Night Sky at the Cafe Terrace

Look up on a clear summer night. The parade of stars and the moon light up the evening sky and turn it from a flat black to luminous shades of midnight blue. I can see that night sky represented in the lampwork glass beads I chose for these earrings.

 The midnight blue glass has swirls of yellow green in it, that remind me of the night sky in van Gogh's painting Cafe Terrace at Night. 

The ceramic flower beads accent the yellow green swirls. Semi-hidden under the flowers are midnight blue Swarovski crystals and then, suspended from the crystals, is sterling silver chain with Swarovski crystals dangling at the end. Bold, without being gaudy. Sexy and elegant.

Thanks for visiting Earrings Everyday. Maybe I'll have some Easter earrings for you when I come back in 2 weeks. 

Linda Landig Jewelry

Lava, Raku and Hawaii

My husband and I just got back from the island of Hawaii. We spent the week there with our daughter, son in law and their adorable 6 month old daughter, who I'm completely smitten with! We were in the Kona area of Hawaii. If you've ever been to Kona, then you know that many (but not all) of the beaches and hills in the area are covered with lava.

The lava fascinated me. In some areas it was all broken up, sharp and rocky, as in the photo above. But in other places it was smoother and you could see how it had flowed and piled up. It reminded me of pouring just cooked caramel or pudding out of spoon and watching it mound and puddle up.

The raku beads in today's earrings remind me of those mounds of cooled lava.  Very organic and mounded up a bit. Perhaps I've got Hawaii on the mind and so I'm seeing Hawaii in totally unrelated things.  I've always had an active imagination! 😉

The lava, erm, raku beads were made by Xaz beads. The tops and bottoms of the beads have a definite metallic purple sheen to them. I emphasized that purple sheen by topping the raku beads with amethysts. The leaf shaped head pins and fancy, wire wrapped ear wires are from Handmade by JGL.

Linda Landig Jewelry

My Little Spitfires

Ever since I got these hot little spike headpins from Claire Lockwood (a while ago now) my mind has been doodling.  You know how it is with art bead headpins - once you start wrapping, the commitment is REAL- no turning back!  So they sat on my work table for quite a while until I was sure of the design.

The small bone skulls are primitive and in perfect proportion to the spikes.

I wire wrapped some itty-bitty Charlotte Beads onto a wire form by Joan Moritz Langmo, turning her pretty sweet flowers into flames of love....Muahahahaha!

Happy Valentine's Day 
to my 
spitfire beady peeps!
♡
Loralee Kolton

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com
https://www.facebook.com/loraleekolton.jewelry/

Merry meet, merry part and merry meet again...

Presently, it's all about autumn and All Hallows' Eve on my worktable.  The dog days of summer, in my mind, have drifted away and all I feel is cool crisp air with a hint of mystery.

Striking pewter charms by Inviciti featuring printed images of original art by Nooma Cav.  These are rare pieces and so lucky to get one!

I had some edgy cool glass with metallic raised dots made by Dana M. Graham in my stash.  The petite size was perfect and had a cast of blue-grey which brought out the colors on the bottom of the charms, adding a lot of life to the pieces.

For the finish, I chose some lovely vintage coated glass pearls, the kind that was used by the Miriam Haskell Company, circa the 1940's.  They have an amazing patina in a grey metallic.

♡

Thank you for stopping by and seeing what's happening in my tiny studio!  I'll see you again the first Wednesday in September!  

(that's right, one chair for me and one for the kitty)

Loralee xo

Loralee Kolton ~ Artful in beads

Icy Spicy Blue

I love when pastels are set against earthy browns and greys - it just makes them all the more beautiful.

Although perfectly matched, the two components I've paired together couldn't be more different!  

The large ceramic focal charms called "Circle Of Water" and were made by Nadia Terra.  They are 35mm, bold, but still lightweight. So rustic and beautiful!  I love the brush strokes showing through.

The accent beads are vintage lampwork glass circa 1950's.  They are a combination of that same brownish-grey with a glossy organic ice blue pattern.  

 Thank you for popping in today!  Hope you found a little color inspiration :))

Loralee xo

You can find these earrings in my shop below:

loralee kolton ~ artful in beads

Gone To Seed

Happy November, my seedy-beady friends!  Loralee here, today I'm sharing  sculptural botanical beads by Melissa Gabelle of The Clay Hen!  

I love the rough texture of the petals and the bold lines.  I wanted to carry those lines back to the top so, I added some fabric beads by Sagahus with blackened steel wire and that same yellow-green.  I originally was going to wire-wrap the petal to the fabric connector, but thought the tip was too delicate.  Instead, I tried an oversized hammered jumpring and added some larger seedbeads.  It turned out much better this way!  It protected the charm, added more variety of color, and the suggestion of seeds that I was envisioning all along.

~

Such a beautiful rich brown color with that beautiful pop of yellow - it's a favorite of mine.  To me, they are Georgia O'Keeffe-esk, but at the same time, with the use of the heavier gauge wire, look somewhat urban/industrial.  

For the seeds I used, Czech glass, teardrop Picasso beads. They are matte with soft painterly spots of yellow...I can't tell you how thrilled I was when I discovered them in my stash!  Don't you love when things fall together like that...just meant to be!  

~

I paired these open pods with some wispier fabric wrapped beads, again, by Sagahus.  The feathery fabric pieces match the gentle brush strokes of paint used on the pods. I have a tendency to oxidize most things but these are amazing in bright copper.  Eventually they may have a more subtle natural patina.   At a recent beading retreat I was gifted some fine (26g, I believe) braided copper wire.  It made the most beautiful wrapping.  *Psst...thank you, Lin Standke xo

November is always bittersweet for me, as I say goodbye to my favorite season.   However, I've started pulling some wintry things out now....it's time.

Many thanks for joining me today, it's wonderful to hear feedback especially when you work alone in a studio for so many hours...lol . Until next time!

Loralee xo

Loralee Kolton Jewerly

Hair'em Scare'em

Velcome, beady peeps!
Loralee, here - Von't you come in...

I enjoy taking different spins on Halloween designs.  For me, it's not just about witches and goblins, but, how the season makes you feel deep inside. Shorter days bring a sense of urgency and a bit of drama with the darkness.

I had started out with these silky, glossy, long, black tassels.  At first, when I purchased them, I wasn't even sure what they were going to be used for. However, I knew I loved them and that's always a good place to start.

I was picturing a night out, something special to wear with that black dress. Something a bit out of the ordinary....perhaps even a little 'witchy'.

I attached the tassels to some tribal inspired connectors by Jana of Happy Fish Things.  I wanted to keep the focus near the top and not interfere with the long strands so I added some short, beautiful, vintage, faceted crystals on each side for some sparkle.

This time last year, a sweet friend, Lena Moore, sent me a pair of extremely fuzzy fiber wrapped beads by Sagahus,  I didn't get a chance to use them, so I tucked them away until now.  It was a good thing, too, because, recently I discovered a wonderful bead artist in France with the shop name, Verreet Cuivre. I'm not sure she intended them to look like candy corn (is candy corn even a thing in France???) .....but, they sure do, in a more sophisticated way!

I love the rustic texture surrounded by the hairy softness of the fibers.   Ha, I don't think I've have ever written that description for earrings before...."the hairy softness"...lol  Anyway...lol

Last but not least, another photo of hairy softness, his name is Vincent, and he's turning 6 months old!

             
                  

 Loralee Kolton Jewelry - artful in beads

                                                 

Wishing you all, the best of this wonderful season!

L ~

Horrible, Horrible, Autumn is here again.

Just kidding! What's not to love? I've never heard anyone say they didn't like Autumn. It's more often the favorite season. Especially for those who are fortunate enough to enjoy the colorful leaves this time of year. And, Pumpkin spice, anything. My favorite? Pumpkin spice yogurt covered pretzels. <3

All that and a welcome break from summers heat makes this the perfect time of year for me. Everything else is just icing on the cake. 

Including boots and scarves and all the rich autumn hues we can pull from the closet. 

sold

These earring feature handcrafted ceramic beads finished in a mossy green matte glaze; paired with rich Red Creek Jasper. I love wrapping in a thick, chunky fine silver and adding in rustic Hill Tribe silver for added character. Natural found beach stones dangle below. 

I have recently started a group on Facebook to offer supplies. I am downsizing my studio and will be offering a significant amount of my own handcrafted findings, and beads as well as my sea glass collection, other artist beads and commercial beads, findings and raw materials. 

Please join me and bring a friend. https://www.facebook.com/groups/643280319164605/ It's going to be GREAT!! I will be starting listings in the coming weeks. Lots, no... loads of beads. Beautiful beads... okay, do I have your attention now? 

Peace & love, 

  

Copper Spiral Earrings

I love spirals.  They are found throughout nature, art, mathematics, space and more.  Its fun to keep your eyes out for spirals as you walk through a city or in nature.

From an apartment door in Seattle.

By Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17114028

Spiral Galaxy

So naturally I fell in love with these copper spiral charms by Kristi Bowman Designs.

The charms look so pretty with these faceted prehenite beads, but their oblong shape looked awkward with the shape of the copper.  So I tried several versions of what you see above.  First I discovered that 6 prehenite beads made the circle too large. I tried using 4 beads on Fireline, but the Fireline wouldn't hold a round shaped.  So I tried 4 beads on thin wire and found they were hard to shape nicely. They made sharp angles with gaps between the beads that left the wire exposed.    When I added some matte crystal seed beads between the prehenite, I was able to bend the wire smoothly, without gaps between the beads.   Sometimes it is surprising how much fiddling around it takes to get things just right.

I'm pleased with these now, and I'll probably try this same approach with some other earring charms and a different gemstone.

If you'd like to add these earrings to your spring and summer wardrobe, you can find them here.
And now I'll leave you with one of my favorite nature spirals: A sunflower.

Linda Landig Jewelry

Snakeskin Drops

Anybody who knows me at all probably knows one of my favorite textures is something I call Snakeskin! I've made these Snakeskin Wrap Beads before but it's been a long time so I decided I need to make more. I do love them so so so much, I'm really happy I decided to make them again.

Those who know me also know my crazed addiction to Headpins. So of course I had to put some Amazing Headpins in to these Amazing Snakeskin Wrap Beads (at least I think they are pretty amazing) added a little Sari Silk which I love to do and they made some absolutely gorgeous earrings. I hope you agree!

The Amazing Lampwork Headpins are by

Pati Walton

I've sold out of the few beads I made but I'm making more as we speak!

These earrings have already sold as well but I'll also make more earrings.

Thanks everybody for reading our blog!

We always appreciate you stopping by!

Kristi

KristiBowmanDesign.com

KristiBowmanDesign.Etsy

KristiBowmanDesign on Facebook

https://www.etsy.com/shop/KristiBowmanDesign/search?search_query=snakeskin&order=date_desc&view_type=gallery&ref=shop_search

We're All Ears :: December Inspiration

It occurred to me after the recent Thanksgiving feast that I didn't actually have any leftovers. You see, my sister-in-law's and I have divvied up the holidays over the year. My holiday to host is Easter. That means that I need to stuff myself silly on Thanksgiving, because I actually don't get to drag out the leftovers for a week.

But beading leftovers are no stranger to me. My studio looks like you pulled open one of those giant crackers and out popped all manner of beads, findings, leather, cord, clay, wire, metal and the like. When a bead rolls off my table (which they frequently do), I rarely bother to find out where it went. I just keep right on going. There is always another right there waiting.

If you are like me, then you have multiple projects happening at all times (and in my case, in various rooms of my house, much to the chagrin of my darling husband). When complete, the resulting project gets buried by the next one...literally. I imagine my studio is like an archaeological dig...strata of projects past are discovered as you dig deeper into the ever-growing pile. Every so often I feel the need to sort through it and {attempt} to put it away. But more likely than not, I am overstuffed from my marathon creating and I just push back from the beading table, vowing to tidy it up tomorrow.

There is only one thing to do with a bead feast craftermath like that: use your leftovers.

So in the spirit of the holidays, I challenge you to play the  

Leftover Transformation Game 

with me. Are you ready to play?

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. I know it won't be pretty! I expect that it will be littered with beady crumbs of all sorts. But think of those bits as delicious morsels waiting for your inspiration to strike!

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 Transformation.

Now, kick your creating into high gear! Put on some fun music (I like A Profoundly Funky Dance Party mix on Google Play). 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 18th with the InLinkz 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!)

In the spirit of giving, I will offer a giveaway of a Simple Truths Bundle of the winner's choice from my website, valued at over $40. But in order to be chosen, you have to participate in the blog hop starting on December 18th! Winner will be chosen at random from all eligible entries on December 25th (that will give you one full week to make your Leftover Transformation magic happen!).

Let's get this leftover party started...tell your friends to join in the fun, too!

 

Orchids and Gold

A couple of days ago I was talking with Karen Totten (Starry Road Studio) about what inspires my jewelry designs.  Flowers are a big source of inspiration to me.  Not only do I enjoy using flower shaped components, but the colors of flowers inspire me as well. I enjoy making floral arrangements and I have 3 pots of orchids that are blooming on the kitchen window sill at the moment (and about 7 more that are not in bloom now).

 

My orchids.

So since I love orchids and Pantone's color of the year is radiant orchid, I decided to make some Radiant Orchid Earrings.

These earrings a probably a little more on the lilac side of the spectrum than my orchid pictured above, but hey, orchids come in many shades and tones too!

 The lampwork beads were made in a studio in Venice, Italy, a city which has a long history of exquisite glass work.  That is real gold that has been melted around the perimeter of the beads.  I accented the earrings with purple Swarovski crystal and sterling silver.
 

Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry on Etsy

Linda Landig Jewelry on ArtFire

Dreamy Dangles!

It is the day before Valentines Day and all through the land, Ladies adorn themselves in hopes of Romance. They dream of a prince to sweep them away, from the drudgery of chores and life everyday!

So adorn yourselves with earrings from one of our talented ladies here on Earrings Everyday, you won't be disappointed!

Here's to romance!! Here's to feeling like a woman! Here's to feeling beautiful! Here's to Dreaming of Prince Charming!! ...and Here's to LOVE!!

Come back tomorrow for a special Valentine post by Erin Prais-Hintz...

You can find these earrings and many others in my Etsy shop or on my Website!

Marie

A Pair of Magic Scepters

The design for these earrings morphed over a long period of time, initially spurred by some of Kristi Bowman-Gruel's earrings. I love how she stacked the lampwork on top of the charm, making it seem like one piece. Then I was kind of intrigued by Blackstar's bullet earrings. Both of those ideas lay percolating in the back of my mind, and eventually became infused with imagery from too much Harry Potter and Middle Earth exposure. (Pardon me, my geek is showing.)

My first brainstorm was to use a metal bar and a dagger type bead to create a sort of Magic Barbarian Spear (Plain Barbarian Spears are so drab), but then in the midst of sawing copper tubing for tube beads for other purposes I had a EUREKA! moment. How about a copper tube bead, textured and perhaps adorned with  some wire, and a glass teardrop? Upside-down. It would be like a MAGIC SCEPTER!! But upside down. Like if you hung your Magic Scepter from the coat rack when you weren't using it.

I would envision these earrings worn with the garb below (this would of course be more of an evening look):

Or perhaps this for daytime:

(This would be more of a Magic Urban Scepter look, you know, like from Underworld. Like when Selene is just chillin' and her vinyl outfit is at the cleaners.)

You can see more of my work at my Lunedesigns Etsy Shop, or see past work and a glimpse behind the curtain at my blog, The Cerebral Dilettante.