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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

An Ocean of Inspiration

Growing up in Florida, I have drawn lot of inspiration from the beach and ocean in my jewelry design work.

This Swarovski crystal bracelet was inspired by the golden sand, turquoise blue waters, and mossy green grass. I translated these colors into Swarovski Crystal and Czech glass in the following beads: Pacific Opal Swarovski Crystal, Copper Luster Czech glass drop beads, Champagne Czech glass drop beads and Luster Green Czech glass drop beads. Czech glass drop beads add a playful, yet elegant touch to the design, and the Bali sterling silver beads along with the double strand design add texture to the bracelet.

Helpful Hint: When creating a double strand bracelet using smaller beads (no larger than 6mm), you can use a single strand clasp such as the toggle used in our example. Simply crimp each strand one at a time to the clasp. If your design is quite chunky, a two strand clasp may be preferred because the larger beads tend to push on each other and the two strands will tend to splay apart more than smaller beads would. You may also consider using multi-strand spacers, however, this will add more structure to the design and it will not be as playful as two separate strands. 

1 comment:

Eri Attebery said...

Joyce,

I love that bracelet. Your choice of colors really does remind me of the ocean!