The fanciest bracelet ever

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I got some very pretty vintage rhinestones on ebay awhile ago, and as per usual, I put them in with my bead stash and occasionally I would get them out and turn them every which way while admiring how sparkly they were. And then I would put them back, because when you have something really cool, you have to make a piece of jewelry worthy of its coolness. And when I have a limited supply of beads (or rhinestones) that I really like, I tend to use them sparingly when I do use them. But one day when I was looking at these, I decided that they needed to be used together, decadently, in the true ostentatious fashion of the costume jewelry era from which they came. But I didn't have the metal findings that would normally go with vintage rhinestone costume jewelry, so I decided to bead around them instead. It was hard to find the exact size of the base I needed, so it took a few tries. These were my failed attempts. The rhinestones didn't sit quite right in them.

Most of these pictures don't quite do justice to the stones because I took them inside without the flash, but you get the idea. They have lovely watermelon, peacock colors.

I finally figured out the right size for the beaded bases, and then I started to bead around them. This took a loooong time. Initially, I thought I might add other beads in between the rhinestone links, but I decided against that. I also somehow thought that five of these would fit around my wrist. I was wrong, but this miscalculation may have been a good thing because I kept thinking I only needed a couple more, which spurred me on.

Then I thought that six might be enough.

But in the end I needed seven.

Here are some pictures I took inside:



And some I took outside. I'm not sure which lighting works better. I like each in its own way.





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