jewelry: lapis lazuli cursive loops necklace

This piece is my most ambitious so far, as I wanted something special to showcase the real lapis beads I got as a Christmas present.

The loops get their shape from something called memory wire.  Complete pain in the neck to use, but holds its shape very well.  I also used copper lined glass beads and wrapped it in copper wire for accents.  The necklace itself is strung on very strong copper stringing wire.  I hope to get some good pictures of it on a beautiful redheaded friend of mine before listing it on Etsy. :)

New jewelry! Tree of Life and Cherry Blossom pendants

I've been so busy posting on my Crafty Dee Dixon Etsy page and my Crafty Dee Dixon fb page, I've totally forgotten to post on the original Crafty Dee Dixon blog! LOL

Around Christmas I started making a design called the Tree of Life.  I found the idea when researching Celtic inspired designs, and made the first one from scratch.  After that I looked up a tutorial, which streamlined my method a bit.  Here's the ones I put up on Etsy:

The response I got to the Tree of Life (ToL) pendants made me brainstorm other branch/plant type designs I could create in wire and beads.  I tried a branch with tiny beaded cherry blossoms, and loved the way it came out!  I also like that it's something original, never seen anyone else make something like it (yet :)

You can see the first Cherry Blossom branch pendant I made in the picture above.  Below are some rectangular variations, which I like even better: