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by: Dwyn Tomlinson

One of the advantages of shopping in store is the ability to wander around and look for exact colour matches. One of the advantages of reading these inspirations is not having to do that. ;-)

This particular piece came about because I wanted to do something with the dark amber, and I wanted it to be a bracelet, because I was in a bracelet frame of mind. The Swarovski Crystal Red Magma is a perfect match for the dark amber, and adds a little sparkle, and the Rose Cathedral Rivoli has the same rich amber colour, but with hits of fuchsia and light amber, for the perfect complement.

To make this, I started by gluing the Rivoli into the Rivoli Setting and waiting for the glue to cure.

I then took the wire and wired the loops of the setting onto the filigree, wrapping multiple times, and lining the wraps up next to each other for a decorative look. I then used the same Hypotube glue and glued a 3 mm round on top of the loop to disguise it. (If I were doing this again, I would use the wire to secure the 3 mm bead, but I didn't think of it until after I had cut the wire off close. )

I then made the strands - starting with the .5 mm elastic (the larger sizes just won't go through the amber beads), and putting the elastic through a wire guardian. I hooked this onto the filigree, and knotted it in place. I then strung a few amber beads, a single crystal, and then amber beads until I had just a couple of cm left, adding another crystal,and adding more amber to the right length. I then added the wire guardian,hooked onto the other side of the filigree, and added another strand of amber.You need about a meter for 6 strands, but if that is too much to handle at once, you can always knot and join on a new piece. I went back and forth from one side to the other, using a wire guardian to attach to the filigree each time,for a nicer look, and so the metal filigree would not damage the elastic cord.

Finally, I secured the knots with a dab of the same glue.

The filigree is fairly large, and might overwhelm small wrists, but looks very elegant on larger wrists. You could also easily adapt this design to be a pendant with multiple strands of amber to support it.

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Components Clicking on components links will open a new window so that you don't lose this page.
	Qty: 2	s53568 Amber Beads - Freeform Nuggets - Dark Amber (strand)	Price: $ 15.60 per	Sorry - this item is unavailable.
		s29479 Craft Wire - 28ga - Vintage Bronze (Parawire)	Price: $ 5.50 per	In Stock
		28811831-01 Metal Beads - 3mm - Round - Antiqued Gold (100)	Price: $ 2.85 per	In Stock
		tc94-3155-27 Rivoli Setting - ID 18mm Faceted Link - Antiqued Brass	Price: $ 2.12 per	Sorry - this item is unavailable.
		25003002 Stringing - .5mm x 25m Stretch Bead Cord - Clear (Spool)	Price: $ 8.95 per	In Stock
		s48551 Swarovski Bead - 6mm Faceted Bicone (5301/5328) - Crystal Red Magma (12)	Price: $ 4.74 per	Sorry - this item is unavailable.
		s24817 Swarovski Rhinestones - 18mm Rivoli Cut (1122) - Rose Cathedral	Price: $ 4.80 per	Sorry - this item is unavailable.
		88827972 Tools - Adhesive - G-S Hypo-tube Cement -	Price: $ 11.95 per	In Stock
		s14853 Vintaj - Ornate Wreath Filigree/Wrap - Natural Brass	Price: $ 7.20 per	In Stock
		24001018 Wire Guardian - for Beading Wire up to .019in - Antiqued Gold (100)	Price: $ 4.75 per	In Stock