Monika Wiklund

It has been a little while since my latest post, but I still have plenty of jewelry to post about. This one is definitely a favorite among my latest designs, a dark chain necklace with a hematite ankh pendant and a combination of metal flower links and diagonal hematite squares with red agate beads.

I created the chain by rebuilding a chain with double links since I think that it was a bit too much with doubled rings in each link. As you can see, the chain is dark gray and almost exactly the same color as the hematite which means that the red agate create a very nice contrast to the gray metal. The metal flower link right above the pendant is slightly larger than the rest, and since the ankh pendant is pretty thick and did not have any other holes I used a piece of suede string to fasten it to the flower link.

Photography by Kristian.

I figured that this glass pendant with a pattern of black, white and gold would fit pretty well together with these onyx beads, and since I had just tried out my Thing-a-ma-jig and made some metal links, I also wanted to use them for a necklace. After trying a few different combinations, I came up with this necklace and I think that it looks pretty good. The necklace is combined from a pretty thick chain, onyx coins, onyx lanterns, two different types of metal links, and a glass pendant with a smaller round onyx bead at the top.

I think that it is a bit tricky to make the metal links in the Thing-a-ma-jig so that they will hold the weight of the necklace and not bend out of shape too easily if the necklace gets caught in something, but I suppose that is mostly a matter of using thicker wire. These links turned out fairly ok, but it is definitely something I will have to keep practicing.

Photography by Kristian.

This is a necklace that I made a while back but that I have not had any pictures of until now. It is a fairly short chain necklace with faceted blue glass beads, a couple of blue window beads, and a millefiori star pendant. The chain is a thin silver-colored mother-son link with a simple hook clasp. I like the blue color of the beads, and the millefiori pendant is a bit different from what I normally use in my designs which makes it a bit more interesting than just another chain necklace.

Photography by Kristian.

I am almost always on the lookout for new types of chains, and I was very happy when I found the copper chain that I have used in this necklace. For some reason I have not had much luck with finding many variations of copper chains earlier, and this chain is a lot more interesting than the ones I had before. The colors of the copper goes very well with the red-brown round agate beads and the orange-red of the agate rings and the pendant, and the small delicate copper flowers also adds something extra. This is definitely one of my favorite necklaces, and I have used it several times already.

Photography by Kristian.

Here is another chain necklace that I have made. I have lost count of how many versions of chain necklaces I have made, but it seems there is always some new materials and variations to try and also the chain necklaces are pretty popular so I tend to not keep them for very long. This is a fairly simple combination of a thick silver-colored chain, some small round and triangular moss agate beads, and a larger moss agate pendant.

I like the dark green color and the moss-like threaded pattern in the moss agate, and I think that they look pretty good with the thick chain even if the small round beads are barely noticeable in comparison with the chain and the larger triangular beads.

Photography by Kristian.

My last post was about a necklace that I made for my husbands aunts 60th birthday. As I mentioned in that post, I made two necklaces for her, and this is the other one. It is a simple but elegant necklace consisting of a large rectangular sardonyx pendant and a chain made from “filled in” links, and since the chain is not long enough to fit over the head without a lock of some kind, I also added a simple star-shaped toggle clasp.

I am very happy with the result, and I wouldn’t mind making some variations of the theme if I can find similar pendants or large beads.

Photography by Kristian.

Is it strange to combine a black wooden pendant with red agates, black lava stone, and a dark chain? The pendant is rather light compared to the rest of the necklace, which might feel strange at first, but I still think that this necklace turned out very well. It took me a while to figure out what to do with the pendant, and especially what to put in the hole at the top of the pendant. When I started experimenting with different beads, I found that the small round red agate fit almost perfectly, and since I like the combination of red and black I continued the theme with the other stone beads and added the thick dark chain.

Close-up of the wooden pendant, showing the red agate and the butterfly pattern of the pendant. I really like this kind of pendant, and I have a black rose silhouette pendant that is waiting to be used, as well as an older dark brown pattern pendant that I used for another necklace some time ago.

Photography by Kristian.

This is a rather delicate chain necklace made from a thin metal chain with small flower links and some pale blue silver-foil beads. It is not very long, and because of this and the lightness of the chain, I believe that it might be suited for a young girl.

I buy most of my materials online, even though I love being able to touch and feel and look at the beads I buy if I get a chance, and so also with this chain. Sometimes what you get when you buy materials online is not quite what you expected, and if I recall correctly I thought this chain would be slightly larger, but I think this necklace turned out fairly well anyway. It is  challenging and exiting when you get some materials that are not quite what you expected, and I love to expand my horizons and try new things with them.

Of course, most of the time I don’t really have a plan when I buy different materials anyway, or only a very vague idea of what I would like to do with them. It is when you have everything in front of you and you start combining things and look at what you already have that the ideas come.

Photography by Kristian.

I used a rather discrete color scheme for this necklace, using a combination of a gray stone pendant, facetted needle agate beads af slightly varying shades of gray, grayish blue glass beads, and a thick chain with antique finish. The stone pendant is not quite as dark as the picture implies, and I think that the necklace works very well in combination with dark clothing.

I am not quite sure what kind of stone the pendant is made of, but I really like the slightly uneven pattern and I think it is about the right size and color to combine it with the other stones and beads of the necklace.

Photography by Kristian.

chain necklace with purple silver-foiled beads with matching bracelet and earrings

A matching set of necklace, bracelet and earrings made from a light silver-colored, oval, angle-cut chain, some silver-colored metal beads, purple silver-foiled beads of different sizes and shapes, and with a large purple silver-foiled heart as a pendant.

I really like the combination of and the contrast between the dark purple beads and the light silver-colored chain and I wanted to create a set with a common theme without using the exact same pattern in each part. The bracelet and the earrings use the same colors, but rather than using the square and oval silver-foil and metal beads of the necklace, I used the small silver-foil hearts to increase the focus of the pendant of the necklace.

Photography by Kristian.