Under The Sea Bracelet

In my June Post, Pretty Pretty Beads, I gave you a sneak peek at some of the charms and glass beads I received from Artbeads.com.  I left you with the promise that I would show you what I created with the gorgeous beads.  Well, since some of the beads are charms, I knew I was going to make a charm bracelet of some sort... but, I didn't want to make a traditional bracelet with charms hanging from chain.  I wanted to make something really cool and funky. 

Since the charms were sea-themed, I decided to combine them with the amazing glass beads that shimmer and change color just like the ocean.  I created cages for the glass beads and used wire wrapping to suspend them in their cages.  Then, I alternated charms with the glass beads, also attached using wire wrapping.  This charm bracelet came out how I imagined it.  It was inspired by some of my SCUBA diving trips, and everything from the colors to the charms remind me of my trips!

I'm pretty happy with the way the bracelet turned out.  Next time, I will try using a smaller gauge wire so the structure of the bracelet is sturdier.  I'll also make the bracelet slightly shorter since it's a little big for my wrist.  Other than that, it came out the way I imagined it.  I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it!

FTC Disclosure: The items in this post were provided to me free of charge from Artbeads.com for review or design purposes as part of the Bead Blogger program. I am providing an honest review of the products for which I am receiving no compensation.

June...

Wow, the entire month of June has gone by without a blog post.  In my own defense, I have a good reason.  I've been in the process of moving from Guam to Florida.  The move began at the end of April when we shipped the majority of our belongings and hasn't ended yet... although we are almost done moving.  We spent the month of May sleeping on a air bed, with only a few belongings and spent the month of June in six different hotels and the homes of two family members.  We still have only the belongings we were allowed to fly with (2 suitcases and 2 carry-ons each) and the boxes of stuff we mailed to family members.  However, at the end of the week we will close on our house, and should have our shipments delivered in the next couple of weeks.

Now that I'm done with the excuses, I can go on to the beady happenings in my life.  During our journey, we spent some time visiting our families in Maine and New York.  While in Maine, we spent some time on a small island with a great beach.  Since the beach is only accessible by boat, it is relatively undisturbed.  While combing the beach with my husband, mother-in-law, father-in-law, and puppy we found a bunch of buoys and LOTS of beautiful sea glass.  I can't wait to start designing with it!!!  Here are some pictures of the glass we found:

My entire stash:

Bottle pieces:

The whites:

The browns:

The blues, greens, and one purple piece:

Check back later for how I use these beautiful finds in custom jewelry pieces!!!