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Titania

I've used as many different beads as I could find in my bead box and pulled it all together with Magatama drops in orange, yellow, reds and jade green. There are Swarovski beads, Indian beads, Venetian beads, Czech beads, Cloisonne beads, Cathedral beads, drops, daggers, and findings all in copper (fairies don't like iron) including stars, roses, and a butterfly in the centre, and, of course, semi-precious chips in malachite, carnelian, and garnet.

Price: £45.00

Nimue, The Lady of the Lake

I've started with a fine silverplated chain because I wanted the necklace to be elegant and light. I then added more silver chain with twisted silver rings in loops and dangles and hung star charms and a snake pendant from the dangles. The snake symbolises wisdom and knowledge, but also the pain both can cause. If you know the story of Nimue then you will know that the knowledge she shared often hurt even those she cared about and not least herself. I added little glass shell beads, shell beads in soft purple and lots of other beads including vintage beads; amongst them are beautiful Swarovski beads, Czech faceted beads, drops, daggers, porcelain and Cloisonne beads. Finally, I added little semi-precious chips of amethyst, lavender lace agate, moonstone, obsidian, plum coloured stone, rose quartz and quartz, and one large fluorite nugget bead in purple.

I decided that I wanted to make a bracelet and also some earrings to go with the necklace. The earrings had to be simple, I didn't want them to distract from the necklace, but I wanted to add a bit of shimmer and a twinkle. The bracelet combines all the elements from the necklace (except for the snake).

Price: £65.00

Helen of Troy

The necklace below started off with one single bead - a white bead with dark golden caps and a lovely milky blue glow to them. I combined them with lots of vintage beads in gold and white, with white jade beads, with new white and crystal faceted Czech beads, topaz Swarovski bicones, pale blue Magatama drops, bronze leaves and a little bronze rose and more bronze findings. The feature bead is a lovely moonstone drop which has a lovely golden and blue glow. The design may seem random but is well thought out to create an organic feeling. When it was finished I tried to think of a name for this necklace and because of the colours and the feel of the necklace thought of Helen of Troy. :-)

Price: £35.00

Evening Sky

This doesn't quite fit in with the Heroines theme but the style and feel of the necklace is similar to the Heroines range.

The necklace above uses shells in different shades: pale teal blue, grey, purple and deep blue. I've also used vintage beads in blue and purple and many semi-precious gemstones and chips, and of course Swarovski beads to really make it sparkle. I've used fluorite, jade in different shades, lace agate, amethyst, purple agate, rose quartz, lapis and plum coloured stone.

Rather than threading the beads or just sliding them on eye pins and connecting the pins, I've created little "bunches" of beads and shells which I connected together using either an oval or twisted round jump ring. I then connected the bunches using connectors - swirly, twisted and straight. All the findings are a bright silver which works very well with the blues and purples. The centre piece is a blistered deep puple shell pendant and I've also added a feather charm and a curved silver plated tube to add more interest to the necklace.

Price: £35.00