Wear It Twice: The Cold and the Beautiful

It’s all too easy to get carried away with Christmas themes at this time of year, so instead of seeking out some distinctly holiday glam jewelry for December, I stuck to birthstones instead.

The first blue topaz design that really caught my eye was this gorgeous Cubic Zirconia butterfly pendant. It’s about as far from Christmasy as one could get, so I started building some fun December outfits around it.

The Cold and the Beautiful by Mortira featuring Suede Ankle Boots

For those lucky enough to live in climates without heaps of snow and rain in winter, I started with an irresistibly fun Peter Pilotto dress. The splash of orange goes so well with the blue CZ. It’s a fun challenge to combine black and orange together and completely wash away any trace of Halloween. The shapes and textures of this dress have already done most of the work for me.

To complete the look, I added Swarovski studded leggings, some furry black boots and a sapphire blue handbag. I thought adding a vibrant orange Tarina Tarantino butterfly barrette toed the line of taste just enough to be sensational.

I created the second outfit with the northern hemisphere in mind. It started with a gorgeous wool turtleneck in pumpkin orange, which has a fantastic cowl neckline for showing off a statement necklace. Dark gray printed jeans and blue Dr. Martins dress it down. To bring it back up again and balance out the butterfly pendant, I added a black and gold bangle watch, and a black knit beret.

And, of course, you can get these looks, or something like them, on ArtFire.

Okay, bring on the eggnog!

Copyright 2010 Inspirational Beading and Polyvore.com

Subscribe to Inspirational Beading

A Necklace a Day - Twenty

Winter has officially arrived on the West Coast. Everything outside of my window is covered with a soft blanket of flaky white snow, just waiting to melt and refreeze again. I’m sure that I’m not the only person who is ready to take back everything I said about the heat this past summer.

In this part of the world, winter is a funny time of year. No matter how long someone has lived here, they always seem utterly shocked when the snow comes, as if they were expecting the rain to go on forever. There are never enough snow plows to go around, and you can forget about finding a sidewalk that has been courteously shoveled. West Coast winters are a pedestrian’s nightmare.

Although I do love the look of a fresh layer of pure white snow, it is still the symbol of many long, cold and slushy days ahead. So to cheer myself up, I’m looking back on summer.

Today’s necklace is the summer version of my new seasonal birthstone pendants. The beadwork is done in a sunny golden topaz, with bicone crystals in peridot, ruby, alexandrite and emerald.

Welcome, Winter! So glad you only come around once a year.

Copyright 2010 Inspirational Beading

Swarovski Birthstones and Necklace Sixteen

Jewelry and birthstones go together like peanut butter and jelly, so it’s no wonder that crystal manufacturers like Swarovski make sure that they have a selection of birthstone colors in their product lines. Though I never use real gemstones in my designs, I enjoy being able to personalize gifts and custom work with such close imitations.

The Swarovksi birthstone chart uses crystal colors to replace traditional gems throughout the year. When I started making limited edition birthstone pendants, I worked out my own chart, using close matches in color and shape, with some lesser used birthstone colors as well. Here’s my modified crystal birthstone chart:

January: Garnet
February: Amethyst
March: Aquamarine
April: Diamond/Crystal
May: Emerald
June: Alexandrite or Pearl/White Pearl
July: Ruby
August: Peridot or Carnelian/Red Coral
September: Sapphire
October: Green Tourmaline or Opal/Rosaline Pearl
November: Topaz or Citrine
December: Tanzanite or Blue Topaz/Blue Zircon

I had always intended to start a family birthstone selection for my Mother Nature pendants, but never got around to it. Now that I have a new shop to fill up and fill out, I got started with a four stone pendant using winter birthstones.

Today’s necklace features crystal bicones in citrine, blue zircon, garnet and amethyst. The color combination seems odd, but they still somehow fit together. I really like the way the fringe turned out on this piece, it’s much more playful and visible than my original design.

My birthstone is garnet, and I find it a bit dull compared to some of the more vibrant stones. How I wish peridots where January’s birthstone!

What’s your favorite birthstone color?

Copyright 2010 Inspirational Beading
Artbeads.com and Swarovski Elements

Wear It Twice: Peridot Paradise

An everyday necklace is really only as good as the number of things you can wear it with. When we spend our hard-earned money on something, we want to know that we’ll be getting a lot of use out of it. So a necklace that can go from work to dancing to brunch, is a good investment.

Today I thought I would examine the versatility of a simple birthstone necklace. August’s birthstone, peridot, has such a fresh green color, and it begs to be paired with other pure, exuberant shades. After finding a pretty strand of peridot beads, I started to see a palette of beachy colors - green, white, aqua and gold.

Peridot Paradise by Mortira featuring Arden B Tops

For the first outfit, I started with a fun asymmetrical ruffle tank top in a vibrant, almost peacock turquoise. I added a pretty white pencil skirt, then topped it off with gold strappy wedges and a pair of vintage Dior sunglasses - perfect for a day on the boardwalk.

To create a more casual ensemble, I found a lovely belted tunic in white, and added a cute pair of sandy denim shorts. Teal gladiator sandals and a floppy sunhat complete the look, for a lazy day at the beach.

And of course, you can get these looks - or something like them - on Etsy!

Copyright 2010 Inspirational Beading and Polyvore.com