Today’s featured item: Alchemist’s Pet! 31 stunning Swarovski crystals and so many more beads than I would ever want to count. This lovely companion is also 20% off until midnight tomorrow!
Nine Dragons Collar. Legends insist that the Five Great Desert Temples are guarded by nine dragon siblings; two to each directional temple, the eldest one in the center. They are fair dragons, now, and certainly would not do harm to anyone who approached without mallice in their heart; but they will defend their land and each other from fools. The treasure, you see, is what changes with every telling. Is it gold? Jewels? Knowledge? Power beyond human comprehension? No one has ever managed to return to tell.
The end to a spectacular dragon hunting expedition! Which is to say that my (very patient, supportive) partner in crime and I spent 15 minutes combing through a huge bin of cloisonne beads just to find these tiny articulated dragons that I had never seen anywhere before. And then some weeks later, this happened. True story.
More pictures and much more information are available on the gallery page, and the necklace itself is currently for sale.
Sometimes there is something even more wonderful, even more radiant, even more unimaginably magnificent hiding just beneath the surface. Go ahead and tease them.
It started with a button. A beautiful, strange, utterly irresistible button. I bought it the moment I saw it because I could not fathom walking away from that button. And then those two cylindrical beads to either side, mirroring the button’s peacock hues while throwing in a few tricks of their own. The other beads just sort of… gravitated toward it. I can’t explain; I’ve had these elements for well over two years and it finally decided to come together now. Who am I to question?
There is some serious freaking sparkle here. There’s just no way to get the full extent of how amazingly shiny this button-turned-necklace-centerpiece is or how everything else just seems to drape perfectly off of it. It’s over-the-top and elegant all at once. Glamo(u)r-punk? (Seeing as how I was on a steady musical diet of The Killers, The Psychedelic Furs and Planet Funk while I was making this…) I’m just so happy it all came together.
(It’s also currently available for sale.)
Ramum Olivae. Long ago, there was a place I visited that was like a dream. It was endlessly beautiful, inhabited by magnificent giants—that I was tasked with killing. Many times I questioned the slaughter, but still I pressed on, eager to see what would become of me and the world around me, and it was when I saw the giants all laying motionless that I felt the weight of what I’d done. From that day on I left the realm, swearing a self-imposed exile; I no longer deserved to see such beauty. Maybe one day I can return to the Forbidden Land, to witness the landscape again… but there will be no more killing.
Shadow of the Colossus left a lasting impact on me that I’m not sure was intended by Team ICO. I cannot do the epic right with words, but maybe in a beaded peace offering? I’d been wanting to do something with the Eye of the Colossus (an item that doesn’t actually appear in the finished game, but the model and function code still exist in preview builds; yes, this is how much of a geek I am) for quite a long time now, and it all just sort of crashed down around me with a large, round fiber optic cabochon. Then came paint. And beads. Lots and lots of bead and many days of weaving beads to more beads.
I’m so happy with this. Not only did the Eye of the Colossus come out beautifully, but the dark gray beads frame it perfectly, and the “serpent creature” astounds me. Of course those are Swarovski crystals for the eyes. The clasp is one of those hook attachments that I normally use for dragon bracelets, but in this case it was the best choice. There are also sixteen “spines”, one to represent each Colossus. They’re not actually spiny in any way, as they’re held together with thread and flexible. Just thought I’d say so.
(“Ramum olivae” is Latin for “branch of olive”; an olive branch. A peace offering.)
(It also just happens to be available for sale.)
Black, white and silver is classy. Elegant. But just black, white and silver is cold. The answer? The color of life itself: deep, rich crimson.
Admittedly, I’ve yet to identify these stones. They’re heavy, high-gloss, and look to be to be very close to obsidian… but don’t quote me on that. The red stones are jade dyed deep blood red, and I adore them. They have this incredible layered shimmer to them and the occasional black band that works beautifully. All of the wire and the clasp itself are all pure sterling silver. It can be worn with the stylized “leaves” on the silver beads visible, or flipped over so that they’re just plain red. Either way, gorgeous.
(And also available.)
Humility. Proof that I am occasionally capable of something stupid-simple, like painting a shell and crocheting a fuzzy necklace/choker.
It’s still available for sale, by the way.
Midnight Serpent. Original description:
There’s an old tale passed down by the Serpent Clan that parents tell their children, of a little lost girl in the woods. She was alone and frightened and came upon a clearing that she didn’t recognize—but she could see the stars above. “Midnight Serpent, Midnight Serpent, wrap the night around me and keep me safe until I get home.” She said, over and over as she walked until she was too exhausted to go on. She woke up the next morning to find herself just outside of her village, a small diamond mark on her neck… maybe from the Midnight Serpent.
“Charlie” is still available at 20% off on the last day of the Early Generic Holiday Sale!
Submerging. Original description:
Merfolk think human stories about mermaids wanting to live above the sea are silly. Clearly humans would prefer to live below, and not the other way around. The artwork of the merfolk is interwoven with their mythology; this one tells the tale of a young woman who caught a glimpse of a merman and fell deeply in love with him. For years she tried, sometimes with great hope and sometimes with great desperation, to hold her breath longer and longer, getting closer and closer to him until one day, finally, she swam deep enough to see him and reach for his hand. Scholars would have you believe that she merely drowned herself and her dying illusion was that of the merman’s hand reaching back, but any artisan will tell you that the story ends in the strength of the heart, and the magic of true love.
I had wondered some time ago if I would ever rival Atlantis’ Treasure. I suppose it’s a matter of personal preference. 131 (that is, ladies and gentlemen, one hundred and thirty-one) Swarovski crystals combined with a number of glass beads that I refuse to count make this massively sparkly. So of course it barely shows in pictures. ARGH.
It is so insanely sparkly. And still available for sale.
Alchemist’s Pet. Original description:
It’s not uncommon for the most powerful magicians to keep a jeweled snake as a familiar. It’s a bit of a status symbol, admittedly—but alchemists are able to make use of the jewels, and certain magicians can keep spells within them. The result is a “living” familiar, something that moves and appears to have a bit of its own consciousness.
Of course, this is not a jeweled serpent but a jeweled dragon, of a different sort of connotation in magic… Whether the dragon created the alchemist or the alchemist created the dragon remains unclear. I suppose you can ask, if you’d really like to.
I love this necklace. I didn’t when I was in the middle of making it. This is the culmination of possibly a little over two weeks of work. Many, many hours. Many, many beads, and lots of Swarovski crystals. Depending upon the lighting, you will be able to notice the subtle shift in color of the diamonds along her back. It’s a lot more obvious in person, but trying to get bright light on these beads for photographing purposes? No. Just, no.
She’s still available for you magical and/or fashion needs, as well.
No idea how long this took me, but it was my first big chainmaile piece. I’m still kind of proud of it, really. A friend of mine “claimed” it right after I finished it, but through circumstances actually managed to buy it about two years later. I do love it when something I’ve made winds up in the absolute right hands, though.
