The Quiet Lion: necklace design

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

gold dust and a tusk

Bohemian Tusk Necklace by Allison Cooling, quietlioncreations.com

A tribal wooden tusk, spiny oyster beads and creamy orchids - complimented by our girl J Law - makes for a deeply dark, yet surprisingly chic shoot. This necklace was simply made by stringing these natural beads onto black leather strands and finishing with a knot - I mean, not the most glamorous closure, but you can definitely get away with it.

The delicate gold dusted appearance was made using one of my favorite techniques, which I'll of course explain. Use gold or silver craft flake and lightly paint on any pendant, using clear nail polish (just a little!). Let it dry, then paint over to secure and adhere.Works on nonporous materials like gemstones and rocks too!

Because I take all photos for my blog, the images within this post are all copyright Allison Beth Cooling for Quiet Lion Creations. If you'd like permission to use a photo, email me at allison@quietlioncreations.com

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Miss Dior Perfume Potion

I'm at it again; my perfume potion necklaces (previous styles include my Chanel COCO and Dior J'adore versions) have quickly become an obsession. In this piece, I stuck with a gold color scheme to offset the silvery label. I actually mixed the Miss Dior bottle bottom with a Verace Bright Crystal top, because I liked the big, chunky feel. Filling the bottle with vintage glitter and gold flake (as opposed to using pearls like in previous potion designs) gave me an excuse to make a pearl chain for the pendant to hang from. Linking up antique chandelier crystals to this chain added contrast to the opaque pearls. Tying a lace remnant bow and finishing with Swarovski flat backs and briolette charms sealed the deal for me.

This design won Happy Mango Beads' Trash to Treasure contest's "Is That My Old Windshield?!" category. You can view my piece here and also take a look at the other winners!