New Beginnings

Today we got to meet our new baby grandson, Kai Landig! Grandma and Grandpa got to hold him and give him lots of loves! See how content he looks in his Grandpa's arms!

However, as far as blogging goes, you'll have to forgive the blurry earring photos.

I'm editing them on my phone, in the motel room near our son's  house, whereas I usually take them with a regular camera and edit them in Photoshop,  on my laptop.

If you do crafts of any type, have you had days where your hands seem to have a total disconnect from your brain and they bungle anything you try to do? I was having such a day when I made these earrings. The first earring came together reasonably easily,  but the second - gah! Either the decorative, crossed wires on the pearl, wouldn't lay flat or the cross was too high up and couldn't be coaxed back in place or....you get the idea. I had to keep cutting it apart and starting over. And this was Sterling silver wire I was mangling! 

Anyway, eventually I wrestled it into compliance. 

The earrings feature my own handmade ceramic dangles, colored mother of pearl beads and sterling silver. I named them New Beginnings in honor of Kai's new beginning in this crazy world of ours. 💖

Linda Landig Jewelry 

Tribal Fun

Hi, it's very wet here and I just got soaked walking the dogs, I hope the weather has been kinder to you wherever you are today.

I thought I'd show you this fun pair of earrings that will be available in my FB group. They have quite a few elements and took a while to put together before I was happy with the design. I have used my hand painted/resin copper components with lampwork by Jolanda Van den Berg, small enamel components by Bea Stoertz, beaded components by Ellie Bead together with Czech glass bead caps, ceramic bead caps and black patina bead caps and ear wires.

With this design I thought it would be fun to echo the colour circles in different elements and give them my usual burst of colour. Adding the beaded caps gives them another dimension with a bit of a tribal twist resulting in an eclectic mix.

Thank you for taking a look. These will be available in my FB group today - Nicola Morse Jewellery & components.

Blue for you?

Last weekend my focus was to host a challenge in my Facebook Group for members to explore the new Pantone Colour for 2020 - Classic Blue. This also fit nicely with Erin's topic for We're All Ears this month.

There were some beautiful entries - jewellery, scarves, textile wraps, lampwork beads. We all came to the conclusion that Classic Blue was a lot more workable with than we had anticipated.

The first thing I did was to see what Helen Backhouse could come up with for me and these I thought were fabulous - deep rich classic blue with terracotta. Warm and mediterranean, full of texture.

This pair has shells in polymer clay, with copper, jasper and lapis lazuli - both the faceted drops and the larger, matte beads.

The second pair, ceramic shells with glossy, sky-meets-sea lampwork by Karin Hruza, wrapped in copper with vintage coral.

So are you a blue fan? Judging by the fashion magazines, you'll be seeing plenty of it this year. Both these pairs are now available in my Etsy shop. See you again in a couple of weeks. Take care!


                                                                         Lindsay x

                                                                   My Etsy shop
                                                                 My Facebook page

Pagoda inspired earrings

Hello!

I've had these pretty enamels in my stash for a few months now. I wanted to do something special with them and tried them in a few designs, but I wasn't happy! They are so pretty -made by Carole Pons who always creates the most beautiful copper and enamel components. I love the delicate pinks and whites in this pair -they contrast well with copper.

I was playing around with some copper wire, and created these little frames. Wiring the enamels to them created a shape reminiscent of Chinese pagodas.

Adding some pretty wrapped briolettes in co-ordinating colours completed the design.

So there we are. Hope you like them. They'll be available over on The Earrings Show on Facebook on the 1st February.

See you next month

Sue 

We're All Ears :: January Reveal :: Color of the Year

Hello earring peeps!

Time got away from me this month so I didn't quite finish what I was making. But I promise that I am going to keep working on it and in the next few days I should have something to share here. But I didn't want you to suffer because I didn't get the assignment done (and I don't even have a dog to say that's who ate my homework!).

I have been working on some new polymer clay ideas for a class that I will be teaching in Galena, IL this summer at the fourth annual Adornments Retreat. Four days of fabulous beady fun in a gorgeous resort. Can't wait! One of my classes is called Slab Lab. This class will feature making polymer clay slab veneers that will be utilized for modular components that work well with a variety of styles and types of jewelry. So in working with the Pantone color of the year - Classic Blue - I decided to make a slab with that color in it.

I mixed my own colors of clay to mimic the colors in the palette suggestion - Ponder. I liked the very soothing tones and thought that they would look good with the dark and mysterious blue, particularly that last row on the Color Harmonies.

I then proceeded to build up layers of clay, sort of like a tapestry that is embroidered to add detail and texture. I started with little blue leaves and vines. I came up with a way to turn tiny circles of clay into a modern rose and gave it a bit of punch with a gold leaf center. Then to fill the space I added dots of the bronzy brown color. In this technique it is all about the layers, the colors and the textures. It is amazing what you can do with a simple ball-stylus tool!

From there I cut out various shapes. As I was doing this I realized that I needed to do WAY more patterning on this slab, particularly for earrings, which are smaller shapes. This pattern would look really good as larger shapes for pendants, but I stuck to earrings for this challenge.

Next up: baking. Then finishing with some light sanding and buffing. And then making earrings! So I apologize for not having the earrings done. But I wanted you to see where I was going with this so hopefully you will check back in the coming week to see what I made as I will edit this post.

But now it is your turn! Which colors did you pair with the Classic Blue? Can't wait to see!

Hearts and Musings

With Valentines Day on the horizon, I've been making heart themed ceramic components. Today's earrings are my first completed heart pieces.

I did a lot of thinking, over the winter holidays, about what direction I wanted to go with my ceramics. Last year I focused mainly on selling my ceramic components. It was a more profitable endeavor than selling jewelry, but I missed designing jewelry - my first love. Also, you have to make a lot of jewelry components if that is going to be your main focus. I didn't enjoy the production pressure that caused me. So I've decided that this year I am going to focus on designing finished jewelry, using my own handmade ceramic jewelry components. I will still occasionally sell beads or design jewelry with art beads from other artists, but mostly I want to tie together my ceramics and my love of jewelry design.

These sweet earrings combine my ceramic heart charms, with Swarovski crystals, commercially made ceramic floral bead caps and sterling silver.  They are one of a kind, which makes them a perfect gift for that one of a kind person in your life - mom, sister, friend or yourself! These will be in my shop later this afternoon. As always, thanks for visiting Earrings Everyday and for listening to my musings on how I'd like to move forward in 2020.

Linda Landig Jewelry

Flutterby

Thinking about Spring in January gets me through the winter!

So, how do you like these flirty-girls?  Aren't they sweet?!!

I picked out these lovely vintage petal-shaped sequins from Andrew Thornton and William Jones of Allegory Gallery last summer (they still have them in stock, FYI).  I also purchased them in pink and yellow but my studio seems to have swallowed them up whole and I can't find them at the moment! *sigh

The top Robin's-egg blue, rustic enamel flower wheels, were made by Susan Kennedy of Suebeads.

Transparent sequins in mint green with a lovely pastel iridescent cast.  The quality of vintage sequins is wonderful.

The beautiful pod-like handcrafted enamels were made by Anne Gardanne.

On darker backgrounds and/or in a certain light, the pinks show up! This photo shows all the layers fanned out. When it is worn it hangs straight down.

Well, thank you for stopping by and seeing what I've been up to!  I'll be back in a couple of weeks :)

All the supply resources are linked with the names of the artist or shop.

Cheers! 

(I've been watching a lot of British Shows lately.. ♡)

Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com

New Shoots

A very happy 2020 to all our readers! The world seems in a difficult place at the moment, so let's hope for some better times ahead.

When I'm worried about things it always helps to take myself off to my corner and make something - avoid the news, and concentrate on colour, shape and form, to the exclusion of all else.  This weeks earrings are a sign of hope - the days are becoming longer, it's not too cold, buds are already appearing on my favourite clematis, and those daffodil and crocus shoots are pushing through the soil, even though its only January.

 

Blue and copper are a perennial favourite combination, and of course, Classic Blue is  Pantone Colour of 2020, so you can expect to see lots of it. It's cooling and calming - something we need plenty of, at the moment.  The lovely rustic ceramic buds are by Nitta Elomaki; the etched lampwork beads by Karin Hruza, the beads dumortierite, one of my favourite gemstones for its range of blues that morph to rusty brown, and that matte finish. Peeping out of the buds are 'stamens' made from Faerystones copper ball end headpins with pretty blue rhinestone rondelles, because January still needs a bit of sparkle!

I shall endeavour to have these in my Etsy shop sometime today, and I'll see you again in two weeks.

                                                              Lindsay xx
                                                            
                                                            My Etsy shop

                                                        My Facebook page  

Pretty Paisley

Happy New Year Earring People!

A super quick blog post from me. Have been busy with getting things ready for the day job and kids ready for school. But I managed to make these for the blog!

I love dangly earrings. And I love the boho vibe of these -particularly the paisley pattern -very 1970s. These pretty ceramic connectors are made by Natalie McKenna of Grubbi Ceramics. Natalie's components always have beautiful patterns -do check out her shop if you're not familiar with her work.

I've added some pretty wrapped czech glass briolettes with some co-ordinating lentil beads in shades of brown and grey/blue to pick out Natalie's paisley design. They're finished off with some swirly earwires by Lucy Haslam of Faerystone.

So there we go. Perfect for the hippy chick :-)

See you in a couple of weeks
Sue
Utterly Lovely Stuff

We're All Ears :: January Inspiration :: Color of the Year

Congratulations to Darlene of darlicousrejuvenations!

You are the random winner of an Emergency Earring Kit for participating in the December Use Your Leftovers challenge! Please email me at enjoytheday@tesoritrovati.com with your address so I can arrange to send that out.

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Every year I check out what the people at Pantone decide for us what the Color of the Year will be. And just about every year I have been disappointed. But not this year! I have been waiting and wishing for a good strong blue for years! Now THIS is a color that I can get behind.

A timeless and enduring blue hue, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue is elegant in its simplicity. Suggestive of the sky at dusk, the reassuring qualities of the thought-provoking PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue highlight our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era. 

Imprinted in our psyches as a restful color, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue brings a sense of peace and tranquility to the human spirit, offering refuge. Aiding concentration and bringing laser like clarity, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue re-centers our thoughts. A reflective blue tone, Classic Blue fosters resilience.

Now I don't know about all of that. But I do appreciate this blue, even though I have read some critiques that have caused me to pause a moment. 

I would agree that this blue is definitely a safe choice, particularly since the last few years have been all about much more vibrant and even jarring hues, like Living Coral or Ultraviolet, but not plain-Jane-vanilla. I do like the solidness of this color. I do think it is classic. I find it honest and true. It feels like a very grounded color. It is a good foundation color, something you can build on. And maybe in the world the way it is, perhaps we need to have our feet firmly planted, while looking up at the stars. Grounded + aspirational.

While some of the other more saucy colors of the recent past were better suited for accents in my opinion, not as the star.  I declare that this Classic Blue is a neutral, because I cannot think of any other color that would NOT look good when paired with it. Here are a some color palettes that Pantone suggests work well with Classic Blue.

Now I know that I just said that I thought this would be a great neutral as it goes with every other color. And I do stand by that. However, some of the combinations of these colors in these palettes leaves me to believe that the people of Pantone were drunk when they picked them. Christmas Red-Green-White is "Untraditional"? What I do think is intriguing is this is the first time I care remember that they are actually picking METALLICS as colors. I always instruct people when I teach that metallics are just colors and they mix well together. I quite like that addition and that gives even more exciting options.

If those color palettes don't work for you, or if you just hate this color choice altogether, I have another option for you. Not to be outdone, the big paint companies have jumped on the bandwagon to choose their own Color of the Year, actually months before Pantone. They each have lovely little videos to watch (click the links below) that detail their reasons why, and of course rooms painted in these colors for inspiration. Perhaps one of these three shades will resonate more with you.

Behr selected a light mossy green Back To Nature as its 2020 color.

Benjamin Moore selected the pale pinky-beigey tone First Light as its choice for 2020.

Sherwin Williams went dark and mysterious with this deep blue Naval for the top spot this year.

You know what I think? I think they all got it right. And I actually think that combining all four of these Colors of the Year would make a fabulous palette, don't you?

So tell me, what do you think about the Color of the Year? What color palette do you like the best? Will you be designing with this color in 2020? Do you already have beads to match? Time to break out the blue hues and make some earrings for the reveal on January 17th!

Happy New Year

Hello lovely earring friends,

First of all I wish you all:

I hope you all have enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and New Year's Eve.
We were in Greece, going for some hikes in the mountains. The weather was perfect, sunshine and 20 degrees Celsius (in the sun, without wind).
And I finally had time to make jewelry, in preparation of my shows in February. Yep, I need to prepare that much time ahead, as January is always a very busy month in my daytime job, with all kinds of deadlines. And I will have an exam in February and an assignment I need to finish end of January.

 

So, I made a couple of earrings with these beautiful polymer clay charms I have been hoarding for some years.They are made by Alison Page Studios. She now mainly focuses on enamel, copper and wood.

Here I combined them with lampwork glass beads made by Mermaids Glass. I am very pleased how these turned out.

In the next pair I combined them with lampwork glass beads made by 4 Wandering Gypsies. I am not sure if they make beads anymore.









 

That's it for my this month.  
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 next month. Wishing you all a wonderful day, full of laughter, joy and lots of love. 
Janine
Esfera Jewelry

Welcome 2020!

Happiest New Year Wishes!

New beginnings, fresh starts!

Cheers!

Stunning ceramic earring charms dripping in gold with rustic clock faces by Lina Macijauskiene.

Festive vintage lucite with captured gold tinsel confetti falling!  Omgosh, I love these!  

Thank you for stopping by and having a look at my worktable!  I'm very much looking forward to sharing 2020 with you, my beady family!  It's always such an honor to be included in this lovely blog.  Thank you all for your thoughts and kind words this past year, it means the world to me.

♡♡

Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com 
(although, there isn't much in the shop at the moment - ha - looks like a 2020 goal for me!)