100 Things- #4 A quickie today because LJ was being such a little bitch!

[nightfox]

You know when you sign in to your home page here on LJ it says, "Welcome back..." Today, I really felt like it should have been me saying that to LJ instead. Argg!!

Alright, #4 on my 100 Things list is an example of my love of bright, sunny colours! The beads are all Swarovski crystal (except the shiny brass ones of course) and while I can't quite remember the name they gave this colour, it falls somewhere on the spectrum between amber and orange and very much reminds me of real padparadscha sapphires. The funny thing is that Swarovski makes a "padparadscha" colour that is far too pink to be a good match for the genuine stone. Odd, no?

Anyway, I don't have any more of the original components to show you with this one so I'll just say that the main "gem" stone is Bohemian-Czech glass. If you know your glass work then you know some of the worlds finest glass & crystal comes from the Bohemian region of the Czech Republic where they have been making this exquisite glass since the 13th century. These artists know what they are doing!

All the metal is brass. The amazing thing to me is how closely the glass gem matches the crystals. Most of my Czech glass is vintage while almost all my crystals (including these) are brand new. The colour match on these stones is even closer in person than it appears in the pics! It's rather uncanny but a lucky sort of weird for my sake! Weird luck does seem to be the only kind I have so I'll take it!






Again, I did my best to sharpen up the image so you can see the details but I really do need a better camera to go with my flatbed scanner!

Comments

[analise010.livejournal.com]

I gotta ask, are Swarovski crystals the crystals? Because I see them everywhere and everyone seems to use them, including my mom.

[k-nightfox.livejournal.com]

Yep, that's exactly what they are the crystals. They produce the most consistently excellent crystal in the world. You can find some other nice stuff out there but really, Swarovski is the best when it comes to crystal. I also usually use Swarovski glass pearls if I am not able to use real pearls in a piece. Again, their pearls are superior to just about anyone else's glass pearls (which are a thousand times nicer than acrylic or plastic!).

[elirwen.livejournal.com]

yay, Czech glass!!! :)

Also, I love the colour. :)

[k-nightfox.livejournal.com]

Isn't that colour gorgeous? It reminds me of bright Autumn leaves and brilliant sunsets!

And I am so into the Czech glass, I have stockpiles of the stuff I've been collecting for years. It just can't be matched for quality :D

[elirwen.livejournal.com]

it's great to hear that our country isn't known only for the beer... :D

[k-nightfox.livejournal.com]

Or for having one of the most beautiful capital cities in the entire world? I am drooling to visit some day, one set of my maternal great-grandparents came from there and while we've lost track of the family they left behind, I still want to visit. The heritage connection is just one reason, the other is that every time I see just about any picture of Prague it makes me want to hop on a plane and go soak up the gorgeousness in person!

So, no, for people who know glass, your country produces the best. Of course a lot of people still call it Bohemian glass but most of us who collect/use it just call it Czech and know that means quality!

[elirwen.livejournal.com]

yeah, Prague's awesome. I love living here. I could give you a tour when you get here. :)

Also, Bohemian and Czech are both correct, the term Bohemian is probably even more accurate. But you probably already knew that... :)

[k-nightfox.livejournal.com]

I did actually ;-) but most Americans are clueless so, you go with something they can recognize :D

If I ever scrape up the money to make it to Prague, I will take you up on that offer!!

[floating-fog.livejournal.com]

Haven't been around for ages so I couldn't tell you how much I love your designs! If they'll ever get to Israel I would be the first in line!
Much love hun!

[k-nightfox.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for the lovely compliment!

So, I kinda became a lemming when so many of my friends here on LJ were doing the "100 things meme" and decided to join in and blog about the only thing I do that's even semi-interesting. I make jewelry as a hobby just because I love to. I did not intend this blog to be a self promotion but my bestie has been bugging me for weeks now to start selling my jewelry on Etsy.com and I'm finally getting ready to do so.

My shop should be up and running within a few weeks and I can mail things anywhere! So if you browse my store and see something you actually want, click on the "contact the shop owner" link on the item you're interested in and tell me who you are, I'll give you a very significant discount. ;-) For my friends, I just ask for the cost of the materials & shipping.)

Also if you see a design you like but want a different colour or a companion piece, or even have an idea in your head you'd like me to design for you, I also do commissions. So feel free to ask me for anything and if I can do it, I will.

OK, end of the advertisement ;-) Again, thank you for the very lovely compliment!

[floating-fog.livejournal.com]

Absolutely lovely! I would definitely go and look the moment I have more time, my birthday is next month and I could totally spoil myself with a new jewelry ;)