I've been thinking about necklaces.

Even though I make necklaces all the time, I seldom wear them, because I think my black frame glasses look odd with a necklace around my throat.  I prefer earrings and bracelets. My mother feels otherwise and wears necklaces all the time with her glasses.  She has specific tastes, usually necklaces in "good taste." (aka quiet) She has Cookies N Cream and Elvis.  My friend Kathy loves necklaces too, the bigger the better, and she has a wide variety of pieces that are not in "good taste" but they look great on her - check out Painted Desert.


Painted Desert


The point I'm not making very well is that while the person wearing the necklace has different tastes and needs, and can pick and choose to their liking and price range, the person making the necklace is tied to the vision they have of what they want to create.  Make sense? 

Sometimes it is obvious what the stones want to be, sometimes not.  There are soooo many choices for making one  - leather, beading wire, sterling wire, waxed cotton, silk, etc.  Usually when I have the stone in my hand I already know what it wants to be strung with.  Sometimes I'm limited by the size of the hole drilled in the stone and have to compromise. (For instance, I can't string standard pearls on leather because the holes are so tiny. I have to order large holed pearls or try to use the drill press on them.)

So, why do we even wear a necklace?  Because we want to decorate our bodies? To show off our wealth? To make our boobs stand out?  Because we think the stones on the string are pretty?  To be cool? To feel Pretty? Because someone gave it to us?
 
Why do you wear a necklace?  Let me know (if you feel like sharing).

During the Sixties and Seventies, it seems like necklaces were worn simply for the sake of wearing them. You wore Sarah Coventry for sophistication, or you wore a puka shell or Peace sign with your jeans. During the eighties and nineties, everything was dainty and had to be gold and precious and in good taste. Avon and costume jewelry were popular, but it was also dainty and gold colored.  Large stones were gaudy!!

At some point the styles from the Sixties and Seventies came back, even the puka shells and Peace signs. Gaudy is now not Gaudy, it is on trend LOL. 

Another thought - why don't men wear more necklaces?  They barely wear bracelets.  But things change.  If you are old enough, you will remember when men with earrings where thought to be "queer." Now some men wear two earrings, or those awful rubber plug thingy's, and nobody really cares. But a strand of pearls on a man would definitely call his manhood into question. The thought makes me laugh.  But it'll probably be in style some day LOL.



Cookies N Cream

Today I made a necklace/bracelet/earring set using Mexican Opal, leather, and some cool copper twists. Last week the ingredients were Lapis and sterling silver on beading wire. Next week, who knows what I will use.  I'm just enjoying making them. I hope someone wants to wear them. 

Visit my website www.signaturepiecejewelry.com.  Maybe I'll have something you want to wear. Let me know. TTYL.

Signature Piece Jewelry - Here We Go

I have a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/signature.piece.jewerly), and a website (www.signaturepiecejewelry.com). 

I don't have time to keep up with them, so I decided a blog would be a good idea.

What?

To tell you the truth, the other two sites just don't give me the opportunity to talk about gemstones and jewelry, something I really want to do.

Here is my story, short and sweet: 

I started making jewelry because in 2005 my husband bought a custom necklace for me.  I told him that I wished I could make things like that, so, he purchased a jewelry making kit from Fire Mountain Gems and Beads, and gave that to me as my next gift. 

Several thousands of dollars spent later, he says he doesn't regret it.  He is a keeper.  8-)

Well that is my story.  Now I want to talk about jewelry.

That necklace was a custom piece, and it cost $150. (I know this because I went to the website and looked LOL.)  I really love the necklace - tiny pearls for June, rhodolite garnets for January, blue topaz for December, peridot for July, and blue sapphires for September. That covered all the birthdates in my family at the time. Because of that one necklace, I started making jewelry. I still enjoy making birthstone jewelry for Moms.

Plus I am addicted to shopping for gemstones.

I can play at making jewelry and I find it very relaxing. I might make a necklace and then take it apart if I can't get it to 'lay' correctly. Because nothing except the wire and crimps are ruined, it doesn't take extra money to unravel a piece - just time. That can be very frustrating of course. Every few attempts though, the stones and beads come together to make something that is so pretty I can't believe that I created it, so I keep on making stuff. 

My idea for making jewelry was suppposed to be simple. I would make something, everyone would love it, then I would sell it, then buy more supplies, make something new, and sell that. And on and on. It didn't work out quite like that of course, but I still want to make unique pieces. That is why I named my site Signature Piece Jewelry.  Look at the jewelry gallery - it has my one-of-a-kind pieces that no one else has; if you need a unique piece that you just can't find, I'll make one for you.

Yesterday I purchased Mexican Opal nuggets (motled yellow/brown/red), Fire Agate barrels (red/orange/yellow), Rock Crystal nuggets (clear), and some Jasper squares (brick red).  I spent all my birthday money at the store LOL and I couldn't be happier.

The last time shopping trip I was on I purchased stones in the same color scheme - Carnelian (red orange), Citrine (yellow) and some Imperial Jasper, which is kind of hard to describe.  Maybe because I'm lazy.  They are about the size of a pinto bean, and they kind of look like a pinto bean only prettier - again these are red/yellow/orange. 

Oh, I also found a couple strands of amber nuggets that are really cool.  I can use them for spacers, or string them with something else to make a chunkier piece. 

These past few weeks I have made several pairs of earrings to add to my inventory because I'm thinking about going to a local craft show.  I was at Facebook Marketing training yesterday, and another student had recently been at a craft show - she was very encouraging.  Plus my co-workers at my real job are encouraging.

I am having fun, and now I get to blog about it too. Everything is pretty cool.