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Monday, January 29, 2018

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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21 comments:

  1. Hi Chris, lovely to see you here ❤️ These earrings are stunning!!

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  2. Hi Chris, so wonderful to see you here. I love your earrings: bold and beautiful. Thanks for introducing these, to me, new artists.

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  3. Chris, these earrings knock me out. Bold, indeed, and I love it! Thank you so much for joining us!!

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  4. Hi Chris, omgoodness you're one of my all-time favorite designers! So happy to see you here <3

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    1. What a lovely thing to say Loralee! Thank you so much. <3

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  5. Welcome, Miss Chris! I love these tribal earrings. I adore the crusty-ness of these pieces and the pop of that turquoise is completely unexpected and makes them feel fresh. Enjoy the day! Erin

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  6. Hi Chris and welcome to the gang! Love your work and these are a splendid example to kick off with!

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  7. Hey Chris! I am so glad to see you here. I love love love your work and these earrings are amazing.

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  8. Wow! These are beautiful Chris!Love the sound of that wire too

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    1. Thank you Sue! You should check the Niobium wire. I get mine at Rings n Things on the web. I'm sure their are other sites, but I easily found the colored earwires, etc. at this site.

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  9. Its an lovely Earring with an bright colours and the new shape is good for day to day life.

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  10. Chris, what a beautiful, unique creation! LOVE!! So happy to have you here at EE! <3

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    1. P.S.: And don't you just love the colored niobium ear wires? I love them for the pop of color and their hypoallergenic quality too.

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    2. Thank you Meridy Migchelbrink! <3 And Yes, I really do love the colored Niobium earwires. They are just so well made and look good with the earrings!

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