With Open Hands & Hearts We Welcome The New Year!

Welcome, 2019!

I love New Year celebrations, resolutions, and the best intentions it brings.  I love the feeling of hope for the future.  I love the thought of opening yourself to new possibilities.  

Painterly finished, artistic hands by Vincent and Nooma Cav of Inviciti.

Transparent red Czech glass hearts with verdigris sides and faceted vintage crystals from the 30's.

♡

Wishing us a New Year of hands covered in paint, blackened by the oxidized metal residue and perhaps even some Band-Aids!

Cheers!  Now go get dirty and have the most creative year ever!

Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com

“Tis in my memory lock'd, And you yourself shall keep the key of it.” ~ Shakespeare

I was excited to find these very cool West German vintage plastic cameos from the 1940's.  They have an AB cast to them, which you're able to see a hint of in some of my photos; not always the easiest effect to capture. This retro green is a favorite of mine.

I have always found cameos a little mysterious  - not exactly sure as to why.  I find keys mysterious too, so I thought, that might be an interesting direction to take.  The keys are from Inviciti Jewelry and made of pewter.

I wanted to create a bit of space and airiness between the two main focal pieces so I added these amazing tin-cut crystals from the 1930's.  I had never seen a tin cut crystal in this aqua before!

I love when I sit at my worktable and by pulling a few of my favorite things together  - somehow, a little mystery or story starts to unfold.  I will let you fill in the rest ;)

Thank you for popping in and having a look around today!

Loralee xo

Loralee Kolton ~artful in beads

These earrings are in my shop!

Getting Stuck and Looking Back

I know many of us get in a so called, "unproductive-stuck zone",  when it comes to thinking up something different to make. I dispise these times, but they are inevitable, at least for me.  It was just last week I was reading the comments of a fellow beader that said they just wanted to give up, going no where, sales were down and feeling so discouraged.  Well, welcome to the club.  These emotions are not uncommon and I've found they don't last.  Those of us who love this release of energy love it too much to quit.  I suppose the challenge is there for me too, it's all part of the process.

One thing I do when this happens is to scroll back through my sold items.  I can see new ways to re-make an older design utilizing the inventory I currently have or a whole new idea all together.  This past week I created versions of an older design and remembered just how gorgeous they are.

The only thing that remained the same from this original design is the stones and the old metal wraps above them. Everything else was new based off of some previous work I just finished.

Similar design using green Kyanite with Prehnite above, silver saucers and chain fringe on each side.

One must have some earthy goodness with Mystic Quartz in a lovely root beer color mixed with copper, gold and silver though out.

So there you have it, we've all been there and it's OKAY.  You'll find your mojo eventually and perhaps going through some old designs will help you get there, ♥

Thanks for visiting this week and always, appreciate your feedback and comments, ☺

Much Love- Lynn Ferro aka Yucca Bloom

Re-Cycle, Up-Cycle....It's all Good!!!

I must say that creating jewelry is a lot more fun when you can add interesting elements to the mix. Up-cycling, re-cycling, re-vamping....what ever you want to call it, I love doing it!! Like putting a puzzle together; mixing the old with the new to create quite the attraction. I have my favorite local consignment stores I hit about every week or so and always find something with potential.

These little pretties show off Austrian crystal flower sections from a retired Sorrelli necklace with stunning Artisan lamp-work by the extremely talented Terry Turner of Silverfish Designs.  I love her beads!!!

I think they're pretty drop dead gorgeous and even though they've already sold, I still have the rest of the necklace to make other pieces with, ☺

So next time your looking through your old jewelry or inherited pieces from family members that you don't wear, give it some new energy, you never know what you might end up with. 









Thanks for stopping by and I hope I did my job and brought your some inspiration ♥

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We're All Ears :: August Reveal

These stunning sculptures by artist Gabriel Dawe seem so dreamlike to me. I love the linear quality of both the kaleidoscopic threads and the railings of the stairs. The overlapping colors look like they are floating in the air, like when you see those dust motes drifting in the air currents of a sunbeam.

For my earrings I found a stash of some Swarovski crystal briolettes in a rainbow of colors that were left over from a wedding I did in February. I love briolettes but finding a way to connect them always irks me. I usually resort to a thin gauge double wire wrap at the top, but that would feel too heavy for this inspiration. So I devised a new way to hang briolettes using beading wire and crimps. I like that you can see the entire top of the bead and they almost seem to float.

Here is a bonus step-by-step showing how I created the briolette connectors:

Since I wasn't making one pair of earrings in all the colors, I decided that I would make a series of them in a variety of colors. I even tried them in silver with a clear crystal. I see the beginnings of a collection happening here!

I like my earrings long with movement and texture. These certainly fit the bill and are something I would wear with every outfit every single day!

I couldn't come up with a name for them. Plum out of ideas. Any thoughts?

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Let's see what you created!
Please take the time to hop around to the participants.
Leave kind, encouraging comments.
Visit their shops.
Make new friends!

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An InLinkz Link-up

Angelfire

In your house, is it the angel or the star on the top of the tree? 

When we got married and started collecting our first ornaments for the first Christmas tree in 1992, I found and angel holding a star. And she lights up, too! 

Last night I was playing around with some jewelry epoxy clay for another project that is coming on my own blog tomorrow, and I had some left over. So I quickly grabbed the closest bezel I could find and whipped up these light as air earrings. Looking up at the sweet face of the angel with her deep indigo and soft cream-colored robes holding up the lighted star on the top of the tree, I was inspired to name these Angelfire.

They are very blingy! So of course, I had to put together an outfit to match.

Today I am wearing..

Sequined Layered Tank from Lane Bryant

Grey and black striped jersey pencil skirt from Old Navy

Paired with a grey jersey swing cardigan, grey tights and these sparkly shoes...

Glittery Textured Ballet Flats from Old Navy

I think that this might be my new Christmas outfit that brings both the angel and the star together!

Erin Prais-Hintz invites you to go on a journey of inspiration at her blog Treasures Found :: Inspiration is Everywhere. You can now purchase her work at http://www.tesoritrovati.com/ or in her Etsy shop.

Floating on a {Warm} Breeze

It is something like eleventy bajillion below zero with the windchill factor here in central Wisconsin this week. I know that winter is supposed to be cold, but come on! This is so cold that my ice cubes have icicles! I am ready for warmer days to come and in thinking about that I am trying to put all my positive vibes toward an early spring. There is such a thing as willing a thing to happen, isn't there?

I created these earrings because I see such hope in the image of butterflies, and I have to hope that they will return again, although it is so cold that I can't believe anything can survive. These jaunty little butterflies in the most regal shades of purple swing tantalizingly from some brass chain as if floating on a breeze. I long for the brighter days of spring, gardens filled with flowers and winged creatures flitting from bloom to bloom. The next best thing to being depressed by the weather is, of course, retail therapy. Even just virtual window shopping puts me in a better, brighter mood. I went searching for the perfect garden tea party attire and I think I found it! I would pair these sweet baubles with this dainty Yellow Floral Swing dress and these Modern Elegance Peep Toe Pumps both from Ruche.com.

Think warm thoughts. :-)

P.S. There were SOOOO many wonderful comments from my last post about the Sweet Serendipity earrings in the Pantone Spring colors. Pretty much it sounds like you are all ready for a change of palettes as I think every color was mentioned at least once! I promised that I would giveaway one pair of the Sweet Serendipity earrings in the color of the winner's choice. But I am feeling extra generous. I have selected two winners at random:

Claire Lockwood

&

Gale

Congratulations!

Please email enjoytheday@tesoritrovati.com to set up mailing of your Sweet Serendipity earrings of your choice!

Erin Prais-Hintz invites you to go on a journey of inspiration at her blog Treasures Found :: Inspiration is Everywhere. You can view a gallery of her work at http://www.tesoritrovati.com/ or purchase her popular line of 'Simple Truths' in her Etsy shop.

Touch of Elegance

I always love a little romance in my designs. I think these are maybe more of a contemporary romance :) A very long pair of earrings with a little sparkle at the bottom. You can't really tell from the photos, but the facets on the crystals really catch the light!

 Here is a closer view of the beads, you can see better where the light might hit these fun green drops. Beautiful and elegant for a night on the town, but why not try them for everyday wear as well?

You can find these and many other designs in my ETSY SHOP... stop by and have a look today!

Marie

Filigree Dreams

 

I love delicate! I love to feel like a girl! I love to feel romantic!

That is how these earrings make me feel!

I really could picture someone wearing these everyday!!

I know I would!

Perfect for every girl with a romantic heart!

Beautiful Vintage feeling filigree, pale blue crystals and leaf drops. The earwires have a closure, so you will not easily lose them. Very romantic!

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

Thanks for stopping by!

Marie

Autumn Sunset

Ahh Autumn...my most favorite time of the year! 

One of the best things about this time of  year are the evening skies with shades of orange, purples, and blues. I was inspired to make these earrings after observing a particular gorgeous sunset. First, I hammered Vintaj blanks and then used acrylic paints to paint my own Autumn sky. I sealed them and added Swarovski crystals and more Vintaj metal to the mix and then voila! I had my own Autumn Sunset earrings.

I think they would look great with this outfit (found on Pinterest).

Kristy Abner blogs at Kristy's Kreations Jewelry Blog and her shop can be found here.