Treasures of the Sea

Treasures are in the eye of the beholder... What may seem insignificant to a person, may be an incredibly precious treasure to another. Where does your mind go when you think about "Treasures of the Sea"?

When I was younger, whenever I would think about the Treasures of the Sea, I would automatically think about Seashells, Pearls, Sea glass, Sand Dollars, etc.

As I'll soon be entering my (hopefully) wiser years by becoming a grandma next month... Now, when I think of Treasures of the Sea, my mind now goes to artful pieces of soft driftwood adorning our beaches nearby, stones of various colors polished to a super soft finish by the sea, the gentle waves rolling on my feet as I walk along the water line, holding my loving husband's hand. I feel so happy in my heart and soul, and that feeling is my most precious Treasure of the Sea.

Kin Beach, Comox, BC - Photo: Nathalie Lesage

The blue sky, the sun, or cooling clouds, the birds singing, the whales and seals floating by...
every single thing is magical in an even deeper way than when I was a child.

This story is my inspiration for these earrings... precious little tumbled nuggets of color with shades of the water, sand and sky (in my handmade polymer clay beads), the driftwood (the rustic wood beads), the gentle waves of the ocean (in the copper wavy bead caps), held together on a pair of non-allergenic niobium ear wires:

The perfect way to carry the good vibes of the beach everywhere you go ... at 1 7/8" tall.

I prefer to wear shorter earrings, but I find it challenging sometimes to incorporate everything I want in a design, while keeping the overall size under 2 inches :)

I've made a couple of extra sets of these cute little beach inspired rustic shaped Polymer Clay Nugget Beads. You can find these earrings and my handmade beads in My Garden Of Love Etsy Shop HERE.

Thank you for stopping by! Have a fabulous day!
Cheers,
Nathalie
My Garden Of Love on Etsy
The Crafty Tribe on Etsy

Escape to a Tropical Paradise

Heyyyyy..... it's been awhile! I'm so happy to finally feel well enough to make an appearance here.

I've missed you all very much. My battle isn't over, but at least I'm making enough progress to start hanging out with you here again, and that makes me VERY happy!

For the past 9 months, you could say that both my hubby and I have been 'surviving' life rather than 'living' life. As we were watching the finale of the Alone tv show last week, one of the contestants was talking about the difference between being in survival mode vs living life mode.

That's how I feel. I've been in survival mode for 9 months now, and attempting to insert a bit of 'living life' here and there - and to me, that means getting creative again!

So I'm thrilled to say that I've been able to make some Mokume Gane Polymer Clay earrings components such as these, recently:

I love the look of Mokume Gane, don't you? It kind of reminds me of Australian Opals with the layers and colors. I just get giddy inside when I see these :)

The metal leaf (gold in this case) and various layers of translucent clay and colored clay blend together to make a unique rustic chic look that I love. It's random and once I apply several coats of clear varnish, the layers and colors just pop.

My mother-in-law and I were talking that we'd love to go on a trip to Hawaii (she's been there, I haven't) one day when we're all feeling a lot better (gotta have a goal in life, right?), so I made these earrings thinking of escaping to Hawaii:

Rustic Chic "Escape to a Tropical Paradise" Earrings, featuring my handmade Mokume Gane polymer clay components, with a rustic messy 14kt gold-filed wire wrap, Swarovski Crystals, gorgeous Czech Glass beads from my friend Jac at Sugabeads (she has awesome supplies!), and set on hypoallergenic Titanium ear hooks.

You can see these earrings and more of my handmade jewelry components in My Garden Of Love Etsy Shop HERE.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful weekend!

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

Bloomin

These gorgeous Red Crusty Flowers made by HavanaBeads have inspired me more than once. I've used them numerous times in my earrings designs and I always love the end result!

This time I've attached them to really wonderful Bone Beads with Tribal Patterns running around them.

http://www.kristibowmandesign.com/product/bloomin-earrings-handmade-lampwork-glass-and-bone

They are kind of mismatched but look so fine when put together, and I resisted the urge to put a little bit of Sari Silk on them, I like them just as they are!

I'm opening a new shop on Indimade!

Not much listed there yet but please check back, I'll be trying to add new items every day.

KristiBowmanDesign.com

Kristi

KristiBowmanDesign.com

KristiBowmanDesign.Etsy