Chrysanthemum Earrings

One of my Pandemic Projects has been cleaning and organizing my studio. It had gotten so bad that I had no space in which to work. Oh look! I've organized one corner!

I won't share any other studio pictures, as the rest is still a disaster zone. I'm taking it step by step, otherwise the task is too overwhelming. Anyway, while I was cleaning, I found a pair of earrings that I had started, but never finished. So I finished them up in time for today's post.

The copper shards are the work of Kristi Bowman Designs. They remind me of the rays of petals that circle the center of chrysanthemum blooms. I used enameled headpins by Sue Beads to wire on a pair of carved fluorite flowers. The fancy copper ear wires are by wire wizard, Joan Langmo. 

The Chrysanthemum Earrings are available on my website.
Do you have any Pandemic Projects you're working on? Let us know in the comments. Stay home and stay safe friends!

Linda Landig Jewelry

Harbinger Of Joy

 I always feel like spring is on the way when I see the first crocuses pushing up through the soil or peeking out from the snow. Spring flowers fill me with joy and hope (much needed these days).

The purple and yellow earrings I'm sharing this week remind me of the colors of these pretty, little crocuses. But they could also be reminders of purple Dutch irises, with their yellow centers or purple tulips with their vibrant yellow throats. All of these signal joy to me!

You probably recognize the polymer clay tube beads as being the work of Heather Powers, of Humble Beads. I paired them with hand enameled beads by Susan Kennedy of Sue Beads. I love the way the ribbing, in the metal beads, stands out as a contrasting texture. Buttery yellow ceramic floral bead caps and yellow faceted fire polish beads provide the accents.

Polymer clay is very lightweight and the enameled beads are hollow, so these earring are very comfortable to wear. You maybe thinking, "But who needs earrings now?" Well I have found that wearing a little handmade jewelry actually cheers me up a bit. There were a few of the early isolation days where I never got out of my PJs, but I still wore a blue stretch bracelet (hey, it matched my PJs, so why not?). I have resumed getting dressed daily and creating a normal daily routine, as much as possible. It helps. The Spring Crocus earrings can be found in my shop here.

I hope you and your loved ones are staying home and staying safe. Plus you are saving the lives of other vulnerable people, when you shelter at home. Hang in there and enjoy the spring flowers.

Linda Landig Jewelry

Turquoise Trio

A Facebook friend asked me to make some turquoise earrings for her niece. She said they should be under 1.5 inches long and be made with Sterling silver. Other than those two guidelines, she said I should make whatever I wanted to. Since I'd never met either her or her niece, it was impossible to know what style of earring the young woman would want. So I ended up making three pairs and letting my Facebook friend choose the pair that she thought would be best suited for her niece. Here's what I came up with.

This is the pair of earrings which were chosen. The disc shaped beads are Peruvian opals. Such a lovely milky turquoise! I placed Bali silver spacers beneath the opals and between the opals and the lampwork beads by Paradise Beads. I then topped the earrings with sterling silver beads. Unfortunately this is the only photo I took, before sending the earrings to their new home.

The other two pairs of earrings are in my shop now. I like all three pairs of earrings, but I think this pair is my favorite. They feature lovely hammered Sterling silver hoops with dangles of turquoise "cathedral" beads that are coated in silver on the tops and bottoms. I placed small embossed Thai Hills Tribe beads beneath the cathedral beads.

The last pair of earrings features the most wonderful, shimmery turquoise beads by Sue Beads. I can't stop admiring these lampwork beads. A photograph really can't do them justice. I used the same Sterling beads at the bottom of these earrings, as I used on top of the first pair. Then I topped them with some beautiful Sterling bead caps and more of the embossed Thai Hill Tribes beads.

So there you have it - a Turquoise Trio.  Which pair would you choose?

Linda Landig Jewelry

Teal Tassels

I have a small hoard collection of enameled cones from Sue Beads and thought I'd use a pair for today's earrings.

The cones are enameled in teal, with hints of green and maybe even a little golden yellow. I paired them with mint green and light turquoise crystals. They turned out quite elegantly, with their sparkling crystals and silver lined teal seed beads.

The Teal Tassel earrings are available at Linda Landig Jewelry.

See you in two weeks. 

Anticipation

Carly Simon's song, Anticipation, keeps running through my mind these days because our daughter and her husband are expecting a baby daughter any day now. This grandma is very excited. Every time the phone rings, I'm anticipating it will be them, announcing the start of labor. ( Nothing has happened so far.)

Simon's song was in my head when I made these earrings too. Each season brings with it the anticipation of the changes ahead.  Some of my Facebook friends are already posting photos of snow.  Here, in the Pacific Northwest, we still have colorful leaves clinging to some trees, while others are already bare.  Its a time of transition, of anticipation of cozy nights ahead, spent near a fire, reading a good book.

The gorgeous lampwork leaves, the green beads and enameled bead caps are all made by Sue Kennedy of Sue Beads.  The fancy wrapped ear wires were made by Joan Moritz-Langmo of  Handmade by JGL.   The Anticipation Earrings are available in my shop now.

Linda Landig Jewelry

Delightfully Dappled

Today's earrings were inspired by these delightfully dappled lampwork bicones by Sue Beads. I love the way the splashes of green, blue and lavender add an extra pop of color to the design.

A touch of silver adds a bit of shine and Irish waxed linen connects the glass beads and a pair of my own ceramic tiny teardrop charms. I left short bits of the Irish waxed linen by the knot and frizzed the strands out a little, adding a bit of boho charm. 

The Delightfully Dappled earrings are available in my shop now, and for those of you who design your own jewelry, I also have 2 colors of the ceramic Tiny Teardrop charms in my shop.

Linda Landig Jewelry

Blue Elegance

One of my favorite lampwork artists is Sue Kennedy of Sue Beads.  I have a large collection of her lampwork glass beads, beaded beads and enameled jewelry components.  Clearly she is a multi-talented artist.  So for today's earrings, I am featuring some of Sue's lampwork glass bicone beads.

I hung them from some sterling silver double hoops and accented them with Bali silver dangles. I've always loved the combination of blue and silver.  That color combination just sings! I think these earrings would be great for occasions that called for a bit of elegance.

The Blue Elegance earrings are available in my shop, Linda Landig Jewelry.

Linda Landig Jewelry

Center Of Attention

Have you heard about the Muffin Tin Challenge on Heather Powers' Humble Beads blog?  It's a way of kick-starting your creative juices at the start of the new year. I decided to participate, for the 2nd time, this year.  You gather up all you need to complete 6-12 projects and place all the project components in each cup of the muffin tin.  Then whenever you have a moment, all you have to do is start creating, because you've already gathered up all the "ingredients" needed for your design.

My muffin tin.

Unfortunately a bout of bronchitis got in the way of completing the challenge in time.  However I did get 3 projects completed before the bronchial bug bit.  The earrings I ended up making kind of hopped from one muffin cup to another.  See the turquoise spikes (Suburban Girl Studio) on the top left?  They ended up getting paired with the beaded beads (Sue Beads) in the next muffin cup.

At 3 inches long, these guys are kind of drama queens!  This pair of earrings will be perfect for someone who has the confidence and poise to be the center of attention.  They're not gaudy and the narrow profile gives them a flattering line. But they definitely command attention - which I totally love about them.

What about you?  Do you prefer long or short earrings - or some of each?

 The Center Of Attention Earrings are now available in my shop.

 

 

 

 

Linda Landig Jewelry

Sanctuary Earrings

I don't know about you, but I am so sick of this election season. I can hardly wait for it to be over - although I do have anxieties about what will happen post-election too.  Anyway, while the news was on TV tonight, I just felt a need to escape into the sanctuary of my studio, where I made these earrings.  Creativity nurtures my soul, especially at times when the world feels like it is sucking me dry.

I got the delightful ceramic drops from Diana Ptaszynski in August 2015, when I visited her, and her husband Colin, prior to the summer Bead Fest in Philadelphia.  

Using dark green Irish waxed linen, I knotted the ceramic drops to multi-colored speckled lampwork glass beads by Sue Kennedy of Sue Beads.

I really like glaze that Diana used for these rustic drops and how they contrast and accent the smooth surface of Sue's lampwork glass beads.

Do you have a sanctuary place in your home or elsewhere?  It's important to have a place for self-care and renewal.

Linda Landig Jewelry

Once In A Blue Moon

The other day, my husband and I were walking through the park and a band was playing Blue Moon a very old doo-wap song, originally written in the mid 50's, which had a second rise to popularity in the early 60's.   The song preceded my pre-teen and teen years, but somehow I knew a few of the words in the refrain.

That song came back to me as I was working on these earrings.

The lampwork glass hoops by Outwest made me think of blue moons. I paired the "moons" with lampwork glass head pins by Sue Beads and added a touch of sparkly with some faceted, metallic hematite beads.

I guess once in a blue moon, an oldie but goodie, can inspire a contemporary design.  What are some other things that happen once in a blue moon?

Linda Landig Jewelry

Sunny Day Celebration

Its a totally gorgeous spring day as I write this. The high today is predicted to be 79 F and it is a very pleasant 77 F right now.  We've eaten dinner "al fresco" the past two evenings and will do so again tonight. Our rhododendrons are blooming and we have sweet smelling bouquets of lilacs in the house.  Perfect in every way!

This bright, happy weather is infusing my jewelry designs, as well.  I bought some gorgeous lampwork headpins from Sue Beads last week and couldn't wait to use them!

I accented the yellow dots and orange stripes by pairing the headpins with yellow and orange ceramic beads.  These beads were made by a local ceramicist who (unfortunately) no longer makes beads.  We both used to have work at Gallery One in Ellensburg, WA.  I bought up several handfuls of her beads and have been hoarding them for about 15 years!  The slip trailing (raised designs) on these beads is so detailed and exquisite. You can see why I've treasured them!

However, the time has come to use these beads and Sue's beautiful glass headpins were calling out! The minute I slipped the orange and yellow ceramic bead on Sue's headpins, I could see that it was a match made in heaven.

I kept the earring design simple, because I felt that there was enough going on with intense colors and the patterns.  A couple of brass bead caps was all they needed for a finishing touch.

My new headpins and the sunny day were all I needed for inspiration.  Wishing you sunny days, too.
The Sunny Day Earrings are available in my shop, which, by the way, is undergoing a face lift.  Hope you like the new look.

Linda Landig

Garden Path Earrings

For some reason I've been feeling a bit frazzled lately, so I made a pact with myself to be intentional about spending some time in nature every day, even if it was just a walk along our garden path.  I've been pleasantly surprised at the calming effect this simple change has made this past week.

 While many of our flowers are in full bloom, others are just starting to bud.  I love the bright yellowish green of new growth.  The greens in these earrings remind me of that new growth and as well as the growth of deeper serenity in my soul.

Sue Kennedy of Sue Beads has been offering some of her beautiful lampwork glass beads for sale on her Sue Beads Facebook page. I've snapped up several lovely pairs!

This pair of lampwork glass beads was a perfect match for a pair of ceramic charms I made last weekend. The translucent green glass is accented with wisps of brown and cream, while the widest parts of the beads are decorated with a trailing of fine silver.  So pretty! I added a touch of sari silk in coordinating colors to bring some softness to the look.

For a tutorial on how to make these earrings yourself, go to Art Jewelry Elements. The earrings are available for purchase in my web shop.

-Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry

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

I Heart You

My original plan was not to post a Valentine inspired post,

but things don't always work out as planned.

I love these earrings so I'm happy to share them in the end.

Copper Hearts and Wonderful Lampwork Beads by SueBeads!

There are also tiny bits of Sari Silk tied below the beads.

While I'm at it I may as well go for it huh?

Here are a couple other Valentine themed items!

Can you tell I'm hungery?!?!?

Source: sixsistersstuff.com via Kristi on Pinterest

Source: afarmgirlsdabbles.com via Kristi on Pinterest

These Heart Earrings and other jewelry and components available in my Etsy Shop.

I'm also Celebrating my 1,000 sale in my Etsy shop
 by having a sale Friday 27th-Saturday 28th
15% off everything using the coupon code CELEBRATE

Kristi