Happy Ending For The Bride & Groom!

While preparing for their wedding day, this June bride and groom experienced a near tragedy!  *Gasp!

Either the agate bead had a hidden flaw, or pressure from the steel wire wrapping was too tight for the etched Dzi bead and it crumbled right in my hand.

I thought of a couple of options, but as you know, you don't get a second chance wrapping lampwork headpins.  Once you've made the commitment (like our happy couple, here) there's no turning back!

Even before the mishap, I had wanted to bring more warm gold tones into the design.  So, I decided to do a fabric wrapped bead in a mellow gold tone wire on a dark background.  I had also thought of stacking ornate open jump-rings but there would be too much gold on one side; this had better balance.

I think the Mr. is looking even more dapper now.  I love this design far better than the original!  Now they compliment one another and each has their own individual style - like every couple should. 

~

Umm, it's honeymoon time...we should be leaving now I'm thinkin'.

♡

I hope if you experience a mishap while working, you'll think of it as a challenge!  You may discover a new technique or come out with an even better design!  I believe many refer to it as a "happy accident".

The amazing skulls were made by Gaea Cannaday of Gaea Handmade.

The lampwork headpins are the creations of Kimberly Rogers of Numinosity Beads.

Many thanks for stopping by today, it's always a joy to be here and show you what's happening on my work table!

Loralee xo

Loralee Kolton ~ artful in beads

A new beginning

Hello lovely earring lovers,

Is it too late to wish you all a happy New Year? I don’t know what the protocol is, or if there is a protocol at all. How long can you wish each other happy New Year after New Years Eve? I am clueless. Ah well, it doesn’t matter, I just gonna do it:

I wish you all a wonderful, happy and healthy New Year, full of joy, laughter, cake, butterflies, sunshine, coffee/tea and earrings.

As you might know the last 2 years were not the happiest years of my life. But a new year gives new opportunities, new insights, new chances. Did you make New Years resolutions? I made several but one of mine as always is losing weight. Somehow I never succeed. Another plan is to re-launch Esfera. Yep, slowly new ideas are forming in my head.

My first earrings of this year are a pair made with beautiful lampwork head pins from Linda Newnham  (Earthshine beads). I so love the colors in these; matte beige with a shiny silvery/coppery accent. To be honest, this pair was made in august already. It was just waiting there, forgotten to list in my shop. Another New Years resolution: list jewellery shortly after it has been made.
Well, that's it for today. Thank you so much for visiting and I hope to see you again in a couple of weeks. And you know I really love to read your comments, so don’t be shy, just write a few lines. I always respond.

Wishing you a wonderful day,
Janine
Esfera Jewelry

My etsy shop
My website/blog
My facebook page

Just Needed Some Love

There the asymmetrical etched spotted headpins sat in my shop. 

unloved, un-bought-en and finally expired

Then they become my challenge.

I just got some of RaggedRobyn's wonderful stoneware bicones in the mail this week

A little Bali silver and Lila Koberstein's ceramic discs to equal out the length a bit

Good to go, ready for some lobe love!

Thanks for visiting 

Kimberly Rogers

www.facebook.com/numinositybeads

https://www.etsy.com/shop/numinositybeads

www.pinterest.com/numinositybeads

www.instagram.com/numinosity

Tropical fun

I love working with handmade headpins. Especially if they are so pretty as these from Karen Klomparens.

And the treasures you rediscover while rummaging in my bead stash. I have had these lovely tyvek beads made by Carolyn Saxby for over three years. 

It was about time I started using them.
They made up for simple, yet colorful and fun earrings. 

Now available in my shop.

Thanks for looking!

Wishing you and yours a wonderful 2016 full of joy, happiness and laughter.
Join me again in 2016

Janine

Esfera Jewelry

My etsy shop

My website/blog

My facebook page

Canyon de Chelly Earrings

I made these earrings with some of my most recently made  lampwork headpins. 

In lampworking you end up with a lot of small ends of rods so I have been using them up in this stratification series.

I had just visited a ceramic studio where the artist was making geological stratifications with all manner of clays and materials. We found that our process and results were somewhat similar albeit mine are on such miniature scale.

  These are the headpins I started with. They have a combination of enamel and frit between the layers.

Different colors of glass melt at different rates which make of the difference in the flow and size of the layers.

Being rather hefty to begin with I just added a couple of my "Spacey Crusters' and some African brass spacers to accent the lampwork headpins.

I finished them off with some little Faerystones copper earwires

 Canyon de Chelly

by Kimberly Rogers of NuminosityBeads

facebook - www.facebook.com/numinositybeads

pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/numinosity/

instagram - https://instagram.com/numinosity/

twitter - @numinositybeads

Sun Ray Drops

I just recently began etching metal and I've really enjoyed it, and, except for the ferric chloride stain on my kitchen island, it's been a lot of fun. After etching these teardrops, I knew I wanted to use some Bubby & McGurk lampwork headpins that I have been hoarding.

                                                                                  Sun Ray Drops are on my website.

Thanks for looking and have a great weekend!

Kristy Abner

Kristy's Kreations

Grandma's Attic

Happy First Day of Spring!!

On a trip to a local antique mall, I recently found a little wooden box full to the brim with mother of pearl buttons, big and small.  It was quite a find, as sometimes it's difficult to find the really itty bitty buttons. I imagine some cute little Grandmother who owned these, would get a kick out of the idea of repurposing them in some earrings!

I really love layered pieces, and it was fun to tie some buttons onto these enameled components from Gardanne Beads.  I dangled some bead caps glass headpins below each. The coral and pale green with the creamy colored buttons just reminds me of my own Grandmother who loved spring colors and gardening!

You can find these and other sweet earring selections in my Etsy shop, Lorelei Eurto Jewelry.