HALLOWEEN & FALL PROJECTS

Some of my spooky Halloween projects, the day after Halloween!  :)  I'll start by showcasing this incredible Staci Louise Day of the Dead pendant.  I used 16 gauge copper wire for the outside frame, hammered it flat and then molded it around the pendant with my free form wire wrapping.  The finish is siri ribbon, in three different colors to add some pizazz.  I truly love this unusual pendant.  I've been holding onto it for awhile ... it took me this long to determine how to do it justice.  These colors are not the "norm" for this time of year, and I think that's what I love about it, along with the beauty of Staci's creativity.

Pumpkins and more pumpkins... the colors speak for themselves don't they?  F A L L harvest.  I love using good quality lucite too -- when I can find it.  It's so light and sometimes you really can't tell what it's made out of.  I found pumpkins, leaves, copper spacers and other quality beads on Etsy at Lula Beads.  She's fast at shipping too. 

The top green pumpkins are Czech glass, but the two below are both lucite.  The larger pumpkin truly looks like glass, but without the weight.

The earrings below are Czech glass on top, w/lucite caps and translucent rounds below, and then fire polish rondelle dangles.  Such a fun combo.  Luckily I have a husband who lets me spread LOTS of beads around the table as I create, so I can see what I have to choose from as I go.  . it's not always a very pretty site, but lets my artistic juices flow a bit smoother... :)  Thanks, Noah!

These pumpkins are hand blown glass from Heart Beads in Murray, UT.  So darling, but glass can be heavy, so I was careful not to add too many other beads, to keep the weight doable. 
  

Now for a few darlin' witches.  Using good quality anything -- gemstones or Czech glass or whatever - always raises the level of any finished product in my opinion.  And, these are not the normal colors of Halloween so can be worn throughout the fall.  I think these came together so adorbs!  The copper spacers add some real interest and some fun to the overall look! Scroll on down for a few different options.

Some unusual bone skulls added for fun with crystal inlaid pear drops.  I purchased these at that incredible store I mentioned above -- Heart Beads.  They are not on-line, unfortunately.  But, its certainly well worth a trip just to walk in that store.  Wonderful selection and nice people too.

LIGHT AS A FEATHER!

Nothing too original or incredibly mind blowing here, but I've joined the leather craze and been trying my own scissor hand at cutting tear drops, rounds and straight lines!  Not as easy as I remember it, especially now that we can all zoom way in on any picture... so don't look too close at my cut marks.  I've added my own flair... course... and am trying really hard to just keep them light and airy instead of adding too many dangles.  That's the hard part, because if I add too much, they are no longer light as a feather!  I'm in a summer mindset of creating light, fun accessories, saving the longer-term more intense creating for fall and winter.  These fit the bill perfectly...and these are my first attempts, so stay tuned.  I think there may become many variations of this fun style for JDreams. 

I am also just starting to order from a couple leather vendors, so if you have any suggestions on good people to order from, please let me know.  There are a lot of awesome options out there that I didn't know even existed.

The leather portion of these earrings -- the teardrop -- measures 2"

                              These are smaller -- about 1 1/4" length