The Mad Midnight Beader

I have been doing beadwork the past two late nights in a row. Last night it was due to having no earrings to wear with my black and white print sundress. I had a wedding to go to, and quite frankly it was easier to make, rather than find, black and white jewelry. Tonight, I was inspired to work on the cluster earrings I had planned for my grandmother. She asked me to create a second set of earrings to match another necklace she had, and pretty much gave me free rein again since she loved the jade and olive stone drops I made her last time. (See previous post: Beads of 2008, top photo.)

Unfortunately my EeePC doesn't like our old Fuji camera's USB, so the pictures will have to come later. But oh my goodness, the new earrings are fantastic. The black and white came together really quickly, and were just the thing. Tonight's pair, though--my fourth pair today--are even more fantastic. They took me almost an hour because I was measuring chain (12 lengths of it) and working with very very tiny pearls and crystals.

I am calling them Swarovski Waterfall earrings, because 4/6 beads are Swarovskis- 2 crystals of slightly different shades, and 2 pearl-coated crystals that look like luminous pearls. The other two beads are Rhodonite, a rich dusty rose coloured stone. I hung each one from a length of fine antique gold chain, using a gold headpin. When they were all on chains of varied lengths, I strung them in ascending order on a straight pin, bent it into a circle and attached it to the earring hook. Now, they look like a dainty waterfall of rose and pink, which hopefully will work with the bead-and-shell necklace my Gramma has. Oh, they are so pretty. A lot of work, but so pretty!

The other earrings I worked on today are for a set of 6 I am sending to my aunt for her gift cupboard. I did two yesterday, so that leaves just one more for her. I haven't quite decided if I'll work with stone chips again, or do a chandelier pair for a change. Still, I'm pleased with the work I've done this weekend. :)