A Zen Garden Pendant Necklaces. A little Oriental Asian Pagoda Style! Just finished creating these artsy eclectic necklaces. Only three (so far). You can find them at https://www.etsy.com/shop/JudysTreehouse
These lovely pendants depict an oriental style garden with pagoda and ornamental plants and trees. Inspires me to create such a place in one of my own gardens here at home. Will need to start another Pinterest board to find and save zen garden ideas for next year’s planting season.
The pendants are raw brass, solid metal. One can enamel them. But, loving to patina as I do I decided to put a little heat to them to see what would develop. Each one took on a different patina! Perfect! And, now I have a Sunrise, Sunset, and Twilight Zen Garden!
Pendants Complete! Next on the hunt for some unique beads to complement them. And where do I go to find such beads? Absolutely….Etsy! And my Etsy search did not disappoint. I do believe I am one of Etsy’s best customers, from a buyer and a seller standpoint.
There were a few Asian/Oriental themed beads I was considering as I was perusing the beads Etsy’s search algorithms felt best matched my search terms. And then the moment of GLORY!!!!!!
These adorable, unique, artsy, eclectic, cool, unusual………paper beads! Perfect! I placed my order from this lovely Etsy Seller located in Scotland no less. You really do find cool, unique items from all over the world on Etsy!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/GillianMcMurray
The shop owner, Gillian, immediately responded with a note letting me know she received my order and would ship it soon! And it did ship soon! And it arrived rather quickly, too! Ordered them on August 20th. Received them the first week in September. Great customer service, great quality, and unique little works of art! I was so excited and got to work on my necklaces the very next day.
Next to my bead stash to find some beads to enhance the colors in the paper beads and the pendant. Sparkly, colorful Czech glass beads were the perfect match.
As with all of my beaded necklaces, I hand wrap the beads with brass wire which has been patina’d to darken the metal. Then I hand polish the wire to even out the patina. Between each beaded link I add a small jump ring. This makes the necklace less likely to “kink” when you move around.
Next to determine the perfect length for this particular necklace. Originally I had planned on long necklaces. But after making the first one it just didn’t seem right. So back to the worktable to make adjustments to shorten the necklace. The short length was perfect. The pendant and beads just “popped”.
After I had the first necklace completed and was happy with the length I started questioning the bead placement. Originally, I had the long oriental style paper cylinder beads centered with three Czech glass beads on each side. It looked okay but……….ehhhhh. So, I laid out the beads to create the second necklace, moved them around a little bit but couldn’t decide if I wanted to change the layout from the first necklace. Decided to just go with the new layout I was considering. Well, I liked the second layout so much better than the first one that I went back to the worktable to remake the first necklace.
Decisions, Decisions, Decisions. Sometimes not always so cut and dry. I might have an idea that I’m really excited with but then when I create the necklace if it doesn’t scream “I LOVE THIS” then I rework it until it does. Sometimes that means I have to walk away from it for a day or two or maybe even a week until my creative juices redistribute themselves, and I know exactly what changes I need to make.
Happily, the design for these three necklaces evolved rather quickly.
So there you have it. My most recent creations. And, I love them so much I went back for three more pendants and a few more beads because maybe down the road I’ll want to make a few more of this style. Only a few. Because every day I’m different and so are the items I create.
I can’t wait for the perfect person to find this perfect necklace to go with their perfect outfit!
https://www.etsy.com/listing/720751728/eclectic-artsy-short-casual-red-beaded
Thanks for visiting!
Peace Love and Joy
Judy