AVAILABILITY STATUS ON ALL SELECTIONS UPDATED Dec 6th 5:30AM CT – There are still quite a few things available!
Turns out the lawn gnomes didn’t have any use for me after all, so here is the stuff! You may notice that everything I’m selling this evening is jewelry. Which is new, but not necessarily what you should expect from now on; it’s just what I’ve been doing for the last year or so. Most selections are one-of-a-kind/won’t be repeated type-deals, and the remaining few are made-to-order only, and in a limited quantity. This is so I can deliver what I promise in a timely manner.
When submitting your request via email – z-beads@sbcglobal.net – please provide this info:
1. your request(s), of course
2. your paypal address, if paying with paypal
3. your preferred payment method if sending a money order (US buyers only)… or check (established US buyers only) … I can only accept Paypal from international buyers
4. your location (US or abroad, so I can request the correct shipping amount)
Shipping within the US is $7.50 for USPS Priority Mail
International shipping is $10 for USPS First Class International
I will mark each selection as SOLD as they are claimed. Even if you’re a day or two late, if it says it’s still available, it probably is! It won’t hurt to ask.
The lampwork beads are made by me, Sarah Moran, with soda-lime glass (also known as soft glass), and are kiln annealed for strength and long life. Most metal elements/jewelry components are sterling silver. I do my best to provide an accurate representation in the photos and descriptions. If you are interested in buying but have questions, please contact me.
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BEAD CROCHET
During my absence, I’ve made myself conquer a few very simple things that I’ve struggled with in the past. One of the bigger challenges on the list was bead crochet. Keeping constant tension with regular crochet was tough enough for me. I found a video that obviously didn’t exist the first two times I attempted it, the first time being in 2002, and again in 2009. Otherwise, several things in my life would have gone very differently heretofore. This time, it took. Patience, determination, good basic instruction, the correct tools (properly sized hooks) and materials (c-lon!) – and perhaps just the right kind of free time – got me working in a spiral of perfect tension and doing math without knowing I was doing it. Remember me? That’s right. It’s the only kind of math I do. So I guess it’s finally settled for sure – as long as beads are involved, I’ll probably do okay with it. I’ve tried spiral crochet with size 8/0 and size 11/0. I won’t be going anywhere near the size 15/0’s for this particular technique now that I have fully experienced the excruciating tedium of crocheting even a row of 7 size 11/0’s in a continuous spiral. The 8/0’s are good enough, and provide a texture and drape that I like.
SEMI-IMPORTANT INFO regarding the bead crochet necklaces: Photos don’t really show the true beauty of the colors, the texture or the sparkle of these necklaces. Everything about them is so much more deep and rich in person. The beads are crocheted around a heavy, very strong waxed nylon base cord, and that is what the components (connectors/button clasp) are connected to as well. In other words, this is a very solid, stable piece of jewelry that should last a very long time. BUT they are surprisingly light in weight for as heavy as they look. In addition, these ropes are quite washable. The c-lon (nylon), so far, doesn’t appear to fade or stretch. I’ve worn the heck out of Black Diamonds over the last several months, so I took it into the tub with me and gave it a good scrub with my body wash, a toothbrush and water, then I drip-dried it. It came out sparkling clean. On to the jewelry…
#1 : Black Diamonds Knotted Snake Choker (MADE TO ORDER IN YOUR SIZE) – $275 (click photos to view full size)
1 AVAILABLE FOR ORDER
(Made to order in your size. I don’t normally do this with made-to-orders, but where custom jewelry that requires a good bit of work is concerned, a 50% up-front deposit will keep us both earnest. Please allow up to 1 month for completion and possible variation with the button. If you are interested in ordering, please email me and we will discuss measuring for correct size and other details.)
Here’s to finding beauty in the ordinary. Be sure to always look a little deeper; in the absence of color or flash, you may find a depth and sparkle you wouldn’t have with a jaded glance. Also, lack of color lends endless versatility. I wear the heck out of this necklace and it gets plenty of looks. Colorless transparent seed beads, with a silver Czech microfacet glinting every so often, catch bright and low light each in their own special way. Two decadently ropey strands are tied into clever knots and finished off with my foiled lampwork glass beads and my own handmade sterling strand separators. It is signed with a sterling tag and fastens with a button and beaded loop. Each rope is 7/16″, or 10mm wide.
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#2 : Emergency Red Knotted Snake Choker (MADE TO ORDER IN YOUR SIZE) – $275 (click photos to view full size)
1 AVAILABLE FOR ORDER
(Made to order in your size. I don’t normally do this with made-to-orders, but where custom jewelry that requires a good bit of work is concerned, a 50% up-front deposit will keep us both earnest. Please allow up to 1 month for completion and some variation with the button. If you are interested in ordering, please email me and we will discuss measuring for correct size and other details.)
How many pieces of red jewelry does a girl need? Who knows, but if she has any red beads, she probably needs as many tubes of red lipstick. The red seed beads in this necklace are one of the most divine shades of red glass I’ve ever gotten my hands on, and some of you know how picky I am about red glass. It can’t be too brown or too streaky and it must stay true red in awful fluorescent lighting, and these tick all the boxes. It doesn’t come across as the true red that it is in the photos… do you know the red on the box of Cheez-Its? It’s a very close match to that. I’m well acquainted with that box, as Cheez-Its have contributed an inch of fat to my midsection, sharing the same zip code with another inch of fat caused by pie. This two strand, cleverly knotted to-do has a line of sparkly bright Czech silver microfacets running along the length of both strands. I did math again! It ends with my own almost perfectly matching opaque red + silver foil lampwork and my own handmade sterling strand separators. It’s signed with a sterling tag and fastens with a button and beaded loop. Each rope is 7/16″, or 10mm wide.
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#3 : Chocolate Sparkle Knotted Snake -$275 – AVAILABLE NOW, in your size – (ONE OF A KIND) (click photos to view full size)
AVAILABLE
If you are interested in ordering, please email me and we will discuss measuring for correct size and other details. It won’t take but a few hours or so to finish it up. If finished as is, this necklace will be APPROX 16″ long – length can be reduced, but not added to. Each rope is 7/16″, or 10mm wide.
This stunning vintage dark chocolate brown is the perfect backdrop for the subtle bronze Czech microfacets sprinkled in here, there and everywhere. A little glint happens every once in a while to brighten the darkness. This is so, SO much better in person, this color does not translate well in the images. The vintage glass button, which I’ve had since I was a teenager, matches the bronze microfacets. A lovely, somewhat serendipitous piece indeed! This one has copper components, the signature tag and strand separators are both made of copper, handmade by me as well. It is accented with 5 of my own lampwork round beads in a very close chocolate brown with bronzeish foil dots. You’re seeing it in its mostly finished form – once the correct length is determined, the knots will be knotted and strings trimmed, and it will finish very similarly to Emergency Red and Black Diamonds.
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#4 : Ivory Snakeskin Lariat- $400 – ONE OF A KIND – (click photos to view full size)
SOLD
Wow, if I can say so myself. It has no clasp, but can be worn a few different ways. It’s very long, heavy, extravagant and tactile, and it even rattles a bit with the dangly clusters of pearls that end in coordinating lampwork Shimmer Spikes (a’la moi) on each end. It also includes 4 ivory lampwork spacers, and I made those too. All metal components are sterling silver, wires are securely wrapped and rings are securely soldered. It is discreetly signed with a sterling tag in one of the pearl clusters. The color of the rope isn’t quite beige and it isn’t quite yellow. It’s a warm ivory mottled with warm brown and deep peach spots.
4 feet long, from tip to tip
rope is 7/16″, or 10mm wide
spikes measure approx 16x29mm
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THE USUAL SUSPECTS
#5 : Bubblegum Candyfloss Twinkleball – $175 – lampwork and kunzite oblong nuggets with sterling silver components, ONE OF A KIND (click photos to view full size)
AVAILABLE
This necklace features a wire-wrapped chain made from sterling silver and kunzite oblong nuggets, a hollow lampwork “ornament” stuffed with silver sparkles and capped with etched flowery sterling silver. The pink tone is very cool, leaning toward blue but stops before it hits lavender. The Twinkleball is also a bit oblong to match the kunzite beads in shape and color, suitable for wear during any season. Finishes with a sterling lobster clasp, signed with a sterling tag. Length can be added to or reduced.
17″ long, Twinkleball is 21x28mm
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#6 : Aquamarine Candyfloss Twinkleball – $175 – lampwork and aquamarine rounds with sterling silver components, ONE OF A KIND (click photos to view full size)
AVAILABLE
This necklace features a wire-wrapped chain made from sterling silver and aquamarine rounds, a hollow lampwork “ornament” stuffed with silver sparkles and capped with etched flowery sterling silver. Suitable for wear during any season. Finishes with a lobster clasp, signed with a sterling tag. Length can be added or reduced.
17″long, Twinkleball is 25x27mm
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#7 : Prickly Pear Necklace – just lampwork and seed beads – $210 – ONE OF A KIND (click photos to view full size)
SOLD
You gotta respect the cactus, am I right? There’s no mistaking a cactus for something else, because it will let you know with an indubitable quickness that you have found a cactus. However, this loose interpretation of the prickly pear cactus is one you can get a bit more up close and personal with. Transparent greens over a white core with somewhat random bumps are etched the way most transparent greens etch: inconsistently. I knew it would happen, I just wasn’t sure exactly how it would happen. It fastens with a matching lampwork button, and has a signature “z” bead at the end. Get it for yourself or the cactus person in your life because there is also no mistaking a cactus person for a non-cactus person; they tend to be about as prickly and demanding of a wide berth as the cacti they love and care for. How many Scorpios have you met who have a cactus in their front yard? That’s what I thought.
necklace is 21″ long, beads range in size from (approx) 20x21mm – 19x30mm, 9mm thick
strung on heavy waxed nylon cord, loop and button closure
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#8 : THE Black Pearl Necklace – $90 – freshwater pearls on knotted silk – ONE OF A KIND (click photos to view full size)
AVAILABLE
I wear a black pearl necklace very similar to this one just about every day. I layer it with other jewelry, such as my knotted ropes, chains, or lampwork jewelry, and so many people have stopped me to compliment my black pearls. Obviously they aren’t Mikimotos for the price, but they’re surprisingly good for what I paid – they’re quite smooth and pretty consistent in shape and size (some pearls are not), they’re pearly without being like an oil slick, and they’re kind of a greyish/brownish eggplant color. They’re neutral enough in color to be warn with other colors – I wear them with bright red, fuschias and purples, blues of all shades, even green sometimes.
35″, sterling clasp, hand knotted black silk
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BRACELETS (or…?)
#9 : Chinese New Year Colorblock Bracelet/Necklace/Whatever – $60 -ONE OF A KIND (click photos to view full size)
SOLD
It’s 6ft long, long enough to wrap around your neck at least a couple of times, or around your wrist many more. Made from Czech, French and Japanese tiny glass seed beads in reds, purples and ambers, ranging in size from 15/0 (very tiny) to 8/0 (less tiny) in several different finishes, and with carnelian, garnet and amethyst here and there. Fastens with a lucite button stack, strung on Softflex.
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#10 : Better Than Mustard Colorblock Bracelet/Necklace/Whatever – $60 -ONE OF A KIND (click photos to view full size)
SOLD
It’s 6ft long, long enough to wrap around your neck at least a couple of times, or around your wrist many more. Made from Czech, French and Japanese tiny glass seed beads ranging in size from 15/0 (very tiny) to 8/0 (less tiny) in several different finishes, and with apatite, peridot and jasper here and there. Fastens with a lucite button stack, strung on Softflex.
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EARRINGS
For most of my jewelry making existence, I have abhorred making earrings with the fury of 1000 comets screaming towards earth. Okay, maybe 47 house fires in the northeastern states in the dead of winter. They just weren’t of any interest to me because I often felt compelled to use my lampwork and lampwork is heavy and I didn’t feel there was anywhere too interesting for me to go with it. I had no reason to make earrings for myself, since for many years I wore 8 gauge steel hoops in my lobes. I gave that up a while back, and since they’ve shrunk to a more natural size I’m more inclined to hang something from them now and again.
All earrings below have 21g sterling silver earwires, handmade by me. All components are made of sterling silver, all rings are soldered and/or wire wrapped for security.
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#11 : Sapphire Sparklers – lampwork and sterling silver earrings – $95 (ONE OF A KIND) (click photos to view full size)
AVAILABLE
A most luscious denim/sapphire blue pair of hollow beads, stuffed full of love, silver sparkles and probably a curse word or two because, boy, those holes are smaller than I’m used to dealing with regarding hollow beads. But I did it, and they look really nice! Dressed up or dressed down, these will fit just about any occasion. They’re not terribly heavy, either, surprisingly.
18mm lampwork beads, 40mm long (not including earwire)
all sterling components are handmade by me except for the chain
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#12 : Firefly Sparklers- lampwork and sterling silver earrings – $95 (ONE OF A KIND) (click photos to view full size)
AVAILABLE
A most luscious pair of hollow beads in true firefly green, stuffed full of love, silver sparkles and probably a curse word or two because, boy, those holes are smaller than I’m used to dealing with regarding hollow beads. But I did it, and they look really nice! Dressed up or dressed down, these will fit just about any occasion. They’re not terribly heavy, either, surprisingly.
I didn’t know that fireflies (lightning bugs) were beetles until just a few years ago. Beetles are my favorite insect, there are so many varieties and colors. The internet says that there are over 350,000 species of beetles. Some roll dung, some are metallic and click bugs, who can swiftly flex their spines a certain way to return themselves to an upright position with a loud CLICK, often join me in my studio while I work. Unlike other flying insects, they seem to be smart enough to avoid my torch flame. And who doesn’t love to find a ladybug? Unless there are a couple hundred of them on your living room ceiling. That happened to my grandma. I’m not sure how she got rid of them. I think she just moved to Missouri and told them to keep it.
18mm lampwork beads, 40mm long (not including earwire)
all sterling components are handmade by me except for the chain
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#13 : Double Hoop Dangles $80 – sterling and quartz – (ONE OF A KIND) (click photos to view full size)
AVAILABLE
Hand formed silver hoops, all rings are soldered. My best guess is that’s natural quartz crystal for the dangles that dangle inside of each hoop. Top hoop measures 20mm, bottom hoop measures 29mm. The top teensy smooth, round crystal measures 4mm, the bottom faceted rondells measure 4x6mm. The details are really nice on these, the outer edges of the dainty hoops are hammered into a nice random facet. They’re playfully swingy and not heavy at all. 2 1/4″ long, not including the earwire.
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#14 : Sea Green Triple Drops – $50 – sterling and stone – (ONE OF A KIND) (click photos to view full size)
AVAILABLE
This type of stone has been sold to me under at least a couple of different names, australian opal and chrysoprase, and I’m not sure I believe either are the true name for this stone. But I don’t really care, it’s beautiful. It’s mainly the color of the sea green crayola crayon, and the hue tends wander into yellower, darker greens and sometimes olive, khaki brown. I’ve collected the best matches of the hues my strand had to offer and put them together here. They are delicate drop shapes with lovely facets.
3″ long, not including the earwire
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#15 : Ocean Stuff Gem Clusters – $60 – ONE OF A KIND (click photos to view full size)
SOLD
Chrysoprase and green garnet briolettes, and green garnet rectangular dangles are accented with turquoise rounds, even tinier faceted pale green stones, wire-wrapped in sterling and hang from a small but sturdy sterling hoop.
1.5″ long, not including earwires
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RINGS
#16 : Geodesic Cake Ring – MADE TO ORDER IN YOUR SIZE – $250 (click photos to view full size)
1 AVAILABLE FOR ORDER
This is my #1 most complimented new ring, a tall faceted geodesic disco-ball affair. Bleak futuristic meets 1930’s German pressed glass in the shade of cheap mirror tint and the two collide somewhere mid-century to create an ever so slightly brutalist thing to be worn on your finger. It’s big, but it isn’t heavy, it’s a hollow form – one of my favorite things to do in silver. A challenge and a statement, without the weight and expense of a completely solid sterling thing of its size. Hollow forms require a hole for hot air to escape so the piece doesn’t explode or crack while being soldered. The back of this ring, which is mine to keep, has a very large hole because I was rusty and drilled the holes too close together. For the purpose of showing what you’ll get with a made to order for this ring, I have displayed the back of a different hollow ring to show you what it will look like.
24mm across
20mm tall from base to tip of the stone (does not include ring shank)
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#17 : TV Cake Ring – $125 – size 6.25 – (ONE OF A KIND) (click photos to view full size)
SOLD
It’s kinda like those cakes that professional cake makers make on the TV. It’s topped with a flower motif and a teensy tinsy pink tourmaline stone, with a scalloped base. It’s hollow, and relatively simple.
18mm across
22mm tall, from base to tip of the stone (does not include ring shank)
band is 4mm wide
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#18 : “What The Heck Is That” Ring – $200 – size 7 – (ONE OF A KIND) (click photos to view full size)
SOLD
It’s pretty interesting, though, don’t you think? It has a sterling silver base and bezel, a red brass* dome set as a stone would be, with an odd hole from which a lovely sage green glass ball pokes out. The green glass ball (made by me, of course) is post-set beneath the dome. A little odd, just like its author.
25mm across
9mm tall from base to tip of the stone (does not include ring shank)
band is 6mm wide
* (red brass is brass with more copper content than typical yellow brass, and is a bit more cooperative in general)
And that’s everything! Nelson was zero help. Thanks for coming, everybody!
the z-beads blog 