I have a tiny stash of Cantera opals which are Mexican opals still in their matrix of pinkish rhyolite, and I love them. I can't say how often I took them out and put them back to keep them safe from the outside world ;-) My two favorite ones have gone to good homes and I still miss them. Silly, I know.
It was time to take a deep breath and start letting see them - well, one of them at least - what's outside of the stash drawer - only to go into the finished jewelry drawer afterwards, that is, unless someone takes this little beauty home.
This Cantera opal is almost clear. It looks like a drop of water on a crackled ground, but if you move it, you can see some tiny specks of color, green, yellow, and red. Unfortunately I didn't manage to take a really good picture of them, it seems the stone wants to keep its secret!
As it is not very big - those opals often aren't - I kept the woven bezel rather simple, but added a bigger bail to balance it out and of course I couldn't resist a small embellishment, a very light pink pearl.
Three more opals left ...
First of all let me say this. I know that this pendant is not an exact replica of the Tudor rose. It is, however, inspired by it.
The other day I made a pair of flower earrings that reminded me of Kanzashi flowers (which are actually Japanese folded fabric flowers) when I had finished them, and this time I wanted to see how I could make a variation that was maybe a little larger and more three dimensional.
I beaded it from silver lined red and golden seed beads and experimented with how to sew the individual petals together for the best effect.
At first I wanted to leave it at that, but you know me, I love my dangles on earrings or pendants, and this pearl drop makes such a great one.
I was tempted to add something green to it, but then I found it would have been too much here, especially because the green beads in my stash are also silver lined. This is one shiny pendant!
I'm back! And what could be better to get back into blogging than a nice stash tackler?
To be honest there is little stash tackling in this pendant, though.
It's not the first time I am telling you that I am struggling with asymmetry. It's funny because there had been no struggle at all in ordering this interesting brecciated jasper. I came, saw, and bought.
Then I was carrying it around in my coat pocket for two weeks. When there's an order in my mailbox, I can never wait until I am upstairs, you know. I have to rip it open right there and then. As my veggie box arrived that same moment, I just shoved this and another cab into my pocket and kept forgetting to take them out.
Yesterday I finally remembered and just when I was about to bury them in the drawer with my other cabs - that have been waiting for too long to get out of there for good - I decided I'd give this a shot.
I turned the jasper this way and that way hoping it would tell me what it wanted.
The earthy colors called for copper wire and to pick up the browns from the stone I added transparent brown seed beads to the knitted bezel.
Next was the decision which way to turn the cab for the bail. I am always drawn to turn drop like shapes upside down and the fact that I love my dangles usually influences me to follow that urge.
The brown pearl was perfect with it.
Now which cab to choose next? Decisions, decisions!
Don't ask me where the name comes from. Maybe I still had Donovan's Cosmic Wheels from my playlist on my mind or maybe the lampwork bead reminded me of a little planet with the pearl as one of its moons?
Fact is that the misty pink lampwork bubble bead has been an orphan in my drawer for too long and really needed to be made into something.
I haven't been working in wire for a while, so I set out to make a wire crochet rope and see where it would take me. Actually I wasn't even sure how far that spool of wire would get me. Would it be enough for a necklace? A bracelet?
Turns out that I didn't have to worry about that after the spiral idea popped into my head. I don't do asymmetry that often, but sometimes it's just appealing.
What do you see?
This week I thought I wouldn't be able to meet my personal challenge. I have been working on a series of bracelets. Although all of them would qualify for the stash challenge so far, I chose not to reveal them before all of them are finished.
Right now I am waiting for beads to start #4.
We are still in the tight grip of summer heat which is not my kind of weather at all, and the longer it goes, the more I feel my motivation dwindling to do anything at all. Without my iced peppermint tea I would probably be lost.
This morning I remembered that it was Friday and I had absolutely nothing to show. I went through a few old ideas in my head during the day, but none of them seemed exciting and quick enough to realize it.
So I have to admit I took the easy way out and chose something that didn't need too much brain power and went fairly quick, a beaded ring in brick stitch in two of my favorite seed bead colors, raspberry and taupe lined crystal AB which are pretty much a staple in my small stash of seed beads.
I topped it with a very pale pink freshwater pearl in a netted setting ... et voilà!
It's available in my DaWanda shop.
