Wonders of the Sea

Hello everyone!

The summer holidays are starting next week woohoo! I’ve been preparing for the summer by looking at some fabulous ocean inspired designs and making a few pieces of jewellery for my beach wardrobe too. I absolutely adore these seaside wonders which include beautiful Pearls, coral and an array of Turquoise Shades. I also discovered some incredible seed bead pieces of art and handmade glass sea creatures which are truly breathtaking.

Firstly I came across this free tutorial from Allison cooling which features Blue and Green faceted beads and Gold painted shells. Next time you go to the beach keep an eye open for small shells to use in your jewellery projects, the gold paint adds a luxurious touch to the design. Take a look at Allison's free tutorial here.

Next I came across this gold vermeil starfish beaded crochet necklace by Mollymoojewels. It features Semi-Precious beads, pearls and Czech Glass Beads which are beautifully incorporated in the bronze crochet cord. This necklace has a charming boho vibe and would be ideal to wear on the beach!

I adore coral and as soon as I saw this intricate seed bead necklace from Mapenzi Gems I was in love! It consists of vibrant red Seed beads woven into a superb statement necklace. The coral effect is created with red Masai beads giving it an ethnic element. The designer Baiju Shah uses an incredible range of semi-precious gemtones to create striking necklaces.

Beads are not just for making beautiful jewellery, Eleanor Pigman creates sublime jewellery and art work with her delicate seed bead embroidery. She specialises in animals and sea creatures which all have breathtaking detail.

This intricate beaded bib collar by The Sage Wreath is full of vivid blue tones and includes a sea sediment jasper cabochon as a prominent focal point. The colours are just incredible and the seed bead stitching is impeccable. This 'Cosmos' necklace is not just a piece of jewellery it is a wearable work of art.

My absolute favourite find are these glass sea creatures by Glass & Fire. Ron Murphy makes all of his glass pendants by hand and sculptures using a glass blowing method. He features a variety of octopus, sea turtle, sea horses, crabs and mermaids.

For my own sea inspired project this week I have experimented with soutache in a variety of blue tones and incorporated Czech faceted beads. I used a dazzling Swarovski rivoli as my focal point to add an exquisite sparkling touch. For the necklace I have combined a range of sizes of Miyuki seed beads and completed the soutache with a trendy tassel. What do you think?

If you fancy a go at making your own sea inspired designs we have a huge range of soutache cord, Miyuki seed beads, sem-precious gemstones and pearls for you to use in your creative jewellery making. Take a look at our free jewellery tutorial for this divine coral necklace which would look stunning as part of your summer fashion look.

So what do you think to my ocean themed finds, which is your favourite? I hope you have plenty of inspiration to get creating your own impressive designs. I'd love to hear your comments, please drop me a message below let us know what you will be making for this summer....

Claire xo