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Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Lucky Girl Sea Glass Earrings

 
 I don't want to use the word addicted but I don't know any other way to explain my feelings about sea glass. I have a nice stash and I can get carried away for an entire day, if time allowed. I feel time stands still when I am picking out pieces.

I lay out a towel on the floor and dump out a box (yeah, I have more than one) and put on my close-up glasses and light the lamp. Kneel down close and my heart quickens... LOVE just pawing though it. 

What is it about tiny things that get us excited? Beads, buttons, shells, beach rocks... any of it! 

I remember as a young girl one of my favorite things was the button basket. Dumping them out, picking through them and then maybe keeping just one with me. Probably to eventually loose it around the house. I was a lucky girl to live with my aunts and grandmother growing up. 
And there were lots of buttons!  

Fast forward to today... 
Now my bead obsession not only makes sense but also carries over to the sea glass. And still, I am a lucky girl. Getting to paw through it and make beautiful adornments for others and for myself if time allows. 

Thank you for allowing me to share (ramble) about one of my greatest passions. 

These earrings are a riff of a previous set I made several months back. The Peace earrings these were born from had a lot going on. This is a scaled down tiny piece of that design. 

I manged to find two sets of glass pieces that semi-matched. *And managed to drill eight holes without any breakage. Lucky again?
 Natural found sea glass, Lapis Lazuli, Czech glass and fine silver. 
Available at Art & Soul Jewelry. 
http://www.artandsouljewelry.com/





Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Acorn Earrings

When we were in Oaxaca, Mexico last winter I found this necklace made out of drilled acorns.  Once back in the States, I took the necklace apart and have found several uses for the acorns.
 Today's earrings combine two of the acorns with some woodsy colored ceramic components by Marti Conrad.
 The earring are quite simple, but they are fun and combine well with lots of casual outfits. They'd be great to wear from September through the end of November.
I'll be adding these earrings to my shop later this afternoon.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Jodhpur


During our travels we visited Jodhpur, the beautiful blue city in Rajasthan, India. Of course we visited the famous Mehrangarh Fort. According to Wikipedia:  “it is one of the largest forts in India. Built around 1460 by Rao Jodha, the fort is situated 120 metres (400 ft) above the city and is enclosed by imposing thick walls. Inside its boundaries there are several palaces known for their intricate carvings and expansive courtyards”.
 

The colors and shape of these beautiful handmade polymer clay beads by Cindy Hinds reminded me of that place. I combined them with handmade pewter charms by Invicite, handmade copper earwires by Faerystones, a bit of Czech glass and some gold and silver plated spacer beads. These are available in my shop.


Hi, my name is Janine Lucas. Originally I’m from the Netherlands but since 2006 I live where our mobile home (a converted truck) is parked. Currently my hubby and I live in Greece but for some years we have traveled Asia and the Middle East.
Next to my official job as a management consultant I am a jewelry designer and (art) bead collector/hoarder/addict (depends who you ask).

This is my first post as a regular contributor of Earrings Everyday and I couldn’t be more thrilled and proud to be part of the wonderful Earrings Everyday team. As a matter of fact I did some really crazy happy dances around our truck once I’ve got the word. I hope you will enjoy my postings.

Wishing you a wonderful day,
Janine
Esfera Jewelry

My etsy shop
My website/blog
My facebook page

Friday, September 25, 2015

Landslide

The seasons are changing again. It's not quite fall-ish here yet but give it a week or two and all my favorites of the season will return. I love symbols of change in my jewelry. As I've gone through the season of my life transitions from raising children to see them grow into young women and soon they will be leaving home, I found myself needing to celebrate that life doesn't stand still and the changes are part of the process and should be embraced. 

My favorite song is Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. It rings more true every year.

"Can I handle the seasons of my life?
Oh oh I don't know, oh I don't know
Well, I've been afraid of changing
'Cause I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Children get older I'm getting older too
Yes I'm getting older too...


 So I sneak leaves into my jewelry, and butterflies and flowers that fade. 

Here I paired pewter leaves by Green Girl Studios with lampwork glass by Julie Miller, a birch bark Humblebeads, sari silk and ceramic rounds from White Clover Kiln. Steel wire and brass findings unify the collection.

Fall is two worlds, one exploding with color, the other stark branches against grey skies. This one is the explosion of color, where every leaf turns into a bloom.

 I started with enamel leaves from Gardanne and paired them up with dotty glass beads, Humblebeads disks and a tiny Czech glass.

And a little sweet melancholy for your Friday afternoon:

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Crust, Shimmer and Shine

I recently put a little time into finishing off some polymer pieces that I made many months ago. They needed a final tough of paint to give them some extra shimmer. I really like Lumiere paints for some highlights. It seems I was ready to venture into some color this time of year, I notice that my palette verges over to the earthy tones, blues and green. We're already into the end of fall here in Alaska. It snowed all day long so the brighter bits of color are what I crave (in a crusty subtle kind of way still)
I used Blue Bottle Tree's Rustic polymer beads tutorial once again with a little wire work to secure the donut to the torch fired enamel dagger.
I used Faerystone's industrial finish earwire as they have become my favorite to use lately.
My earrings tend to be longish so I like a nice short and sturdy earwire that won't add too much extra length. You should really check out her shop she's got fancier styles as well as some new dibbles and dabbles and cool connectors she's just added. 

 Here is my Instagram photo of  the same earrings. The filter on the photo picks up the highlights a little more but doesn't erase the dust as well as my photo editing program as you well can see!

Thanks for checking out my earrings and you can see my newest components and jewelry at
i n s t a g r a m   www.instagram.com/numinosity/
p i n t e r e s t  www.pinterest.com/numinosity/
and my f a c e b o o k auction and sale group 

By Kimberly Rogers of NuminosityBeads

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Twilight

These are a bit different than my usual creations. I've been trying to step out of my comfort zone a bit and try some things I wouldn't normally try.

Funny thing is I purchased this gorgeous Beaded Bead Tornados and the amazing Lampwork Headpins separately and had no thought of putting them together.
Then they arrived in the mail on the same day and I had a light bulb moment.
Could they be any more perfect for each other?! 


My main problem is, my usual rustic backgrounds aren't really the right choice for these fancy earrings but that's all I have!


They are still very pretty even without the proper background!
I hope you agree!

Lampwork Headpins by Lara Lutrick
Tornado Beads by Shirley Moore Designs


Kristi

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

One Last Summer Fling

One thing leads to another...
This set was born of a happy accident as are many of my designs. I intend to do one thing and something else happens... and it's all good!

We are somewhere between summer and fall here in WA. And If I had to choose I'd say these earrings are summer. Shiny silver, bright green Peridot and royal blue Iolite stones say "Farewell to summer" with one last summer fling. 

Available at Art & Soul Jewelry.
peace & blessings,
http://www.artandsouljewelry.com/


Sunday, September 20, 2015

How Textures are Talking to Each Other

 How do you go about your design process? I find this really fascinating since I have found out that different people do it quite differently. How does it happen when you choose the different beads and components in your piece, and/or how to assemble? Where or what is your starting point? Do you work with one piece and then finish it before you start the next one? The list of questions I could ask is long. I'd love to hear all about YOUR process.

Mine is very intuitive and from the gut kind of. I kind of disappear into the "zone". When I step out I love the feeling of being surprised by what I made. And that happened this time with these earrings. I think that the textures, the colors and the shapes are talking to each other. Some earrings I make I really want to keep for myself, these might be one of those pairs. They will be my happy-autumn earrings.



Rustic ochre/mustard/saffron patinated chain links - MissFickleMedia
Perky opaque apple green glass rounds
Vintage Swarovski pale sky blue facetted drops
Messy wrapped oxidized copper wire
Handmade oxidized earring hooks


Don't forget to tell me about your design process now! :-)

All my best,
Malin



Friday, September 18, 2015

We're All Ears :: September Reveal

It was all about line and movement for me this month.

 
 

The challenge of translating a fast-paced music video like "Torque Starter" for me lies in picking something to focus on. I chose to focus on the section near the end when the glowing ball was making spirals that overlapped on themselves.



It took me a fair bit of trial and error, but I finally made something that felt right. Just a few feet of wire wrapped around two different size Sharpie markers made the base of the spirals, wired them totether and added a little glowing crystal rondelle for the flash.

I wanted the ear wires to be integrated into the design, so I came up with a spring that sort of unravels. And yes, I purposely made them asymmetrical! Nothing groundbreaking in this design, but it did open my eyes to new forms (I could see flowers like these) and how to manipulate the wire to suit my vision.

There was so very much in this interactive performance art that you could use to inspire your designs. I can hardly wait to see what you did!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Let's see what you created!
Please take the time to hop around to the participants.

Leave kind, encouraging comments. Visit their shops. Make new friends!    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Thursday, September 17, 2015

Ripening

Here's another pair of earrings from the recent monster batch I was telling you about in my last post.


The fibre beads were made by Carolyn Saxby. I've embellished them with garnet and red sagenitic quartz.


They're listed here in my Etsy shop.

Bye for now, Claire


Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Mirror / Mirror

As you may well be aware of by now, our own Claire Lockwood happens to make some of the most deliciously unique ceramic beads, in addition to her inspired jewelry. I've missed out on quite a few new sets because they tend to sell so quickly---wonderful for Claire and maddening for me! 

However, on her latest batch update, I was able to snag some beautiful "naked" fluted porcelain rounds. Claire carves the grooves into each bead before firing once, and then used oxide to color them in a second firing, giving them that smoky velvety texture with slight minty green overtones. 

I'm just crazy about these beads! So crazy that I knew as soon as I took them out of the package that I was going to make something for myself using them. No equivocating here, no sharing, just MINE!

I'm a big fan of mirroring shapes, textures, and colors of the various component in my assemblage pieces. And I'm also a big fan of old wood beads. So when I saw the fluted grooves of Claire's beads, my mind immediately jumped to a pair of wood "pumpkin" beads that I've been saving up for a special occasion. The textures of the two sets play beautifully off of each other, but they still manage to maintain their own individual flavor and flair. 

I tend to wear simpler styles, myself, so I kept these earrings minimal using wee crusty metal bead caps and some decorative blackened soldering for effect. The result makes me squeal every time I wear them---earthy, swingy, dark little baubles.

Thank you, Claire, for sharing your beads with us!

Happy Wednesday :) 
Nikki 
LoveRoot on Etsy

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Ashes and Embers

Ashes and Embers Earrings

Imagine a volcano erupting with super heated magma and gases in red, orange, pink and yellow spewing into the air, and hot lava flowing down the side of the mountain. Flakes of volcanic ash falling from the sky like withered rain drops. The lava cools gradually to a dark charcoal gray and black stony crust.

The embers and ashes of the volcanic lava are the inspiration for my rustic stacked earring design. Beginning with textured drops, from Natalie McKenna of Grubbi Ceramics on Etsy, in bright pink orange and red, with shadows of black. Slivers of glowing red Greek ceramic and warm pink Indonesian glass complement the colors of the ceramic drops.

Ashy gray brown recycled glass with a matte finish like volcanic ash give a little contrast to the composition. The dark shadows of the ceramic drops capture the cooled black lava. Add a few accents of copper, and wrapping with darkened copper wire, with my own handmade ear wires and there you go, Ashes and Embers.












Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry

Monday, September 14, 2015

Give your breath some space

Give your breath some space

When you feel stressed and rushed,
remember to give your breath some space.

When you feel like the thoughts in your head
are like a tangled web of thoughts,
remember to give your breath some space.

When you feel anxious and under pressure,
remember to give your breath some space.

--- Nathalie Lesage

Fall Sky Copper and Blue Quartz Earrings by Nathalie Lesage

It's great to finally be able to dive back into some creative time!

I wanted to capture the warm copper hues that we're starting to see up here,
mixed in with the changing Fall sky.
Bare tree branches that seem all intertwined and the air floating through the openings.

I've been extremely busy during the past few months.
I was super-focused on my husband's health (and mine too)
as we've lost 90 pounds combined... no joke!

I was also working really hard at getting my Health & Fitness Business off the ground,
as well as working on revamping my Art website (aiming to re-open Oct. 1st).

There wasn't enough balance in my daily life.
I became even more aware how IMPORTANT it is to find the right balance,
and doing what my soul needed to do.
Now that this overwhelmingly busy time has passed, 
I think back on what has helped me through
and aside from the love and incredible support of my hubby,
often, it was this simple thought:

http://www.LesageFitness.com
"Give your breath some space"
This was part of my inspiration for today's earrings.
Taking a deep breath and giving it the space it needs
to flow, be light, be airy, be at peace :)

My Art website is not ready yet, but if you're interested in purchasing these earrings,
you can always message me via my FaceBook business page HERE,
or contact me via my BLOG which I've just revamped too.
It's been busy!!

Thank you for stopping by!
Have a wonderful day :)
Nathalie Lesage




Thursday, September 10, 2015

Mount Kailash Earthy Dangles

I named these Mount Kailash for the rough pyramidal forms which are pieces from ScorchedEarthOnEtsy.
The  pastel crusty rounds are some of my matte  NuminosityBeads lampwork beads which have the shine brought down  by an application of baking soda during the torching.
These little shiny seafoam textured Czech rice beads seemed like a good contrast in shape and texture to the roughness of the other components. I used oxidized sterling silver earwires.


These are currently for sale in my Etsy shop NuminosityBeads

Thanks so much for looking and I appreciate all of your comments!

Kimberly Rogers
www.numinositybeads.etsy.com
www.facebook/numinositybeads

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Red Raku Earrings

When I showed these earrings to my friend Rebekah Payne of Tree Wings Studio, her comment about the color palette was, "Bright, clear blue autumn sky... last green of summer... rusty red shades of turning autumn leaves. Yep, works for me!".

The raku fired ceramic drops were made by Diana Ptaszynski of Suburban Girl Studio.  And the hand-dyed and hand-felted Wooly Wire is the creation of Nellie Thomas.
The Red Raku Earrings are available in my shop now. 

Monday, September 7, 2015

Subliminally Inspired

Sometimes, or probably more often than we even realize, we are subliminally inspired by things and views we just happen to have around us in our daily life. It is a beautiful thing I think. And something to embrace whenever you realize it has happened.

Violet patinated hammered copper rings - MissFickleMedia
Aventurine irregularly squared plates
Purple electroplated hematite square heishis and saucer beads
Oxidized copper earring hooks and head pins (handmade)

This view towards the small wood by the back garden of my house is something I never get tired of looking at. I love to follow how the light changes through the day, and how the seasons pass. In certain lights and weathers the tree trunks look almost purple, effect enhanced in the autumn when grass and leaves go 
ochre-yellow. It's such a beautiful color scheme.



This is my first post as a regular official member of Earrings-Everyday. You might have seen my two guest posts over the last month or so. My name is Malin de Koning, and I live in Sweden. I am especially passionate about using art beads and handmade components in my jewellery. I combine them with all kinds of other beads and materials. In periods I also like to do different kinds of bead weaving. Every now and then you will most likely see me use my own beaded beads in my jewellery. I am very proud and happy to now be one of the members of Earrings Everyday. I hope you will find my posts inspiring.

All my best,
Malin