Tiara and Earring Set with Mother-of-Pearl Shell Beads, Acrylic Drops and Focals and Silver-Finished Steel Components
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Design Idea MB2Y
Shellflowers
-- Designer --
LauraLynn, Jewelry Designer, Exclusively for Fire Mountain Gems and Beads®
To learn more about LauraLynn, read her jewelry artist success story here.
: : : Materials : : :
Click here to view a full list of materials used in this design.
Please take the creative opportunity to select the products of your choice for this design, offered here at Fire Mountain Gems and Beads. Some materials may not be available or listed.
- Drop and focal mix, acrylic, transparent light green / green / dark green, 24x22mm double-sided round leaf / 36x19mm double-sided folded leaf / 40x14mm double-sided curved leaf
- Ear wire, silver-plated brass, 17mm flat fishhook with 2mm coil and open loop, 22 gauge
- Beading hoop, silver-plated brass, 40x22mm teardrop with loop
- Seed bead, Dyna-Mites™, glass, opaque matte lime green, #11 round
- Bead cap, silver-finished brass, 6x1.5mm flower, fits 6-8mm bead
- Wire, Zebra Wire™, silver-plated copper, round, 26 gauge
- Wire, Zebra Wire™, silver-plated copper, round, 22 gauge
- Bead, mother-of-pearl shell (bleached), white, 5.5-6mm round, Mohs hardness 3-1/2
- Bead, mother-of-pearl shell (bleached), white, 8mm round, Mohs hardness 3-1/2
- Bead, mother-of-pearl shell (bleached), white, 3mm round, Mohs hardness 3-1/2
- Bead, mother-of-pearl shell (bleached), white, 18x2mm-32x10mm hand-cut freeform frangia, Mohs hardness 3-1/2
- Bead, mother-of-pearl shell (bleached), white, large hand-cut chip, Mohs hardness 3-1/2
- Bead, mother-of-pearl shell (natural), 3mm round, Mohs hardness 3-1/2
- Bead, mother-of-pearl shell (natural), 4mm round, Mohs hardness 3-1/2
- Bead, mother-of-pearl shell (natural), 5.5-6mm round, Mohs hardness 3-1/2
- Jump ring, silver-plated brass, 6x4mm oval, 4.1x2mm inside diameter, 18 gauge
- Bead, mother-of-pearl shell (natural), 14x8mm-24x10mm marquise, Mohs hardness 3-1/2
- Head pin, silver-plated brass, 1-1/2 inches with 1.5mm ball, 24 gauge
- Component, silver-finished steel, 37.5mm single-sided ginkgo leaves
- Headband, rubber and silver-finished steel, black, 4mm wide, 15 inches
- Bead reamer, Beadalon®, plastic and diamond-coated steel, blue and black, 5-1/2 x 1-1/4 inches with 2-inch tips
- Adhesive, Devcon® 5 Minute® Epoxy, 2-part
Instructions
Tiara
Step 1
Cut seven 12-inch lengths and sixteen 8-inch lengths of 26-gauge Zebra Wire™. Cut a 24-inch length of 22-gauge Zebra Wire.
Step 2
Create various picks by stringing mother-of-pearl round beads, mother-of-pearl hand-cut beads, seed beads and acrylic leaf drops onto 12-inch lengths of 26-gauge wire in the appropriate pattern, using the image as a reference. Wrap three to four sets of beads together on the same wire to create clusters. String the beads approximately half-way down the wire, wrap approximately 1 inch of the strung end of wire around the original end and continue stringing. Repeat until the desired look is achieved.
Step 3
Repeat the process from Step 2 using the 8-inch lengths of wire to create four picks with mother-of-pearl round beads and twelve picks with marquise beads.
Use flat-nose pliers to tightly wrap the marquise picks around each other to create a stem so that the marquise beads are slightly overlapping each other, as seen in the image. Thread the mother-of-pearl picks through the "petals" and use flat-nose pliers to tightly wrap the picks around the stem.
Step 4
String the ginkgo leaves component onto the flower created in Step 3. An electric bead reamer may be necessary to make the center hole large enough to get the component as close as possible to the base of the flower.
Bend the component inward to complement the flower. Once in position, use a small amount Devcon® 5 Minute® Epoxy to secure it in place.
Step 5
Wrap the picks from Step 2 around the headband as desired, using the acrylic leaf drops to hide the wire. Continue to wrap the flower onto the headband.
Lightly coil one end of the 22-gauge wire. String 6mm natural mother-of-pearl beads the length of the wire and lightly coil the other end to secure the strand.
Place the middle of the strand on the front center of the headband. Couch the strand onto the headband in one direction until one end of the headband is reached. Do this by wrapping wire between each bead around the headband. Uncoil that end of the strand and remove the excess beads. Wrap the wire around the end of the headband. Repeat with the other side of the strand to complete the tiara.
Earring Instructions
Step 1
String a bead cap, an 8mm mother-of-pearl bead and a bead cap onto a head pin then form a wrapped loop.
Step 2
Attach the wrapped loop created in Step 1 and the center hole of a beading hoop to a jump ring.
Step 3
String onto the beading hoop sixteen 6mm mother-of-pearl beads.
Step 4
Attach the beading hoop to an ear wire.
Repeat to create a second earring.
Have a question regarding this project? Email Customer Service.
Copyright Permissions
The pieces featured in the Gallery of Designs are copyrighted designs and are provided for inspiration only. We encourage you to substitute different colors, products and techniques to make the design your own.
All works of authorship (articles, videos, tutorials and other creative works) are from the Fire Mountain Gems and Beads® Collection, and permission to copy is granted for non-commercial educational purposes only. All other reproduction requires written permission. For more information, please email copyrightpermission@firemtn.com.