Blingcandescence

Hello readers, and lovers of unusual handmade statement jewellery, it is nice of you to drop by the Caprilicious blog this week. 
Today, it is three years since Caprilicious was born.

To thank my supporters, I had a giveaway of six pairs of snowdrop earrings - And the winners of the Caprilicious Jewellery Birthday giveaway are - drumroll.......................
Eilidh Webster, Lorraine Szymanski, Lucy Sampson, Isobel Neilan, Luisa Heaton and Gillie Mayer - congratulations and thanks for entering the giveaway.  
I hope all those who entered found something to treat yourself with, using the Promo code - everyone's a winner at the Caprilicious Birthday party! 
I would appreciate it if you ladies would follow the Caprilicious blog using either of the links in the sidebar, and I will send you some pretty pictures on the blog each week.

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Staying with the party theme, I celebrated by making some Blingcandescent necklaces - I was on a roll this week! I bought some beautifully shiny trapezoid shaped crystals - you saw some of them used last week- and spent a considerable amount of time separating the loose crystals and putting them in colour coded boxes so that I could get to them easily, and picking out gemstone beads to go with them. 

Brighton

Portugal

Burano, Venice

I drew my inspiration from the pictures above, mixing colours with gay abandon - a pinch of this, and a drop of that, a bit of Bling, and loads of colour.

Guell Parc, Barcelona

Of course one man's Gaudi, is another man's gaudy, not everyone is happy to wear so much colour - I wait to see how these pieces are received with interest. From what I have seen, colourful pieces are eye catching, but then some people seem to mentally shake their heads, drop the piece and move away from it quickly, as if it is going to rear up on it's hind legs and bite them. I am keen to start a colour revolution - Up With Colour, I say!

Colour blocking is a trend that creeps in and out of fashion and is very 'in' at the moment. It is the technique of using blocks of several different solid colors together in one outfit or accessory in a simple, yet extremely interesting look.  Of late I have been using this technique a lot, in my effort to make my jewellery colourful. Colour blocking never looks dated as it seems to come back in fashion just as you think it is going out!

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Colori

Colori is the Italian word for colours, and that seemed like a good place to start.

The pale gold of the crystals seemed to be begging for an injection of colour, so I gave in enthusiastically - agate, quartz, and cats eye glass were all mixed in to give this necklace a multicolour appeal.

Razzle Dazzle

The name for this necklace was lifted from a song from one of my favourite shows - Chicago. Here's a little clip from the movie...

Sodalite and dyed green howlite beads were combined with deep blue crystals and Czech glass for maximum Blingcandescence.

Silk Road - Tribal Bling

The Silk Road is a trade and cultural transmission route through regions of the Asian continent, serving traders, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, and nomads. It stretches from China and India to the Mediterranean Sea.  Besides a trade in silk, paper and other goods from 206 BC, the Silk Road which stretches over 4000 miles, carried another commodity - it was the vehicle which spread Buddhism through Central Asia. 
I recently took delivery of a package containing pewter Buddha beads and just had to use some of them. The rest of the necklace was strung using polymer clay beads that I made myself in an attempt to keep the necklace light, rather than use gemstones which would give the wearer a pain in the neck through sheer weight. The faux lapis nuggets contrast well with the yellow and black 'trade beads', and tassels of sari silk were added to the pendant.

A migraine inducing overdose of Blingcandescence meant that the crystals had to be put away for a while and I made a necklace using what the traders call 'Rain Flower Stone' - which on further research is actually dyed white jade with pretty splotches of colour. Sometimes the beauty of the bead outweighs it's perceived value - I don't care what they are called, as long as they are not being passed off as genuine precious stones.

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Mint Chocolate

I contrasted the yellows and greens of the rain flower stone with mint green chrysocolla lentil shaped beads - it reminded me of the cool colours and taste of mint chocolate. This is a necklace that is cool and screams sophistication for the 'ladies who lunch' - I see it worn in the neckline of a white shirt  at a  venue with tinkling fountains and perfumed interiors, cool as the mint in mint chocolate.

Cinnamon

The spicy warmth of wooden beads that resemble cinnamon sticks, with muted crystals that gleam gently against the skin - another one for the lunchers, easily taking them to an evening do from their luncheon party. I can almost taste the spicy mulled wine one would drink when wearing this piece - very evocative of Christmas mornings and the unwrapping of presents.

Over The Rainbow

I restrung opaque crystals in four colours with contrasting agate teardrops and added a hand carved aventurine clasp - you couldn't ask for more colour blocking than this! This necklace is named after the famous Judy Garland song in The Wizard of Oz, although the colours are bright, it is a very sophisticated piece of jewellery.

Smoke on the Water

Smoke on the water was inspired by an image for free wallpaper I found online - the blues and greys in the picture are echoed in the crystals.

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Fire in the Sky

Anyone who knows their heavy metal will recognise the names of the last two necklaces as lyrics from a song by Deep Purple.  We listened to a lot of Purple in my misspent youth - a touch of nostalgia here. The colours for Fire in the Sky came from a picture of an afterglow at sunset.

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That's as much as I had time for this week - my muse was obsessed with Bling, and neglected the spools of wire that were waiting sadly on the sidelines.  I love those trapezoid shaped crystals and have a few more to make up next week. In the meantime, have a great weekend and catch you next week, same time, same place.
xx