A Summer Necklace w/Artbeads.com Components

I love being one of the design partners for Artbeads.com, and I'm really excited to be part of their "Summertime Design Partner's Gallery" featuring gorgeous handmade Summer-Inspired jewelry!

These are some of the beads and findings I received from Artbeads. I fell in love with their selection of Porcelain beads and once I saw the Hand-Dyed Silk Ribbon, I just had to have it! I never worked with ribbon before, so I was attempting something new...expanding my creative side....

and I created this fun & colorful Summer necklace titled, "Surf -n- Sand!" The focal is a Porcelain Starfish, and I just love it! The colors are SO beautiful! As accents, I chose 5mm  Porcelain Cube Beads in colors that I pulled from the starfish. They have a gorgeous glaze on them, and they ended up being the perfect size for the silk ribbon. To accent the cube beads, I used 5mm Bright Sterling Silver Roundels, and they fit the ribbon to a tee. By the way, the silk ribbon I used is "Multi-Blues." I see more of it in my very near future! "wink" "wink" I love Artbeads selection of Charms, and I didn't want the starfish to be all alone, so I added the cutest little Antique Silverplated Seahorse. (It's 18mm x 8mm) I wanted it to be small so it wouldn't overpower the starfish.....just be it's lil buddy. :D 

If you look closely at the making of my necklace, you will see that I didn't use a lot of tools to make it. I simply tied knots between sections of beads, and I used a Sterling Silver Curved Tube Bead (15mm x 3mm w/a ring) and a Sterling jump ring for hanging the starfish & seahorse. To complete the necklace, I threaded the ribbon through a TierraCast Antique Silver Nouveau Duet Link, then knotted one SS roundel bead to each end, leaving about a 1" tail. It's pretty cool in that you can wear it two different ways, and the length is adjustable. You can tie it in a pretty bow or just let the ribbon flow freely. I definitely stepped out of my comfort zone with this jewelry piece, but I love the way it turned out! 

Check back in a couple of days to see my Summer bracelet! To see more Summer-Themed jewelry from talented Artbeads Design Partners, click here. 

Thanks for reading & Happy Creating!

I participate with Artbeads.com blogging community as a Design Partner, therefore, I receive products free of charge in return for honest reviews. I have not been paid for my endorsement as it pertains to the products received. Thank you.