Harbinger Of Joy

 I always feel like spring is on the way when I see the first crocuses pushing up through the soil or peeking out from the snow. Spring flowers fill me with joy and hope (much needed these days).

The purple and yellow earrings I'm sharing this week remind me of the colors of these pretty, little crocuses. But they could also be reminders of purple Dutch irises, with their yellow centers or purple tulips with their vibrant yellow throats. All of these signal joy to me!

You probably recognize the polymer clay tube beads as being the work of Heather Powers, of Humble Beads. I paired them with hand enameled beads by Susan Kennedy of Sue Beads. I love the way the ribbing, in the metal beads, stands out as a contrasting texture. Buttery yellow ceramic floral bead caps and yellow faceted fire polish beads provide the accents.

Polymer clay is very lightweight and the enameled beads are hollow, so these earring are very comfortable to wear. You maybe thinking, "But who needs earrings now?" Well I have found that wearing a little handmade jewelry actually cheers me up a bit. There were a few of the early isolation days where I never got out of my PJs, but I still wore a blue stretch bracelet (hey, it matched my PJs, so why not?). I have resumed getting dressed daily and creating a normal daily routine, as much as possible. It helps. The Spring Crocus earrings can be found in my shop here.

I hope you and your loved ones are staying home and staying safe. Plus you are saving the lives of other vulnerable people, when you shelter at home. Hang in there and enjoy the spring flowers.

Linda Landig Jewelry

Creative Weekend

This past weekend was long-awaited and extra special for me!  Once a year I steal away with one of my best friends to South Haven, Michigan to attend the "Inspired By Nature" jewelry retreat. The event is hosted by Heather Powers of Humblebeads.

One of the many projects we worked on were these lovely faux tin components.  I actually made this pair using our "practice sheet" of tin, before using our fancy copper sheeting.  The practice run was supposed to let us get a feel for applying the transfers and baking which can be tricky.  However, I thought they turned out so well I decided to make a pair of earrings with it!

I oxidized all the copper accent beads and jump-rings to coordinate with the dark navy blue floral pattern and cut tiny squares of tin for fringe (nothing wasted!).

This gauge of tin was extremely lightweight and so nice for earrings.  The charms I made on copper sheeting will have a little more weight and be sturdier however, both materials are great in their own way.

Here are a couple of pendants I've made with copper backing.  Definitely more substantial.  I'm still working on them but wanted to show you.

Here we are working away like little elves in one of our cozy cabins.

All the lovely elves!  ♡

Thank you so much for stopping by!  I'll be back in a couple of weeks with some new things!

♡

Loralee XO

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com

William Morris Faux Tin

Hello, Beady Peeps!  

I've been working a lot with William Morris prints lately.  The Art Bead Scene Studio Blog has been exploring different Art Journey Challenges this year and this time around it's all about William Morris.  As some of you may know, I do earring designs for them as well as "The Earring Whisperer".  Well, after finishing up my post this month I discovered these gorgeous faux tin crescents made by Heather Powers.  I loved the pattern so much that I decided to do a new pair for Earrings Everyday, too! 

*"William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a revolutionary force in Victorian Britain: his work as an artist, designer, craftsman, writer and socialist dramatically changed the fashions and ideologies of the era."

Arched shaped copper charms, faux tin finish with a William Morris Tulip pattern by Heather Powers.  These hang so beautifully and have wonderful movement.

The carved black horn squares made a beautiful contrast against the print and pops of brassy gold accents.  The Arts and Crafts Movement used a lot of dark rich wood and I thought this deep color horn brought out that feature.

I tried the arcs on the bottom first but loved it more as a prominent "crown-like" top. 

Thank you as always for taking the time to see what's happening on my worktable.  I will see you back in a couple of weeks with some new autumn designs :)

Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com

Faux Vintage Tin

Tin has become increasingly popular and recently I have discovered artists that are making their own! 

Faux tin cicada charms featuring original drawings by Heather Powers.  Heather has workshops where she teaches this craft.  I've been lucky to attend some and it's a fascinating process. It can be quite a labor intensive with all the cutting and filing but with the help of Jess, her husband, they make the most beautifully finished pieces which are smooth like butter.

 Teal lampwork glass with 24k gold leaf and very old ornate vintage chain dangling from the bottom.  Oh, this chain - can we all just pause and appreciate this for a moment - ahh.  I've never been able to get my hands on more, but I'm always searching!

♡

Charms made from salvaged tin embellished with vintage decals by Marina Rios.  Marina has a completely different approach which is partially done over a flame!  She has a wonderful tutorial you can purchase in her Etsy shop.  I've attached a link to name above.

I paired these lovely woodland charms with some roughed up connectors and added small touches of gold leafing to bring out the detail.  I added some long chain with crystals attached at the bottom for some weight, movement, and sparkle.

Oh, and I almost forgot to show you the backs!  Butterflies!  Beautiful on both sides!

So that's me for today.  I'll be back in two weeks with another pair of tin charms and perhaps some enamel :D  Try to contain yourselves...Hahaha!

Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com

Keep On Haunting Me

 October Greetings, Beady Ghouls! 

Rustic, spooky, yet hauntingly glamorous with their golden touches are these wonderful enamel houses by Anne Gardanne.   

I used a sweet little mix of vintage bobbles:  AB faceted crystals and peeled vintage faux pearls.

Darkly oxidized metal bead caps with soft lightweight rattling chains - a must for every haunted house.

👻

Garden spirits of a summer gone by.  

Lightweight polymer leaves by Heather Powers, etched lampwork glass with touches of autumn color by Kimberly Rogers and carved bone spirited little folk.

Boo! From, Luna!

Thank you, as always, for popping in and having a look at what I've been up to.  I love hearing from you and appreciate your time!  Wishing you all the best of this glorious season!  I'll be back in a couple of weeks with some bold spooky designs!

Loralee xo

Loralee Kolton ~ artful in beads.  

P.S. I haven't had time to list these earrings but feel free to message me!

5 Artists To Make One Pair Of Earrings

5 artists and 5 different materials and textures:

Brass handmade rings with a saffron patina by Missficklemedia

Woven beads by Rebecca Anderson
Polymer discs by Heather Powers
Vintage rustic plum wood beads
Glass headpins by Kimberly Rogers

I began with the luscious pumpkin orange etch glass headpins. These have to be one of my favorite headpins that I have ever purchased from Kimberly. 

 I felt like going in a jewel tone direction, so paired them with rich plum vintage wood beads.  I pulled both colors together with some polymer discs by Heather Powers.  This is precisely why I love Heather's cane beads!  

I created a little visual space to the design by adding the hand forged rings by Shannon German.  I almost called it complete, but something was still gnawing at me.  I decided to look at it with fresh eyes in the morning.   The next day I started playing with different beads to partially fill the hole of the rings.  Nothing seemed quite right until I opened my little tin of woven beads I had in my stash.  Ahhh, I found the perfect color, size, and the texture the design needed all in one small bead. 

Well, that's all for now!  I'll most likely be back on Oct 3rd with something spooky!

Loralee xo

Loralee Kolton ~  artful in beads

Criss-Cross Applesauce

I know, what does applesauce have to do with this?  Do you remember that saying from when you were a kid?? ... No, you say, I'm just ancient!... lol.  Well, maybe I should update it to "criss-cross awesomesauce"...that'd work, too,  lol!

 The pairs of earrings below have a couple things in common,  a wonderful cross-over wire pattern and cool bar-beads which lend to that tribal look I love so much.  

The amazing hand painted focal beads are by Nooma Cav of Inviciti. They are made of wood so they are super lightweight even though they are on the larger side.  I used painted round wood beads in green to draw that magnificent color back to the top.  The ceramic red bars are by Michelle McCarthy of FireflyStudio and she makes them in an array of colors.  

Stunning enamel pieces by Cathleen Zaring of Blue Hare; Polymer accent beads by Heather Powers of Humblebeads.  I adore the detail in Heather's beads, it brings so much to a design of a smaller scale like earrings.

It's freezing and kind of grey here in the mid-west, it was so nice to play with some bold colors!  

Thank you for stopping by!!

Loralee xo

Loralee Kolton ~ artful in beads

Center Of Attention

Have you heard about the Muffin Tin Challenge on Heather Powers' Humble Beads blog?  It's a way of kick-starting your creative juices at the start of the new year. I decided to participate, for the 2nd time, this year.  You gather up all you need to complete 6-12 projects and place all the project components in each cup of the muffin tin.  Then whenever you have a moment, all you have to do is start creating, because you've already gathered up all the "ingredients" needed for your design.

My muffin tin.

Unfortunately a bout of bronchitis got in the way of completing the challenge in time.  However I did get 3 projects completed before the bronchial bug bit.  The earrings I ended up making kind of hopped from one muffin cup to another.  See the turquoise spikes (Suburban Girl Studio) on the top left?  They ended up getting paired with the beaded beads (Sue Beads) in the next muffin cup.

At 3 inches long, these guys are kind of drama queens!  This pair of earrings will be perfect for someone who has the confidence and poise to be the center of attention.  They're not gaudy and the narrow profile gives them a flattering line. But they definitely command attention - which I totally love about them.

What about you?  Do you prefer long or short earrings - or some of each?

 The Center Of Attention Earrings are now available in my shop.

 

 

 

 

Linda Landig Jewelry

A Touch of Old World Charm

I was lucky enough to spend some time with our beloved Heather Powers at her home in Michigan. What a fantastic time we had. Getting to meet her, her family and a few special beady friends was one of the greatest times of my life!! I was lucky enough to learn some amazing things while I was there, including the technique that made these leaves look like old world artifacts that were dug up out of the ground.

 I can't wait to get my hands on the products I need to make more of these! How fantastic and fun! Looking forward to many more creations with my little collection of Old World artifacts ;)

You can find these in my Etsy shop!!

Marie