Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Fleur Jolie Shabby Chic Necklace

Months ago, Kashmira of Sadafulee...always in bloom, sent me a pretty crochet flower she had made herself. She said she'd be interested to see what I would create with it. Well, how could I refuse a challenge like that! And, so below is the crochet flower, as Kashmira sent it to me. Isn't it beautiful? I wish I could crochet something like that!
 
Initially, I had a few ideas about what I was going to do with it. My first necklace design idea didn't work out too well. I took that necklace apart and set the flower aside, thinking about what to do next. It certainly would look fantastic as the focal on a cuff bracelet, I thought. I was more than a little tempted to stitch it right onto this leather cuff bracelet I bought from Ornamentea and call it a day....

 That would have been all well and fine, but just a little too easy. I wanted to make something more challenging and create something with more interest and fun.  

Lately, I've been captivated by the idea of shabby chic jewelry. I'm feeling a bit surprised at my attraction to the esthetic of shabby chic style. The usual pastel color palette and frilly, girly style is a little out of my comfort zone, which I find intriguing.  I do absolutely love the contrast of elegant, refined elements mixed with earthy, rustic elements, which this style is known for and shabby chic is sort of another flavor of bohemian style. And of course, being drawn to that is no surprise at all. So, I wanted to design a piece of jewelry with a shabby chic look and feel to it. Below is my finished necklace. I call it Fleur Jolie, which means "pretty flower" in French.

 Fleur Jolie Shabby Chic Necklace 
Kashmira's flower really wanted to be a focal piece on a necklace, so the first thing I did was create a flower "stamen" in the center with some red Irish waxed linen cord. It adds additional interest and a pop of color. The flower is fairly large for a pendant, so I wanted to balance it by creating a statement, multiple strand necklace. Since there is so much texture going on with the crochet flower and the multiple strands, I kept the bead colors muted and neutral. Faceted Czech glass beads in grey and glass pearls in peach-grey keep the focus on the focal. For a pop of color, I knotted the beads on 2-ply red Irish waxed linen cord. Yes, I hand knotted in between every one of those 4mm beads! The small scale of the beads keeps the necklace feeling airy, feminine and light. For a touch of rustic, the crochet flower pendant is tied on with a soft piece of suede lace and the necklace is finished off with a leather button. 

Kashmira, thank you for your lovely crochet flower. With your flower, I was able to explore a new design style that I love. I hope you enjoy the necklace I created!

12 comments:

  1. This turned out fantastic. You certainly have a knack for designing fantastic pieces. I love Kashmira's focal and I love the leather button that you used as well.

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  2. This is beautiful Erin! I hope you enjoy wearing it!

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  3. Wow! This necklace is gorgeous Erin. You complemented the crocheted flower beautifully with your knotting! I also really like the leather button toggle; perfect finishing touch. Well done, Kashmira will be proud!

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  4. I'm constantly surprised at the unexpected pairings you take on and how natural they seem together in the finished piece, Erin. Love your comment about how the flower "really wanted to be a focal"... you clearly have become fluent in the language of flowers LOL.

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  5. Love it Erin! Great combo of color and texture. Kashmira's crochet flower makes a beautiful focal for your design!

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  6. Wowww!!!!! That is lovely! Am SO glad you didn't make a cuff out of it (that would have disappointed me a little bit). Love the multiple strands, and the colors are beautiful! Thank you!!!

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  7. Fabulous job! So very pretty and imaginative!

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  8. You're creativity amazes me! I've got some pieces coming up in my blog next week that I designed for the Kalmbach bead soup challenge - your book was by my side. This is such a beautifully feminine, yet organic piece that works so well together! You did Kashmira proud!

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  9. Beautiful focal, and beautiful necklace!!

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  10. Awesome necklace, great pic, thanks for sharing.

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  11. Beautiful necklace...love the pendant too!

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