Disco 2020

This  week I've been a little obsessed by a TV advert, of all things. You know the one - it's for a brand of gin, scene set in a 60s/70s disco, the song that's playing is Franki Valli's The Night…………

but the night begins to turn your head around,
and you know you're gonna lose more than you found...…………

(carries on singing, dancing round the kitchen making mince pies)

And it's the dancers that hold my attention. Northern Soul, circa 1971, the year I got married. Tom and I had a few Saturday nights at the legendary Wigan Casino, standing to the side, watching the lads do those fabulous moves. And above us, twinkling away on its perpetual circuit...………..


                                                               The disco ball.  

There it is, in the centre of my earrings this week. Faceted glass, surrounded by textured ceramics by Nitta Elomaki and hung on Faerystones dark copper earwires.

Just ready for those New Years Eve parties. But before that, I wish you all a lovely Christmas season, peace and goodwill to all!

                                                                     Lindsay xx

                                                                My Etsy shop

                                                              My Facebook page

We're All Ears :: Use Your Leftovers Challenge

Hello earring peeps!
It is time for the reveal of the 5th annual We're All Ears Use Your Leftovers challenge!

I always enjoy doing this one because I can create as many as I can no matter the theme or the color and can use whatever I happen to have on hand.

First I pulled together an assortment of beads that I thought might be good for quick earrings. I put them in this vintage cornbread pan that I have. From there I just had to dig in!

I put on the 100 Uplifting Songs playlist on Spotify. They really were happy songs that helped me create happy things! I also set a timer for one hour. I wanted to finish things up in a short amount of time so that I wouldn't overthink things or try to complicate matters, as I am wont to do. (I will admit that I hit the snooze a couple of times so that I could put the finishing touches on!)

One of my tips for a challenge like this that has a time limit is to make sure that you have all the beads and findings (head pins, eye pins, wire, spacers, jump rings) within reach. And I also make all the earring dangles first, and then add the ear wires at the end. That helps me to maximize the time.

Then I gave myself about 45 minutes to quickly photograph the earrings and write this post. So in under 2 hours I made 8 pairs of earrings! Perfect for stocking stuffers for all your favorite people!

I think there are some winners here! I am sure that at least one of these pairs will be on my ears for Christmas, and the rest will be given away to spread some holiday cheer!

Now it is your turn.... show me what you made from your Leftovers!

Pine Tassels

Happy Holidays!

I wanted to do something special for the holidays, something nature-inspired and yet a little dressy!  Here is my version of festive pine needle tassels and holly berries! Ta-da!

Ceramic connectors by JosephineBeads 

Silky pine colored tassels secured with a vintage ornate jump-ring and

rustically wrapped faceted red rondels.

That's a wrap for 2019!  I'm looking forward to 2020 if the kind folks at EE have me back! ;D

Cheers to all,

Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com

Christmas Baubles

Hello Earring Folk

Nothing brand new from me this time, as I am woefully unprepared for Christmas, and it's a whirlwind of picking up people from University, and school carol concerts. However, these are fairly new (I made them for a recent showcase on Facebook) and certainly seasonal!

First of all, I made these sterling silver hoop studs and bashed them about a bit and oxidised them too, to bring out the texture of the hoops. I added some gold coloured ceramic baubles by Petra Carpreau, and some fancy silver jumprings.

I rather like the combination of gold and silver. Good for Christmas, without being too Christmasy!

That's all from me. I'll be back in 2020! Just remains for me to wish you a happy Christmas and a healthy and peaceful new year.

Sue

Utterly Lovely Stuff

Earring Sampler 💗

Hi, everyone!  I'm sorry it's been so long since I wrote a post here, and I'm glad to be back.  I haven't been making much jewelry lately, but today I'd like to share a few pairs of earrings that I have made over the last while.  💗

The whimsical earrings below have so much going on with texture and shape 

that I thought keeping them monochromatic would work well.  The bumpy blue-green

 lampwork beads are by Beth Mellor of Beeboo. The fun porcelain hearts are by the 

wonderful Judie Mountain.  With sterling beads and Two Trees sterling ear wires.  

These little (about 1-7/8" long) chainmaille earrings are woven in the classic

barrel weave, are made of small niobium rings in a subtle rainbow of colors, 

and are as lightweight as they come. 

I think these charms might be some of the most colorfully vibrant that Kristi Bowman has ever made--so

 I decided to take them just a little over the top.  I'm not sure it worked, but it was fun.  

With Kristi and Beth Mellor. 

 These earrings are so much whimsical fun, with Patty Lakinsmith's yellow-and-orange disc beads,

the short stack of blue and green Czech discs, tiny pops of red glass beads, and playful and 

colorful enameled charms by Marlene Kazor Quigley of MarkazoArt. 

Well, I think that's enough from me for now!  I hope you're all well and happy and enjoying the holiday season.  💗

xoxo
Meridy

My Shop
My FB Page

Serendipity

I've not had time to make a new pair for my blog post this week so I thought I'd take the opportunity instead to introduce you to a lampworker, new to me.  Kate Holmes, of Copperstone Art Glass. Kate lives in beautiful Portugal. I'd spotted these beautiful silver dotted beads and luckily they arrived on the same day as the enamels from Candan Imrak. Serendipity, as they are a perfect fit. 

I added dangles with some of my mums old vintage amber, and tiny seed pearls on bronze ball end headpins. The colours are just perfect. These sold at the weekend but it won't be the last time I use Kate's beads.


I shall see you again in two weeks, which just happens to be Christmas Eve. And please, don't ask if I'm ready for it !

                                                                            Lindsay                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                        My Etsy shop

                                                                       My Facebook page

Winter Wolf

Not long to go until Christmas and I have been making quite a few pairs of Christmas/winter themed earrings this year.

Recently I discovered the fabulous enamels made by Annet Riabukhina. She hand paints them and often adds 22ct gold or platinum which creates a luxurious feel. Her pieces are exquisite  as are these enamels with a beautiful wintery scene/wolf design. I always find it difficult to hunt out and combine other beads which will give them the justice they deserve, but I usually get there eventually.

These earrings are no exception, whilst looking through my stash of lampwork, firstly the tray of beads in blues then on to those individual boxes by various artists until I came across these beads by Gabi Sarisin. I thought they would be perfect to combine with the enamels and to enhance both the enamels and lampwork I carefully selected some silver spacer beads, bronze spacers and bead caps and I finally came up with this pair of earrings.

Thank you for taking  a look, these will be available on my group page - Nicola Morse Jewellery & components  in FB later today (Monday)

We're All Ears :: 5th Annual Use Your Leftovers Challenge!

QUESTION: Do you like to do challenges like We're All Ears? I am trying to assess if this monthly challenge should continue in 2020. Maybe it has run it's course, or we should try something else. DO tell me what you think in the comments below.

I can't believe that it has been a full FIVE YEARS since I started issuing the Use Your Leftovers Challenge! 

I used to take a picture of the state of my beading area in my studio, but it really hasn't ever changed that much in five years. Sad, I know. [Read: I NEVER put anything away, just pile more on top, shuffle it around a bit and create a pathway through the tower of boxes and bins holding beads on the floor that I try not to trip on!]

I haven't had that much time to actually create these past few months. You would think that with both kids away at college I would have a lot more time on my hands, but there is always something that comes up, right? (Hence, the months that I totally neglected this which makes me sad.) But I also know that at this hectic time of year, this is a great opportunity for me to get back into a creative mode - and possibly use up some of my prodigious stash - with this annual leftovers challenge. So I look forward to this.

Are you like me, and have an overabundance of beads but just haven't used them or are just lazy like me and haven't bothered to put them away ;-)? 

Then this challenge is for you! The goals: 

NO SHOPPING WHATSOEVER. USE WHAT YOU HAVE. CREATE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. 

So with those goals in mind, I invite you to take part in the  

5th Annual Use Your Leftovers Challenge 

Are you ready to play with me?

Make your own Keep Calm poster at http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk

First, take a picture of the craftermath from your bead feast. Believe me, if it looks like mine it won't be pretty! My studio hardly has a path for me to walk through much less space to create. My table is littered with beady crumbs of all sorts. But think of those bits as delicious morsels waiting for your inspiration to strike!

I don't even know what year this was taken,
but I can tell you it is not much improved...and is likely MUCH WORSE!
Actually, I don't think I can even see ANY of the countertop!

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. They don't need to be same... this is a good time to practice asymmetrical earrings! Put these pieces together with ear wires, chain, findings, etc in each division of the box. I have found that a mini-muffin tin is a great way to corral these bits! Work quickly! Don't take too much time, just focus on filling the sections. Think of this like your staging area for Leftover Transformations.

Crank it up! I like to put on some upbeat music that can help me get the job done and boost my mood. I listen to Spotify. A lot. So here are some great playlists to get you creating!

Starbuck's Christmas Party Playlist

Have A Great Day Playlist

Heart Beats Playlist

100 Uplifting Songs Playlist

70s Upbeat Funky Soul Classics

Now, kick your creating into high gear! Consider this a Quickfire challenge...Set a timer (challenge yourself to see how many pairs of earrings you can create in an hour...or 15 minutes... or make one pair a day for 7 days... whatever works for you!). DON'T think about it too much (leftovers are supposed to be easy!), just make it happen. Sometimes the best things happen when you are on a deadline and you can't afford the time to overthink! 

Finally, share your bounty of tasty Leftover Transformation creations on Friday, December 20th by adding your link to the Linky Tools party right here. I would be surprised if you didn't make multiple pairs of earrings from this exercise. The bonus is that you will now have a ready-made collection of quick gifts for stocking stuffers, teachers, co-workers and friends just in time for celebrating all the winter holidays and festivities! (Or a different pair for you to wear each day until the new year!) I would love to have a lot of participation so I hope you will join me!

In the spirit of giving, I will offer a giveaway of an Emergency Earring Making kit - with beads and findings from my prodigious stash for you to use to make multiple pairs of earrings - valued at over $40. But in order to be chosen, you have to participate in the blog hop starting on December 20th. Winner will be chosen at random from all eligible entries on December 31st (that will give you more than one full week to make your Leftover Transformation magic happen!). I'll even leave the LinkyTools party open until December 31st so you have lots of time to play! 

I will announce the winner in the first challenge of the New Year on January 3rd!

Let's get this leftover party started...tell your friends to join in the fun, too! *<]:-}}}}

Some blue earrings

Hello, hello, hello wonderful earring-loving friends,

How are you doing? Has winter arrived at your part of the world? Currently I am back in the Netherlands, and it is getting cold. Next week we will return to Greece and I am looking forward to sun and warmer weather. 

My apologies for my absence in November. A lot is going on: very busy in my daytime job and I have started a new course in Tax Law. I guess I was afraid I would get bored LOL. And I started venturing into art journaling, painting and altered bookmaking. There just aren't enough hours in a day.

My earrings for today are blue, hence the obvious title. I always have a hard time coming up with original titles for blog posts.

These fun earrings have lots of movement and are made with some gorgeous polymer clay spike charms, made by the multi talented Sue-Lin Tarnowski, I was able to get my hands on and have been hoarding for quite some time. I combined them with amazing lampwork glass beads made by the wonderful Karin Hruza. 

Thank you so much for looking and your support for Earrings Everyday :)  

Share the love, don't be shy and leave some words. And do check out the other posts of my friends here. 

See you in a couple of weeks. Wishing you all a wonderful day, full of laughter, joy and lots of love.

Janine
Esfera Jewelry

Star Bright

Hello!  

Over the past couple of years, I've been very attracted to pink during the holidays.  I love a mid-century color palette but I suppose these aren't quite that.  Would you go for mid-century tribal?!! lol  It really doesn't matter what you call them...nope... blending and mixing is exciting and the eye likes what the eye likes :)

The "sugar beads" at the top are lucite with a coating of tiny glass beads. They were made in the '60s and are loaded with texture and catch the light.    I think the tiny bit of sparkle looks great with the light flecks in the enamel charms below.  It just goes together so beautifully.

The artisan enamel charms were made by Spurwink River Arts.  I adore the freeform star design with the pop of stripe and red in the center on a beautiful grey background.  So organic and lovely.

♡

Thank you for having a look at my worktable today!  I'll be back in a couple of weeks!

Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com

For the love of Quartz! Embrace imperfections

Now, for this blog I thought I'd show you some quartz earrings I created recently. The quartz is rough and ready and has been electroplated, so is the most gorgeous colour! I had both purple and rose pink in my stash.

Now, some people like their gems perfect and symmetrical, but I love the gnarled imperfections of these. Adds to their beauty. I wanted to keep this design simple and to incorporate silver. I'm a bit obsessed with hoops (as you may have noticed) and took some sterling silver wire -shaped, bashed and soldered some posts to the back. Finally, I oxidised them, because I love the antique finish with these quartz points.

I've included a couple of older designs to show you just how pretty these points are! They look beautiful with a simple or more elaborate design.

So -embrace imperfections! They are beautiful

Back in a couple of weeks

Sue

Utterly Lovely Stuff