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

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Winter Solstice in the Desert

Joshua Tree National Park, CA

I took a trip to the desert last week which happened to be Winter Solstice and a huge, full moon. I can't even begin the describe how beautiful and perfect it was. Both eye opening and jaw dropping gorgeous. 

At a glance the desert appears dry and lifeless but once you soften your view and relax you'll see it's teeming with life and magic. 
 
Just back home yesterday I wanted my next creation to reflect the colors, look and feel of the desert. Prickly plants, enormous rock formations, sandy earth, tall grasses, Joshua trees...

 

Joshua Tree Park, CA

 It's funny because I have always considered myself more of a mountain girl. But I've discovered that I truly love the desert, and I hope I am fortunate enough to go back one day.

Sterling silver earrings feature: disk charms- mill rolled with fabric, Agate stones dangling on ball tipped pins, Handcrafted ceramic beads and green Grossular Garnet gemstones, hand forged ear wires. 

Available at Art and Soul Jewelry. 

may Peace and Love be with you in the new year and always! 

Sexy Solder

So okay, it's not really sexy; I was looking for an S word! :) But it does make me feel powerful!

I would never have believed I would enjoy anything that had to do with fire, beyond that in a fireplace. But I really do like soldering. It does give me a feeling of power! almost. Makes me feel as if I could build things!

The earrings I have to show you are not what I intended to. The Sterling hoops below are what I planned to share. But when all was said and done, I wasn't happy with them. They're a little too rustic, even for me. I have to do some work on the copper, and then there's something missing. I worked with them trying to add different things here or there and eventually just put them aside. They are my first soldered Sterling pieces. Big Sterling Hippie Hoops is what I envisioned. Who knows where they'll end up.

So I pulled out a pair of copper teardrops I had soldered at the same time. I like making plain shapes, rounds, teardrops, triangles, and soldering a bar across, generally not straight across, on an angle, and the angle may not be the same on each earring. And then I select a group of beads and wrap the daylights out of the bars. The picture below shows a few I've done in the past.

They are challenging to wrap. I have wrapped and re-wrapped and re-wrapped many pieces. Some never to be completed. I used to use wire until it finally occurred to me to try waxed linen! Much kinder to the hands!

hand-forged copper teardrops

The top beads are ceramic by Nadia Karapencheva of Nadia Terra.

Thanks for stopping by! My wishes to you and yours for a year filled with Love & Laughter, Peace & Joy. Happy New Year! And enjoy a little fire!
I'll be back on 01/05/16.

Norbel Marolla
She Flies Again - My Shop on Etsy
She Flies Again on Facebook

Leaves of Fangorn

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas.
At the moment it is still wonderful weather where we live (the Peloponnese, Greece), 25 degrees Celsius during the day. On Christmas day we went for a walk in the hills and had a lovely late lunch with friends. And I finally had time to dive into my stash to play with some long hoarded beads.

   I must have had these beautiful polymer clay beads from Heather Powers (Humblebeads) for quite some years now. And noticed how good the colors combine with the leaf head pins made by Karin Hruza (The Bead fairy).

 Together with the copper handmade ear wires from Lucy Haslam (Faerystones) they make simple yet very cute earrings.

Thanks for looking!

Wishing you a wonderful day,

Janine

Esfera Jewelry

My etsy shop

My website/blog

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Earthy Trio

Sometimes it's okay to keep things simple. The ceramic charms by White Clover Kiln were perfectly paired with Humblebeads polymer clay disks in the same colors. Nothing fancy, but quite charming.

These are the kinds of earrings I love to give as gifts, a tiny collection of art beads that guarantee the wearer will be given a compliment or two when she sports them.

Hope you are having a very Merry Christmas today!

Chaindeliers - Dangle Those Chains

I've been seeing some lovely chain fringes in pieces lately.

I had shaped the steel wire and polymer pieces quite some time back. I baked the flattened and textured  poly clay right onto the hammered steel wire and used the distressed Rustic Beads Tutorial from The Blue Bottle Tree

 It occurred to me to add some lengths of copper chain with jump rings for some free hanging movement

They are fairly light and make a nice statement. The center pieces are some antique headpins with very fine coiled wire

I hope you all have a lovely full moon, solstice and Merry Christmas.

I'll be gone for the next month so I'll see you again in February!

If you have a hankering to see my photos from my South Africa travels you can follow my Instagram account listed below

Thanks for looking at my NuminosityBeads Creations!

Kimberly Rogers

e t s y   www.numinositybeads.etsy.com

f a c e b o o k  www.facebook.com/numinositybeads

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 

www.facebook.com/groups/967164829979604/

Mele Kalikimaka

I have to admit, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation has become somewhat of a tradition for me and my hubby to watch every holiday season.  I mean come on! its a classic, right?  It doesn't matter how many times I've seen it, I laugh hysterically every time.

squirrel ?

I made these earrings this past weekend not really expecting this design, but turns out, I really love them. They were popping with color that did in fact bring out some holiday cheer, ☺

I posted them on my Facebook page and received a wonderful comment to how they resemble a Hawaiian Christmas, so there ya go...they are now titled my Mele Kalikimaka earrings, ☺

So dream big friends!!
Say so long to 2015 and we'll be ROCKIN in the New Year!!!

 ♪♫♪♪♫ Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say, 

on a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day, 

That's the island greeting that we send to you, 

From the land where palm trees sway, 

Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright, 

The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night, 

Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way

To say "Merry Christmas to you."♪♫♪♫

Y.u.c.c.a. B.l.o.o.m. on ETSY

Y.u.c.c.a. B.l.o.o.m. on Facebook

Y.u.c.c.a. B.l.o.o.m. on Pinterest

Winters Cold Beauty

I managed to get a quick walk in today despite the rain. I paused at the end of the lake to view all the bare trees, the gray sky and the dark cold looking water. 

Molly at Lake Sacajawea 12/17/2015

I flashed back to the beauty of fall for a moment. Remembering just a short time ago how colorful everything was and the lake appeared blue from the reflection of clear sky above. 

Lake Sacajawea 11/08/2015

But even in the cold, gray winter there is still beauty if you look and appreciate it for what it is. A time to look inward. A time to rest and renew. How would we appreciate the light if that was all we had? It's good to have dark days. They remind us that we are humane and make us appreciate the warm ones even more. 

So... my jewelry work has been in darker shades of blue. In sparkling whites and crystals that remind me of decorative lights all over the cities now. 

One of my most recent creations, a pair of simple dangle earrings. Handmade ear wires of sterling silver along with .999 fine silver rings adding some character. Beads are Montana blue Czech glass and Blue and White Spinel gemstones below. 

Available at Art & Soul Jewelry. 

Do you enjoy winter? Is is cold where you live? I would love to hear from you and your thoughts on Winter. 

Peace, 

 

Heart and Star

Hi, it's that time for stars and hearts, don't you agree. 

Handmade sterling silver ear hooks (lightly oxidized)

Pewter ring findings

Matte rose large seed beads

Pale yellow semi-precious stone round

Pewter heart and star

Green pewter capped faceted glass drops on a pin - CrowsCacheSupplies

All my best,

Malin de Koning

www.beadingbymalindekoning.blogspot.se

We're All Ears :: December Reveal

Ready to play the Leftovers Transformation Challenge? Of course I had a Christmas concert tonight until almost 10pm... and then I stepped in to help out a fellow editor over at the Art Bead Scene by taking her slot for the Inside the Studio... which didn't leave me much time (I don't even want to tell you what o'clock it is now... let's just say I am closer to waking up to start the day than sleeping!). But that is the whole point of this monthly exercise... to make it a quickfire challenge, something that you dive into and not overthink. And that is exactly what I did. But in addition to doing the earrings for this challenge, I did the same process and made a necklace that I plan to gift to my sister for her upcoming early January birthday. So it works not only for earrings, but other things as well!

Let me recap what the process is...
First, take a picture of the craftermath from your bead feast.

I am not even sure that I have six square inches to bead on!

Shocking. I know! And this is but one corner of my rather large studio space. Lots of craftermath to work with for this feast!

I have many of these trays filled with treasures waiting to be loved into being....

Next, find a divided box, bin, baggies or small bowls and go through the stash on your festive table picking out coordinated sets that you can use to create earrings. 

I managed to find an unused one (!) so I filled it up with pairs of art beads I thought I would work with.

Now, kick your creating into high gear! I put on a station that Pandora suggested called "Power Up Mixtape." Turns out it was the right combination of Kelly Clarkson, Maroon 5 and Gwen Stefani. Once I found the beads I wanted to use, I limited myself to anything else that I could get my hands on that was within reach. That meant that I couldn't open drawers of turn around and pull out baggies from bins. It had to be in front of me.

Then I set a timer for about 40 minutes.

 And then I gave myself two songs (only two!) to create a pair of earrings.

Because I couldn't spend all the time in the world, I just had to barrel through, and I think I came up with some winners!

A Delicate Balance

A Delicate Balance

I think these glass flower beads are from Nikki Thornburg. I wanted to be able to show the shape of the flower and keep them light. I had a similar pair of earrings on my table that were gifted to me that allowed a flat bead to be fully facing forward. They have a gentle curve. There is a loop behind the beads to make sure they don't fall off...and that would be perfect for adding another dangle!

Red Relics

When you have beautiful art beads, sometimes simple is the way to go. These rustic ceramic charms are from Jenny Davies-Reazor. I liked the texture on the rings. That is all they needed.

Emerging

Heather Powers makes the most exquisite caned beads. These monarch disk beads are superb. I bought these wood ovals from her as well, and they look like some sort of milkweed pod.

Peacock Proud

I am really delighted with how these turned out! I started with swirled headpins from Rebecca Anderson of The Curious Bead Shoppe. Those leaf shapes are hand painted lucite from Heather Steed French at Vintage Meadow Artworks. I topped that with come peacock patterned polymer clay disk beads from Humblebeads and what I call 'oil slick' beads in a warm amber color. (I just realized that there are pretty green and gold... for my favorite team! Go Packers!).. .I think I might just have to keep these!

Remember Me

These earrings came together after I made the necklace for my sister's birthday present for the Art Bead Scene. I employed the same technique for working on a tight deadline with the leftovers on the necklace as I did on these earrings. They feature peacock feather polymer clay disk beads from Heather Powers of Humblebeads (have I told you that I own almost every Humblebeads ever?), Czech glass flowers (Kelly loves tulips!), copper, brass and crystal. To see the necklace that goes with this, check out the Art Bead Scene!


Finally, share your bounty of tasty Leftover Transformation creations on Friday, December 18th with the InLinkz party right here. I hope you were inspired to make at least a few pairs of earrings that might be suitable it as gifts for those on your list! Or to treat yourself!

In the spirit of giving, I will offer a giveaway of a Simple Truths Bundle of the winner's choice from my website, valued at over $40. But in order to be chosen, you have to participate in the blog hop starting on December 18th! Winner will be chosen at random from all eligible entries on December 25th (that will give you one full week to make your Leftover Transformation magic happen!).

An InLinkz Link-up

get the InLinkz code

Living By The Water

Two pairs of earrings from me today! A little while back I made a pair of earrings combining some Scorched Earth decal droppers with some lovely feathers that I've been hoarding for some time. I was pleased with the design and they sold quickly. I still had a few pairs of feathers left and when Petra listed some earring charms with feather decals, I knew just what to do with them.

I love the fluffy, downy, afterfeathers on this pair; they look almost like fur. The next ones are slightly smaller.

I've been doing a lot of rearranging in my flat in the last week or so.  Whilst about it, I came across an old compilation cd that I've been hunting for, for an age. Inevitably, I've been listening to it quite a bit since it turned up. These earrings have a certain feel to them but I haven't really found the word for it. However, this Anne Briggs song seems somehow in tune with their spirit.

(Warning: this link leads to hardcore FOLK)

They're available in my Etsy shop.

Bye for now, Claire

www.somethingtodo.etsy.com

www.somethingtodowithyourhands.com

www.somethingtodobeads.etsy.com

Jingle (Poly)Bells

It's that time of year again---when we're lucky if we can find five spare minutes to rub together in the studio. I don't even need to say it cuz I know you already know---December is a crazy month.

So instead of scrambling to put together a new pair of earrings for you today, I'm going to give myself a break and revisit a pair of my beloved polybells. 

It seems like I always end up using the adjective "beloved" whenever I talk about my polybells. I think it's because I feel so motherly to them---each is its own unique little species made completely by me. No two are alike, so once they're gone, they're gone. I form them out of polymer clay, cure them, hand paint them, seal them, sweet-talk and coo over them...yep, I'm a freakin' weirdo.

This particular pair always reminded me of frilled wood mushrooms or maybe rock lichen. Subtle piney green dappled with bark brown and oyster gray. I balled my own copper headpins using a torch, gave them a simple wire wrap up top, and hung them from my signature long ear wires.

I've had a sincere intention to make more polybells for the past, oh, year or so. At the rate I'm going, maybe I'll get to it by next June?! I mean, hey, flowers don't bloom until the weather warms up, anyways, right?

Happy Wednesday and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Little Treasures

Good Morning! When I opened my shop, I wanted a section titled "Simplify". The shop partner I had said no; I let it go. It ran around in my mind off and on these last couple of years. Lately I've been feeling restless, a little bored with my work and I started thinking about Simplify again. I needed to do something different and decided to try to design smaller earrings: shorter, lighter, smaller, I guess, minimal use of art beads, 2.5" maximum. . . . .  most of the time. I soon realized what a challenge I'd given myself. I have never worked this way. My design time is always free. No I have to make THIS today; or I have to use THOSE BEADS today. I just don't work that way, have never worked within restrictions; have you? Isn't that a great part of jewelry design, that there really are no rules!! How could I possibly make things specifically "smaller, lighter, shorter, minimal use of art beads," yet still have them be me. . . . still have the soul I hope I'm infusing into my work each day. Many things came and went, put together, taken apart. Eventually I came up with five designs I was happy with.

first five designs

I created a section for them titled "Little Treasures". Cute huh? I had a lot of help with the name from Mary DeTray. Thank you, Mary!

today's Little Treasures

So here are my earrings for today! 

I listed them this morning in "Little Treasures". They are 2" long, just about featherweight, actually, 0.106 ounces/3.01 grams, quite petite, no art beads, but they do have some lovely treasures. I wonder, though, if even the people who know my work will see a distinct difference between these and my "regular" work. Is it only something that I am feeling? I'm sure that most of you have absolutely no difficulty doing what was a pretty big deal to me. I had gotten myself wedged into working a particular way and needed to push myself out. Maybe ya'll will tell me what you think.

Ya know it's funny that this challenge was about simplifying my work; usually a challenge brings to mind MORE intensive, MORE intricate. . . . .

So outside of showing you these cool little earrings, since this has been ongoing the last few weeks, I thought I'd share with you how I forced myself to step outside of my comfort zone. I went in a direction I'm not used to, with guidelines to follow, and restrictions! Now that I've worked at this for a few weeks, it's no longer outside of my comfort zone; I know I can make smaller, lighter, shorter earrings using minimal art beads. Because I took the challenge, I have expanded beyond my usual repertoire. When I see some tiny but totally awesome beads, I can make something cool with them, rather than appointing them the role of accent beads, ya know? I'll be keeping an eye out for my next self-appointed challenge. Keep your mind wide open and take the challenge, no matter how small; it's always worthwhile. Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back on 12/29.

p.s. In the listing you can read a brief description of the ancient beads used here. They are so cool.
p.p.s. The "minimal use of art beads" in the above collage were made by: Kristi Bowman Gruel of
         Kristi Bowman Design; Jennifer Ghoulson Morris of Eclectic Prairie; the maker of the lampwork
         leaves is unknown.I received them as a gift. If anyone knows who made them, please let me know.
         Thank you!

SheFliesAgain is my Etsy shop

You can visit me on Facebook too

Power

Do you ever had one of those days? A day when the minute you get out of bed, things go wrong? Well, today I have one of those. 

I got up really early full of plans. Made myself a nice cup of coffee. Wrong. Not sure what happened but the coffee tasted like dishwater. Well, to be honest, I have no idea what dishwater tastes like, nor do I incline to find out but it sure looked like it and it tasted yuck. I will spare you all the details what more went wrong after that coffee except for this. This was suppose to be a brilliant epic post, full of deep inside thoughts about guns and bullets and the fear, despair, ugliness, pain and hatred accompanied by them. About how we have to reach out to other people and turn hatred into love, into something beautiful. Instead nothing happened. I couldn't find the words to express myself.

So I give you a beautiful lady who turned a personal drama into something wonderful and powerful. A great role model. 

And I give you earrings made with empty bullet shell casings, inspired by her. Power, my attempt to make something powerful and lovely out of something which causes destruction.

Earrings made with etched bullet shell casings, chrysocolla, gorgeous handmade lampwork glass beads from Stephanie McCain of Avas Bead Garden and matching lampwork glass spacers from Taara Ryan of Desert bug Designs. Now available in my shop.

Thanks for looking!

Wishing you a wonderful day,

Janine

Esfera Jewelry

My etsy shop

My website/blog

My facebook page

Copper Owl Earrings

I've had these owls in mind for a while and finally sat down to create them this week. I treated myself to some fancy metal stamps last weekend at my local bead store, a flower stamp and leaves. I thought they were perfect for the owl's eyes and feathers. I paired the copper owls with beads that I created from polymer clay in shade of purple and olive green. They hit all my favorite woodland notes.

I love owls in all shapes and sizes! I'd pair up these earrings with this ceramic owl pendant. Wearing owls always makes me feel just a wee bit wiser. 

Copper Owl Earrings

Have a great weekend!