Nova

I fell in love with these ceramic pieces from Majoyoal as soon as I laid eyes on them. I thought I would give waxed linen cording another try this week and I'm glad I did. At first I was upset that I didn't have two purple Fluorite beads, but now I rather like how it looks. You can find these earrings here in my shop.

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous weekend! 

Kristy Abner

Kristy's Kreations

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Birdies Squared

Birdies Squared

Or maybe even Birdies Cubed! I've been hoarding these beguiling little ceramic cubes from Stinky Dog Beads--I love just about miniature anything and these really tickled my aesthetic funny bone. It took me a while to come up with a design where they'd be really visible. They have large holes, making them perfect for so many of the current design trends (you could thread them right onto a heavy gauge bangle, or slip them easily onto 2mm Greek leather), and also for that reason lend themselves well to this kind of metal link. I hammered some 18-gauge copper wire and made tight loops at each end, that hold the beads in place nicely. I paired them with these sweet little Czech glass birds (also from Stinky Dog), and popped some teal glass beads (I'm in love with these beads!) from AfroBeadia onto the earwires.

You might have noticed I've been doing this extra wrapping lately across the front of larger beads--I love the way it looks but it has the added benefit of keeping those flat beads from turning around on the headpin. That drives me CRAZY. I want those beads to face forward but they don't usually cooperate. Sometimes I can get it wrapped down tight enough to keep them from moving much, but you risk breaking the bead when you do that. This works great!

These got me thinking about exotic birds. Here are some fabulous birds to inspire you!

Blue and Yellow Macaw by Luc Viatour

Green-Headed Tanager by Lars Falkdalen Lindahl

Rainbow Lorikeet by Misty Bushell

Golden Pheasant by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen

(Public domain photos above from Wikimedia Commons.)

Have a fabulous day!

Keirsten
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Connections

I bought a pair of ceramic connector beads from Karen Totten of Starry Road Studio, awhile ago.  I love the glaze color she calls Pomegranate.  I have a number of her pieces in that color.  But for some reason these connectors stumped me.  Its not that I disliked them, its just that nothing I paired with them seemed to be the right shape that balanced nicely with the tapered shape of the connectors. But yesterday I had one of those ah-ha moments!

It occurred to me that teardrop shaped beads would be a good match, because they would echo the tapered shape of Karen's connectors.  I dug around in my bead stash and came up with these lampwork glass headpins from Havana Beads.   They both echo the tapered shape of Karen's connectors, as well as being a pleasing color combination.  Viola!

These are simple, versatile earrings, while at the same time being distinctively unique!

These earrings would add just the right artisan touch to an outfit like this.

The "Pomegranate Drop" earrings will be listed in my Etsy shop later this evening.

Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry on Etsy

Linda Landig Jewelry on ArtFire

Riffed

So this word has been thrown around a lot and brought over to jewelry work from music. Which is great because they are both creative outlets to express ourselves. 

And this weeks offerings are all about riffing on (I wont say old) great ideas! 

This first set was created and sold clear back in 2010. I remember taking the photos with a camera that no longer exists and at my daughters home which at the time was pretty new to her. This is how I relate to my jewelry. During time periods and what was happening in my life... 

I took this first photo on her back deck. The wood stain was almost worn off and it was really rustic. The tree was allowing the sunlight to only flicker through. The setting was perfect! 

 And then my beautiful daughter modeling the set...

I have been in love with these earrings for almost four years now and wishing I could make another set. However, in the true character of beads you love... I only have ONE blue paddle left. 

Now for the riffed set~~

This set has fine silver rings instead of sterling, the ear wires are wrapped on instead of formed, and the beads are faceted Apatite instead of Czech glass. I hope I have done the design justice. 

My heart still longs to re-create that first set. I will forever be searching for those capri blue paddles......

And one more "riff" this week.

These earrings have been hugely popular in my Etsy shop. A customer recently left me feedback saying "make more like these!". So I thought- yeah, I will! 

Amethyst dangling on a cascading set of fine silver hoop rings...

And the Riff~
Carnelian dangling on a cascading set of fine silver rings... 

If you have a great idea, make it greater. Expand on it and see where that idea will take you! 
Until next time,
Cindy

Go big or go home

Hoops are so versatile and are always in fashion.

From teeny-tiny to gigantic sizes, there's something in there for everyone's taste.

I hadn't made big gigangic hoops in awhile, and I decided that today was THE day :)

So this is what I made... for the big hoops earrings lovers of this world,

inspired by fun Summer nights with family and friends:

These 14kt Gold-Filled hoop earrings are oval shaped, over 3 inches tall (from the top of my cold-forged handcrafted ear wires) by over 2 inches wide.

I have wire wrapped them with rustic chunks of Chinese Turquoise.

I also incorporated some fun flirty chains in the mix.

A little bit of Rustic Chic, as I like to call it. 

You can dress them up or down, these extra large gold hoops are READY for a Summer Party!

You can find these HERE on my website.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you're enjoying your long weekend!

Nathalie Lesage, Metalsmith, Jewelry Artist

NathalieLesageJewelry

Rubies in the Raw

Today we have a guest post by the wonderful Jewelry Artist Julie Thelen.

She recently said she's on an earring kick and she's been making some beauties

 so I asked her to share one of them on our blog.

Take it away Julie!!

I present to you, Rubies in the Raw!!

The inspiration for these exquisite earrings came from a strand of raw, uncut rubies I found at the Smoky Hills Art Gallery, an artisan gallery in my new, small home town of Park Rapids, Minnesota. I immediately fell in love with these earthy gemstones and purchased them (along with some turquoise nuggets and kyanite ovals) on the spot.

 As soon as I got home, I contacted Judith Billig of Icarus Beads, shared a picture of the rubies, and asked her to make me some drippy headpins to coordinate with them. When the headpins arrived in the mail, I couldn’t believe how perfect the coloring matched. I was thrilled and designed the first pair of earrings right away.

These beautiful Earrings are available Here.

Julie Thelen

Julie Thelen's Jewels by Jules

Happy

I treated myself to a few of Jana's gorgeous ceramic pieces for my birthday. I love pairing red and turquoise together and these came together quickly and effortlessly (love when that happens!). Check out Happy Fish Things and pick up something for yourself. I promise you won't be disappointed. The Czech glass Picasso beads are from Stinky Dog Beads. I thought they were a perfect touch!

Standing Proud by InLightImagery 

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous weekend!

Kristy Abner

Kristy's Kreations 

Kristy's Kreations Website 

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Dragonfly Sunset

Dragonfly Sunset

I love summer, for so many reasons--green leaves, late sunsets, soft breezes, and dragonflies! I haven't seen any of the real thing yet, so these will have to do for the moment. These lovely saffron/chartreuse Czech glass coins are from Stinky Dog Beads. I love the Picasso finish--you can see all kinds of persimmon, verdigris, and amber tones in the dragonfly portion. The beads on the earwires are charoite, and the seashell beads are also Czech glass.

Here is a lovely fellow to get you in the summer mood:

From Wikipedia: Image by André Karwath aka Aka

Isn't he beautiful? Now I want to make something in his wonderful colors, although I could never hope to make something so beautiful if I had a hundred lifetimes. His wings make me think of Fire Agate!

I hope you are enjoying some summer where you are.

Keirsten

(These are available in my Etsy shop.)

The Other 1%

We all have them squirreled away in our wardrobes and jewelry boxes, don't we? That hard-edged bracelet or scissored dress or tall boots that just make us feel take-on-the-world confident. I'm 99% a quiet, sensitive, artsy type, but every now and then I enjoy flaunting my 1% bad*ss.

These earrings have all the oil-slicked iridescent flashy black magic that you could ever want. Raku ceramic discs from Urban Raku, crusty little shards of gray ancient Roman glass, plus two insanely flashy electric blue nuggets of white moonstone. Stacked and wrapped. 

Bring it :)

Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree Earrings

The desert southwest is one of my favorite places to visit. To me, the desert is both relentlessly harsh and remarkably fragile and beautiful at the same time. This dichotomy is intriguing and forces one to appreciate the history of this place and those people who are brave enough to remain there. Surprising green growth around the cool springs, and bright flowers sprouting from a cruel looking cactus plants make an indelible impression. On this trip, we covered large areas of Nevada, Arizona and California and I wish we could have stayed longer as I always do when I have to leave this part of the country.

I chose the name Joshua Tree for these earrings as the beginning of a new collection of pieces using the subtle colors of the desert, punctuated with bright accents. In my earring design, I try to capture some of the rugged feeling of the desert plants and their flowers. I cut freeform shapes from wavy textured copper and punched a hole pattern into each of the copper pieces. I applied a verdigris patina in a shade of faded green, not unlike the desert plants. The oval connectors have been wire wrapped with darkened copper wire and small beads of stone and glass.


Gloria Ewing
Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire

Leopard Love

The inspiration for these earrings came from the Leopardskin Jasper Barrels I purchased at the Whole Bead Show a couple of weeks ago. As soon as I saw them I had a pretty good idea what I wanted to do with them and fortunately I had the perfect discs in White Copper already made.

I love adding little tiny touches of Sari Silk and I really think they add something special to these earrings!

I love scarves and this Leopard Scarf is purrrrrfect for these earrings. 

Leopard Scarf

Here they are along with some other beads I purchased.

These earrings are available for purchase HERE in my Etsy Shop.

Kristi

KristiBowmanDesign.Etsy

KristiBowmanDesign on Artfire

We're All Ears :: May Reveal

 I just love the graphic quality of these shells.

Those zig-zags and the natural spiral shape along with the coral red color were what pulled me into this picture.

I just did the 8th Bead Soup hop and when I received my ingredients from Sabine Dittrich in Germany, she sent me some coral ceramic teardrop beads. I knew it would be perfect.

I wrapped the beads in a spiral of galvanized steel wire and made some little twirly bits to dangle. I ended up making earrings and a pendant for a necklace. What inspired you?

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Gypsy Gold

Gypsy Gold

These earrings make me think of a Gypsy lady, wearing her earthly fortune in gold and silver. I think it's these striped beads--I always think of striped carnival tents when I use them. I have no idea if Gypsies use striped tent fabric but for some reason this is embedded firmly in my mind.

Ha! Stripes.
"Two Gypsies" by Francisco Iturrino 

I started this pair with rustic, brass finish Mykonos "cornflake" charms from Stinky Dog Beads and built a subdued palette around them in silver, cherry red, olive green and ivory. The little striped Indonesian glass beads, as well as the big "Casbah" pewter bead caps, are from Happy Mango Beads. The big clear glass nugget beads were cannibalized from a necklace a customer once gave me--I will be so sad when I use them up, I just love them! I haven't seen anything like them anywhere else.

I leave you with Vincent:

"The Caravans - Gypsy Camp near Arles"
Vincent van Gogh

Keirsten

River Walk Earrings

Yesterday I took a lovely walk along the Deschutes River, in Tumwater, WA.

I was inspired by the intense green of the lush growth along the riverside. Even the river looked green.  I was also struck by the fact that despite the many shades of green, most of it was some variation of blue-green. 

This tree received a constant fine mist from the nearby water fall.  It was an ideal environment for lichen growth.  I love the crusty texture and the browns and greens of the bark and the lichen.

 

I spent nearly 2 hours wandering around and photographing everything.  When I returned home, I was anxious to express my impressions through some jewelry designs.

I chose some of my own polymer clay charms on which I have layered many shades of blue-green, with small hints of other colors.  I added patina'ed copper discs to pick up the colors of the tree bark and I wrapped them all together with patina'ed copper wire. 

 Tumwater Falls

Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry on Etsy

Linda Landig Jewelry on ArtFire

Come on Summer!

I am so exited for summer to get here! I live in WA state and we've had such a wet cold winter. The weather forecast says we are in for a treat with high temps all week! I'm treating myself to a few days off at Long Beach.

Instead of sharing a pretty outfit to match my earrings I am sharing some beach pictures. Not the sunny white sand beach with the blue ocean. But OUR beach. Our beach is windy and cold (mostly) and sunny warms days are a rarity. This week promises to be amazing. I cannot wait. 

These pictures were taking a few years ago. I went to this spot with my daughter looking for something special to convert to a bead or bauble. Unfortunately we just found a lot of driftwood. However it was a beautiful site- the ocean rolling in, the waves were huge. Kind of scary but a rush at the same time.

My beach inspired earrings~

Peruvian Opal with Frosty White Beach Glass 

Wrapped in Fine Silver wire

Finished with Hand Crafted Ear Wires.

Available on Etsy from Cindy's Art & Soul 

Peace & Blessings

Cindy