What do I think of when I think of Spring?  Pretty May flowers of course!  Vintage flowers took center stage when I designed  jewelry for Artbead’s “Beauty of Spring” Design Partner’s theme.  

When I selected beads for my design, I did something a little different.  Rather than search for interesting focal beads, I decided to  choose beads that would be perfect in a supporting role.  I wanted beads that added the right something to the overall design.   I was just dying to try a new tutorial by Diane Cook, her beautiful Crystal Princess Drop secret.  I had a whole collection of vintage chandelier crystals waiting to be used.  I tried some image transferring with them, but that technique still needs some work.  So I set out to make a few Crystal Princess Drop focals, and needed just the right accent beads. 

Would you like to see how I used these seemingly simple beads?  You may have to look closely, but they’re mixed in here  – adding their special sparkle.

For “Joy in Bloom”, I wanted to add some metal stamping, and created a tear-drop shaped pendant to add to the focal cluster.  For a twist, I wired on a Swarovski 12mm tear drop sew-on.  The crystal tear drop was stitched on to the metal with sterling wire.  To further add to the tear-drop shapes, I also chose a stamped Hill Tribe flower charm from ArtBead’s vast selection of Thai silver charms.  Crystal 5mm roundelles  were paired with vintage mother of pearl beads.  And those Swarovski Black Diamond polygons added a bit of subtle sparkle as well.

“Joy in Bloom” available on Etsy

“Contessa” features another crystal chandelier pendant, paired with a gorgeous vintage rhinestone flower.  Wirewrapped links of pyrite were combined with the Swarovski crystal roundelles.  These roundelles are just the perfect addition when working with vintage components, and they come in several sizes and finishes. I’ve added an incredible old filigree chain that I found in Leesburg last summer…and I finished it off with one of my prized vintage rhinestone box clasps.

“Contessa” available on Etsy

Did you happen to notice the wonderful old velvet as a prop underneath my jewelry?  It is absolutely scrumptious….and I’ll share more about it in a future blog post!

Thank you for visiting, new and old blog friends.  It sure makes my day to know you stopped by!

 Disclaimer:  The beads used in these pieces were provided free of charge by Artbeads for my participation in the Artbeads blogging program. I have not received any payment from Artbeads.com, and this post represents only my personal opinion.