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Total matches for choker: 47
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!
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.
Hubris Nebula
The 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.
Despite the Inevitability of Death, I Will Live in Defiance
This 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.)
Better Than Chikin
It 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.)
Better Than Chikin
It 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.)
Programming Harmony
I finally justified the beads I picked up at an antique store! Ahem. Well when I ran across a couple of circuit board pieces encased in resin, I kept digging for a few more things, then set it all aside for a while. Desert Bus for Hope 2019 was apparently just the right time to dig them out again, add a bunch of other things I had to the mix, and come out with this. Even cyberpunk uber-hackers need a little flash, right?
As for the name, the poem All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace by Richard Brautigan had a bit of an impact on me, long long ago when I was just discovering that science fiction had an endless clinging hold on me.
Light Remains
I've tried repeatedly to summarize the person who inspired this, or to put our friendship in simple terms, but I've come to think that's basically impossible. I will simply say that there is a light so bright and sustaining that I feel the need to share it in whatever ways I can.
A personal piece, shall we say. Deeply so; before the greedy bastard called cancer showed up, my friend Zellie was eager to encourage creativity and expression. She made a particular impression when it came to sending me random things to use and be inspired by, and one of those happened to be a collection of beads. The silver and abalone beads, along with the blue AB "crystals", were some of them. I'd been wanting to do something special with them for 9 years, and here finally everything came together.
As for an explanation of the pendant, something about Carbuncle had always reminded by of Zellie. She loved "ocean colors" and enjoyed "adorable monsters", but also Ruby Light and Aura were just... very much her. Sustaining, protecting. Without specific spoilers, when FFXV's Carbuncle and the Platinum Demo came around, it all very much aligned. So I used the abstract shape of Carbuncle which has shown up in official merchandise, and filled it with tiny abalone chips I've had laying around for probably quite a few more than 9 years, matching the necklace band itself. I thought the other beads, some stainless steel chain, and a little stainless steel chainmaile were just the things to finish the piece off.
And for the curious, please do feel free to check out Lightning Spliced by Zellie Blake, her only completed novel. To this day, all profits go to the American Cancer Society.
(For Sale. One half of the profit will be donated directly to the American Cancer Society.)