Hyacinth Blue

Sitting at my table today with the scent of hyacinths cheering up a grey day. Somehow the blue variety seem to have the most powerful scent.  Another harbinger of spring; and January is already approaching its close. So what could be better than some pretty, delicate earrings in the very same shade of blue?

 

 

The beautifully detailed, organically shaped fine porcelain pieces are by ceramic artist Emma Wilson who lives not too far from me in  northern England,  near the wonderful Lake District National Park. I have more of her work than I'd care to admit!

 

 

Not wanting to overegg the pudding, I've simply hung them with goldfill jumprings from glossy, ridged ceramic connectors by Robyn Cove and added goldfill earwires. The fine detail in Emma's work has to be seen to be believed. 

 

 

Available in my Etsy shop if you'd like a touch of Spring. 

I'll be back next week in my regular slot - so keep well until then!

 

Lindsay xx

 

 

My Etsy shop

 

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Oh the possibilities - Sari Silk

I hope this finds all of you healthy and well this flu season! 

Both pairs of earrings I'm showing today were made using handcrafted Sari Silk components by Anna Pierson of SagaHus. 

I have lots of silk to work with. . . . large amounts of it so generously gifted to me by a friend. . . .and prior to that I had a few ribbons of my own here and there. Never have I been able to pull it together, not for lack of trying. I have tried and used and used and used a fair amount of silk trying. I have managed small areas of an earring design, and have also used different kinds of ribbon over the years successfully. So although I will continue my efforts at some point, I was delighted when I managed to snag these components to work with. Fun, colorful, unique. Thank you, Anna! 

SheFliesAgain

This gorgeous pair of silk components is paired with various Czech glass beads and Greek bronze castings in a column-shaped design. They're all wrapped with waxed Irish linen and attached to soldered copper metal rings. 

SheFliesAgain

The second pair includes handcrafted copper ovals by Shannon German of MissFickleMedia, and wonderfully crackled recycled glass shards made by Emily Cohen of CatFishStu. Again, wrapped with waxed linen and attached to soldered rings.

SheFliesAgain

Both pairs are amazingly lightweight, at only 0.10 oz / 2.83 grams, and 0.15 oz / 4.28 grams respectively. 

Thanks for checking us out today.

Always with Love and Joy,
norbel
SheFliesAgain

Ancient Petroglyph Design

Hello. We have a new guest today! Please welcome Chris Kaitlyn.

I view making earrings as making a small sculpture or painting, blending elements together until I create a design that pleases my eye. I had so much fun putting these elements together to make a colorful bold earring design. Jill Stoffregen of Foxpaws Ceramics made the focus component for the design. Jill’s petroglyph of people outlined in blue against a brick red background goes well with the blue and red lampwork glass beads from Jody Brimhall of Inspire Glass Studio. 

Chris Kaitlyn Jewelry

Years ago while reading about materials in jewelry designing I came across black annealed steel wire. I tried some and fell in love with the product. It is a sturdy wire that supports any material I need to wire to other elements whether it is gemstones, ceramics or glass. It is also easy to find at my local Ace Hardware store. I also like that it is a black to steely black color and doesn’t compete with the various elements in the design. Currently I’m using a lot of 28 gauge wire as it bends and wraps well and doesn’t wear out my hands. 

Chris Kaitlyn Jewelry

The other element in the earrings is a new one for me. I have used black and antique copper Niobium ear wires from Tierra Cast for years now, but the colored ear wires are new in my earring designs. They really lend themselves well to colorful earrings and they are made so well. The Niobium is a non-allergic metal, being free of nickel, lead, or other additives. The color is applied through an anodizing process where the metal is dipped into an electrically charged solution making the color bond to the metal so it will not flake or chip. They also make head pins and jump rings in colors, but it is good to note that just as with yarn and fabrics, the color can change a bit from one lot of jump rings, to head pins, to ear wires, but they will all look beautiful together.

To avoid getting confused I put all of one order of a specific color in its own tray and do not mix them with the next order as they can be a slightly different shade. Today’s earrings feature blue ear wires. They also come in purple, green, teal, pink, and yellow and look even better in person than in the pictures.

Chris Kaitlyn Jewelry

Thank you to the Earrings Everyday Crew for the opportunity to be today’s guest writer.

ChrisKaitlynJewelry
Chris Kaitlyn Jewelry on IndieMade
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🌟Shine like a star🌟

⭐⭐⭐Hello⭐⭐⭐

Have you guessed this week's theme yet?!  Clue is in the title ;). 

So today I bring you several pairs of star studded ear candy.  

Group shot of some of them.

This was the first pair I made featuring Invicit pewter stars.  I blinged up the stars with rhinestones, added vintage brass triple star stampings on top for that mixed metal look that I absolutely love.  They are finished with lampwork caps (GlassNatalyaDarlin) and brass hearts.

Second pair features Inviciti's Lady in moon charms along with lampwork butterfly lentils by Helen Chalmers and my wire wrapped hoops.

I made a third pair with Inviciti hands (those Invicit charms are addictive!), added teeny brass stars to keep with the theme, finished them with antique silver plated brass leaves, crowns and lampwork caps.

And finally this pair with Scorched Earth discs.  I didn't add much to these, they looked pretty glamorous just with sari silk and cup chain so I resisted the urge to add more.

 I also made this pair with my painted resin daggers but I'm not too sure about these.  They may need a makeover. 

You can find out if these did undergo a makeover in my show on Monday where I will be listing this star studded lot.  My show will take place in The Jewellery Show FB group.

Thanks for stopping by.  See you again soon. 

Suhana 💖💖💖

And now for something completely different...

After making so many ruffly, floral, super-girly earrings for my last post a couple of weeks ago, I was ready for something different:  (1) tribal style and (2) crows. 💗

Thanks to the dynamic duo of Vincent and Nooma Cav of Inviciti, I was able to combine these two favorite things in one pair of earrings.

Why crows/corvids?  They're extraordinary birds.  Crows remember faces; they remember the people who feed them and who are kind to them--and they remember the people who hurt them too.  They tell each other who to watch out for and whom to look after.  They have a kind of magic. 

I love Inviciti's rustic bird charms, and they called out to be made into a pair of simple tribal earrings.  I'd had the carved-wood African beads and the beautiful dark red lampwork spacers by Julie Wong Sontag in my bead collection for a while, and I didn't need much else, just a couple of gunmetal spacers and some black niobium ear wires.  They came together easily...and I so enjoyed making them!

   
The earrings, called "Tribe of Crow," can be found in my shop, here. 

Thanks so much for reading--I'll see you all in a couple of weeks!  💗

xoxo
Meridy

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London Calling

A hint of sadness this week ....one of my all time favourite ceramic artists, Robyn Cove, announced some time ago that she isn't going to make beads or jewellery components any longer; she's concentrating on her beautiful and very original pottery.  Everything in her shop is reduced, so as soon as I saw this I hoofed it over to her Etsy shop RaggedRobyn pronto, to stock up as much as I could!
Robyn's work has inspired some of my best and most innovative pieces of work. I particularly like her spikes - the ones I used below remind me of an industrial skyline, rows of windows in a skyscraper.  Her work is just so different to anything else.

In my minds eye I see London - the tall buildings, the one they call 'The Gherkin' (30 St. Mary Axe - what a fabulous address!) represented by the faceted amethyst, the lovely eucalpytus pod connectors from Helen Backhouse representing the parks and public open spaces filled with flowers. The dark metal lever back earwires - the underground rail lines with their sidings and spurs. A whole city in a pair of earrings!

Hope you like them - they're available in my Etsy shop Precious Violet

 

See you next week  as I'm covering one of the extra days at the month end. February soon..........shall we do Valentine's Day?

 

Lindsay x

 

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Caribbean Sunset

My husband and I will be celebrating our 45th anniversary this coming July and we've been discussing some ways we might celebrate.  Our favorite idea, at the moment, is a return trip to a very remote beach in Costa Rica, that we have visited twice before.  

This is our secret piece of tropical paradise!  We stay in a rustic, thatched roof cabin, swim, read in the hammocks and eat fresh fish and tropical fruits while listening to Caribbean music in an outdoor bar. Pura Vida!

So I was thinking about this getaway when I was designing these Caribbean Sunset Earrings.

The colors make me think of evenings in an open-air, beach-side bar.  Picture it:  The sun is going down and setting the sky ablaze!  Its warm, with a light breeze.  You've got a fruity adult beverage in your hand and these happy earrings dangle from your ears.  The colors reflect all the intense hues of the tropics: turquoise, blue, purple and orange. Lovely!

The small, orange lampwork glass beads are by Paradise Beads and the larger, multicolor lampwork beads are by Out West Designs. The earrings are available in my shop.

~~~~

Linda Landig Jewelry

Snow Birds

     We finally got a decent snow here. I so enjoy seeing the birds flock to our bush right beside the living room window. Nature and, especially, birds are so inspiring to me when I create jewelry.

This first pair I thought of snowbirds flying through a snow storm. Aren't these polymer birds from Smitten Beads UK amazing? The gorgeous mirror black Czech glass beads were also found at Smitten Beads UK. Some darling rhinestone hearts hang from the bottom. A little snow, ice, and dazzle.

And these white bird earrings I created for Beadworks magazine's winter issue. I wanted white and the beauty of a winter snow. The ceramic white birds are the wonderful creations of Blueberri Beads. I was all about sparkle with both earrings. So I added rhinestone rondelles below the birds and wonderful brass triangles with a rhinestone.

I leave you with a photo of my snowy bird feeder complete with a Snowbird. Or as they are better known, Juncos.

 

Remember inspiration can be found all around you,

Jetta

We're All Ears :: January Reveal :: Ultraviolet

One of my newest Tesori Tesserae ("treasure tiles") on display at the Gallery Q

Purple is a color I can get behind. I don't always care for the colors that Pantone selects, but this one has me excited. Especially since I seem to have all the purple beads in the Universe in my studio! It is a mult-tasking hue that has so many different facets, so many layers. And I love the way purple plays with other colors. I love purple with orange or red, all the shades of blue, emerald or mint green, soft butter yellow and of course, black and white. I love purple!

Right before I found out what the 2018 Color of the Year was, I met a client at the Gallery Q where I exhibit my work. She was looking for fun earrings. In talking to her, she asked me to consider making her some custom earrings and I gladly jumped at the chance. She is always sporting really dynamic and intriguing hats (due to a medical reason), and she said that she had recently ordered a custom made-to-order hat that she wanted me to use as my inspiration.

Isn't this model just the BOMB in this pretty felt cloche?! My client is going to rock this beautiful hat!

Serendipity that the color the year was PURPLE!

First up, I did a variation of earrings that she tried on featuring flattened lentil beads by Heather Powers of Humblebeads. Trust me, they are far more purple than they seem (funky lighting was not working for photos!). I pulled out some tiny brass leaves that I painted in variegated tones of purple, and wrapped a few gold charlottes for some texture.

Second, I did another variation of some earrings that she had seen in the gallery that went with necklaces by the same name that had a sort of dreamcatcher vibe. These little silver charms are so much more lively when I paint them with Vintaj metal patinas. Some of my coveted faceted pearls in a bright magenta color and brought in a spicy copper bead cap and rhinestone rondelles for a bit of bling.

Finally, I used some of my favorite beads ever from Heather Powers. The patchwork quality of these beads and their shape are awesome. I especially love the coral orange colored blooms. I found that I had these little carved coral flowers that were perfect. 

I let the client know that they were in the Gallery Q and she came right over last Friday. I happened to show up when she was looking through my case, so instead of swapping out the displays, I spent time helping her try them on. I let her know that I can go back to the drawing board and she was under no obligation to buy any of them.

We spent a lot of time together that afternoon and she kept finding other things in my case that she couldn't live without, including several pieces that she said she was going to give to friends "who were so nice to her." When all was said and done, she ended up buying all three pairs of earrings...and six other necklaces and bracelets, too! I was flabbergasted! That is the single best day of sales (almost $400!) for me at the Q, ever. I am quite honored. And I told her that she is officially a collector and a Superfan! And I think that she is going to ROCK these earrings with that hat!

I am very much looking forward to seeing what you created with one of my favorite colors! Your turn!

I'll Follow The Sun...

These completely knock me out of the winter doldrums! Stunning enamel charms by Cathleen Zaring of Blue Hare Art Wear.  I wanted to set that color off to its fullest, so I went with all black as the companion piece.  Extra fuzzy fabric beads by SagaHus  gave me the impact I was looking for....bold but still soft.  All you would need is a black top and you'd have an outfit!

☀

Hot enamel spikes by Spurwink River Arts!  I wanted to add more pattern but it keep a modern clean line, so I went with a nice thin black and white stripe with a pop of red on the top.  They have a nice tribal vibe.

I'm looking out the window as snow flurries whirl around a grey sky in Chicago.  However, it's nice and sunny inside :D  Hope I've brightened your day, too! 

Loralee xo

☀

Loralee Kolton ~ artful in beads

Zesty Lemon Curd

Snowstorm outside my window today. I am so happy I don't have to leave my home. As a contrast I have instead played with those large and bright yellow facetted acrylic beads. I love them. Got them very cheap at a clean out sale in an online Swedish shop some weeks ago. I only wish I had bought more of them. Aren't they great. Sometimes I don't understand why things are not popular with other people.

I am very into larger and longer earrings lately. These fulfill those requirements. The materials make them still very lightweight.


Ingredients:
I strung the yellow acrylic beads on 4-ply ochre waxed linen cord together with size 11 matte gold  metallic sead beads and egg shaped white distressed resin beads. They are attached to the handmade earrings hooks  in heavily oxidized Sterling Silver via square profiled pewter rings.





All my best,
Malin

All things Inviciti

Hello!

So I am busy busy busy, making lots of new things for a Facebook showcase over on The Jewellery Show on the 26th of this month. This will be my first showcase since November and I always get a little nervous, especially if I've had a gap. Will people like my new creations? Will anyone show up?! And if i take a break from making things, I always feel so rusty! Sometimes the creative spirit gets a bit....stuck...

So what's needed is some inspiration via post. And the wonderful Vincent & Nooma of Inviciti kindly obliged. They make the most beautiful pewter and painted charms, and a little package from them popped onto my doormat on Saturday and suddenly I was on a roll! Funny how that happens sometimes? How it can be so hard to create and at other times, it just flows?

So here's a group shot of everything together

Look at that gleaming pewter! So here's the first pair with some delicious lampwork by our very own super talented Kimberly of  Numinosity (by the way -have you seen her instagram feed? It's a visual feast! She has quite the eye for all things interesting, grungy and beautiful). Teamed these with some twisted silver plated rings and spacers and the Inviciti charms, of course.

The next couple of pairs have gorgeous lampwork nuggets by Maryse Fritz-Thillens. The first pair, a striking pinky purple colour, with silver plated spacers, co-ordinating czech glass and some silver-plated leaves too, just poking through the charms

Love these star charms. Just a few little twisted jumprings and spacers in this pair (possibly my favourites?)

And finally, keeping it simple with a little stack of Roman glass rondelles. Just love that these are ancient. Amazing to be able to wear a little bit of history in your lobes :-)

So that's me done for this month. All of these will be available over on The Jewellery Show on the 26th. Pop on over and say hello if you can. If they don't find a home there, they will be off to Utterly Lovely Stuff

See you next month

Sue x

Hello 2018!

New Year, new ideas?  Well maybe not this time.  I'd only remembered my post was due today, yesterday.  I'm amazed I was able to make anything at all as I got nowhere in my efforts last night.  I tried again this morning and here are the results.  I hope you like them. 

Group shot of all 3 pairs.

 Lampwork headpins by Linsey Peck, lampwork sparkling rocks by Maryse Fritzsch-Thillens, blinged up with Swarovski spacers plus Czech glass and brass findings.

 Lampwork headpins by Linsey Peck, lampwork sparkling rocks by Maryse, ceramic rounds by Jana Bliznokova. 

 Lampwork headpins by our very own Kimberly Rogers, lampwork sparkling rocks by Maryse Fritzsch-Thillens.  

They will be listed in my Etsy shop today. I will be back towards the end of the month with more designs, hope you pop back to see what I've been up to - hopefully not last minute designs 😁

Suhana <3<3<3

My Etsy shop: Buttoned Up Beads