filigreebe, Author at Filigree Beading .com

17Jan

By filigreebeNo Comments

Earrings = A Facelift?

Have you ever thought about why you tend to wear your favorite pair of earrings with so many different looks? Earrings and necklaces can light up your face and make you look thinner. A few years ago, I was a guest on a TV show in Virginia. The interviewer asked me, with doubt in his voice, how I could possibly make a woman look ten pounds thinner instantly. With the help of the female co-host of the show it was easy to demonstrate. I had already staged for her to be wearing small round button earrings and a choker style necklace with yet another round shaped pendant hanging from it. Her sleeves were long and her collar was flat… so was her hair. First I lifted the crown of her hair just a bit, flipped up her collar, took off all that round jewelry and replaced it with small dangle earr...

5Dec

By filigreebeNo Comments

Ideas

Sculpture

Brass stampings, gemstone beads, glass bugle beads, gemstone replicas, flat back rhinestones and paint are among the items used to create this shadowboxed sculpture. This product Liquitex Basics - coarse texture gel was found in an art supply store. It adds texture to flat surfaces as shown below. Acrylic paints were used to create the color effects. Start by layering stones, bugle beads and the largest stampings. Finish by layering the smaller stones and stampings in the spaces between and over the larger pieces. (E6000 glue was used in this project.) The finished project was mounted in a black shadowbox found in the frame department of Michael's Arts and Crafts. It was then placed on a black iron table top easel. This project was insp...

5Dec

By filigreebeNo Comments

Free Jewelry Making Lessons

Pendant Lesson

Functional elements such as bails and clasps are required for every project to make the piece wearable. Consider a pendant without a bail for example. The pendant would not face forward if you simply threaded a ribbon or chain through it's loop. Standard loops are attached to the top of the setting or stamping with the hole facing the same way as the setting, so a bail is needed to join the chain to the pendant loop. A bail is often the least attractive component in an otherwise fabulous design. A pretty pendant is missing something if only a simple large rather ugly jump ring is used as a bail. Failing to consider the style of these elements can ruin the balance of an otherwise beautiful piece of jewelry. Every part should complement the main focal point. As in architecture and...

1Dec

By filigreebeNo Comments

Free Jewelry Making Lessons

Classic Design

The classic style of mixed metal jewelry will allow you to wear the items for years to come and with a variety of looks. These earrings are from my personal collection of items I've made and kept to wear. I'm showing them to you for several reasons. I made these earrings in about 1991. I've worn them hundreds of times and I still reach for them at least once a week. Note how the plating has not changed even after all this time. I combined antique gold, oxidized brass and antique silver in layers with no stones included. Also note the placement of the earring posts near the top third of the settings and the use of backs with stabilizer discs. This allows the earring to stay in place without tilting forward. When you create classic style jewelry from qu...

27Nov

By filigreebeNo Comments

Free Jewelry Making Lessons, Ideas

Designer Hand Bags

This is an evening bag I decorated for a book being published about embellished accessories. The bag measures about five and a half inches tall and six inches wide. I used a pink glass opal cabochon #B726 with lace edge setting #A539 18x13mm mounted on one of the brass stampings #K09. The whole thing was glued to a purchased beaded and sequined evening bag with a long woven silk strap. Then I glued (E6000 glue) Austrian crystal Swarovski 20ss stones here and there for the bling. The bag sold at auction for $80.00 Visit our store web site VintageJewelrySupplies.com to shop for these and thousands more items.(NOTE: our website best viewed on desktop or tablet)

13Nov

By filigreebeNo Comments

Free Jewelry Making Lessons

The Cameo Lesson

A cameo or stone which measures 40x30 can be used in many ways when you first give it a dramatic setting. Glue the back of the cameo to front of brass frame #F79. Let the glue dry according to the directions on the tube.Then gently bend and wrap filigree piece #B33 around the first two items so that the ends of the filigree look like prongs holding the cameo in place.Lastly glue frame #A511 to the back of the above items to create the effect of a large dramatic setting. You could add a pin back or use this piece to embellish other items such as furniture, a journal or a jewelry box. Visit our store web site VintageJewelrySupplies.com to shop for these and thousands more items.(NOTE: our website best viewed on desktop or tablet)

2Nov

By filigreebeNo Comments

Free Jewelry Making Lessons

Step by Step

Mixing natural gemstone beads and cabochons with vintage glass beads and the oxidized findings lends importance to your art. The colors are rich and the markings are always interesting. The stones are very earthy and flattering to your face. Look for natural, not dyed stones, since the dye will change and fade over time. Steps to a Project... Here's the evolution of a necklace as it is being created. The focal pendant chosen for this piece is a Chrysocolla oblong gemstone bead with the hole passing vertically across the top. In my travels, I never pass up a bead store, rock shop or bead show. I want to see gemstones in person before I spend big money for something special like this bead. I threaded a heavy beading wire (#W01) through the hole and then added...

23Aug

By filigreebeNo Comments

Inspiration

The Power of Creativity

When at first you look at this necklace, it doesn't appear extraordinary … although it's just lovely in it's simplicity - it certainly isn't unusual. Read on to learn why it is so special … Lottie is 82 years old. In addition to suffering from breast cancer, she is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease. She lives with her grandson, but recognizes him only about 25% of the time. When he brings her to class, she has not once appeared to remember the instructor or why she is there. She is usually confused and disoriented, often insisting that she must "go fix supper" or "get to the chores." It's usually a real challenge to get her to sit down at the table with the rest of the class. But ....the very instant she sits down an...

20Jun

By filigreebeNo Comments

Artisan Jewelry, Inspiration

A Lost Art

Before World War II the most gifted of artisans created one of a kind jewelry from specially made fabulous cut glass stones using materials and techniques known only to them. The materials were found locally and the techniques were passed down through the generations. These exquisite items were found in the basement of a building locked and abandoned after Hitler took over Czechoslovakia. Perhaps they were made for a special order for a grand department store in Germany. We may never know the true history of these items. The original owner of the building was never found, so it was recently sold by the current government of the Czech Republic to a woman who discovered the treasures packed away in boxes as she was exploring her newly purchased building. The items shown in th...

27Mar

By filigreebeNo Comments

Free Jewelry Making Lessons, Ideas

Focal Pendants

Components can be glued, wired or soldered if you will be adding your own patina. Note that there are loops and several openings from which you can attach strands of beads and chain. Our items #CC69, #H116, #M66 and #B723 were used in this example but you could use this idea to create many more pendant styles. To fit a fully faceted stone into a flat back setting you can often set it pointed side out if it is unfoiled. This general idea can be used with many different elements to create different designs. Visit our store web site VintageJewelrySupplies.com to shop for these and thousands more items.(NOTE: our website best viewed on desktop or tablet)