Is it Spring yet?

I know I know, we're barely in to fall/winter but I think these will definitely get you in the mood for Spring!!

Monarch Butterfly Wing Earrings

I've paired my Handpainted Monarch wings with wonderful dotted Kazuri beads, a match made in heaven!

Rainbow Butterfly Earrings

These Rainbow wings have been paired with some of my favorite Rainbow Lampwork Beads!

Amber Butterfly Earrings

Three rough and rugged Amber Nuggets are sheer perfection!!!

All of these and more available on my website!

Kristi

KristiBowmanDesign.com

KristiBowmanDesign.Etsy

KristiBowmanDesign on Facebook

Ancient Faces

Hello!
So I made these earrings a few days ago. I was hoping to create something brand new today, but completely ran out of time, but I'm happy to make these the star of the show!
There are lots of jewellery components featuring faces at the moment. None more beautiful (in my opinion!) than Natalie of Peruzi's. These exquisite faces are made from polymer clay and have a beautifully bleached, ancient look. There is some pretty orange mosaic detailing at the top of the faces, which I matched with beautifully rich amber rondelles

I've framed the faces with two different kinds of brass hoops, and added some pretty, rustic indonesian beads

So that's it from me for a couple of weeks! These pretties will be available at the end of the month over on The Earrings Show in Facebook Land :-)

Sue x
Utterly Lovely Stuff

We're All Ears :: November Reveal

The description of the taste of this vintage 1800s candy recipe called Nectar sounds so intriguing... "It's very hard to describe. Sometimes it tastes a bit like pound cake. Sometimes it tastes like almonds. Sometimes other flavors. And it seems to change when you suck on it. It's a delicious flavor and one that translates well in the 21st century."

The beautiful amber color of the candies was a perfect choice for November. Topaz is the birthstone for the month and there are plenty of beads and stones that give that same effect.
I used citrine, agate and even millefiori glass beads for my drops.

I love the look of that old hand crank machine that they used to make these candies. I find it so inspiring that something so old can be brought back to such a sweet new life! It has a very steampunk Victorian quality to it and it is fascinating to watch. To bring in the element of the antique candy press I used steel washers, twisted links and even beaded links (I wish I could say who the artist is who made them!).

For my contribution, I made four different pairs of earrings inspired by the candy making video and the fact that the candy changes flavors as you suck on it.

 

So what sweet treats have you cooked up for us this month? I can't wait to see what you did!

[Note: The InLinkz tool is something I love using but they increased their price substantially. So I am trying out a new link-up service. Please be patient as I work through this!] 

Peanuts/Farfalle

I really love the kind of bumpy row peanut/farfalle beads create when they are put together. This week I made two pairs of earrings using peanut beads.


Ingredients:
Faux amber faceted drops
Powder pink matte peanut/farfalle beads
Green Swarovski bicones
Oxidized copper wire
Handmade earring hooks in oxidized copper


Art Beads:
Polymer clay wheels - BeadsByEarthTones

Other ingredients:
Maroon vinyl disks
Deep blue Swarovski bicones
Powder blue matte peanut/farfalle beads
Oxidized copper wire

Handmade earring hooks in oxidized copper

.............

All my best,
Malin
www.beadingbymalindekoning.blogspot.com

Beauty in the Eyes

 
Isn't it the truth? It's old-timey, cliche, and overused, but the saying that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder will always hold water. One of the incredible things about humans beings is that we all have different ideas of what beauty is---what pleases us, makes us smile, stays in our mind long after the initial vision is gone. 

No one version of beauty will ever trump. How boring would it be if everyone looked the same, anyways? Diversity: it's necessary on a biological level as well as a "keeping your interest" level. 

 


While I tend to mix media with abandon in my jewelry, I like to think that my pieces still share a common aesthetic thread: primitive organics. My version of beauty pays homage to forms occurring in nature---however abstract, however old, however futuresque. I love to mix sprawling organic forms with manmade art beads or vintage bits from the past. 

Today's pair of earrings is no exception. Two segments of copper have been beaten, twisted, and oxidized so that they resemble branches or vines. I strung each hoop with a single vivid otherworldly lampwork glass Basha bead. The dichotomy between the gnarled twisted copper and the striking flash of the beads just makes my neurotransmitters go crazy...in the best way possible. 

So if you've been bored with mainstream ideas of beauty and have always wanted to explore different aesthetics, go ahead and take the plunge---you'll be surprised how many people from your tribe are out there. 

Happy Wednesday!
Nikki 
LoveRoot on Etsy

Rocky Coast

We took a quick trip to the coast last week to hunt for beach finds for my jewelry. I was so lucky to have the most gorgeous day possible. The sun was low in the sky and I was in heaven. 

Miss Molly helping me find shells and rocks.

My earrings and jewelry reflect my love for nature. I am especially drawn to coastal and woodland finds since that is sort of my home-base here in WA. 

These earrings feature handcrafted ceramic beads by Cindy's Art & Soul, along with found sea glass, and rustic little Czech class beads from Art-Bella Surplus on Etsy. Wrapped in fine silver wire with handcrafted sterling silver ear wires and headpins.

You can see more of my most recent trip to the coast on my personal blog here: 
http://www.cindypack.blogspot.com 

You can find these earrings and more jewelry with natural found objects at www.ArtAndSoulJewelry.com

Autumn Turning

Autumn Turning

I recently set myself a challenge of creating earrings from the hoard of recycled glass discs I've been collecting from Happy Mango Beads and Afrobeadia. I have them in a virtual rainbow of colors! I initially wanted to make bracelets from them (which I still intend to do), but then I got a bug to incorporate them into earrings. The lime green discs above are recycled glass from Afrobeadia, and the perfect little amber lampwork roundels are from Happy Mango Beads.

The colors in these earrings were inspired by the nearly psychedelic hues of the spirea bush outside my living room window, which is currently in a state of a blazing metamorphosis--caught between the cool lime green of summer and the fiery sun colors of autumn. I love this time--October has been unusually warm here, drawing out the season--I feel spoiled, getting treated to an extra-long version of my favorite time of year.

I merged these wonderful beads with a riot of sterling silver--torpedo beads and little round beads, which I lightly distressed with my Fretz mini-texturing hammer--and lots of silver wire. I love the icy silver with these exuberant colors.

You can see these and other items at my Etsy shop.

Recycled glass discs in green from Afrobeadia
Amber lampwork rondelles from Happy Mango Beads
Sterling torpedo beads from Monsterslayer

Delicious Autumn

 “Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love - that makes life and nature harmonise. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one's very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."

[Letter to Miss Eliot, Oct. 1, 1841]” ― George Eliot

Photo By Cindy Pack - free for personal use.

.................................................................

It doesn't get any better than this.

The beauty of Autumn melts my heart. 

Motivating me to get out everyday, to the lake.

To walk. To breathe. To see. 

And I will take it all in.

Until it is no more. 

And then I will love Winter...

 Handmade ear wires, 

Czech glass from ArtBellaSurplus on Etsy, 

Handmade Fine Silver Rings, 

and Found Sea Glass. 

Available at Art & Soul Jewelry online

http://www.artandsouljewelry.com/

Happy Fall! 

Cindy 

 

Star Factory

Star Factory

I am just enchanted by these Unicorn lampwork beads in "midnight special"--they make me think of a glowing nebula!

Photo of the Omega Nebula by NASA

The way these lampwork drops (available from Stinky Dog Beads) are configured, they are most stunning when viewing the drop section head-on, so I devised a design that would keep their shining faces front and center. Here I've combined them with amber, freshwater pearls in lime, and antiqued copper. The idea of a "star factory" must have also put me in an industrial mindset because the metal sections feel very hardware-like to me. And that's always a good thing!

I leave you with a stellar spire from the "Eagle Nebula",

and a little music to go with it:



Keirsten

Embrace the Crust

Can we talk about crust for a second? Now I know what you're thinking - crust is the stuff of early mornings and dirty dishes. It shouldn't be glorified, should be swept under the rug, and should never be mentioned. I'm going to whiplash your opinions on this topic - behold a wee pair of earrings I recently made using lampwork glass beads from Kimberly Rogers of Numinosity Beads.

She describes the style of these beads as crubbly - a combination of crusty and bubbly. To me they look like the beginnings of a swirling cosmic universe. 


I pulled out the caramelly ambery tones of her beads by using some Baltic amber resin chips and then added some textural play using two small "urchin" style African brass baule beads. Small little myrrh resin nubs at the bottom add a faint exotic fragrance. 

These earrings make a statement without being too heavy or too over the top - they're tribal, futuristic, organic, and primitive...all at the same time. 

So the next time your wrinkle your nose at the mention of crust, think twice...


Happy mid-week <3
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Margaritas in Marrakesh

Margaritas in Marrakesh

I love Moorish architecture, and it fascinates me to see Moorish design elements trickle from Spain to the southwest United States, where it streamlined itself a bit into Mission style. These earrings could be straight from a bazaar in Marrakesh, or a street fair in Santa Fe! The clover-shaped ring beads are of natural, winter white howlite, and I've combined them with Indonesian glass beads in matte lime green, petite Czech glass flowers in topaz, and glass tile beads in amber. (Howlite ring beads and lime green seed beads from Happy Mango Beads, Czech glass flowers from BobbiThisnThat.) All sterling silver construction.

I picture them with something loose and comfortable like this:

Margaritas in Marrakesh by lunebijoux featuring leather shoes

You can find more earrings in this series, and other items at my Etsy shop HERE.

Avril's Amber

I made these earrings with the gorgeous amber stones that my friends in Brightlingsea England sent to me! They ventured up to Suffolk to go to The Amber Shop & Museum Southwold where they specialize in real amber that is between 40 and 50 million years old. My friend Avril bought me these beads to make something special for myself and I immediately knew that they would make stunning earrings. I paired them with Czech glass beads in a shade of blue/green that reminded me of the ocean.

I think they would look great with this fun and summery outfit!

My plan is to wear them to Brightlingsea one day when I visit my friends. I can just see myself lounging at their beach hut adorned with these beauties.

These earrings are not for sale, but I do have a similar pair HERE. 

Kristy Abner blogs at Kristy's Kreations Jewelry Blog and to see more of her work or to contact her, please visit her website.