Elena Adams Designs – News

Thanks to you, we raised $600 for Best Friends Animal Society! I’m so happy that people were excited to help this cause. So to those of you with new necklaces, pat yourselves on the back and enjoy your new shiny toy – you’ve helped save the lives of pets in great need. You can always [...]

Read Full Post »

This week has been insane. I know I’ve seemed a little quiet on Twitter and Facebook recently, so I thought I should share some of the things that have been going on. The Family’s Coming On Saturday my mother and sister roll into town for two weeks. I’ve been trying to get the house in [...]

Read Full Post »

It’s time to give back! Look fabulous and help find homes for animals in need. Every year, millions of animals are put down because they are unwanted or their medical needs are too great. Best Friends Animal Society aims to create “a better world through kindness to animals”. With a determined dedication to being a [...]

Read Full Post »

Grab your earplugs, boys and girls, because after an day of being bombarded with diamond ads while researching upcoming trends, I have a bone to pick with the world. It’s the height of wedding season, which means all the unwed ladies have stars in their eyes and are starting to leave engagement ring advertisements littered [...]

Read Full Post »

St. Paul’s Mothers of Multiples is a non-profit organization based in Minnesota, is dedicated to supporting women with multiple children who are encountering difficulties. Their annual 36th Annual Mothers of Multiples State Workshop runs in Bloomington on April 16th & 17th where women will gather to meet, network and hear from parenting experts. The theme  [...]

Read Full Post »

Believe it or not, this necklace started life as a bracelet. I’d been playing with a new chain maille bracelet design a while back, but I was unsatisfied with how open the 4-1 European weave turned out. After working on the charity necklace, which used a more densely packed 6-1 version, I thought I’d just [...]

Read Full Post »

Help a child this season, by contributing to Child’s Play. Created by the writers of Penny Arcade, Child’s Play aims to improve the lives of sick children by providing toys and games to hospitals. With nearly 70 partner hospitals, it’s a wonderfully direct way to spread some cheer. Make the holidays a little brighter for [...]

Read Full Post »

The auction has begun! Head over to eBay for product details of the Sterling Silver Chain Maille Necklace, inspired by Melissa Mercier. Bidding closes September 7th. All proceeds go to NARSAD for depression and schizophrenia research.

Read Full Post »

I think I’m done! I’m going to start photographing and spend some time looking at it. It’s one of those projects that’s gone on long enough that I’m never entirely sure it’s done. I’ve made quite a few changes to what I had initially thought I would. I’ve stripped it down a lot, which I [...]

Read Full Post »

I’ve been hard at work cutting and filing the silver sheet, and finishing up the length of the chain. The necklace is starting to feel more “real” somehow, now that all the pieces are fully assembled. Here is the silver, part way through the cut. You can see a corner where I punched holes to [...]

Read Full Post »

Life has a terrible habit of getting in the way of things. I’ve finally had a chance to make some more progress on the charity project. I figured out a way to attach the chain maille segment to the sterling silver plate. My main concern way being able to attach it in such a way [...]

Read Full Post »

I’m feeling a little stuck on the design. I now have most of the base chain done. Not all the beads are on, because I still may modify the overall shape. I have some ideas for attaching the silver plate to the chain discretely: I think I can punch some holes and overlap the two [...]

Read Full Post »

Years ago I took a class from The Bead Shop where we learned to take inspiration from a photograph or painting and turn it into a beaded necklace. We grew a pallet based on the photo, and  used focal beads to echo important features. Here’s the necklace I made for the project: This was based [...]

Read Full Post »

Here are some early design notes. I’m using European 6-1 because I think the heavy density of the chain reflects to mood of the image well. Laying everything out like this is something I do regularly when I’m getting into a design. I start by gathering or creating some of the core design components, then [...]

Read Full Post »

Here’s the first set of my notes. As you may know, I tend to design as I go, so plotting the piece out in advance is an exciting challenge for me. The first thing I’ve done is identified the important features of the image that I want to capture in the jewelry design. I’m still [...]

Read Full Post »

Depression, ADD, autism and schizophrenia affect so many people, that nearly everyone has a tale of how mental disease has affected their friends or family. NARSAD believes that a world without mental illness can be a reality. Through the help of thousands of donors, they provide grants and assistance to researchers who are pioneering breakthrough [...]

Read Full Post »