mini photo-shoot with my pearls

[kas baby]

they aren''t nice pearls, but, I wear them a LOT!

a little bit of background: these were all given to me by my mom at one point or another, not special ocassion or anything, just, "hey Kara, I don''t ever wear these do you want them?" sort of gifts, yet, nonetheless, they are still special to me. no one ever told me how to take care of them, (my mom has no clue about jewelry in general) but I did have enough sense to keep them away from my other jewelry and in their own little bags.

I''m sure they are pretty beat up because I wore them all the time... and I mean all the time. I''ll try posting some pics

here is a pic of me going out in the three strand, they are cute and very feminine. the other pic is me at a college football game, lol! I told you I wore them all the time!

 

[kas baby]

the top two are necklaces, and the bottom one is a bracelet that, at one point, matched the three strand in the middle... eek! shows how badly I took care of them...

 

[kas baby]

individual of the creamy colored ones....

eek! some of them have really icky shape

, others are kind of funk, but nice

 

[kas baby]

shown draped over my wrist....

 

[kas baby]

family photo...

 

[kas baby]

last one - I promise! hopefully they weren''t too icky to look at, or boring... soon I hope to add some nicer ones to the collection

 

[Indylady]

Very pretty! Love the three strand necklace. I love presents from Mom.

 

[innerkitten]

You have a nice collection The pink look great on you.

 

[ckrickett]

the pink is pretty!
those are great!

 

[kas baby]

thanks to szh07, innerkitten and ckrickett for the kind words!

i''m thinking about getting a 16inch strand of lavender freshwaters, but don''t know how they would look

what do you guys think? I had considered pink ones too, but don''t want them to be too peachy pink, and I do want to get something different...
(both pics are pretty representative of my skin color)

humph... decisions decisions....

 

[cellentani]

Thanks for showing your collection, kas! And I love how they''re from your mom - I can see myself doing that with my own daughters pretty soon. Well, maybe not - I still like my jewelry, lol! I think a silvery-lavender strand would look beautiful on you, and seems like it would go well with that top you''re wearing in the first pic. Maybe start with a cheaper strand just to see if you like them (there are a couple of reputable ebay sellers that people have had good luck with).

 

[Miscka]

Hi Kas! You and I have very similar coloring, and I TOTALLY recommend the lavender. I ordered peach/pink and did not like them in real life on my skin, but the lavender is amazing! You will love them. DO you know where you will order them from? I got mine from Pearl Paradise, who I really like and the price was great.

ETA:The hand in my avatar is not mine, so not my coloring. I have fair skin and the same color hair as you.

 

[kas baby]

thanks cellentani! I''m sure your daughters will love anything you gift to them. From my own experience the most special piece of jewelry I''ve recieved from her was a mother/daughter ring with both of our birthstones in it for my 16th birthday. Another one of my sisters just turned 16 and she was also very excited to get hers. Our mom is so sweet

miscka: I''m glad to hear that you think the lavender will look nice- and that you liked the ones you got from Pearl Paradise- b/c that''s where I''m thinking about getting mine

 

[jmtomaui]

kas, I like them all but I love the irregular, funky shape of all of the white ones. They seem to be a baroque shape. The other 2 are rice pearls. All 3 show with a lot of luster.

You might want to check on the white ones. What are they strung on? Are there knots tied between each pearl? I ask as it looks like the thread is starting to stretch. There are longer gaps between some pearls than others. If the thread is stretching, then it could break and you risk losing the pearls. Depending on how old they are, you might want to consider having them restrung? Or maybe you could do it yourself? It is easy and fun to do. A local bead shop could teach you how...

Being such a special gift from your mom, I''d hate to see anything happen to them.

And YES, I think a lavendar strand from PP would be a great addition to your "wardrobe".

 

[Skippy123]

very nice collection, thank you for sharing

 

[kas baby]

thank you skippy123 and jmtomaui

I know they need to be re-strung

I just haven''t gotten around to it. I''ve done a LOT of beading and other such crafty things, so I will definately try to do the larger single strand myself... as for the smaller rice pearls (good to know what they''re called- thanks!) I''d probably want someone else to do those.... I know the projects I''ve done with smaller beads were usually the hardest.

do you think I can get the proper type of string at a craft store like, say, JoAnn Fabrics or Michaels? what is and maybe while I''m there I''ll pick up some cute cheapy ones to start off with

actually... now that I think of it, I think I might have some already

 

[jmtomaui]

Gosh, I'm trying to picture both the JoAnn's and the Michael's closest to me as I spend a lot of time in their beading aisles. I don't think they carry a true silk like Griffin if that is what you are looking for. I know that they both have Dandyline and Wildfire. I've not had good luck with them because they get tangled too easily. Even if I wax them.

I have started using PowerPro. It is a fishing line actually and I love it! It is amazingly strong and easy to use. It does not stretch and can tolerate getting wet. I use it doubled to string and tie my knots. I found out about it from another forum I belong to (Hi Skippy and szh!

) and many of the beaders / knotters have recommended it to me. What I also like about it is how much it really looks like silk when knotted.

I love silk. And the purists would disagree with using man made materials, but until I get better with placing my knots, and am not afraid of the silk stretching and breaking when I have to fuss with the knots, I'll stay with PowerPro. I have to buy it online from Cabella's sporting goods as it is hard to find the white in the weight I like.

It's nice to have another beader on the site!

 

[kas baby]

PowerPro? I will have to ask FI if he''s heard about it b/c he likes to fish... maybe we can go on a shopping trip together (which, suprisingly he loves to do)

I did find those pearls that I thought I had, but there aren''t enough of them to make a necklace, so maybe I''ll just make some bracelets, I''m not sure. I suppose I''ll figure it out while at the craft store

I''ll have to do before and after pics of those pearls, and maybe I''ll be sneaky and include some of my beading projects in the background

lol!

 

[jmtomaui]

I don''t think I''d be able to get a true sense of the size of pearls in your new bracelets if I could not see some additional beading projects in the background for reference...

 

[kas baby]

Date: 7/31/2009 8:15:47 AM
Author: jmtomaui
I don''t think I''d be able to get a true sense of the size of pearls in your new bracelets if I could not see some additional beading projects in the background for reference...

LOL!!!

FI and I were out looking for that fishing thread, and we found the brand but not in white, so I was ok with that and told him we should get going and go to JoAnn''s--- he was determined though--- went up to a sales clerk and asked if we could find something similar. The guy showed us to something else that looked like it would be about the same.
FI was so excited, he looked at me "do you think this would be ok?"
I smiled and said "it should do fine"
The sales clerk looked at us "this isn''t for fishing, is it?"
FI (all proud): "nope, she''s re-stringing her pearls"
SC: "yeah, it would take some crazy sucker to break this line! (15lb line)" omg! the face he made was great--- he lifted up his hand to his neckline and imitated trying to yank off a chain- lol!
FI: "if it doesn''t work, I''ll just use it to fish in the pond"

lol! boys are funny. FI was so smug during the rest of our shopping trip "see, I told you I''d find it. You wanted to leave, good thing I asked around."

I practiced on some plastic ones--

my knots were bad, my spacing was bad--- maybe it was just me b/c I''m a perfectionist. FI, was again, halarious-- "what are you talking about? you''re doing a great job!"

gotta love him

hopefully I''ll get finished with my other ones (which I can''t tell if they are real or not

) by monday... pics to follow of course

 

[cushioncutnut]

Those are just lovely and so versatile!!

 

[Kelli]

I love how they''re pretty, but casual enough to wear all the time. I''m a very casual dresser most of the time and I can''t seem to wear my one pearl strand. It''s so gorgeous but it doesn''t feel like me! However, if you''re in the market for a new one, I think a lavender strand from PP would be stunning!