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Total matches for choker: 47

Acalyn

Acalyn

Acalyn is a coatl or a winged serpent, really quite content to sing in the highest branches of trees, though given warmth and food and a little doting, she finds human shoulders relatively decent as well.  It's said that these songs are sure to drive away nightmares and bring pleasant dreams to all who hear them, so the next time you happen to hear songs in the forest, you may just want to stick around to listen.  You may also want to see if you can't lure out a lovely singing coatl with some trail mix.  They love the stuff.

I was out to try something different.  And this just kind of happened.  I do like the idea of creatures that can double as jewelry, and somehow it just sort of evolved. this way.  All of the frills are just specially treated fabric so it's not overly stiff and easily flexible, and the fabric paint is the standard type I use for crocheted creatures.  Of course there's also so very much shiny with both tiny glass beads and larger fiber optic ones, plus all of the iridescent pigment mixed into the fabric paint.  I just can't stay away from that stuff, you know.  A large hook and eye finding allow her to clasp shut and turn into a necklace... or a wreath, I suppose.  Either way, her internal structure is wire so she's easy to adjust.

(For Sale)

Date: 22 November 2012
Acalyn

Acalyn

Acalyn is a coatl or a winged serpent, really quite content to sing in the highest branches of trees, though given warmth and food and a little doting, she finds human shoulders relatively decent as well.  It's said that these songs are sure to drive away nightmares and bring pleasant dreams to all who hear them, so the next time you happen to hear songs in the forest, you may just want to stick around to listen.  You may also want to see if you can't lure out a lovely singing coatl with some trail mix.  They love the stuff.

I was out to try something different.  And this just kind of happened.  I do like the idea of creatures that can double as jewelry, and somehow it just sort of evolved. this way.  All of the frills are just specially treated fabric so it's not overly stiff and easily flexible, and the fabric paint is the standard type I use for crocheted creatures.  Of course there's also so very much shiny with both tiny glass beads and larger fiber optic ones, plus all of the iridescent pigment mixed into the fabric paint.  I just can't stay away from that stuff, you know.  A large hook and eye finding allow her to clasp shut and turn into a necklace... or a wreath, I suppose.  Either way, her internal structure is wire so she's easy to adjust.

(For Sale)

Date: 11 November 2012
Nine Dragons Collar

Nine Dragons Collar

Legends insist that the Five Great Desert Temples are guarded by nine dragon siblings; two to each directional temple, the eldest one in the center.  They are fair dragons, now, and certainly would not do harm to anyone who approached without mallice in their heart; but they will defend their land and each other from fools.  The treasure, you see, is what changes with every telling.  Is it gold?  Jewels?  Knowledge?  Power beyond human comprehension?  No one has ever managed to return to tell.

Last time I was in Georgia, I went dragon hunting.  Which is to say that my (very patient, supportive) partner in crime and I spent 15 minutes combing through a huge bin of cloisonne beads just to find these tiny articulated dragons that I had never seen anywhere before.  I had to have them!  They were all just a touch beat up, and I kept one that had been broken (he's fixed now, though).  The ones used in the necklace were cleaned up a little and reinforced, but all of the little nicks and bends were kept.  They've got more personality that way.

I don't really want to talk about how much time it took, because I just plain did not start counting and I refuse to look back and see how many days I was working on it.  The upper part was a very "I wonder what would happen if..." thing that took way longer than I expected due to reinforcing absolutely everything for stability, and then the netting that lead down to the dragons... just kind of happened.  And of course I wanted to practice more with beading around cabochons, so.  Yes.  Um, I don't know what happened, but at least it's shiny?

Normally when I do this kind of netting, I go over every diamond meticulously to get them all to be that perfect diamond shape... but this time, I left a few "loose".  It's a stylistic choice; the dragons themselves look like ancient treasures, so I wanted the rest of the necklace to reflect that.  It's not any less strong or solidly built, it just looks "a little old".  The same "stylistic choice" exists with the ever so slight angling of the fiber optic stone so that it catches the light more easily.  It's supposed to be magic, after all.

The one problem with having a scrawnier neck than anyone you know is trying to model a collar that's technically just a little too big for you even on the tightest setting.  Ah well, I tried.

(For Sale)

Date: 16 October 2012
Past the Illusion

Past the Illusion

Sometimes there is something even more wonderful, even more radiant, even more unimaginably magnificent hiding just beneath the surface.  Go ahead and tease them.

It started with a button.  A beautiful, strange, utterly irresistible button.  I bought it the moment I saw it because I could not fathom walking away from that button.  And then those two cylindrical beads to either side, mirroring the button's peacock hues while throwing in a few tricks of their own.  The other beads just sort of... gravitated toward it.  I can't explain; I've had these elements for well over two years and it finally decided to come together now.  Who am I to question?

There is some serious freaking sparkle here.  There's just no way to get the full extent of how amazingly shiny this button-turned-necklace-centerpiece is or how everything else just seems to drape perfectly off of it.  It's over-the-top and elegant all at once.  Glamo(u)r-punk?  (Seeing as how I was on a steady musical diet of The Killers, The Psychedelic Furs and Planet Funk while I was making this...)  I'm just so happy it all came together.

I will be completely up-front, however.  At times, no matter how careful you are, how many precautions you take, a glass bead will still decide to shatter at the worst, possible, moment.  That happened here.  At the end.  After everything else was reinforced.  And so I sought a creative solution.  And since I'm willing to bet no one can see the mistake, and it in no way affects the stability of the piece itself, that's all I'm going to say.  Success.

(Sold)

Date: 19 June 2012
Signs of Life

Signs of Life

Black, white and silver is classy.  Elegant.  But just black, white and silver is cold.  The answer?  The color of life itself: deep, rich crimson.

Admittedly, I've yet to identify these stones.  They're heavy, high-gloss, and look to be to be very close to obsidian... but don't quote me on that.  The red stones are jade dyed deep blood red, and I adore them.  They have this incredible layered shimmer to them and the occasional black band that works beautifully.  All of the wire and the clasp itself are all pure sterling silver.  It can be worn with the stylized "leaves" on the silver beads visible, or flipped over so that they're just plain red.  Either way, gorgeous.

(For Sale)

Date: 28 February 2012
Ebony and Ivory Necklace

Ebony and Ivory Necklace

It's no secret that I love me some Devil May Cry. I have a... special affection for Dante's twin guns, Ebony and Ivory; so much so that I've named my handhelds after them (the PSP is Ebony, and the DS is Ivory... the PS3 is Alastor, which is a whole different story). I wanted to try to make them as charms, both different tones of silver. Unfortunately it took about 20 shots and three different lighting configurations to get the camera to recognize that they were in fact two different tones of silver and not just BLAZE OF SHINY. Better in person, but... you know how that goes.

The necklace itself is extremely adjustable, allowing for the guns to hang at the same height or one above the other. Whatever makes you feel more ready to take on those poor demons who never saw you coming. As for the charms themselves, they're actually some combination of smooth and polished, and rough and obviously hand-made/carved. Somehow I just enjoyed how that came out.

(Sold)

Date: 24 January 2012
Alchemist's Pet

Alchemist's Pet

It's not uncommon for the most powerful magicians to keep a jeweled snake as a familiar. It's a bit of a status symbol, admittedly--but alchemists are able to make use of the jewels, and certain magicians can keep spells within them. The result is a "living" familiar, something that moves and appears to have a bit of its own consciousness.

Of course, this is not a jeweled serpent but a jeweled dragon, of a different sort of connotation in magic... Whether the dragon created the alchemist or the alchemist created the dragon remains unclear. I suppose you can ask, if you'd really like to.

I love this necklace. I didn't when I was in the middle of making it. This is the culmination of possibly a little over two weeks of work. Many, many hours. Many, many beads, and lots of Swarovski crystals. Depending upon the lighting, you will be able to notice the subtle shift in color of the diamonds along her back. It's a lot more obvious in person, but trying to get bright light on these beads for photographing purposes? No. Just, no.

And just because, yes I view her as a she. ...She just feels like a she. Now I must rest my poor abused wrist. Ow. A worthy ow, but an ow.

(For Sale)

Date: 22 January 2012
Wine Pearls

Wine Pearls

Once I saw the color of these freshwater pearls... I knew both that I had to have them, and that I might actually have to do something with them. I wanted to try for something very simple... and I suppose it is, technically. Sort of.

These little tiny links are actually amazingly strong. But I still worried to the point where I put a more "traditional" chain in the back. Hey, I'm rough on my jewelry.

(For Sale)

Date: 29 November 2011