(Please) Forget to Wash Your Hands

I'm sure we all heard this at least once during our childhood: "don't forget to wash your hands". As a tomboy and serial creek-hopper, I probably heard that at least once a day. My grubby little paws were always busy and exploring---catching crawdads for the boys who were afraid of getting pinched (come on, guys!), playing on the swingset, picking bouquets of flowers for mom, netting butterflies in the garden, romping through the woods behind our house. 

We assume that dirt and the accumulation of "stuff" is a bad thing. Now, to be fair, in many cases, it is. Germs are not fun. Smelly stuff is not fun. Grody stuff is not fun. However, when it comes to dirty beads with a history, I'm all for it. 

When I'm at a show or am trolling Etsy for new components and I see a strand of beads that have grime, I usually pounce. And once I get them on my bench, the thought of WASHING the beads to remove that beautiful patina of time...well, it never even enters my mind. Some people prefer their beads and jewelry to be new, pristine, shiny, and spotless. That's fine, no problem with that. But there's also something very sterile about it to me.  


Take, for example, the collections of old antique beads found in my earrings for today. Just look at the macro shot on those babies! Pitted, caked with decades and centuries of grime---people rolling the beads around in their hands, wearing them, treasuring them, trading them for goods. Different cultures, different continents, different purposes. In other words, these beads have LIVED. They've outlived generations of humans. And they live on today in their current incarnation as earrings. If that doesn't get your juices flowing as an artist, then I don't know what will.

These earrings feature lime green ancient glass beads, clear "dogon" glass beads, and pale robin's egg blue amazonite stone beads---all from Africa. I added in small vintage wood beads and little bead caps to complete each quintet. The wirework is all hand-wrapped steel, because you know how much I love organic gnarled vining forms. Hooped, lightweight, and fluid.

Happy Wednesday...and have fun getting dirty!

Nikki 
LoveRoot on Etsy

Autumn Turning

Autumn Turning

I recently set myself a challenge of creating earrings from the hoard of recycled glass discs I've been collecting from Happy Mango Beads and Afrobeadia. I have them in a virtual rainbow of colors! I initially wanted to make bracelets from them (which I still intend to do), but then I got a bug to incorporate them into earrings. The lime green discs above are recycled glass from Afrobeadia, and the perfect little amber lampwork roundels are from Happy Mango Beads.

The colors in these earrings were inspired by the nearly psychedelic hues of the spirea bush outside my living room window, which is currently in a state of a blazing metamorphosis--caught between the cool lime green of summer and the fiery sun colors of autumn. I love this time--October has been unusually warm here, drawing out the season--I feel spoiled, getting treated to an extra-long version of my favorite time of year.

I merged these wonderful beads with a riot of sterling silver--torpedo beads and little round beads, which I lightly distressed with my Fretz mini-texturing hammer--and lots of silver wire. I love the icy silver with these exuberant colors.

You can see these and other items at my Etsy shop.

Recycled glass discs in green from Afrobeadia
Amber lampwork rondelles from Happy Mango Beads
Sterling torpedo beads from Monsterslayer

Japanese Garden

Amazing bicone shaped lampwork beads by Paul Spencer called for a bold, yet simple approach. My design has an Asian influence, reminiscent of a Japanese garden with rich colors, high contrast and simple lines. The copper dangles have been hammered and then layered with Guilders paste in Inca Gold to give them more dimension.

Lime Green by chrysalis-hco featuring big buddha purses

Gloria Ewing
Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire
Chrysalis for the Curious Blogspot

Margaritas in Marrakesh

Margaritas in Marrakesh

I love Moorish architecture, and it fascinates me to see Moorish design elements trickle from Spain to the southwest United States, where it streamlined itself a bit into Mission style. These earrings could be straight from a bazaar in Marrakesh, or a street fair in Santa Fe! The clover-shaped ring beads are of natural, winter white howlite, and I've combined them with Indonesian glass beads in matte lime green, petite Czech glass flowers in topaz, and glass tile beads in amber. (Howlite ring beads and lime green seed beads from Happy Mango Beads, Czech glass flowers from BobbiThisnThat.) All sterling silver construction.

I picture them with something loose and comfortable like this:

Margaritas in Marrakesh by lunebijoux featuring leather shoes

You can find more earrings in this series, and other items at my Etsy shop HERE.

Daydreaming of the Tropics

My defense mechanism for dealing with post holiday slump, frigid weather and tax headaches is to daydream about a warm beach in the tropics. That perfect place in my memory where I am relaxed and rested, where there is someone to oblige my every whim. I can take all the time I need to dress up and do my hair, or just spend the entire day in a swim suit and feel the warm sand between my toes. Who wants to share my fantasy?

These earrings are designed to capture some of that care free tropical mood. Bright lime green colored leaf drops by White Clover combine with blue sea glass nuggets, turquoise and copper in an asymmetrical arrangement.

Una margarita por favor by bohobeader featuring beaded dresses

Matthew Williamson beaded dress / Jimmy Choo turquoise heels / ALDO / Melissa Odabash wide brim hat / Christian Lacroix round sunglasses, $210

To see more of my earrings click here or here. Follow me at Chrysalis for the Curious.