I have two limited sets of my stick pearl necklaces to release tomorrow, and then all of my messes will have been cleaned up and I will be free to begin a new project. Yay! I am calling them "Kingfisher" and "Bluebird".
Both of these new colorways feature 2X AB Swarovski bicones instead of crystal pearls. I love the flashes of color and mystery, plus, eliminating the line of pearls at the top of the yoke allows me to imagine the shape as a bird in flight with body, tail and wings. When the stick pearls are not white, I find the design looses much of its wintery aspect. These sticks are a luminous golden copper. When I first went button hunting for them I found this, and loved the colors.
But it was too big and lacked any luminosity that might have equalled the pearls. Then I saw a beautiful photo of a Dwarf Kingfisher Fledgling by Miguel David De Leon in the Philippines. And that led me back to the colors I had originally imagined.
I used Dark Topaz Matte AB in the yoke to hint at the beautiful depth of the wings, and tasked the 2XAB Topaz bicones with adding flashes of lavender and pink. I can't effectively show you those flashes in still photos, and I did not try to get all the vibrant color in the finished product. Well, actually, I did, but I personally would not have worn it anywhere, for fear of knocking observers eyes out. I made four bezels before finding one I really liked and let it teach me about the rest of the work. I love the necklace on white, black, and neutrals, and especially on an orchid sweater. I think I got the essence of the beautiful bird without going too far over the top. Here's a link to the Kingfisher kit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/793566809/kit-only-for-kingfisher-a-hazy-shade-of
The Bluebird colorway is similar to this one. But I had only 3 sets of stick pearls and only one of them has all 19 sticks. The other two have only 17, so the result will be a 3/8" shorter necklace. My Kingfisher sample (and most of my other samples) is made with only 17 sticks, so it would be similar to my Kingfisher sample in size, except for my using a 1" button for the Bluebird focal, instead of the 7/8" one for the Kingfisher.
I re-colored my illustration in what I think is a reasonable image of the finished piece. Since I had only three sets of parts, I did not make up a sample. But I will , if you don't want them, lol!
But it was too big and lacked any luminosity that might have equalled the pearls. Then I saw a beautiful photo of a Dwarf Kingfisher Fledgling by Miguel David De Leon in the Philippines. And that led me back to the colors I had originally imagined.
I used Dark Topaz Matte AB in the yoke to hint at the beautiful depth of the wings, and tasked the 2XAB Topaz bicones with adding flashes of lavender and pink. I can't effectively show you those flashes in still photos, and I did not try to get all the vibrant color in the finished product. Well, actually, I did, but I personally would not have worn it anywhere, for fear of knocking observers eyes out. I made four bezels before finding one I really liked and let it teach me about the rest of the work. I love the necklace on white, black, and neutrals, and especially on an orchid sweater. I think I got the essence of the beautiful bird without going too far over the top. Here's a link to the Kingfisher kit: https://www.etsy.com/listing/793566809/kit-only-for-kingfisher-a-hazy-shade-of
The Bluebird colorway is similar to this one. But I had only 3 sets of stick pearls and only one of them has all 19 sticks. The other two have only 17, so the result will be a 3/8" shorter necklace. My Kingfisher sample (and most of my other samples) is made with only 17 sticks, so it would be similar to my Kingfisher sample in size, except for my using a 1" button for the Bluebird focal, instead of the 7/8" one for the Kingfisher.
I re-colored my illustration in what I think is a reasonable image of the finished piece. Since I had only three sets of parts, I did not make up a sample. But I will , if you don't want them, lol!
Here's my color inspiration, with some of my bead selections.
And here's more of the beads with the stick pearl and button sets.
I colored the buttons for this version with Alcohol Inks. They are not a perfect match for the sticks, but they have fabulous nacre and great rainbow effects. The bezel beads reflect their gold and copper sheen and I think they will be lovely in situ. The Smoke Topaz Matte AB Yoke hints at the birds reddish browns, while flashing a bit of blue, and Swarovski Smoke Topaz AB continues the flashes of blue and periwinkle. It's all mysterious blues and browns with hints of purple. Here's a link to the Bluebird kit in my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/listing/793453695/kit-only-for-bluebird-a-hazy-shade-of
I'll get my listings completed this evening, and all the beads packed up and will list officially at noon tomorrow. I will mark down the two Bluebird listings with only 17 instead of 19 sticks by $5, and if you are quick, you can choose.
The brown stick pearls are drilled through the flat part of the stick, so they are more likely to sit sideways instead of flat in the completed project. Many of them have interesting character but not as much size variation as usual.
So. That concludes the informational portion of this post. But now I want to wish you all good health. Please stay safe through the Covid 19 crisis. Keep your social distance. There will be a time to have your beautiful jewelry admired up close again, but this is not it. There will be a time to wear it out to dinner, or to a concert, even though we can't today. I have gotten to know some of you well, especially you repeat buyers, and I love you all. Please take good care of yourselves and families, and I'll see you on the other side!
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