On The Subject Of More Tentacled Life And Small Details That Make Big Differences

 After how much everyone liked the "Octopus Neck....Thing?", I decided to make an octopus wrist thing!

I went for purple and orange, a combinations  long favored by Crocuses, Irises and myself.

Part of the challenge building an octopus that will encircle a wrist, is the closure of course. I had a beautiful clasp from the Elegant Elements collection from The Beadsmith that I really wanted to incorporate. This particular clasp is a box clasp, only , unlike any other box clasp I have encountered in the past, it's extremely well constructed, it's sturdy and and has a nice feel to it, and in many ways it's just so suitable for this project.

I wanted the octopus to hold it's jewel in it's tentacled paw, like it's holding onto it, and by that, it's also holding on to the wearer's wrist.

 Here is a close up of the all seeing eye....

 And here is how it looks when it's closed.

 When it's on, it takes a while to figure out if you  are seeing it for the first time what exactly it is that's watching you. But I kind of like that aspect of it, the mysterious octopus.

 This is how it looks on the wrist, when viewing the back ,how the tentacles grasp the jeweled clasp.

 And now more on the importance of details. As I have "grown" in my craft, so has my taste grown finer.

Gone are the days of being able to enjoy the simplicity of tube clasps.

 Utilitarian little objects without much elegance,  I am sure I will still use them for certain things, but let's just say,  Steven Weiss of the Beadsmith ruined simpler clasps for me when he kindly sent me one of his company's clasps ( the one I used on the octopus), all parts of the Elegant Elements collection.What a difference. They even feel different in your hand. They are somehow fuller, less hollow,the closing mechanism is superbly engineered, and they come in such variety of gorgeous designs, I just want to try them all! 

The ones above I have purchased at my favorite local store, the Arvada Bead Connection. Hopefully soon enough they will sell them online too. They are pricier then your average clasp, but when it comes to finishing a piece like a pro, and adding that special touch to jewelry, it makes all the difference.

Recently I have decided to label my jewelry. I worked with a fellow Etsy seller , Greenbeansnstrings, who created some really awesome custom labels for me. I have done my research about labels, I knew I did not want little metal tags, they just fall short on style for me, and I really wanted something small, something easy to recognize, yet barely there.

 I decided on these.

The color was a  work in progress, the owner of the store Lindsey, very kindly and patiently worked on it with me, and the one I am using  now is the crimson tags with the black fat little frog. While my choice might not work for everyone else, especially because not every store is as easily represented by an image as mine, I think there are some really creative options out there to label your own work.