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Total matches for swarovski: 87
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.
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.)
I Could Strangle You With a String of Beads
Long, 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.)
Domesticated Rainbow
I just. Needed to use some of these beads that I have coveted for years. But also it has been The Year of 2020 and we need more mf rainbows.
Initially it started with a rainbow 2-hole bead mix and then somewhat exploded from there. Not to mention the "yeah, sure, why not, all the things" decision of jet black and clear crystal AB Swarovsky beads. While I'm not usually too fond of regular strung necklaces for so many reasons, I tried to use a few techniques I'd picked up to make sure the multiple strands could properly distribute the weight, with a few holding knots between heavier sections to make sure nothing would be accidentally pulling the whole thing apart. I'm also very fond of those "prismatic beads" near the center (see the close up photo) because they actually reflect the full spectrum, it's just that trying to photograph them tends to get one color or another. Because of course pictures would be difficult.
Sold.
Reminiscence
So I've only been thinking about doing a tiny Journey pendant since I first did the large cuff bracelet... er, some years ago. (Don't make me time and math.) I was finishing up the 2019 Desert Bus for Hope chocobo when the MP3 player randomly selected a track off the Journey soundtrack and then I listened to more and... nostalgia. Even if I really should have been concentrating on something else. I'll get there.
I hadn't really been thinking of adding the drape at first, but I was already digging around for beads. You know how it is.
(For Sale)
Me and My Kingdom of Three
Made as the development cycle of Final Fantasy XV winds to an end, but conceptualized long before, this is something I made for me. Four crystals inside one ring, surrounded by a total of 13 skulls, on a band 13 beads wide, color splashed between black and silver. I'm very, very happy with it, and it means a lot to me.
That said, wow was getting the Swarovski crystals spanned between sides of the ring a "challenge". But I did it! Another dumb idea that worked! Ridiculously. Like making the ring an open centerpiece. I'd tinkered with the pattern for the beaded skull for a while, trying to get it as small as possible but still retain the feel I was going for. ...Admittedly the sizing was luck and a shot in the dark, and the arrangement of two magnetic clasps with another little silver skull inbetween was an alteration to the original thought. It would have wound up too long to be comfortable with my original concept, but this way it's just right, with just enough slack to slide and move comfortably. It's also got a little weight to it, as the ring itself is surprisingly heavy stainless steel with some really solid magnetic clasps and a decently heavy small skull bead as a counter-balance. It actually feels quite good on, and rather matches my... aesthetic. (As does most Insomnian fashion, I must admit.)
They'll Remember What You Did
I'd actually been looking for Ring of the Lucii (FFXV) references when I happened across OddWorks' model in Shapeways. As someone who'd been disappointed in missing out on snagging one of the FFVII models by joabaldwin before S-E's C&D (he even had chocobos dammit), I sort of... kept lingering on the idea of buying one in matte black steel for a while. Technically there is an official version... for $250. In silver. ...It's not silver in the game, it's black with a specific gold outline. *cough* And so, after looking for coupons, I thought... yeah okay why not. The 3D printed ring was absolutely beautiful on its own... but I'd like to believe that I improved upon it.
Trying to approach this without spoilers is. Difficult. Shall we say there are reasons why I actually hesitated both to buy this and to make anything with it. Symbolic and otherwise. Leaving it as a ring was never an option. I wanted to turn it into a pendant. Using gray/black labradorite was a no-brainer; depending on the light source, they're everything from black to silver, but if you turn them just right, they flash a very particular bright blue. Guess what I could almost not convince to happen at all in photographs. There are 15 (representing the game) beads on either side, altogether making 30 (it just so happens to have been made in Final Fantasy's 30th anniversary year). 13 (representing the Armiger weapons) knots in silk cord separate each bead. Some... thought went into this.
Minor aside: single-string necklaces are wrong and terrible and don't do it or eventually the string will break and you'll lose beads or just everything altogether. Despite how thin and small the cording looks, each side is comprised of three separate strands (two super strong nylon bead threads in medium thickness, and one of surprisingly strong silk cording), doubled and knotted, so technically there are 6 strands carrying the weight of the pendant and supporting the beads. It can be done, don't be lazy. Okay, back to my geeky not-shame.
And the best bit, as far as I'm concerned? The way it hangs makes it really subtle. You don't see the front unless you inspect it, it's just kind of a pretty weird ring pendant and then surprise, it's pain.
Oh, right, and of course the crystal is Swarovski. I mean, come on. The setting itself drove me nuts for a little while before I figured out how to make it work, as it's not sized for any standard crystal size in particular. Buuuuuut it gave me an excuse to play with a new material I had my eye on for a while, so. No complaints.
...Save one. ...I began this project with the intent to sell it. To send it far from here. But. Uh. ...I've grown attached. I'm more than happy to make more by commission, to individual specifications. But this one? ...I think maybe I want to keep it close. To remember. S-E has pretty much completely ruined my life at this point, yeah.
