I'm not Irish. I've got lots of English and a little Scottish, and maybe some Welsh in my blood, but no Irish. But, St Patrick's Day is coming up fast, and I am Irish one day of the year. I gotta get some of that Irish Luck, not to mention the green beer.
In honor of the occasion, I made some Irish inspired designs!
This first necklace is not really irish, just green. The button I used for the focal is new (but it looks old, doesn't it?) - from
fabric.com. I wrapped it in a
Vintaj Dahlia filigree and wire wrapped a chain with these yummy faceted stones. I found the green stones in my stash, with no note, so I do not know what they are, but I would guess green chalcedony, or something very similar. They are so delicious looking in person.
A closer look at the button focal.
I recently picked up this shamrock pendant at
B'Sue's etsy shop. This finish is called "rusty black". I buffed the high areas with my Vintaj metal reliefing block, to bring out the intricate design. I recently bought the mother of pearl pointy oval beads on sale at JoAnn's (why am I buying more beads?? - my hoard is too big already!)
The horseshoe and clover glass cabochon is from
Artthrob Supplies on etsy. Artthrob sells all kinds of cool vintage jewelry supplies. I think I got the clover blanks (used below) for enameling from Artthrob too. I wrapped a Vintaj Violet filigree around the cab. The black beads with the gold designs on them (2 shapes) are from
beadshop.com, from years and years ago. They are made out of plastic, believe it or not, but they are very well made. The faceted round beads are chinese crystal.
This is the same glass cabochon as above, but I glued it into a Vintaj bezel. There is a superstition that horseshoes should be pointed up, so "the luck doesn't run out". Rather than tempt fate twice (above necklace has it pointing down!), I turned this one around. No need to take too many chances! I do have a black cat that zig-zags in front of me all the time! Vintaj chain and bead caps, black chinese crystal.
I love this clover shape (from Artthrob, see above), but it's really only good for making clovers (it won't pass as a "flower"). But it's
perfect for St Patrick's Day jewelry! I mixed in some yellow and orange for contrast and fun. I enameled the clover and the filigree beads, and the little yellow bead caps. The orange spacers are rubber o-rings. They allow me to do my wire wraps nice and tight, without cracking the enamel on the beads.
A closer shot of the enameled clover.
Another clover, in a bluer green. I followed my own lead, and paired it with blue, and an even bluer green. I enameled the clover and filigree beads, just like the previous necklace. The flower chain, from
Primitive Earth, is perfect! I also used rubber o-rings as spacers on this necklace too.
Another angle...
Happy St Patrick's Day everyone!! Have fun and be safe!
