The last Post

Hi all,

This is my last post of the day with samples from the A May Zing Nigel Mays christmas CDs that will be launched on ideal world tonight at 9pm.

The 1st piece is a floating necklace made using some of the lovely blue coordinating backing papers from CD1 printed onto light weight card. The beads were rolled and then coated in Hard Glaze varnish and left to dry overnight. These beads were made on a metal needle as they needed to be quiet thin so that they were not moving around on the necklace.

Firstly I created the pendant using an headpin and a small gold bead and then the paper bead. I then created the loop and added an eyepin and attached to the headpin with the bead already on. I then formed a loop at the top of the eye pin to attached to the silver beading wire. To hold the pendant in place I added 2 silver beads and then 2 crimp beads which were squashed to hold everything in place and stop it from moving around. I then decided where I would like to place my beads and built up the pattern. This involved adding a crimp bead and once in desired location squashing it, adding a silver bead, then the paper bead and another silver bead and then another crimp bead which is squashed to hold it all in place. This is continued all the way up the necklace until I reached the desired length. I then added 1 crimp bead, 3 silver beads, another crimp bead and then a jump ring. I passed the beading wire through the end crimp bead and through the jump ring and then back down the crimp bead and remaining 3 silver beads and the other crimp bead. Once I was happy with the positioning the crimp beads were squashed and the fastener applied.

The earrings were very simple to make using just a small gold bead and a head pin. I put the gold bead on 1st to stop the headpin from going straight through the paper bead and then added the paper bead and created a loop at the top to attach to the earring finding. One floating necklace and matching earrings;

Floating necklace with matching earrings

The final piece today is very masculine and organic as it is made of wooden beads from my stash and the paper beads and I have used cotton coated cord to make up the piece. The inspiration came from the papers I had chosen from  the CDs as it looked like wood grain.

Firstly I created the pendant as in the blue and green piece I had shown yesterday using the cotton cord instead of beading wire. I made the beads on the wooden skewer as I needed the hole to be big enough for the thread to go through. They were coated in varnish and left to dry overnight.

Once the pendant was made I created knots on either side of the last wooden bead to stop them moving. I then tied another knot about 2 inches up on both sides and added a wooden bead, a paper bead and another wooden bead and then tied another knot. This was continued until I reached the desired length of the necklace. To finish I used the square knot technique used in the Shamballa style bracelets. There is a download on the Beaders Companion website that shows you how to tie a square knot and once you get the hang of them its easy. Once I had created the 'fastener' I added a wooden bead to the ends of the 2 threads and tied a knot in it. And here is the finished piece;

Paper and wood bead necklace

I have had a great time and a bit of a challenge making this jewellery out of paper but it shows how paper crafting can be taken a step further and combined with jewellery making. I look forward to my next challenge. Cathy xxx