Sunday, January 24, 2010

Not Without...

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and the fine folks over at Artbeads.com sent over some goodies to play with. The result is my humble offering, "Not Without".
I was asked, what does "Not Without" mean. In essence, this double-negative means that you are always loved. You are not without love. In making this piece I used 8mm Swarovski crystal rounds, 12mm Swarovski crystal margarita sequins, 6mm Siam Swarovski crystal margarita sequins, an elongated heart-shaped copper-plated bezel, copper chain, natural brass filigree, gunmetal chain, and a sweet heart lobster clasp.

When I was working on the focal, I knew that the proportions of the heart were too large for a single butterfly filigree piece, so I used two. The lacy pattern of the stamped out brass adds a touch of delicacy and "light-hearted" romance. To do this, I carefully removed the excess and brought out the power tools, attaching the filigree pieces to the heart bezel. I then added a collage I did using painted vintage papers. Once the glue was dry, I filled the bezel in with ICE resin.

I wanted the piece to have a lot of movement, so I made a bunch of copper headpins and used those to create wire-wrapped dangles with the Swarovski crystal sequins. The crystals were perfect to add sparkle and bright, ruby red color. These were attached to various links of chain. I think the dark gray-black of the gunmetal chain gives this heart piece a little bit of an edge to it.

I'm pleased with the way these Valentine's Day components came together and created a piece that is not without a lot of my love. (Oh, and if you act quickly, you can save 15% off all Valentine's Day themed items!)

Required FTC Disclosure: These items came free of charge. I was not paid by Artbeads.com for my honest review of their products.

18 comments:

Cindy Gimbrone said...

I love "Not Without!" The filigree, the crystals, the heart, the red color all sings! It's pitch perfect for Valentine's Day!

:-) Cindy

Lorelei Eurto said...

love the crystal dangles. I have to get me a small torch so i can make head pins. seriously! :) Nice work as always Andrew!

Susan Marling said...

That is beautiful - the reds are so rich and the heart is great.

Jeannie said...

BEAUTIFUL.... Being loved unconditionally.

Mary Harding said...

Beautiful piece. Thanks for including all the details on your intricate construction and thoughts about making it. Really interesting.

Vintage Blue Studio said...

Andrew! This necklace is gorgeous!!! And I love the pendant with the ice resin...love that stuff.

Oh, I'm participating in One World One Heart so I'm giving away some of my handcrafted ceramic beads and charms. Thought you might be interested in that. You can never have too many beads. hehe.

Mel Mel said...

Oh I LOVE this necklace, I'm sorry i'm without it. Wonderful work.

SueBeads said...

I love the heart pendant that you made - it's fantastic!

Gaea said...

Soooo pretty! Love the whimsy of the wings!

Nancy said...

Wow! This is stunning!!

Marcia DeCoster said...

love our red hear, the sentiment, the butterfuly wings, the chain, nice job!

Nancy said...

Andrew, I saw this again this morning via Artbeads' Facebook post and want to comment again how absolutely gorgeous I think this piece is! It just grabs one's attention with its beauty!

Tammy said...

This is really gorgeous and rich looking.

Jean Katherine Baldridge said...

How I woud love to be not not without this, and its special connotations!

xox jean

Jeffrey said...

Fabulous design and meaning. I like the boldness -- not often a part of Valentine's Day objects.

Paula Lee said...

I am so glad I was introduced to your blog by ABS. Your work is gorgeous as evidenced by this necklace. Just beautiful and so evocative of the meaning of Love. Great piece.

Pat de Verre said...

Adorable!

Pretty Things said...

This is one of my absolute favorites from the Valentine's Day ArtBeads theme!