Friday 3 December 2010

Multi-way modular necklace 'recipes'

Have finally got round to working through photos of some of the strands available for my  new multi-way necklace - pretty much the sky's the limit, which is the beauty of the design.  Strands generally cost £10-£15 but occasionally more, e.g. the lapis lazuli / silver chain below.


7mm brown freshwater pearls (dyed)
+ 4mm Czech fire-polished facets
from the front:-
- garnet & Swarovski crystal
- wood & faceted 'squashed cushions'
- freshwater perl & czech fire-polished
- turquoise & czech silver-dipped
- goldstone & czech bronze-dipped
- frosted glass & fire-polished cubes
- lapiz lazuli & sterling silver chain
- lime & gilded cubes
Possibly my favourite!
4mm natural polished garnet rounds +
4mm Swarovski crystal facets  
10mm blonde wood rounds
+ 10mm topaz squashed facets
7mm reconstituted turquoise rounds
+ 4mm Czech silvery-dipped facets
7mm goldstone rounds +
4mm Czech bronzy-dipped facets
6mm natural lapis lazuli rounds
pinned & linked by sterling silver
belcher chain

7mm frosted white glass rounds
+ 3mm fire-polished glass cubes

3mm lime rainbow alternate with
gilded Miyuki cubes

Thursday 11 November 2010

Charity begins ....

I was just updating the front page of my website with a photo of the modular necklace I designed for the Scottish Football Hall of Fame dinner tomorrow night and realised I haven't actually written a proper description of two previous charity necklaces.

Two years ago I made one for my beloved cousin Irene's Pink Lunch in aid of Breast Cancer Research - freshwater pearls, amethyst Swarovski crystals and tiny pink irridescent seed beads twisted with copper, silver and pewter tubes.

Then last year I made a most spectacular piece for the Women of Influence lunch, raising funds for Action for Children - an insane sculpture based on a metre of heavy sterling silver wire interwoven with glass beads, crystals and semi-precious stones, suspended on a heavy chain.  Complete fantasy!

Friday 29 October 2010

Football charity dinner necklace finished!

click for web page
The necklace I promised for the raffle/auction at the Scottish Football Hall of Fame Awards Dinner next month is complete and with the promoters Blog the Daily Mail. I'm rather pleased with it - the official blah below will also be on my website http://www.sunadesigns.co.uk/ just as soon as I can get the control panel to accept my password and upload the pages :(

Meanwhile, since I'm feeling rather enthused about it, thought I'd describe it properly here.

It's a modular system - the catch & connector part can accept up to 3, 5 or 10 strands depending on the connector.  Strands can be made up of any combination of pearls, Swarovski, semi-precious pebbles etc, and then fasten to the connector with tiny lobster catches.  The strands can be left separate, plaited or twisted, and each is long enough to be worn as a choker in its own right.


The connection module is sterling silver and costs £15-£20 depending on the size of the connectors.  Strands start at £10.


Adaptable interchangeable modular necklace may be worn with one, two or three strands, which in turn may be left separate, plaited, twisted, or even strung end-to-end. Each strand can also be worn individually as a choker. Additional strands can be made to order by the designer in a near-infinite variety of semi-precious gemstones, pearls and Swarovski crystals. Five- and ten-strand variations are also available.


This example combines large fresh-water pearls, vintage Chinese silk-wrapped beads, Swarovski and Czech crystals with metallic Miyuki cubes and glass rocaille. Sterling silver round spring catch and chain with tiny puffed heart, three-way connectors and mini-lobster catches.  

http://www.sunadesigns.co.uk/jewellery/necklaces/6430.shtml