Lava, Raku and Hawaii

My husband and I just got back from the island of Hawaii. We spent the week there with our daughter, son in law and their adorable 6 month old daughter, who I'm completely smitten with! We were in the Kona area of Hawaii. If you've ever been to Kona, then you know that many (but not all) of the beaches and hills in the area are covered with lava.

The lava fascinated me. In some areas it was all broken up, sharp and rocky, as in the photo above. But in other places it was smoother and you could see how it had flowed and piled up. It reminded me of pouring just cooked caramel or pudding out of spoon and watching it mound and puddle up.

The raku beads in today's earrings remind me of those mounds of cooled lava.  Very organic and mounded up a bit. Perhaps I've got Hawaii on the mind and so I'm seeing Hawaii in totally unrelated things.  I've always had an active imagination! 😉

The lava, erm, raku beads were made by Xaz beads. The tops and bottoms of the beads have a definite metallic purple sheen to them. I emphasized that purple sheen by topping the raku beads with amethysts. The leaf shaped head pins and fancy, wire wrapped ear wires are from Handmade by JGL.

Linda Landig Jewelry

Ferris Wheel Earrings

I've been having fun making these ceramic Ferris Wheel components.  When I first started making them, I glazed them all in one color, like the pair on the right.  But now, I'm getting a kick out using all sorts of color combinations.  I have a lot of these in bisque form now, just waiting for me to cover them in happy colors.

So I grabbed a pair of my Ferris Wheel components to use in today's earrings.

Purple and lime green are such a fun color combination.  I paired the ceramic components with pretty faceted amethysts, some pressed glass leaves and handmade brass ear-wires.  These are just fun to wear and I think I'll be keeping them for myself!

Linda Landig Jewelry

Quiet Moments and Elegance

As we've been simplifying our life for the 15 months, we've been even more aware of the preciousness of special moments. There's a certain softness and peacefulness that moves into this type of life transformation.

Winter peacefulness - Photo: Nathalie Lesage

It can be a scenery, a glimpse of something surreal, a feeling of a magical moment. When we collect too many physical things, it takes space not only in the space surrounding us, but it also takes up space in our mind.

In a world where we're encouraged with every single commercial on TV, Radio, Newspapers, Magazines, online adds, etc, to 'consume' 'consume' 'consume'... more, more, more, it's good to take a break and re-evaluate what we truly need. Turns out there's a lot of things we don't need at all.

Less is more.

So in that theme, I've decided to design this simple pair of earrings:

The blue-flash Labradorite gemstones remind me of the picture (above) that I took on one of our road trips up North. I've set these gemstones on a pair of lilac drop shape Amethyst gemstone sterling silver headpins (with the cute little trio of dots/detail at the bottom) that I've been hoarding for many years. I only have a couple more.

Although it's hard to see the color of those Amethyst gemstones, the Swarovski Crystals that I've suspended on the Anodized Aluminum rings are the same color... a soft lilac, cool and peaceful.

At the top, I've used a pair of handmade Polymer Clay beads (wavy textured croissants beads, in black and silver) made by the love of my life, my husband Darren :)

Long, Lightweight, Slender, Simple, Quiet Elegance that catches the light... you have to stop and take the time to get a glimpse of the blue flash in the Labradorite when the light hits them 'just so'. It's like a little secret that only a select few will get to enjoy.

Do you have any plans to lighten up your surroundings this Spring? Try it and see how it feels!

Wishing you a peaceful and quiet relaxing day!

Thank you very much for stopping by :)

You can find these earrings in my Etsy shop HERE.

Cheers,
Nathalie Lesage
My Garden Of Love on Etsy
The Crafty Tribe on Etsy

Crocus, Anyone?

This morning I was admiring the recent posts here on the EE blog and was struck by the color palette--we all seem to be in the mood for spring pastels, including me, for once. I'm usually not one for pastels, as I prefer bold earthy darker hues. But the recent warmer weather, sunshine, and brisk breezes have me in the mood for crocus purple, anemone blue, and hyacinth pink. 

At Tucson this year I snagged a handful of matched agate drusy earring pairs in beautifully muted pastel hues. The adjective "glam" is not a word I would typically use to describe my jewelry, but when I saw these soft little drusies I was struck with a vision of sparkle. And so the past week I've been working on a series of metalworked post and drop earrings featuring these wondrous little miracles of nature.

This particular pair features a beautiful pair of amethyst drusies in soft lilac purple with a warm amber tinge. I created simple sterling silver bezels and then accented the shapes of the stones using some of my beloved cratered hand-cast granules. I wanted to design these post/stud earrings so that when worn, the shape and sparkle would really light up the curve of your lobes.


I'm still working my way through all 10 pairs of these, so stay tuned in about a week to see the results! 

 




Happy Wednesday and Happy Spring!

Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Romance is Alive

I see crystals and think, Romance! I love amethyst, lavender, plum shades in just about anything! 

 

These earrings feature hand forged .999 pure silver hoop rings with tiny spiral images, amethyst Czech glass fire polished crystals wrapped with fine silver spiral headpins. Bronze Czech glass crystals at the top connect to hand forged sterling silver ear wires. A rustic, antique finish complements the shiny crystals!

Available at Art & Soul Jewelry

Peace & Blessings, 

Beaded Bead Earrings

Sue Kennedy of Sue Beads is well known for her beautiful lampwork glass beads and headpins.  But did you know that she also makes amazing beaded beads in the coolest color combos?  As of this writing, she doesn't have any of her beaded beads in her shop, but she had a nice selection of them in her booth at Bead Fest. I made sure to snag a pair and now that I am back home, I wish I had gotten several additional pairs.

Sue Kennedy and Jason Moninger, Sue's boyfriend/booth assistant, at Bead Fest.

These earrings were the very first thing that I made from my Bead Fest stash! They didn't need much additional embellishment, because the beaded beads were already so intricate. All I did was add an antiqued brass bead at the bottom and then topped them with a brass colored glass disc and an amethyst.  Squee!  I just love them!  You can find them in my Etsy shop.

-Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry

August Flowers

The month of August is the month of my birthday, and what I love most about this month is the sight of the mature greenery and all the flowers in bloom. I love to stroll and take in all the gorgeous flowers that I see in all the gardens, as well as the wild flowers that bring a touch of colors sometimes in unsuspected places...

I absolutely had to make a pair of earrings to represent August Flowers:

I made a pair of .999 Fine Silver hoops on which I have wire wrapped some stunning Fancy Cut (faceted kite shaped) Tsavorite Garnets, AAA micro-faceted lilac amethyst gemstones and gorgeous berrilicious Pyrope Garnets.

I have also added some sun-catching faceted sterling silver beads near the top, and stamped a small leaf under the wrapped area.

All handmade from scratch, including the .925 sterling silver ear wires... these are my August Flowers earrings.

I wish you all a great remainder of August... enjoy the flowers while we still have them. Winter will be coming too fast.

Nathalie Lesage

Metalsmith, Jewelry Artist

http://www.NathalieLesageJewelry.com

Faerie Lights

Originally I planned to show you the necklace that inspired these earrings, also. But I was blessed with an unexpected visit from family who live out of state! So I did not finish the necklace. That will be for tomorrow... or another day.

I have been working on making new porcelain beads. Playing with textures, shapes and glazes. It's a lot of fun but I am new to glazing... and there are a lot of unexpected results thus far. Happily I have a few beads that I like, and this is one of them.

I really love this color! I don't really know how I achieved it. Unfortunately... I did not take notes when I was glazing. Lesson learned. I have a kiln FULL of beads ready to fire and there will be note taking this time around! :-D 

Back to the color. I am thinking it's light or PALE amethyst. What do you think? What would you call it? I have paired it will some really pretty Czech glass beads that have an iridescence to them that reflects the sunlight in an amazing way.

My camera lens is cracked. Because I dropped it. And I have not gotten around to researching cameras enough to know what I want to get to replace this one yet. I have loved this camera! And honestly, I don't want to get rid of it. But sometimes it does this funny thing with the light... sunlight... direct sunlight does this funny thing... 

And it's kind of pretty in this one- so I left it. 

And the name came... Faerie Lights...

These are simple earrings. I find that sometimes the simplest designs are the ones I prefer. Uncluttered and just pretty. 

For these earrings I used some Bali silver flowers I have had in my "stash" for years. I have had them so long, I barely remember where they came from. If you work with beads, I'm sure you can relate. Those beads that you love and love and love and you want to keep them forever- only to take them out once a year to fondle? 

Yes, these are those beads.

This was one of those times that I knew exactly what to put together. These components almost came together on their own - magically? I don't know. The flowers time had come!

Necklace coming soon! 

Cindy 

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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

Heart Earrings

Hello!  Let me introduce myself.  I'm Linda Landig.  I'm a longtime follower of this blog and the newest addition to the Earrings Everyday team.

True Love Earrings

 Lately I have been dabbling in Polymer Clay and since Valentine's Day is nearly here, I thought I would make a pair of heart earrings.  I textured the polymer clay with a rubber stamp and colored the hearts with layers of chalks and Prisma colored art pencils.

Since February's birthstone is amethyst, I decided to dangle a faceted amethyst on each heart and then I included another amethyst on each of the ear wires.

True Love Earrings

These earrings would look delicious with this outfit and a dark, unstructured jacket.

source: the Loft

 To see these earrings, a coordinating necklace and more, please visit Linda Landig Jewelry.
Till next time!
-Linda

Amethyst & Turquoise

One of my favorite gemstone combinations to work with is Amethyst and Turquoise. I just love the colors together and the texture. They would pair nicely with this pretty floral scarf I found on Etsy.

Scarf by BessiesCreations

 

While looking at my Pinterest boards, I noticed that I pin quite a lot of the aqua and purple color combos. This is one of my favorites. It is by Dapper Images.

 You can find me on Pinterest  or visit my website to see more of my work or to contact me.

Thanks for looking and have a fabulous weekend,

Kristy Abner

Kristy's Kreations

Catching Dreams

I recently got some new Vintaj Brass Co. components - these are called Stained Glass Windows. But my vision once I got some Labradorite and Amethyst dangling off of them, was dream catchers.  To dress them up I attached some vintage crystal buttons with some linen cording.

I love the pretty purple, gray and blue flash colors in the stones, and imagine they would probably be pretty hanging in a window! :)

These are available in Lorelei's Etsy shop

Lilac Dewdrops

Lilac Dewdrops

I have a pile of top-drilled gemstone teardrops like these, but have never been able to figure out what to do with them. I thought I'd try wiring them onto an earwire! I rather like how they turned out. These are amethyst, with copper and purple glass. Surprisingly lightweight and unexpectedly glam!

Of course, they need a dress and killer shoes:

Via Polyvore

Lovely lampwork bracelet by OneEyeCatStudio.

See more in my Etsy shop HERE.