Colour Me Happy

I was lucky enough to snag some Regis Teixera beads recently and here is how I interpreted them.  In the last year or so I moved away from my usual bold colours to more subtle tones. I missed my colours and Regis' beads were a perfect excuse to start playing around with colours again.  I think I still held back but I like what I've come up with and hope you do too.

First up are these.  I had the opportunity to play with so many colours but I held back a little to make the beads be the focus.  I wire wrapped hoops in teal with a hint of black and purple, hanging from these are brass flower blanks which I wire wrapped using single rhinestones (in brass settings) in dark teal(ish) and purple seeds.  

For this pair I simply wire wrapped some hoops in turquoise and amber (gold).  Originally I had layered the hoops with resin charms.  They looked ok but I felt that the hoops needed to be smaller to make them look perfect.  Sorry I didn't take a photo of the original pair.  As I didn't have time to wrap a smaller pair of hoops, I decided to improvise.  I got rid of the resin charms and what I was left with is pictured below.  Short, simple yet statementastic (I think)

And lastly these.  I painted these brass wings last year in rainbow colours but never got round to using them.  I painted filigree brass bits in black, gold and Verdigris, wire wrapped hoops in purple and turquoise and assembled everything.  

These earrings will be available in my next online show in the FB group The Jewellery Show on Monday.  Hope you can join me.  See you in a couple of weeks time.

Suhana <3

My Etsy Shop: Suhana Hart Jewellery

Sister Earrings

Hi, everyone!  It's good to be back.

First, let me thank Norbel, who covered my last blog date at the last minute.  I really appreciate it, my friend! 💓

I've always loved the idea of "sister" jewelry:  pieces that resemble each other but aren't the same.  I hadn't made any sister anythings in a while...but then, about a month ago, I bought these exquisite rainbow leaf earring components from Kristi Bowman Gruel:

From a strand of four beads (by one of my favorite glass artists, Beth Mellor of Beeboo) I picked two that would be perfect with the leaves:  beautiful little round-edge cubes with colorful swirls and teal blooms. They would make a gorgeous pair of earrings.  So I made them, adding some copper beads, Czech glass rondelles, and Swarovski crystals:

These sold quickly (thank you, dear lady!), but I didn't forget that I still had two more of those wonderful floral beads.  Two or three weeks later, Kristi had another show, and I found leaf components that resembled the original leaves. 

 
I used different copper accents for these new earrings, making them more airy, and they're also a bit longer and more slender than their sisters.

These "sisters" are clearly separate designs, but they're definitely family!

  


Thanks for reading!  xoxo
Meridy

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Rainbow Tassel Earrings

I've been wanting to experiment with leather a bit. I had some ideas for today, several of which did not work out.  You know how it goes sometimes.😉 But I did come up with this simple idea.

I had some silver, metallic leather that my friend Lindsay Starr had given me awhile ago. I cut around a teardrop shaped template that I usually use for making my ceramic earrings. Then I cut out an oval, inside of the teardrop.

I dangled some rainbow colored tassels in the center of the ovals and they're good to go!  Lightweight and breezy.  Perfect for a summer day.  Speaking of which - I hope you're having a fantastic summer!  See you next month,

Linda Landig Jewelry

We're All Ears :: July Reveal :: Cheers!

Greetings from gorgeous Galena, IL!

I am here at the top of a mountain-top resort overlooking the Mississippi River into Iowa, the site of the Adornments Mixed Media Art Jewelry Retreat. I am teaching my second class today as well as a make-and-take and later tonight Heather Powers and I will be doing a LIVE Facebook jewelry designing challenge. If you want to tune in, head over to Brenda Schweder's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/BrendaSchwederJewelry/) as she will be our Master of Ceremonies and responsible for the Mystery Component! The fun starts at 8pm Friday, July 20th! Join us!

So this is all a roundabout way of saying that I didn't allow myself a lot of time to make things, plus I limited myself to using what I had on hand at the Adornments retreat. Lucky for me there was a vendor night with Jess from Vintaj and her mom Trish from Rustic River Finds with all manner of beady goodness.

I am kicking back with a glass of Shiraz with the most stunning view imaginable to bring you the July edition of We're All Ears :: Cheers! I made three different earring sets all based on summer drinks that I enjoy. See if you can guess what they are in the comments! I will pick one of the comments at random for a prize I will announce on August 3rd. (P.S. You don't have to get the answers right to win so guess away!)

Hint #1: This frosty drink is best served with both a spoon and a straw. What is it?

Hint #2: This drink is the quintessential summer drink, perfect for sitting on a front porch and I always stop by the side of the road when I see it. What is it?

Hint #3: The Belgian cousin of this drink is typically served with a wheel of lemon, but this truly original US drink is garnished slightly differently. What is it?

So there you have it. A party for July! Drink up my friends and share your favorite summer beverages. Can't wait to toast your creativity!

Layers of Texture

Beautiful enamel earring charms by Anne Gardanne of Gardanne Beads with added layers of different materials and textures.

For me, it's like a magnet when I see orange and pink combined!  It only gets better with earthy touches of olive,  lines of dark grey and that pop of white in the background.

The top accent beads are carved bone with an openwork basket feel.  

Next, I added some of my favorite accent beads made by Heather Powers of  Humblebeads.  Although they are small, they give off a big impact with their bold pattern.  Also, being made of polymer, they are very lightweight which is nice when you're doing a stack design.

Also added were some warm reddish brown elongated wood beads and burnt umber colored sari silk.  Again, all very lightweight material.

I think these would be amazing to wear summer through autumn.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Loralee xo

Loralee Kolton ~ artful in beads

Heat Wave

Dear friends, we are having unusual weather here in Sweden. It's been a heat wave since more than a week back with extreme temperatures. And before that ever since the month of May the weather has been unusually hot for Sweden. And hardly any rain at all. This has caused much more dryness in nature than normally. And now with the heat wave on top of that the risk of fires is extreme.

Below is a map of Sweden from yesterday afternoon. All the dark orange areas are high risk areas. Basically all of Sweden as you can see. And there are 69 wood and grass fires going on all over the country. 69!

I live just outside the city of Stockholm. So no fires going on near me at the moment thankfully. But the heat is so extreme it is impossible to function as normal. I basically spend all time inactive just sitting or laying, and panting, trying to find ways to cool down. It is impossible to sit in my studio and make jewelry. Way too hot in there.

So I've looked through my files for pictures of earrings I made before but haven't shown you here yet. I found three different ones I believe suitable for everyday Earrings. Hope you enjoy!

And please keep your fingers crossed that the extreme weather is soon over and that all the fires will be extinguished sooner than later.

----------
All my best,

Malin

Really Old :)

Hello! Our Dear Ms. Meridy is unable to be here this morning. She'll be back on her regular schedule two weeks from now.

These earrings are made with authentic Ancient Glass beads, and Antique Ostrich Egg Shell Beads. The glass these beads were made with, if not the beads themselves, was made along the River Niger and excavated in Mali. They’re referred to as Nila beads, or Dardig beads, and are 600 to 1000 years old, if not older. I have and had a good amount of Ancient Roman Glass. These beads are different. Their age is clearly seen in every bead I see and hold. I didn’t think I’d use them, wanting to keep them in my collection. But once I started, I knew it was not going to happen. They are incredible to work with.  I am always attracted to the old, things with history, and love combining them in my own way with my version of "today's" jewelry. Both sets of beads were purchased from the Rita Okrent Collection. The owner of the Collection, Jocelyne, the daughter of collector and artisan Rita Okrent, may be out of town but the shop is open. It may just take some time for her to respond should you message her. She has unique items.

There are three different pairs here. The remainder I made from 16 gauge wire, wrapped the tops in a thinner wire. They've been hammered a bit, etc.

I wish you all a super day, today and every day!

norbel
SheFliesAgain😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄😄

Leafy Shade.

 

Oh my, it's so hot over here - the north of  England reaches 31 degrees? What's all that about? Hottest summer since 1976 - which I recall well, as I was chasing a very mobile 15 month old around at the time. So at least thank goodness for small mercies.

My workroom just happens to be my conservatory - wonderful for light and air but when I come down in the morning to open the doors and windows and it's off the top of the thermometer - 50 degrees C - I know I'm not going to get anything done again till evening. So making the most of getting out on my bike and keeping the garden tidy - the shady part with lots of shrubbery being my favourite part! This weeks earrings echo that sentiment - cool and fresh.

 

 

The leafy porcelain buds are by French artist PerlaYo - I've had them for ages, wondering how to make them come alive. Playing around with copper leaf headpins from Cecilia Lawrence I turned them upside down, twisted around and threaded seed beads on. Hung on Lucy's copper earwires, they have just the fresh look I was after.

 

Just popped them in my Etsy shop if you'd like them.  See you again in a few weeks time - I'm off to Greece for my hols in 10 days, hoping to pick up some inspiration for my next show, which is sea-themed.  Have a lovely summer, and if you are going away, have a great time.

 

 

Lindsay xx

 

My Etsy shop

 

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Summer and butterflies

Greetings from Greece.

Summer is in full force here in Greece, after a short spell of colder weather with rain.

Most of my family, our Greek neighbors as well as other expats, living in our village all think we are pensioners, spending our days blobbing on the beach, sipping cocktails and enjoying the delicious Greek food. If only. Our lives could not be more different.
Both my hubby and I work full-time in our camper van, doing our day time job. Just like other people. With 3 fans working full force (we don’t have an airco) and drinking plenty of ice cold water.  But at the end of the day we do enjoy some downtime, swimming in the sea, drinking a freddo cappuccino in the village and have laughs with our friends. Life here is good and we know we are so blessed and fortunate we can live the life we live.

With all the blobbing  (LOL), I did have some time to make a pair of new earrings. I love moth and butterfly wing beads so I was thrilled to score a pair of handmade lampwork ones, made by Silvia. I paired them with beautiful lampwork glass beads made by Jennifer Powers, aquamarine, Swarovski  spacer rondelles and vintage Lucite beads. And of course handmade ear wires by my friend Lucy Haslam.

I hope you enjoy a wonderful summer day. Are you on holiday and if so, where? In any case, I wish you all a wonderful day, full of sunshine, laughter and butterflies.

See you next month. 

Thanks for looking and you know I love to read your comments so don't be shy and leave some words. 

Janine

We're All Ears :: Cheers to July!

Mojito
Margarita
Gin + Tonic
Moscow Mule
Root Beer Float
Chocolate Milkshake
Cold Brew
Lemonade
Wine Cooler
Beer

What is your favorite drink of summer? As this is a holiday week in the U.S. I am sure that there are lot of frosty, frothy, fun drinks being consumed! Tonight is the night for my opening celebration for the gallery exhibit that I am hosting, so I KNOW there will be a drink in my future (probably not with a tiny drink umbrella, but delicious nonetheless!).

Find a picture of your favorite summer drink (I got all of these at Unsplash - royalty free images that are beautiful! Check it out!) and build some earrings around it! The colors, the flavors, the shape of the glass, the way the ice melts, even the sweat stain on the coaster....your choice! (Bonus love if you provide a recipe for the cocktail!)

See you right here on Friday, July 20th for a toast!

“Tis in my memory lock'd, And you yourself shall keep the key of it.” ~ Shakespeare

I was excited to find these very cool West German vintage plastic cameos from the 1940's.  They have an AB cast to them, which you're able to see a hint of in some of my photos; not always the easiest effect to capture. This retro green is a favorite of mine.

I have always found cameos a little mysterious  - not exactly sure as to why.  I find keys mysterious too, so I thought, that might be an interesting direction to take.  The keys are from Inviciti Jewelry and made of pewter.

I wanted to create a bit of space and airiness between the two main focal pieces so I added these amazing tin-cut crystals from the 1930's.  I had never seen a tin cut crystal in this aqua before!

I love when I sit at my worktable and by pulling a few of my favorite things together  - somehow, a little mystery or story starts to unfold.  I will let you fill in the rest ;)

Thank you for popping in and having a look around today!

Loralee xo

Loralee Kolton ~artful in beads

These earrings are in my shop!

Bubblegum Fun

Fun play with colours and lightweight components.

Ingredients:
Bright orange-pink 'ball in a ball' acrylic beads
Khaki green faceted acrylic rounds
Transparent with gold fluted glass beads
Silverlined transpaernt large seed beads

Pink waxed linen cord
Brass coloured large lucite rings
Vintaj brass jump rings and earring hooks

All my best,

Malin