Celebrate the New!

Woohoo!!!!!! I just realized I reached my first 100 sales in my little etsy shop (TerahClassyCreations.etsy.com)!!!! I'm so happy - I thought it would take longer to get here! So I'm celebrating with a sale. Enter 100SALES at checkout for 10% off your entire purchase.  That discount even counts towards already discounted items in my new SALE section. This sale is good through the end of September 2013!

Ironic too, that the 100 sales also coincides with my 10 year wedding anniversary, so 10% off is an apt amount!  Almost everything I make is one of a kind or limited edition.  So if you see something you love, so get it before it's gone!

I'd like to take a moment to give you a peek at a few of the newbies to my shop.  It's an eclectic mix, but at the same time a really good representation of the variety of different types of things you can find there.

 

This first one was a lot of fun with wire & freshwater pearls!  It includes viking knit and wire weaving techniques!  It's my first all wire-work necklace available for sale!

 

The following shows a couple of different tags now available for personalization + with even more font options to work with than before!  If you want to see all of them, visit:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/TerahClassyCreations?ref=si_shop

 

These are tiny, rustic looking tags that add a little vintage flair!

 

 

The above tags are a very light-weight metal that has a shiny black finish - I like to call them my onyx tags.

The copper tag above is much larger than the others and would look great just on a plain copper chain - have it personalized with your own initials or a friend's initials for a great gift!

These square, brass tags have an aged look, but at the same time have been buffed to a shiny finish!  Did I mention you can add any of these tags to almost any of my jewelry designs for great personalized gifts?

 

 (The tags in the picture just above are genuine sterling silver - for extra special gifts.)

 

 

 

This set was a lot of fun to make.  A friend of mine presented me with a vintage piece of jewelry that was just begging for new life!  So I beaded this asymmetrical leaf necklace dotted with a golden colored fresh-water pearl.  The matching earrings include 14 karat gold plated chain and french hooks!

 

This is my absolute latest item!  Just in time for the weather change!  I  knit this by hand in a thick and thin yarn that is a billowy, super-soft cotton.  So it is comfortable, but won't be too hot for pre-winter wear.  It is an infinity scarf - so it is a continuous loop that you can wear long like a huge knit necklace or double it for a striking cowl.  I love these colors, and just had to intertwine them in  a center cable for more fun!  The thick & thin yarn also adds to its character because you an see the small changes in texture.

Don't forget, enter the code 100SALES at checkout to receive 10% off your entire purchase!  (Only good through September 30, 2013)

Have fun!

Sincerely,

Terah
TerahClassyCreations.etsy.com
Facebook.com/TerahsClassicCreationsStudio

Evolution of an Earring

These little black and gold earrings are a whim of a creation one night.  

I thought they were nice.  But here is where I learned that the opinion of a friend is priceless.  With this little addition, these earrings went from classic and nice to stand-out.  Thanks for the in-put Katie!  SOLD

I'm In Beadwork Magazine!!!!

EEEeeeek!!!  That's about what I did today when I went to my mailbox!!  You see, I received my issue of the October/November 2011 issue of Beadwork today!

I usually like getting it, but this time I was especially excited because my version of the Brilliant Buckle Bracelet was featured in their W.O.R.D. (What Our Readers Did) section.  I was so excited, I just had to share!!  If you're wondering what I'm talking about, here's the link to the original post about this bracelet when I first made it!  (And this is the VERY picture that appears in their magazine!! :->)

http://terahsclassiccreations.blogspot.com/2011/02/buckle-bracelet.html

So go out and look in the October/November issue of Beadwork, on page 10 & you'll see what I mean!!  You can say you saw it here first!!  :-)

Now it's time for me to do the dance of joy!!!

'Lions and Tigers' Beadwoven Tile Bracelet

A while ago I posted 10 Ways To Break A Creative Slump.  Since then I realized there's another great way to get inspired. . . . 

Join some sort of a group that is into creative challenges!  For example, I'm part of a group called Etsy Beadweavers.  To be part of this group we have to enter one of their 12 creative challenges per year.  I hadn't been able to enter it yet, because of my own time constraints.  But the challenge for September is "Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!  - a throw-back to The Wizard of Oz!  This really got the ideas flowing!  Just the name is very indicative of the piece I chose to make.

I'm calling it "'Lions and Tigers' Beadwoven Tile Bracelet."  

 Can you see why I called it that?

Any guesses?

.

I decided to make a "fabric" square (or tile) of beaded tiger stripes, and then chose a swirly gold pattern to represent the lion.  Ironically the tile containing the swirls also could represent the "twister" that picked Dorothy up and took her to the land of Oz!  I love that it has a double-meaning!  The gold frames on each of the beaded tiles and the gold-tone metal connectors represent the yellow-brick road.  (Incidentally, the bracelet itself could represent the road, since it looks like a path of stepping stones leading you somewhere!)

If you look closely you will notice the faceted red crystals that connect the "tiles" of beaded fabric mimic the  color of Dorothy's ruby slippers.  Finally, I chose to use two tiny, box clasps in the shape of bows to finish it, just like the bows on her iconic, sparkly ruby slippers.

So this will be my first submission to an Etsy Beadweaver's Challenge!!!  This will be fun!!  So don't forget to take a look at the Etsy Beadweavers blog!  It shows all the entries, and from September 9 -15, you can put your two cents in, and let them know which piece is your favorite!!

Hematite Studded Lemon Drop Earrings!!

I promised you another variation of my Lemon Drop Earrings - so here it is!

  These are a little bid edgier and are an exact match for the Lemon Drop Necklace!  If you want to see more, visit my Etsy Shop.

Lemon Drop Earrings - variation 1

Tah dah!!!  Here they are!!  The simple, yet bold accompaniment to my Lemon Drop Necklace!!  This is only 1 variation.  The others are soon to come!!!

Lemon Drop Necklace

Here it is!!!  The Lemon Drop Necklace!! (Thanks to my husband for the nice name.)

I had mentioned that I wanted to do more with the buckle idea.  I had been toying with the idea of a buckle necklace, and I went through many different possibilities including making the buckle double as a clasp.  But I went with a different shaped buckle - a diamond instead of a rectangle.  This time I studded it with hematite rounds (as you can see) adding some visual as well as physical weight. 

I love assymetrical design and thought that it would lend itself well to this design.  So I made the  triangular "buckle"  center stage, but put it off to the side.  The 3-D triangle is the springboard for the three tiers of chain that flow from it.

(By the way, the necklace coloring was inspired by a black and yellow dress I have that also has flowing lines - here's a picture of the fabric.)

Then to add to the femininity, I added the yellow and black striped lentil beads as dangles punctuated by hematite rounds.  It finishes with a sterling plated toggle clasp that I've been eyeing for a while!! 

So it's kind of a fun piece that adds a dramatic and bold punch!!  Hope everyone likes it!!  Two styles of matching earrings are to follow soon. . .!!!  :-)

Just curious, does anyone have any other ideas for jewelry/accesories that could include buckles?

Swirly Buckle Bracelet

 Here's the latest - the Swirly Buckle Bracelet!!!  This is kind of a fun and funky version of the original Buckle Bracelet!  The pattern on it reminds me of the illustrations of swirling windstorms in ancient drawings.  I designed this "swirly" pattern especially for this bracelet.

The swirly design is mimicked in it's clasp (shown above - made with non-tarnish square wire).

This design works pretty much like a belt (but for your wrist)  The smaller end is threaded through the opposite side, through the buckle, and the metal clasp hooks onto the 

Swarovki crystal at this end of the bracelet.

Which ends up looking like this!!!

To get a better perspective, here is the entire bracelet laying out flat.  I used various textures and finishes of Delicas in this creation - silver-lined, matte metallic, to opaque.  So even though there are two variations of greyish-silver in the background, it's still loaded with visual interest and impact.  So what does everyone think?  I'm already working on another slight color-variation to this pattern.  But what do you want to see next?  Blues?  Earth tones?  Just metallics?  Yellow/black?  Let me know - I'm all ears!

SOLD

Diamonds are Forever

This bracelet is absolutely my newest creation!  The inspiration this time was directly out of Beadwork Magazine.  The three-dimensional design really caught my eye.  I changed it, but only a little.  The beads I used are all slightly larger than those called for in the magazine, which made it more bold!  (I used size 8 seed beads, size 10 delicas, and size 11 charlottes.)  Also, I "strung" it using two strands for more stability, and went with a flashy hot pink and black for the high contrast.  This was a lot of fun to make, and even more fun to wear!  ***AVAILABLE***