Disapppointed again

Well..  I tried again and ruined another set of filigree... I guess I'll have a red necklace too. 

Bleh.

More Murano Glass

I found some beads hiding out in a random tin a few days ago and I decided that I'd make them into something.  They had a blue to green gradient with a little spiral in the center.  I can't, for the life of me, remember where I got them.  But they were pretty.  I'm sure I got them on sale...somewhere.

There weren't a whole lot of them, just 5, so I worked them up into a quick, simple bracelet.  They remind me of swirling water.  Or perhaps swirling algae.  Or both.

I spaced the big murano glass beads with Czech glass beads that shared some properties in common with them- the blue to green gradient.  I only had a few of these left over from a few previous projects, so this was the perfect way to finally get rid of them for good.  I used a few pale green swarovski crystals that I got in one of those assortment auctions and pulled the design together.

Though this design includes multicolored beads, I had no trouble pulling it together.  It worked up quickly and creates something fun and flirty without too much effort.  All you need is some basic stringing techniques to pull this one off and you're good to go!

Destashing Supplies

I was going through my stash, looking for bits and baubles to finish some of my current projects a few days ago (I'm writing this in March for anyone who's curious).  Going through your stash is like going through geological strata.  On the top layer, everything's new, fresh and shiny.  A leaf still looks like a leaf.  An animal is still an animal.  Near the bottom, though, those leaves and animals and dirt have been compressed over the years and become rock or in some cases fossils and gemstones.

That's what the bottom strata of my stash looks like.  Tons of semiprecious gemstones, wood, bone and shell beads.  There's nothing wrong with them and, to be honest, if you tried to buy beads of the same quality today at the prices I paid for them, you'd end up with a handful of scratched up acrylic.

But, I don't even like working with this kind of stuff.  I'm more of a Victorian/Edwardian, Flapper Era, punk, gothy, kitschy kind of girl.  I don't deal with tribal things very much.  I'm not especially fond of carved bone and shell pendants unless they go with a Victorian inspired piece I'm working on.  There's literally no reason for these things to be in my stash.

SO....I'm getting rid of them.  At the very least I can reorganize my other supplies instead of housing them in decorated cardboard boxes (Seriously, have you tried that?  It's a great way to get rid of boxes and use them in a functional way besides shipping.).  I've listed some lots on my Etsy page as Destash items and they're priced to move- less than a 3rd of the original price.

You should check it out.  I'll only post more as the items in my shop are sold.  I'm still not wholly sure how interested people are in this sort of thing.   At any rate, here are my current offerings.

Lot 1: Amethyst Donut and rhondelles, Tibetan silver Roses, Pewter star, and metal coated acrylic pendants: SOLD

Lot 2: Asian Inspired Beads, 1 brass coin bead, several small glass coin beads, 1 carved bone bead with a dragon: SOLD

Lot 3: Periwinkle Faux pearls, Crackle glass beads, Blue goldstone beads (I'm told this is kind of hard to find nowadays.)

LOT 4: Red Wooden Beads, Seeds, Handmade Copper Links, and Shells

LOT 5: Red Shell beads, Premium Czech glass beads, Vintage Pendant

There ya go!  If you want to pick up any of these lots for your collection, Click here for my Etsy page.  Thanks for the looks and the reads.