Early September new necklaces

So, if you are new to reading this blog, I'd like to point out that this post is new, so if you read it from here, you are reading backwards.  If you want to see the first posts, you have to click on the older ones on the right side of the page.
     Ok, now for some new fun necklaces!

Faceted Opalite with Blue Quartz

Amethyst with crystal and freshwater pearls

Made and donated by the super sweet Patsy Silva!

Big crystals with pewter

Pink Lampwork beads by Becki Meckier, Czech

glass and pewter

Crystal woven ball with blue quartz and crystals

Opalite glass with pewter

Pewter starfish with Biwa pearls and Keishi pearls

Necklaces are coming in... and they are soooo pretty!

More amazing necklaces donated to the project by some of my dear friends.
Amazing ladies, every one of them.  

Pink Freshwater Pearls with pewter made by 

the lovely and talented Katherine Nakazano.

I made this with my friend, Susan's beads, thinking

I was making it for her, and much to my surprise,

she gave it to me for the project.  Sponge Coral with 

Blown glass "shards" by Harold Williams Cooney.

Another set of Susan's beads that I made up using

Harold Williams Cooney's lampwork beads, pewter

and Freshwater Pearls.

Susan made this one, gorgeous!  Blue Quartz with 

Keishi Freshwater Pearls and pewter 

Another one of Susan's creations... Botswana Agate with 

crystals and pewter

Susan was really on a roll with gorgeous designs

This one is Florite, crystal and Freshwater Pearls

More Botswana Agate, large Keishi stick pearls, 

crystals and pewter

This one was a stretch for Susan, she does not often

work in these colors.  Freshwater and Biwa pearls, 

crystals, Czech glass, pewter, and a terrific 

lampwork bead by Lisa Fletcher

Ok, I snuck in one that I made at the Bead Retreat.  

It's crystals and Czech glass, with Freshwater pearls

Bead Retreat creations

Here are some amazing necklaces that my friend Susan made for the project, again, at our bead retreat.  It was unexpected to have such amazing necklaces donated, and I'm very thankful for the help.  These bead retreat ladies are really the best, every one of them.

Thank you Susan!

New Jade with Chrysoprase center

Amazonite center with Pearls

Wire lace with crystals and pearls

More wire lace, different colors, with crystals and pearls.  Quite beautiful!

Guest Donors continue!

Once a year, a few of us friends get together and have our own little bead retreat.  It's an event I wouldn't miss for the world, it's such a great time, with such wonderful women, what more could I ask for?  At this year's retreat, the incomparable Patsy Silva decided to venture out of her comfort zone and string a few necklaces to donate to the project.  Her goal was 10, and she did it.  (We counted the double strands as two for her)  

They are beautiful, Thank You Patsy!

Poppy Jasper and Sea Glass

Amethyst, crystal and pearls

Yellow Jade and crystal

Czech glass with Pewter

Carnelian with crystals

Dyed blue bamboo coral with pearls and crystals

Peach Aventurine with Czech glass

Amazonite with pearls and crystals

Some wonderful necklaces have been added to the project by another young person who was excited to donate their time to help us out.  My friend Susan's adorable granddaughter, Kelli and one of her friends, decided to make some necklaces for the project.  The girls are 13 years old, and obviously inherited their grandmother's talent for jewelry design.  

Thank you Kelli, you're a great kid!

Porcelain Necklaces

Ok, so these are the pictures of the necklaces that I have made with the porcelain beads.  I think they turned out pretty good considering their "newness" to me.  It's interesting to deal with beads that are opaque, I'm so used to having beads that are transparent, or at least translucent, light plays an entirely different role.  Mixing them with transparent beads became a neccessity.

Golden Coral (dyed) with the porcelain

Porcelain beads with Lampwork beads by Shani Barrett

Porcelain beads with Magnesite and an intricate Lampwork bead by Toni Lutman.

No porcelain here... 

Agate beads with Aventurine (donated by the wonderful Kristine Buchanan) 

and Freshwater pearls

Sea Glass with Copper beads and a Lampwork bead made by Lisa Fletcher

Some porcelain with old raw brass beads and a Lampwork bead

August necklace update

Here are a few of the newest necklaces.  I have been having some fun working with the new porcelain beads we got in just for the project.  It's not something that I have worked with much before, so it's something new for me.  I think they turned out well, hopefully everyone else will agree.

Czech glass, crystal and Freshwater Pearls

Czech glass with Sea glass and Freshwater Pearls

Sea Glass with Freshwater Pearls and Lampwork glass

Sea Glass with Freshwater Pearls and Lampwork glass

Lampwork bead by Lisa Fletcher (who only agreed to give me this bead if I agreed to use it in a necklace like this for the project!)  

Green Florite, crystal, Abalone, Sea Glass, Crystal, and Seed Beads