A simple design.
Wooden bar with Elaine Ray teardrop and a very, very old Hand of Fatima/Hand of Budda charm.
Finished with a double strand of ribbon.
Tag Archives: Elaine Ray
Friday, April 22nd
22 Apr
This long strand of tiny copper beads has an Elaine Ray handmade ceramic heart tied onto it with mustard-colored silk cording. It’s a really simple design, but this necklace somehow works for so many days. I wore it on Friday, traipsing around New Bern, NC, with my family. We were in and out of several Colonial-era homes and gardens and at least one gift shop. We saw Federal-style windows, Withdrawing Rooms, spinettes, pot hooks, butler’s closets and more bonnet-wearing Interpreters than you can shake a stick at. The day was lovely.
Tuesday, April 12th
12 Apr
Elaine Ray ceramic mother-and-child pendant and crescent bead. Teeny-weeny green turquoise fish. Oval Tibetian turquoise and padparadscha Swarovski crystals, all on thick waxed linen in a reddish brown.
This necklace was featured in Stringing a few years ago. It looks totally off-center but the balance is perfect. It will not slide around your neck when you wear it. I’m kinda proud of that.
Tuesday, March 29th
29 Mar
This necklace is big.
I made it for a magazine that requested ‘big, statement necklace projects’ last year. Dramatic necklaces are all over fashion magazines and celebrity necks and the craft mags want to be able to say they are on trend. Sadly, this crazy-big Drama Mama was too much for the editors. The requested a simpler version, with central elements no bigger than 1×2 inches. Huh? That is not dramatic!
So, I think I’ve only worn this once before today. I thought it would be difficult to wear but its not. It is lightweight and comfortable (note the woven belt-strapping neck band!) and actually easy to wear.
This necklace is also popular; I was stopped by at least 5 people today asking about this necklace. That never happens. Must be the drama.
Tuesday, March 29th
29 Mar
This necklace is big.
I made it for a magazine that requested ‘big, statement necklace projects’ last year. Dramatic necklaces are all over fashion magazines and celebrity necks and the craft mags want to be able to say they are on trend. Sadly, this crazy-big Drama Mama was too much for the editors. The requested a simpler version, with central elements no bigger than 1×2 inches. Huh? That is not dramatic!
So, I think I’ve only worn this once before today. I thought it would be difficult to wear but its not. It is lightweight and comfortable (note the woven belt-strapping neck band!) and actually easy to wear.
This necklace is also popular; I was stopped by at least 5 people today asking about this necklace. That never happens. Must be the drama.
Saturday, March 26th
26 Mar
This necklace is made of ceramic ‘fan’ beads and silk cording. The ceramic beads are all by Elaine Ray and the silk cording laces them together. The many dangling silk cords have beads knotted along the ends. The beads chime against each other when I move: the effect is either lovely or annoying, depending on your personal tolerance for noises.
I love that this necklace is both dramatic and simple. The construction is so basic: laced silk holds the pieces together, yet the effect is over-the-top in scale.
Tonight I wore this necklace with a favorite blouse and sweater combo. The necklace is a bit tribal for the floral blouse and cardigan sweater but I like that mix.
Friday, March 25th
25 Mar
Today I wore two necklaces. I have been avoiding this as I really want to stretch out my favorites but I had a big day planned and I really needed to feel comfortable and suitably adorned.
I wore these necklaces with a raspberry-colored shirtdress and olive green platform shoes. It’s kind of an odd combination but the dress seems put together and crisp, and the shoes are a bit funky. Seeing as how I have orange stripes in my black hair a vibrant color combo shouldn’t be completely unexpected now and then.
The shorter necklace was a gift from my friend Joan. The turquoise discs are very good quality, clear blue American turquoise. The vintage button clasps the beads and can be worn front or back.
The longer necklace features a vintage carved cat made into a pendant by Susan Reynolds of Bijoux Savvy. She created a tiny, sparkly beaded collar for the kitty. The sides of the necklace are made with Elaine Ray small washer beads strung sideways with gold-colored SoftFlex and dark raspberry-red Toho seed beads. The necklace is finished with leather cording and a brass clasp.
I didn’t realize how often I layer necklaces until I started this blog. Almost every day I want to add a second or third necklace but I haven’t until now. It’s funny, I almost never make multi-strand necklaces.
I wonder why?
Tuesday, March 22nd
22 Mar
I like this necklace because it contains a mix of art beads by two different artists and the greeny-gold color looks good with just about everything. I made it with a figural bead from Lisa Daly (it is flipped over in the picture so the torso is just showing it’s rear end…how cheeky!) and a grouping of Elaine Ray beads. I also used a chunk of real Tibetian turquoise that is intensely olive green and black right there at the center. The length of the necklace is finished with some Japanese kimono cording with black, gold, green and red flowers.
This necklace started out much longer but as I worked on it I kept removing bead after bead. The Lisa Daly figural bead had been on my work table for a long time and I kept struggling with how to use it. It is a bead of a naked female torso, after all. The front of the bead is obviously female and voluptuous.
Maybe too much for mixed company.
I decided that a more monochromatic design would minimize the distraction of the figures assets while making the most of the pretty glass coloring. The design also looks good even if one or more of the beads flips over. I don’t like messing with my jewelry once I have it on.
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