March 2018 – Page 2 – Julie Frahm

Posted on March 22, 2018 by admin

Old beads + Old ideas = New jewellery!

It has been a fairly busy week here. I’ve had a big order to fill, and lots of little bits and pieces taking up the other corners of my mind! I have felt myself struggling to make my daily recycled glass jewellery challenge.

I was scratching around in my collection of old recycled glass beads this afternoon, and wondering WHAT ON EARTH I could make with anything that was in there. I tried a few things, and nothing was right. Colours were off, style was off, it was starting to get a bit frustrating…

…and then I was flicking through my instagram photos of what I had already made, and combined with looking at beads I had already made, I put this sweet little necklace together! Phew.

I’m going to hopefully be able to recharge and refuel over the weekend…hopefully.

Posted on March 21, 2018 by admin

Sparkly Silver Earrings

I was a bit inspired by yesterday’s earrings, to make a slightly different pair of earrings. This time the silver embellishments are on beads made from a Hendricks Gin bottle.

The little hooks are super cute. They still hook through your ears, but they sit really close to your lobe.

Posted on March 20, 2018 by admin

Silver and Gold

Nearly all of the rings that I wear (or combinations of rings) are silver and gold (or white gold and yellow gold). I love the contrast of these two metals.

I know, some people are “oh, I only wear gold” and that’s totally fine.

And some people are “yeah, I only wear silver” and that’s also totally fine.

But I love both metals, and I love wearing them together, so I guess that means I love these earrings!

These beads were made from a Coopers Ale bottle.

Posted on March 19, 2018 by admin

Crochet Necklace

I have wanted to make a crochet necklace for at least 5 years! All sorts of things have stopped me.

Time. There never really is enough time.
Not really knowing how to make a necklace like this.
Not really knowing why to make a necklace like this.
Not really knowing what I would do with a necklace like this!

There were probably more reasons than this, but these things definitely stopped me from “having a go”.

I realised in my yearly creative challenge that I had started making things that I like to make a lot – BRACELETS! It was time to make something that really stretched me out of my comfort zone. Without further ado, I present the crochet necklace that I made today, embellished with beads I made from Harlequin Glassware!

What did I learn from today?

Trying something new didn’t kill me! Hooray!
I still don’t know what I am going to do with this necklace, but I will start by wearing it!
It was easier than I thought it was going to be! There were loads of different tutorials online, but after looking at a couple of them I just ended up doing my own thing.

Right, now I’m off to find something else that has been on my list of things to try that I have not yet tried!

Posted on March 19, 2018 by admin

Colour Play #3 – Flowers

Last week it was flower necklaces and earrings that were pretty in pink.

The week before that it all started with the most colourful rainbow of flowers!

This week! It’s time to see some colour play flowers that are neutral and classic! I think this is a necklace that you could wear with so many different things. A simple white shirt, a black top, or even wear it with more colourful clothes, like a red dress!

I love the black and white, and the three different shades of grey make it really interesting. Feel free to visit my shop here.

Posted on March 18, 2018 by admin

My new obsession

I think it’s safe to say that making bracelets is my new obsession! So here is a little story about bracelets…

Last year, just before Christmas, I was asked several times if I had any bracelets for sale. I replied that I had a few, but not many, as I was finding them “difficult” to make.

What I meant by difficult was a couple of things. First, wrist sizes vary! Yes, there kind of is an average wrist size, but I was finding that most people either wanted that average size bracelet made smaller or larger. And second, I was making them to match in with necklaces. It was frustrating when the necklace would sell, and the bracelet was left behind.

So I kind of stopped making bracelets for a while. But since I have been doing this creative/making challenge, I have found a new passion for making one of a kind bracelets. They don’t need to match a necklace, they can just simply be a beautiful bracelet on their own. I’m loving the freedom in making them.

Posted on March 17, 2018 by admin

Same same, but different….

I had some beads leftover from yesterday’s bracelet, so I thought I would make this bracelet! Same same, but different!

I love having the beads around to be able to make all sorts of things! I was talking to a friend today about how I can have a design in my head, I can then draw that design on paper, I can then make the beads for that design…..but when it comes to making the jewellery, sometimes it is nice to have spare beads “just in case” things don’t turn out as they looked in my head.

Posted on March 16, 2018 by admin

Not quite black and white….

I love contrast in jewellery. How a colour plays with other colours is something that really interests me. For this bracelet today I was going for a black and white look, and had to use a wine bottle and a Hendricks gin bottle to make it work. It’s not quite black and white, but it’s still quite striking. The different shape beads also add interest to the bracelet.

Posted on March 15, 2018 by admin

This was a wine bottle…

I do like how I can take a wine bottle, destined for the recycled bin (hopefully), and make something like this bracelet!

I have added the colour to the clear glass using little pieces of smashed up glass.

Posted on March 14, 2018 by admin

Shades of autumn

Autumn is definitely my favourite season of the year (followed closely by spring, and summer). But I love the colours of autumn, and the clothes of autumn, and the layers of autumn. And I tried to combine all of those ideas into this pair of earrings!

Rich shades of purple and brown, sprinkled with some red. Layers of beads, with a couple of different shapes. Really kind of sums autumn up for me!