Today is the reveal for Sarah of Saturday Sequins blog hop. Several weeks ago Sarah put out a call to participate in a blog hop using her favorite medium, sequins! I hadn't worked with sequins in a long time so I thought I would join in the fun. I used sequins when I was doing a lot of wearable art and I collected some vintage ones that I wanted to use. The picture above is the pendant I made using some vintage, some new, sequins from my stash.
The long curving sequins are vintage, purchased at a vintage wearables show many years ago. I've been wanting to use them for a long time. So, they became the starting point for this necklace. That, and the fact that I'm really in Fall mode right now! I have a lot of fall fabrics with beautifully colored leaves and other fall foliage. So, I chose this piece because I loved the colors and some of the vintage sequins were bronze and copper colored, matching some of the colors in the fabric. The long curving ones that are the foundation for the design are actually bronze, though they look more gold in the picture. There are some little double leaves that are copper and some classic round gold ones that I bought when we lived in Maine many years ago. I guess they're almost vintage too!! I added some irridecent peach flat round ones and some copper round and square sequins, along with some seed beads that matched the colors in the fabric, and went to work. I had so much fun with this pendant! First of all, I loved working with the colors. That is what I love the most about fall, all the rich colors. Then it was so much fun to work with the sequins! Add to that working with fabric to make a piece of jewelry again and I had a great time! I love to use fabric in jewelry making and I haven't done it in a long time. What I do is fuse the fabric shape to Lacy's Stiff Stuff and start working. Here is a picture of the entire necklace.
The necklace part is a covered cord. I love making covered cords for necklaces. They are soft and comfortable to wear. I attached the pendant to it with beads and made the end caps out of wire. I turned wirewrapped pieces around a mandrel and made cone shaped end caps, adding the same black fire polished beads to the ends. The clasp I had made in a class and it was brass and copper wire like the end caps so I used that. Here's a close up of the end caps and clasp.
This was such a fun hop! Thanks to Sarah for thinking of it and organizing it. Be sure to check out all the other participants on her blog here http://www.saturdaysequins.com/2012/09/sequintastic-participants.html
I have never heard of covered cords before. I'll have to check it out. Lovely palette!
ReplyDeleteAmbra
What a gorgeous necklace! The colors, the use of sequins, and the design are all amazing. I can't wait for Cyndi Lavin to see this piece -- she does cool things with fabric too, and I bet she'll love it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining us for the hop, Maryanne! I'm glad it was fun for you -- I might hold another one in April, and you're more than welcome to participate in that one, too. :)
I love the sequined pendant, but what I'm really impressed by is the cloth-covered cord. I just don't see things like this at craft festivals.
ReplyDeleteHow do you get the fabric to hug so tightly to the necklace? It's all a mystery to me.
I am about a "6th gradeer" when it comes to beading. I know a bunch of techniques, but not enough to acheive the type of mastery with it that you do.
Your blog posts just make me Ooooo and Awwww like a kid at a circus.
Thanks for sharing!
What a perfect interpretation for Fall. Love those long sequins. Don't believe I have ever seen anything like them. xox
ReplyDeleteHi Maryanne,
ReplyDeleteWow now that is a beautiful fall necklace that I can just envision around your beautiful neck. I love those long spiny sequins.
Therese
This just screams autumn, but it also looks kind of island-y as well! I love the way you used the sequins in an understated way, more class than brass. Very cool!
ReplyDeleteVibrant and really pulled together. Well done.
ReplyDeleteWow - what a pretty piece!
ReplyDeleteYour pendant is so neat with it's smattering of sequins and beads. I like the almost galaxy pattern to it, but still so fall-inspired. Your wrapped cord is AWESOME. I'd love to know how you do that! Anyway, you definitely had a vision with your creation and didn't approach this all willy-nilly like me!
ReplyDeleteThis knocked me out! So many great ideas here that my head is buzzing.
ReplyDeleteThe cloth covered cord is fabulous... never saw it done before! The necklace is wonderful.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful colourful necklace! The sequin embroidery is lovely, really like the flowing lines created with the long curving sequins. Fab job!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, and the way you ended the necklace is equally beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesomely created pendant! You did a great job with this!!!!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful work, love the colors, love the design. I love how you wrapped the rope with the same fabric.
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful... Love the fall colors.
ReplyDeleteWonderful piece. I love the texture and interest the variety of sequins gives and the matching cord really completes the piece.
ReplyDeleteThat sequin work is yummy! So pretty! I love the colors!
ReplyDeleteLove the colors in the necklace.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love love love those colors! What a unique way to feature sequins :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is sooooooooooo cool! Great take in the challenge!
ReplyDeleteWow! That is a really great piece!
ReplyDeleteReally stunning - I just love the autumn theme and the covered cord is spectacular - it's a wonderful mystery how you create such beautiful pieces.
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