Metal...and Rainbows

Hi, everyone!  

My latest pair of earrings, below, is the fourth in a series of similar earrings I've made over the years.   

When I created this style in 2015, I was playing with several pewter charms by Inviciti that all had open spaces in them that could be filled with a stack of little beads.  The earrings were designed to be whimsical and eccentric.  Interestingly, what I discovered while working on this post is that my newest design in this style is probably the least eccentric of all of them. 

These earrings, below right, were the first of the three pairs I made in 2015.  I was learning how to wrap the red linen thread around the top of the "shoulders" of the component and to bring both ends of the thread down on each side, stringing my beads on the front, then threading both ends through the bottom hole and tying them together at the bottom.  I trimmed the linen thread to a nice spiky length.

These little ones below were more overtly whimsical, I think, because of the shape of the charm:  a fish!  So when I put these earrings together I made sure to wing the thread out in the same plane as the "fish tail" of the charm.  💗

These, below, also from later in 2015, are just a little over the top, with two strands of beads, in front and back.  I don't think I would do that again, because it doesn't look particularly tidy.  I do love the stripy beads and the orange-red discs and just the "go-for-it" sort of vibe these earrings carry.

So back to this year's model. 😉 These earrings are more polished, with their threads pulled tight to their backs and tucked under some nice--and carefully glued--red handmade paper.  They're also sporting a beautiful pair of small red and cornflower lampwork glass beads by Beth Mellor of Beeboo. 💗

Thanks so much for reading!  I will be back in two weeks' time.  💗

xoxo
Meridy

My shop

My FB page

A bit of gold 'n silver

Hello!

I turned to Inviciti for inspiration for this week's blog. Vincent 'n Nooma make gorgeous pewter charms and I had a little delivery from them recently. These charms had a series of holes, just perfect for threading seed beads through. I chose the accompanying bead first. After trying out various lampwork beads, I settled on these rustic African brass beads -I like the mix of metals and tones -mixing the gold/brass with the silvery tones of the pewter charms.

I wanted to add some texture and so added these twisted silver toned jumprings and silver spacer beads. Tiny brass coloured seed beads threaded through in the charms complete these pretties.  

Hope you like them! I'll pop them in the shop 

See you next time :-)

Sue x

Gradations...

There are times that I've bought beautiful components because I fell in love with them, and sometimes they've sat in a drawer for years.  And there are the "most of the time" purchases, the ones that are transformed into jewelry fairly quickly, though I don't always know immediately how or what to design with them.  And then there are the times when I know exactly what I want to do with something the moment I see it.

Seeing (and buying) these charms by Inviciti was one of those times.

The first thing I wanted to do with these charms was to paint the crescent moons a pearlescent white and then string 15/0 glass seed beads on 2-ply gray Irish waxed linen thread and wrap them around the charms.   

My usual modus operandi would be to search through all of the most rich, saturated colors I could get my hands on (because COLOR!), but for the Lady Moon and these lovely dark and rustic charms I wanted to stay with a palette based on moonlight, moonshadow, and the dark of the night sky, so I chose an ombre shading of pearl white, into silver, into dark gray, into black (and back again).

The earrings are lightweight, with backings of fine paper to cover the thread and ensure the strength of the earrings.

Many thanks to you all for reading.  I will be back on the second Thursday in February!  Love you all!  💗

xoxo
Meridy

My Shop
My FB Shop

Seeing Pink Elephants

❍  ❍  ❍

So, it all started when I bought a simple little pair of tin pink elephant components made from a vintage, mid-century, cocktail tip tray. I loved the elephants so much I hunted down a couple of the trays!  To be honest, the trays are so adorable I'm not sure I can cut these up!

❍

Here are the little guys from Shipwreckdandy that started my binge!

Pink elephants need bubbles so I used hollow blown glass beads.

❍

And, using another portion of the tray...

 This time I thought some white elephant charms would really pop!  I added some vintage glass pearls to complete the bubbly effect. ❍❍❍

❍
And, some smaller iridescent plastic bubbles!

❍

Elegant Elephant Ears!!

Pewter charms by Inviciti with scattered various vintage pearls!

❍

Lastly, I made some pins!

❍  ❍  ❍

I had a lot of fun with this!  It's good to break out and just do things that make you feel happy :)

Thank you for stopping by today!

See you again in February!

Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com

Dear Heart ♡

Oh, deary, deer!  Winter came early here in the Midwest and I'm buried up to my neck in coats, sweaters, and scarves!  For this reason, and season, I like to create shorter designs ♡

These lovely little deer charms were made by Vincent Cav of Inviciti. I am drawn to matte finishes and these are a new favorite!  Inviciti makes charms in an array of colors and combinations.

I purchased the large freshwater pearls from Allegory Gallery.  They are the most beautiful and subtle peachy-pink with a slight opalescence.  Andrew has such an eye for choosing beads for his shop and this is a favorite haunt for me, even if it's only online.  Those lucky devils that live nearby - I'm so jealous!

The distressed finish also looks amazing with vintage faux pearls; there are so many directions I could have taken these charms.

 I was having just as much fun playing with the photography (if you haven't noticed) as making the earrings themselves!  It's been so overcast that I'm surprised I got as many good shots as I did.

Well, that's me for now!  I'll be back in two weeks, just before Christmas! 

 ♡ Stay cute and cozy! ♡

Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com

🌟Shine like a star🌟

⭐⭐⭐Hello⭐⭐⭐

Have you guessed this week's theme yet?!  Clue is in the title ;). 

So today I bring you several pairs of star studded ear candy.  

Group shot of some of them.

This was the first pair I made featuring Invicit pewter stars.  I blinged up the stars with rhinestones, added vintage brass triple star stampings on top for that mixed metal look that I absolutely love.  They are finished with lampwork caps (GlassNatalyaDarlin) and brass hearts.

Second pair features Inviciti's Lady in moon charms along with lampwork butterfly lentils by Helen Chalmers and my wire wrapped hoops.

I made a third pair with Inviciti hands (those Invicit charms are addictive!), added teeny brass stars to keep with the theme, finished them with antique silver plated brass leaves, crowns and lampwork caps.

And finally this pair with Scorched Earth discs.  I didn't add much to these, they looked pretty glamorous just with sari silk and cup chain so I resisted the urge to add more.

 I also made this pair with my painted resin daggers but I'm not too sure about these.  They may need a makeover. 

You can find out if these did undergo a makeover in my show on Monday where I will be listing this star studded lot.  My show will take place in The Jewellery Show FB group.

Thanks for stopping by.  See you again soon. 

Suhana 💖💖💖

All things Inviciti

Hello!

So I am busy busy busy, making lots of new things for a Facebook showcase over on The Jewellery Show on the 26th of this month. This will be my first showcase since November and I always get a little nervous, especially if I've had a gap. Will people like my new creations? Will anyone show up?! And if i take a break from making things, I always feel so rusty! Sometimes the creative spirit gets a bit....stuck...

So what's needed is some inspiration via post. And the wonderful Vincent & Nooma of Inviciti kindly obliged. They make the most beautiful pewter and painted charms, and a little package from them popped onto my doormat on Saturday and suddenly I was on a roll! Funny how that happens sometimes? How it can be so hard to create and at other times, it just flows?

So here's a group shot of everything together

Look at that gleaming pewter! So here's the first pair with some delicious lampwork by our very own super talented Kimberly of  Numinosity (by the way -have you seen her instagram feed? It's a visual feast! She has quite the eye for all things interesting, grungy and beautiful). Teamed these with some twisted silver plated rings and spacers and the Inviciti charms, of course.

The next couple of pairs have gorgeous lampwork nuggets by Maryse Fritz-Thillens. The first pair, a striking pinky purple colour, with silver plated spacers, co-ordinating czech glass and some silver-plated leaves too, just poking through the charms

Love these star charms. Just a few little twisted jumprings and spacers in this pair (possibly my favourites?)

And finally, keeping it simple with a little stack of Roman glass rondelles. Just love that these are ancient. Amazing to be able to wear a little bit of history in your lobes :-)

So that's me done for this month. All of these will be available over on The Jewellery Show on the 26th. Pop on over and say hello if you can. If they don't find a home there, they will be off to Utterly Lovely Stuff

See you next month

Sue x