Stuff I Made

[Incik Boncuk]

I woke up this morning and felt like I needed to make a new pair of earrings. Because I only have eleventy million pairs already.

These are FWP drops I bought for the purpose of remaking - they were just the pearl on the hook. I dug out some ombre tourmaline beads I had and made them into drops. The holes in the tourmaline were so small that I had to use 28 gauge wire, so I'm not sure how durable these will be.

 

[BWeaves]

They're lovely. At least earrings don't get the wear and tear of a tin-cup necklace or bracelet, so they should hold up well.

 

[pattye]

Oh, pretty, pretty! Love earrings with some movement! I agree with BWeaves, the 28g wire is fine.

 

[86Corvettegirl]

Those are lovely, Incik Boncuk .

 

[Red]

Very pretty.

 

[Incik Boncuk]

Thank you, BWeaves, Pattye, 86C and Red!

I am generally pretty gentle on jewelry. My only concern is that they may get caught in my hair. In addition to being such a fine gauge, it's also fine silver, so softer than sterling. But I will wear and enjoy them and just be extra careful

 

[linda.wald]

Lovely earrings! I really like the ombre effect. They look like fun to wear. Just don't wear near young children, human or otherwise.

 

[Incik Boncuk]

Thank you, Linda! These are just about the last of a lovely ombre strand of tourmaline I bought many years ago. I wish I had more!

Not to worry - it's only us old folks around here.

 

[Gemandpearlover]

Those are so pretty Incik.

 

[Incik Boncuk]

Thank you, Gemandpearlover!

 

[eolian pearls]

What a lovely creation Incik! Gemstones and pearls are my favorite combination, your new earrings ar just perfect!

 

[Incik Boncuk]

Thank you, eolian!

 

[Charlotta]

Those earrings looks great.

 

[Incik Boncuk]

Thank you, Charlotta!

 

[amti]

Lovely ombre earrings! I bet they get a lot of wear!

 

[Incik Boncuk]

Thank you, Amti! I have worn them a couple times already!

 

[Incik Boncuk]

Just before everything shut down (here in the US) I placed my first order from Wen. Not having purchased from her before, I didn't buy a whole lot. She shipped quickly, and then . . . they sat. Who knows where? Last week, seven weeks later, I finally received the package. I spent a couple days knotting the strands I'd gotten, and now I have no more pearls to knot. :-(

So before I show what I made, I have a question: do any of you have good sources in the US - similar in price and quality - to Wen's goods? At the moment I think that ordering from outside the country is an exercise in frustration. But man, knotting is fun!!

Here's the first one: 9.5 - 10.3mm champagne rice FWP. These weren't as champagne-y as I was expecting, but I really like the strand for the rosy glints that show in just the right light. I was able to use all the pearls on this 16" strand - none had any blemishes.

 

[Incik Boncuk]

The next one I made was a strand of 11 - 12mm white rice FWP. I had to leave 2 of the pearls from the strand out as they were very dull. But otherwise these were nice, although this size is a little large for my small frame. I wanted to try out this larger size in an inexpensive version to see if I'd want to spend $$$$ on a high quality strand of this size. For me, the answer is no - just a little overwhelming on me.

 

[Incik Boncuk]

The last 2 strands I got from Wen I made into one long necklace. These are 7mm golden rainbow rice FWP. I love this necklace! The colors change so much depending on the light. I was able to use every single pearl from the 2 strands. I wish I'd gotten more of these!

 

[Incik Boncuk]

Lastly, once I realized I was in for a long wait for the order from China, I ordered one strand from Rio Grande to see how the quality was there. This strand is 11.5 - 13mm ringed white and grey FWP. When I got them I was underwhelmed. And I remain underwhelmed. To be fair, they were listed as A grade so I knew I was taking a chance. Of course they are far too big for me. I had to remove 6 of the pearls that either were very dull or had significant blemishes, so the resulting necklace is quite short, maybe 14.5 inches. Even having chosen the best of the pearls, the strand is quite dull. There are a couple individual pearls with OK luster but overall, not so great. It's unlikely I'll wear this but I wanted to give it a try. And I wanted to do more knotting! It's so meditative.