heavy, being made of crystal and glass, but every single layer is reinforced with four strands of high quality nylon thread. There are some points along two specific lines where some of the thread can be seen, or one tiny bead is missing; tension adjustment had to be done to make sure it was still able to flex and move without the thread drawing too tight and possibly wearing down to the point of snapping. Lessons have been learned here.
Available to buy.
Despite the Inevitability of Death, I Will Live in Defiance
19 April 2021This one's been kicking around in my head for a while, in various forms. I picked up the Swarovski skull before anything else, seemingly ages ago... and wouldn't you know it, I never actually checked to make sure the hole was properly drilled all the way through. It wasn't, but I make it work. Like I made one broken scale bead work. Is the back a mess? Yes. That's because all these strings required extra lines, knots, and additional stabilization to make it wearable. I played with the band design for quite some time and find this to both be comfortable and sit around the neck in the way I wanted it to, plus it's incredibly customizable for the person who ultimately wishes to own it.
Basically, I wanted a sincerely impossible to miss, apparently impossible to photograph, comfortable and strong piece of """statement jewelry""" and am remarkably happy with the result. For the record, the top center jewel actually isn't black, but "dark rainbow", and getting the camera to pick up the subtle blend of darker colors is... not... a great time. I tried. The jewel which drops from that is, like the tiny jewel between the larger ones, a crystal which reflects the full color spectrum depending on the light and your position while viewing it. It's a screaming rainbow disasterpiece.
(For sale.)
Basically, I wanted a sincerely impossible to miss, apparently impossible to photograph, comfortable and strong piece of """statement jewelry""" and am remarkably happy with the result. For the record, the top center jewel actually isn't black, but "dark rainbow", and getting the camera to pick up the subtle blend of darker colors is... not... a great time. I tried. The jewel which drops from that is, like the tiny jewel between the larger ones, a crystal which reflects the full color spectrum depending on the light and your position while viewing it. It's a screaming rainbow disasterpiece.
(For sale.)
I Could Strangle You With a String of Beads
19 April 2021Long, long ago, I came across an article with a very dismissive tone which stated that working with beads was inherently useless. Beads were not useful for anything but decoration, and therefore it was kind of ridiculous to choose to work with them. My thought upon reading this article... is the title of the piece. I've never come across it again despite looking, though I have found similar articles. None have had the same dismissive tone, luckily. Makes me wonder if it was edited at some point, but some years later... at least there's this.
Admittedly, it's exactly what it looks like: I dug through my bead drawers and tried to come up with a decent selection of different beads to string together into a lariat necklace. With a Swarovski skull dangle at the bottom, of course. My sentiment remains, with or without the article existing.
(For sale.)
Admittedly, it's exactly what it looks like: I dug through my bead drawers and tried to come up with a decent selection of different beads to string together into a lariat necklace. With a Swarovski skull dangle at the bottom, of course. My sentiment remains, with or without the article existing.
(For sale.)
Better Than Chikin
29 December 2021It was absolutely time that I finally got around to doing this. I've had the idea for a couple of years, but... 2020, man. I had to get it done by the end. Feel free to check out the legitimate cost breakdown in the Etsy listing I just figured out and don't know how to feel about, too.
Actual information about all of this: Chick-fil-A’s many controversies, explained.
(For Sale.)
Actual information about all of this: Chick-fil-A’s many controversies, explained.
(For Sale.)
Pleasant Non-Threatening Plastic Customer Service Smile
18 October 2019This sure is a real piece that I sure did spend weeks working on. Not to mention developed another technique regarding the way weight is distributed through the netting itself, so it ought to be a lot more stable while remaining flexible. (I mean, I haven't had complaints or breakage reports, but this is just sort of what I do.)
If nothing else, this is a prime illustration of channeling one's rage into creative endeavors. As much as the creation of this piece was inspired by this Vox article, the feelings have been around for a long time. I joined Etsy in 2007, when it still felt like a real agent for artists and artisans. Now it feels like a farm run by people who have only ever seen an animal on television. All hail the venture capitalists, etc.
I wanted to mention here that the clasp is, not so ironically, from an Etsy shop not at all involved in the rest of this. I was looking for something different than what I've used before and I just... happened across this. There are still good things there, and many good people selling their wares and supplies to make more wares. But we're all being crushed under a company that no longer wants to be unique and serve its user base, but to serve their board and be Amazon Lite. Art Ebay. So yes, I say wholly and sincerely, fuck Etsy. And fuck whatever survivorship bias bullshit is sure to be tossed in my general direction. I'll crawl along as long as I can because really, what are they gonna do, fire me?
Of course they could, in a way. But I'll bet the chunk of cash they'll get if this ever actually sells is more important. After all, I won't pay extra to be in searches. And nothing else will ever get free shipping. Consider this being me metaphorically shitting in your blueberry field, Kalin.
(For Sale)
If nothing else, this is a prime illustration of channeling one's rage into creative endeavors. As much as the creation of this piece was inspired by this Vox article, the feelings have been around for a long time. I joined Etsy in 2007, when it still felt like a real agent for artists and artisans. Now it feels like a farm run by people who have only ever seen an animal on television. All hail the venture capitalists, etc.
I wanted to mention here that the clasp is, not so ironically, from an Etsy shop not at all involved in the rest of this. I was looking for something different than what I've used before and I just... happened across this. There are still good things there, and many good people selling their wares and supplies to make more wares. But we're all being crushed under a company that no longer wants to be unique and serve its user base, but to serve their board and be Amazon Lite. Art Ebay. So yes, I say wholly and sincerely, fuck Etsy. And fuck whatever survivorship bias bullshit is sure to be tossed in my general direction. I'll crawl along as long as I can because really, what are they gonna do, fire me?
Of course they could, in a way. But I'll bet the chunk of cash they'll get if this ever actually sells is more important. After all, I won't pay extra to be in searches. And nothing else will ever get free shipping. Consider this being me metaphorically shitting in your blueberry field, Kalin.
(For Sale)