Tribal Fringe

Helloooo Bead Peeps!  This is a short but sweet posting today as I'm off to Bead & Button in Milwaukee, WI this morning!

True confession:  I have forgotten who made these lovely tribal ceramic connectors so If anyone can identify them, please let me know!  I've paired them with some wonderful African glass, wrapped sari silk and some vintage golden beads.

I made the fringe by recycling some scrap gold plated parts.  Originally, I was going to hang them from jump-rings but, I really wanted them splayed apart so I messy wrapped them directly to the wire connector to achieve that effect.  

Thank you for stopping by today!  Hoping to find some unusual goodies at B&B this week!  I'm also on the hunt for new tools.  Most importantly, I'm looking forward to seeing my beady tribe!

Loralee xo

wwwloraleekolton.etsy.com

Glorious 🦋 wings

Hi everyone.  Today's post is all about resin wing earrings.  I love these so much...I actually love all wing charms, I have quite a stash of all things 'wingy', made of various mediums including enamel, glass, polymer, ceramic and resin.  Today's post is about resin wings.  These particular ones featured in my earrings are by Susan Linda Stokes of Art & Soul Studios.

Lets start with a group shot because it looks really good when I share the link on Facebook 😎.

I wanted the resin wings to stand out so I made them up in one of my signature designs but in a much simpler manner.  In this pair I added pink seed beads to pick up the pink/purple on the wings.  Not too over the top and quite apt for autumn?

There had to be an all purple pair.  Who doesn't like purple!  Same design as before but I kept it all purple with a little addition of turquoise seeds to break it up ever so slightly.  

And a third pair in a different design.  Did you notice how sari silk (and sari trimming on the third pair) have snuck their way into all these earrings.  That massive stash of all things fabric is proving to be very useful right now.  

I'm planning on doing a big Etsy shop update sometime next week.  These plus more will become part of that update....as long as my plan works 😅

See you again soon.

Suhana 💖💖💖

My Etsy shop: Buttoned Up Beads

Bold Colours

Hello, today's earrings feature a number of artisan goodies.  I got carried away as the colours matched so well. 

Ceramic caps by Claire Lockwood

Enamel connectors by Cathleen Zaring

and polymer charms by Elsie Smith

I have also added a pair of my own wrapped connectors.  Short and sweet for today.  Hope you like them. See you again soon <3

Suhana

Mt Etsy shop: Buttoned Up Beads

GUEST POST :: Sarajo Wentling of SJ Designs Jewelry

Hello, lovelies! 

Sometimes we have an extra day or two in a month and when that happens we like to extend an invitation to designers that we enjoy to have them share their unique design perspectives. Today, the Earrings Everyday crew welcomes Sarajo Wentling of SJ Designs Jewelry. Sarajo is a regular in our monthly challenges, loves to use art beads in her designs, hand patina on metal is a specialty of hers, and she has a self-directed weekly earring challenge called New Earring Monday where she shares her latest and greatest earring pairs. Sarajo is from Minnesota and lives with her craft-beer loving husband Eric, who is also a gifted photographer. She uses one of his photos for her inspiration today. Check it out! ~Erin

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Photo by Eric Wentling

Fall is my favorite season and it's far too fleeting in Minnesota where it sometimes feels like winter has its icy grip on us for more than half the year!  These earrings are both a nod and a fond farewell to my favorite season and all its fabulous color.  I started with some yummy lampwork glass rings that I bought from Alice St. Germain of Succulent Glass at Bead Fest Philadelphia.  Their colors instantly reminded me of fall and made me think of a photo my husband had taken of some changing maple leaves.  I had just the perfect color Czech glass maple leaf beads to dangle from the lampwork rings to add a fun flair.

Fall Finery by Sarajo Wentling

I haven't done too much wire wrapping in my jewelry making pursuits beyond simple wrapped loops and bails so I had to overcome my fears of "messing up" and wasting wire.  (Seriously, why has it been so intimidating to me?  The worst thing that could possibly happen would be destroying a few cents worth of wire and having to try again.)  Anyway, I bucked up my courage, cut a length of wire and started to play.  And you know what?  I didn't mess it up at all!  Not only that, I really liked the way my wire wraps turned out!  They aren't overly precise but I think that works with the imperfect shape of the lampwork rings and the organic nature of fall foliage.  

Sarajo Wentling
Sj Designs Jewelry
http://sjdesignsjewelry.blogspot.com/
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SjDesignsJewelry

2014 Has Left the Building

As we bid farewell to 2014 today, I'm reminded of the importance of making a memorable exit. Preferably a graceful one, although we all know that sometimes that isn't the case ;)

Creatively, this year has been my most thrilling yet. I've been humbled time and time again by the kindness and friendship I've encountered from souls all across the globe. The sharing of personal journeys, compassion during painful times, and inappropriate hilarity over silly stupid stuff. And all from just jewelry! I'm not talking about tackling world hunger or making peace between warring nations - simply putting beauty into the hands of individuals, one by one, piece by piece. 



So while I sometimes feel petty and materialistic for being so obsessive over jewelry, I quickly remind myself that it's about so much more than bead hoarding or shnazzy techniques or the biggest bling. The happiness you bring to others' lives is immeasurably priceless. Because in the end, this life is all we have, and love is the only thing that matters.

Well now that I've gotten all philosophical and misty-eyed, let me get back to my original thought about leaving with a bang. 

This pair of earrings is 100% party and will have people remembering you for all the right reasons. I dare anyone to make yummier lampwork glass headpins than my dear, dear friend Kim of NuminosityBeads. This sleek drippy slate gray pair has been dotted with gemmy confetti, crowned with a stack of crusty Roman glass discs, and wire wrapped for a slinky yet playful silhouette. 

So on that note, Happy Wednesday and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Repurposing

 

A few months ago, I was shopping and saw a pair of inexpensive earrings that I knew I had to buy because I was going to repurpose them.  I have a pic of what's left of them at this point (see pic below) since I have used the copper dangles and the other antique gold and silver dangles. I hammered them to flatten and give texture and then punched holes in them. I love how each pair has turned out so far. I've used Peruvian opals on the copper and antique gold pair and turquoise on the silver pair.

 

This is what I did with the antique gold pair....

 

And this is what I did with the silver pair ( my tribal wrap earrings that I featured on this blog a few weeks ago).

 

 

 You can see the copper pair here, and the antique gold pair here as well as many of my other designs on my website.

Thank you,

Kristy Abner

Kristy's Kreations 

Dreaming of David Carradine

For the Bride, at Her Desert Wedding

For some reason, a soon as I finished these I thought of David Carradine. Wha?....Ah! Kill Bill 2, the wedding scene in the desert at the little mission chapel. Which is kind of morbid when I think about it, since Bill shot the Bride in the head. But it all works out in the end with Pai Mei's Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique.

Then the other day I discovered David Carradine died. Four years ago. Boy was I mad.

Of course, you'd have to wear something with these appropriate for being buried alive by Bills' brother. And that could only be denim.

Kill Bill 2 by lunebijoux featuring lightweight jackets

You can see more at my Etsy shop HERE.