My "Pearling" Story...

[Tiger]

One of my fellow congregants wanted to do something special for his wife for their anniversary. She is part of a very active sorority that are so committed to each other; they remain "sisters" for their whole lives! What a treasure, right. We did a funeral for one of their members and the church was packed FULL! Anyway, they, like most Greek Life groups, have a very specific logo and theme. This sorority has "pink pearls" with their Greek logo. Love it, right! So, when my friend saw my colored pearls he asked me about putting together a strand for his wife. He sent me the Sorority's Logo (paper version) and I was able to create with paper (using some special pearly thick paper, cut in circles, and pressed into the palm of my hand to make it appear "concave" like a pearl) their logo with all the bling (Swarovski crystals and all) and of course, the correct colors necessary for this sorority. It was really fun. I also secured a lovely strand of metallic pink FW pearls, a diamond/14KYG charm (her initial) and a 14KYG lobster clasp (all of these from Etsy shops). Fortunately it was around Valentine's Day so I got GREAT 1/2 price deals on the findings and was able to stay in his budget. He is so excited about giving this to his wife...too bad he has to wait till August!
See what you think of this gift.
For me, the wrapping/storage is as important as the strand itself when it is a gift. I have so much fun creating unique boxes/cards with my paper crafting supplies and skills. I did cardmaking for 10 years before getting into pearls.
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So lovely, what a great gift! I'm sure your friend is delighted and his wife is sure to love this.

 

[MotherOfPearlTrumpet]

So it looks like my additions to this thread will be more "monthly" than daily! I've been so busy with family and work.
I have been designing some lovely rings lately and found myself with extra small diamonds from the re-works. Being someone who doesn't like things to go to waste, I decided to have 6 of them set in some earrings that needed a bit more "bling." I purchased these earrings used on EBay.
They are 14K Gold Bow earrings (in "Mikimoto" style). There were no diamonds on the bows, only the pearl pegs. I removed the little diamond pearl pegs and will use those on another project. I had my jeweler install these larger gold fancy filagree 5mm pearl cups; I love the fancy decorative tops. I removed the smaller 8mm Akoyas from the tiny diamond pegs. These Akoyas were OK quality and will be used elsewhere. Instead, I added some lovely Coppery/Pink Edison FW Pink pearls to match another necklace. The pearls, 11.3mm, touch the bottoms of the bow a bit when they dangle, so they are somewhat "noisy" earrings, but I love how they turned out. Whimsical and girly fun.