Sunday, January 31, 2010

Resolutions of the Heart Necklace

Everyone has been asking to see the finished product of my Resolutions of the Heart Class. As always in a class like this you NEVER FINISH the project in class. I came home & continued to work on my piece. I need to go & buy a heavier gauge copper wire (& the patina) to make my S or Fish Hook clasp for the back of the necklace. Until that time... I will simply slip it over my head when I wear it.
Here is the precious card that our teacher Diane Cook made for each of us. I love the illustration of the two young girls holding hands & then her quote was Take my hand... We'll learn together. On this beautiful card was the vintage locket that Diane had aged with patina (both inside & out).
This is my mannequin proudly wearing my finished necklace. No, she is not generally so plainly dressed but, I wanted the necklace to stand out.
You can see some of the details in the photo above & below. I had a very difficult time photographing my necklace. Many emails ensued between Diane & I about this. After all this the best suggestion was good natural light (but, not to bright or too much sun). Well the weather has not cooperated for this advice & I wanted to post the photos I did have.
Above is the necklace laying on a piece of paper with beautiful script & a heart shaped doily. In the previous class with Diana Frey we used Sterling Silver wire & findings. For this piece we used copper & then varied the finish with patina. I also mixed silver & brass findings. With the different colors in the stones & pearls I think it is an interesting mix.
The photo below has too much flash (sorry it is a bit bright) but, it shows the bead we made using Sari Silk. We made a bone bead & wrapped the silk (which had a LOT of stringy pieces which I think made for an interesting texture) with wire & tiny amber crystals. Also, I LOVE the silver hearts I bought from Diane to add to my necklace.

Here you can see the precious brass bird charms that I added. Also the smokey colored glass heart beads. Lots of little tiny beads done as dangles to give movement to the necklace when I wear it.
Below is the beautiful locket from Diane with the wonderful large smokey crystal bead & the amber stoned bezels. This is hooked on a portion of a vintage rhinestone necklace that I took apart so I could use some of it for this project. I LOVE using vintage jewelry & re purposing it. A mix of BLING against the look of aged & patina makes for an unusual look I love.
We did have a short intro into etching metals in this class. We did not make anything with the pieces we did in class. It was a teaser for us to want to take the next class she has on etching metal & Diane you can count me in on that one. I did have one piece that I etched & liked so I will be creating something in the future with it. I hope you LOVE my necklace as much as I do. I will try to take a photo of me wearing it & share it at a later time. I urge you to go visit Diane's site & see the talent of this designer & teacher extraordinaire! She is teaching at ADORN ME in Houston this March (as is Diana Frey & Riki Schumacher whom are friends & wonderful teachers from California) For those of you in TEXAS this is an amazing chance to top NATIONAL teachers to be in a location near us. Click the ADORN ME Button on my sidebar & come join us! Have a great week my friends. HUGS! Charlene

19 comments:

LuLu Kellogg said...

You did a fantastic job! I love this piece. *clapping*

xoxo, L

The French Bear said...

Charlene, it is just beautiful!!!!! wow, you did a fantastic job! I am so thrilled that you had a great time and such wonderful teachers!
I love it!
Hugs,
Margaret B

Inspired-Simplicity said...

Charlene,
It just turned out awesome. So many beautiful pieces. You did a beautiful job. What a treasure and a keepsake. Thanks for sharing it with us.
xo C.

Pat @ My Tattered Elegance said...

Your necklace is delicious, all those wonderful adornments. You can be very proud of yourself my friend. Awsome job as usual. I can see one of those suitcase filled with your work. It's coming.
Hugs, Pat

DeeDee said...

That is just beautiful...a treasure for sure...

The Feathered Nest said...

Charlene, your necklace is GORGEOUS!!!! I love all of the components ~ Absolutely beautiful...you are learning some incredible things sweetie!!!! I hope you have a wonderful week, hugs and love, Dawn

FILIGREE MOON said...

Gorgeous, Charlene! ~ Angela

Nan said...

Charlene I love the necklace and it sounds like you had so much fun and want to continue. My favorite item was the sweet birds on the necklace. I'm sure when you wear this you'll get a lot of compliments and questions about how it came to be. Nan

Vicki Chrisman said...

WOW Charlene... that is just stunning! I love it!

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

Oh Charlene...these are exquisite pieces! Anything with these sweet little birds just catches my attention! I love them and I found some at The Bead Monkey here in Minneapolis; I just enjoy birds. Thank you for visiting my post! And yes, when I was in France, I ate ALL the bread I wanted and didn't gain one single pound. Here at home? HAH! I can't yield to my carb-loading tendencies or else my thighs will take over the planet!!! Have a marvelous week, Anita

Lisa said...

Wow Charlene,
It is absolutely wonderful! All of the little details, it must have taken forever. The way the wire is wrapped is really interesting & I'd love to hear more about making beads with sari's & such. She sounds like an amazing instructor, I know you loved it. Wear it on the 12th so I can check it out. Maybe we can take more pics there. Lisa

wherewomencreate said...

You are so sweet! Thank you for posting such nice comments about me - however, I do believe that it is the women featured on our pages that you all love.

Your necklace is fabulous!!!
Much love
Jo

susan said...

Charlene-This is my first visit and I am so glad I came. Your necklace is just beautiful! I love all the details and different pieces. I know you enjoyed this class! Nice to "meet" you!

Alisa Noble said...

Lovely!

I won't be at Shea's this weekend... taking a calligraphy and collage class in McKinney... but I will be at Joanna's get togther!

Diana said...

Superb job, Charlene! I also love the birdies! So pleased you were able to take a class from Diane Cook...she is a very talented artist and such a sweet, kind soul.
Hugs
Diana

Diane said...

Charlene....your piece turned out FaBuLOus! GREAT JOB!!
You should be soooo pleased.
I look forward to seeing you soon.....

Karen Valentine said...

Oh Charlene that is a gorgeous necklace! I have been wanting to own a necklace like that for a while. You should wear it proudly!!! I am home all week in the evenings so please free to call anytime!

Karen
My Desert Cotatge

Joy Jones said...

Hi Charlene! Thank you for coming to visit my blog and leaving such kind words about my being published. You are are dear one! I am tickled to see you creating jewelry...it really is fun and you are making some beautiful pieces! ~ xo Joy

Unknown said...

So pretty! I LOVE it!! {HUGS} Heidi

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