Kinetic Loops

Hi, everyone!  Before I show you my new earrings, bear with me for a moment.  Life has been kind of chaotic at Casa Meridy lately.  My daughter Rhia, her husband Ken, and their two children, Kaity (10) and KJ (almost 4), are moving out this week after living with Rog and me for almost five years!

As you can imagine, our house is full of boxes and piles of things to give away and pack...and our hearts are full of memories and love and mixed feelings.  The move has been a long time coming--and much needed--but even so, we've had such a wonderful time living together that it's a little bittersweet too...maybe even more than a little, to be honest.  😔

I haven't made a lot of jewelry lately, but my latest pair of earrings are a lot of fun:  Kinetic Loops!  As you can see, they're chainmaille (of the very easy sort), made of bright and shiny aluminum rings.  The aluminum is extremely lightweight, which makes the earrings easy on your ears.  They're 2-1/2 inches long and  move around like little kinetic sculptures in your ears as you move.

Here they are hanging:

Below they're laying flat--quite a difference from the movement you can see in the photo above.

The largest rings in these playful earrings are 3/4", made of 14 gauge bright aluminum wire; the smallest are 1/8" and 18 gauge.  These could be made with just about any metal, but I'd think they would get pretty heavy!

They're wonderfully versatile, since they go with anything, a dressed-up look or your most casual jeans. 

Thanks for reading, as always!

Our kids and grandkids are starting their move today as I write this.  They're only moving a couple of miles away, so we'll still see them a lot (and I'm a primary chauffeur for school pickups and after-school mom stand-in).  But I still need to make sure I have enough Kleenex for these next few weeks.  💗

I'll be back in two weeks with something new--it's my birthday week! 

xoxo
Meridy

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Mermaids

Happy Thursday, everyone! 💗 

For this post, I wanted to make simple earrings that would incorporate elements I already had with some new items. 

I was inspired by a visit to Shannon German's great store, Miss Fickle Media, one of my long-time fave places to shop.  I found these wonderfully textured brass leaves with a beautiful verdigris patina...and a string of gorgeous tiny (2mm) Paradise Blue quartz heishi beads:

                

The brass leaves are small and delicate, about 1-1/8 inches long, and very lightweight, so I got the idea of decorating them with möbius rings (also called rosettes) at the tops.  I had some beautiful chainmaille rings in teal blue/green niobium "Mermaid" mix that worked perfectly for the rosettes, and also some sturdy sterling rings to attach them to the leaves.

I made a tiny wrapped loop on one end of some 26-gauge sterling silver wire and then strung on it the little blue quartz and some sterling silver heishi beads.  I guided the other end of the silver wire into the bottom hole of the leaf, pulled it snug, and bent it upward at the back, then trimmed it to about 1 cm. Then I slid a sterling ring through the loop in the wire and then through the top hole in the leaf.  Before I closed the sterling ring, I also looped it through the rosette of niobium rings.  

When I finished that step for both earrings, I glued blue paper to the earring backs to cover and secure the wire (see above).  The last step:  sterling silver ear wires, an extra from Miss Fickle Media (thank you, Shannon, my dear!).  💗

Thanks for reading--I'll see you all in October!  💗
xoxo
Meridy

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Oh the possibilities - Sari Silk

I hope this finds all of you healthy and well this flu season! 

Both pairs of earrings I'm showing today were made using handcrafted Sari Silk components by Anna Pierson of SagaHus. 

I have lots of silk to work with. . . . large amounts of it so generously gifted to me by a friend. . . .and prior to that I had a few ribbons of my own here and there. Never have I been able to pull it together, not for lack of trying. I have tried and used and used and used a fair amount of silk trying. I have managed small areas of an earring design, and have also used different kinds of ribbon over the years successfully. So although I will continue my efforts at some point, I was delighted when I managed to snag these components to work with. Fun, colorful, unique. Thank you, Anna! 

SheFliesAgain

This gorgeous pair of silk components is paired with various Czech glass beads and Greek bronze castings in a column-shaped design. They're all wrapped with waxed Irish linen and attached to soldered copper metal rings. 

SheFliesAgain

The second pair includes handcrafted copper ovals by Shannon German of MissFickleMedia, and wonderfully crackled recycled glass shards made by Emily Cohen of CatFishStu. Again, wrapped with waxed linen and attached to soldered rings.

SheFliesAgain

Both pairs are amazingly lightweight, at only 0.10 oz / 2.83 grams, and 0.15 oz / 4.28 grams respectively. 

Thanks for checking us out today.

Always with Love and Joy,
norbel
SheFliesAgain

Simple lines

Sometimes things get too complicated in life and we're reminded that we should aim to keep things simple.... go back to basics. Lines. Metal. Wire. Pure lines. No color. Simple. Minimalist. Simplicity.

My brain is still adjusting to verrrrry slow and verrrrry gradual increases in my new epilepsy medication (this stuff is potent, wow), and I do feel better for awhile, but when the next small increase comes up on the schedule, it takes awhile for my brain to adjust and then it's a challenge until I've adjusted.

Because of this, I don't have anything new to show you today, but I pulled a few pairs of earrings I've made in the past that show this concept of keeping things very very simple.

Sometimes when the creative muse isn't 'happening', maybe just going back to pure simple lines is a way to create while the muse is on vacay ;)

Here's a few examples for you:

What do you do when your muse wanders off?
I'd love to hear!

Be well,
Nathalie

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Opal Perfection ~ Australian Opal Doublet Hand-Fabricated Earrings

Hello and thank you all so much for the opportunity to write an article for Earrings Everyday! How fun is this?! Let me quickly introduce myself, and then I'll go into a bit of the process of creating these Opal beauties, from finding the gemstones, to following the Muse and her winding, twisting, adventurous path to perfection!

My name is Heidi Williams, and I'm sure I know many of you from Facebook and Instagram - I stay pretty active in a lot of those groups, and on social media in general.  I live in Wyoming, near the Snowy Range and Medicine Bow Peak. We love to hike, camp, and motorbike in the mountains, enjoying the beauty of the untamed wilderness. Every time I return from the mountains, I feel rejuvenated and freshly inspired to create!

Back from one of these wonderfully relaxing mountain adventures, I began creating these Opal earrings - they are sweetly petite, with tiny little teardrop opal doublets, (which were a challenge to fabricate bezels for) and elegantly organic with a sleek, lightweight design. I love keeping such beautiful gemstones as the star of the show, while adding my own touch of hand-fabricated metalwork to create a One-Of-A-Kind design.

Finding gemstones that are of high quality, and yet unique can be a challenge at times, although social media and the popularity of Instagram and Facebook sales makes this much easier...I am always on the lookout for fabulous gemstones, especially in matching (or semi matching) pairs for future earring designs! I collect these gemstones and then when so inspired I will design around the stone - I rarely purchase a stone with a specific design in mind.

Having settled on these teeny tiny opal doublets from Australia, I began fabricating the smooth silver bezels - choosing the correct height of bezel wire is so important, and something I still mess up on occasionally, but I am happy with these! After soldering the bezels to silver back plates on which I remembered to stamp my little signature heart, and popping them in the pickle pot, I begin work on the upper portion of the earrings.

I select narrow bits of silver sheet 
hand cut and hammered, 16-gauge wire for the front which will be what the opals attach to, and 20-gauge wire for the ear wires. For this portion I use medium paste solder, placing all of my silver bits together in their places on my soldering board. I begin soldering by heating up the 16-gauge wire first - making the end of the wire ball up to create a nice drop for the loop that the opal will hang from. After the 16-gauge wire is balled up sufficiently, I begin heating and soldering the rest of the earring upper. 

Once soldered, I let cool before removing from my soldering board,  as Argentium (935) Silver is brittle when hot - I've shattered one too many designs because I was impatient and tried moving the piece before it was cooled enough! 

These upper earring parts are now popped into the pickle pot, and out comes the tear drop bezels! I trim off the excess silver, file and sand edges, and solder jump rings to the top of each. 

After all of these pieces are sufficiently pickled, I file, sand, and polish. Then out comes the LOS gel (which I LOVE), giving them a nice black patina. (Black Max is also a great blackening agent for silver!) After tumbling, I again polish the bits up, taking off enough of the LOS to highlight the texture. Setting the stones is the next to last step - and a tedious process to keep the bezel smooth and wrinkle-free, especially at the corners. Sometimes I like that wrinkly rustic look, but for this pair of earrings, I wanted a smooth setting.

 I always begin at the corners, smoothing them down first, and move around the setting gradually working the bezel down a bit more with every rotation. Slow and gentle will have your bezel looking amazing in the end! A bit of filing, sanding, and polishing to top it off (avoiding the stone of course), and we are ready to attach the opals to their upper earring parts. These earrings were so much fun to make, and best yet, a success!

Some product information for the curious:
Have you ever wondered what an opal doublet was? Well, quite simply Opal Doublet as the name suggests, is a thin layer of precious Opal cemented onto a backing, usually a piece of common Black Opal or Ironstone. They were originally created from Opal that was perhaps too thin to produce a solid stone.

Wondering about Argentium Silver? Let me tell you! Argentium Silver is .935 pure silver, with germanium as its alloy instead of nickle. It is hypoallergenic, nickle free, and perfect for those who are allergic to traditional Sterling Silver!

Thank you so much for having me! I hope this little article inspires your muse a little!

Be Inspired, Stay Creative~
Heidi

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Faerie Grove

My inspiration for my EE earrings this week came from something I'd stashed away in the past.  😊

Faerie Grove

I'd had most of the elements for these tucked away together in a baggie for a long time--at least a year, probably longer.  I knew the pretty spotted tanzanite lampies by Terry Turner and the silvery leaf charms would make cute earrings; I just didn't know exactly HOW.  So I stashed them in the bag with a few other beads and put them away...and this week, I decided to sit down with them and figure out what they would be.

I took some of the beads in the bag out of the running.  I loved the Thai silver beads that were in there, but they just weren't quite right, and neither were a couple of other things that were in the bag.  I decided to make the tanzanite color a focus, as I love the color, and the little Swarovski and Czech rondelles were perfect, in hue and in size, keeping the earrings sleek and simple and lightweight. The pretty little Nunn Design antiqued silver bead caps added just the right touch too without adding bulk to a slim, light earring. 

   

It was fun finally seeing these earrings come into form.  I hope you like them.  💗

Thanks for reading!  I'll be back in a few weeks with more.  

xoxo

Meridy

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oh yeah. . . here it comes

Hello! I do hope this day finds everyone healthy and well and simply enjoying the day.

When I sat down on Sunday to make a pair of earrings for today, it had been a rough few days out there in the world, for all of us. As much as I say that creating is the time I am able to shut off my mind from the world and simply let myself "be," I don't always sit down and flick the switch and the thoughts stop. This was definitely one of those times. . . . . so much running through my mind. And it all felt so dark. . .

I didn't have a plan; I often have at least a vague idea, or I have them made in advance. I have different ways I use to inspire myself. Sometimes I don't need any; other times absolutely nothing will spark me. This day I decided to pull out, or bring closer, pieces from all of my favorite artisans. . . well, most of them, and only one pair each. I know that often simply going through my treasures will lighten my mood. After I lined up a whole lotta pairs, I realized I had selected all colorful pieces. It was a great assortment of styles and materials, ceramics, lampwork, pewter, copper, etc., but all of them colorful. It was an interesting exercise because it was not at all planned. The other interesting thing is that most of them were -- oh yeah. . . here it comes. . . . Autumn like! 😁

I don't mean to bring it up too early! At least I hope it doesn't offend. I know that summer is all too short in so many places, including here in Michigan, but these years, I don't at all feel sad that summer is ending. Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. I won't go into another whole slew of emotional things but in a nutshell I find it soothing, invigorating, melancholic, joyful, peaceful, all those things and more rolled into one.

And the winner of my rows of Artisan Beads were these gorgeous ceramic leaves by Petra Carpreau, ScorchedEarthOnEtsy. In person they have a beautiful glossy shine.

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I realized late last night as I was uploading the photos here that I had not photographed these to reveal their best. There are lovely areas of metallic coppery pink on the leaves, not revealed due to angle, light and the placement of the "berries." They were made so that they are situated more to the yellow/green side of the leaves when hanging. They aren't real floppy either so as I was handling them, I must've pushed them over a bit and ruined the pictures! lol I apologize. heavy sigh. . . it's always something. 😉

I used Czech glass beads of Gilded Whiskey, Coral Picasso, and Turquoise Picasso Tube Beads on waxed Irish linen, oxidized copper wire, 6mm flat, square Turquoise stones, a beautiful shade of Green Turquoise Picasso glass and the same coral, no metal except for the wire. 

As always, I sincerely thank you for visiting. I hope you enjoy the remainder of the summer. I'll be back just after Labor Day. 

Tomorrow you will be meeting and totally enjoying, I'm sure, another new regular contributor to the Earrings Everyday Blog. I know you will love her!

Norbel

She Flies Again                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Scraps. . . continued

I didn't think Nathalie would mind if I picked up on her "scraps" idea. Her recent post really gave me pause. It was a good challenge for me, to pay attention to what I'm throwing away or simply tossing aside, without giving thought to what it might become rather than trash. I recycle many things in different areas of life, but I am quick to pitch loose odds and ends without thinking about it. The opportunity came up very soon.

The first pair is made from a small piece of tin I still have left from a vintage container. So in a way they're scraps. . . . but they're not really the pair that in my mind were made from scraps. :) The scraps are the second pair.

Earrings Available Here! 😊

These were made from what was left after cutting out the teardrop shapes in the first pair of earrings. It took some Dremel work to get the shapes nicely edged, inside and out. They were not joined at the top; that was where I made the first cut to begin the teardrop shape. I used a brass metal coating on the backs. They are too narrow for me to try to apply the backing I regularly use. 

I punched holes at the top of both ends. I used an aqua/green dye-oxide on vintage steel wavy disks. ***For whatever reason, those appear much deeper and brighter a color than they actually are. Strange. . . . as everything else is quite accurate. I tried lightening the photos at one point trying to soften the color. But the disks are simply not that bright.*** 

Using waxed Irish linen, I strung a single coral Czech glass bead and put both ends of the linen through the center hole in the disk, then one end through each hole in the tin, then knotting it. Pulling the strands tight caused the tin to bow ever so slightly and it looks great that way. Gives it a little bit of depth.

 I considered leaving the entire empty space empty after having tried at least two dozen different things to hang. Nothing worked. It was an odd feeling. I had all this empty space and couldn't fill it. It was baffling, actually. Frustrating too. I am not opposed to leaving empty space. Often it is what I would rather do, but in this situation I felt they really needed something.

I hung them up after finishing and left them as is. Later in the day I was looking for something for another project and stumbled on these Vintage very thin brass-plated findings. They worked, so I left them on. They are attached with waxed linen also, wrapped around the backs of the disk.

So my thanks to Nathalie for her post the other day, for making me stop to think about what I was throwing away, and giving me a new way to look at bits and pieces.

 Thank you for stopping in! I'll be back the 1st of August. Hope you are all enjoying the summer.

norbel

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I really love these!

Hello everyone. I do hope your week is off to a great start.

This is one of those longer posts I find myself writing now and then. 😃

While making, every once in a while something magical happens and I remember very clearly what it is that I love so much about creating. Those of you who are makers will understand, I think, and I'm sure there are many other things in life that others can relate to, things that create the same feeling: maybe holding your grandchild; sitting with your favorite pet on your lap or at your feet while reading a great book; looking out at the water on a clear, crisp, fall day, trees filled with colorful leaves. That last one is another one for me. They are incredibly special times that create emotions that at least I don't live with regularly. But it's also something that is difficult for me to put into words.

I say every once in a while because for me that is how it works. It is not something that happens every time I create something, even if I love the result. There are many days where it is nothing more than a practice of habit. . . . . I sit at my worktable, pull out a hundred and one things and try to "feel" what works that day. And that can change from one hour to the next. Something I'm excited about can quickly turn to "what was I thinking" after frustration and a break away help me see things more clearly.

But this day, these earrings, the magic happened.

I had these sweet bell ceramic pieces fired with a glazed called "Poppy Fields" for only a week or two. They were made by friend-to-many and Ceramic Artisan Petra Carpreau of ScorchedEarthOnEtsy. These were not the only pieces I had out on my worktable. At least a half dozen others and I was not at all focused on anything when for whatever reason the rusted tin ceiling tiles that I cherish crossed my mind. And it simply took off from there.

I knew I wanted thin strips, not really sure yet what I was going to pair them with. I cut them out and as I was shaping and filing, the bells became the focus. My idea was to use white acrylic paint to give them a "whitewash" kind of look but pulled out colorants made by Vintaj instead. Testing the coloring on the back of one, in a split second I knew it was exactly what I wanted. It's a white/blue color named "marine."

The rest of the design went along smoothly but at this point the feeling was already there, and it lasted throughout the remainder of the making and far beyond. Even still, I get an unearthly tingle inside when I look at them. Now, I know that they are simply a pair of earrings, and they may not even be something that many will like. But the feeling doesn't depend on those things. It comes from inside. It's a joy that creating sometimes creates. It is what it is. And I am very grateful to be able to experience joy.

Like so many of us do, I spent many years of my life raising a child, earning a living, keeping a house, taking a bit of time now and then to visit with family and friends, dealing with illnesses and a whole host of other "life" happenings, and keeping so busy that I never slowed down long enough to let the mind and body completely relax and let this brand of joy come.

This feeling, this joy that I'm talking about, comes to a quiet mind. I had a brother just 18 months younger than I, until he left us much too soon at age 47, who told me how being on the golf course was the only time his mind shut down. I could not understand that because I had never experienced it, . . . until I began creating. Then I understood exactly what he meant, and what an incredible thing to be able to stop the mind from its constant meandering all over the place. It mostly ponders the past, the good, the bad and even the indifferent, things that mean absolutely nothing at the moment, rehashing old material and old emotions for no good reason whatsoever, or it ponders the future, the when this and when that, then I'll whatever. What a waste of all the brain power we have. Focusing on something one loves to do and that requires focus and concentration is incredibly healing, agree? I'm pretty sure you know exactly what I mean. :)

Back to the earrings, I debated for a bit putting the tiny, matte finish, faceted glass beads along the edge of the tin. They're a great pink with orange undertones, and I thought I would love it but was concerned about adding three more holes to the thin strip. After weighing the pros and cons, and deciding that re-making the strips was not that time consuming, that I could make them again if I had to, it was something I had to try and it worked so well. It was just another moment of "I Love These!!"

And I really do. To me they are very special. They will always be a highlight for me. . . . . at least until the next time. :)

Thank you! Thank you for stopping in; thank you for listening to the musings of my mind; and thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts with me, if you are so inclined.

I'll be back on the 4th of July! See you then.

Sincerely, and with wishes for joy to each of you, each and every day.

norbel

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Bon Apatite!

Over the past six months or so I've been feeling creatively restless--not necessarily dissatisfaction with what I'm doing, but more the feeling that there are new things coming to add to it.   Lately I've been attracted to jewelry techniques and styles that have never really "called to me" before, and I've been learning new techniques and trying new ideas.    

Anyway, that kind of brings me to these earrings...  :)

I don't often use gemstones in my work, even though I love them, and I don't do a lot of wire-wrapping these days either, though I also enjoy doing that as well.  So these earrings use techniques I haven't made use of in a while.

My starting point was Cathleen Zaring's beautiful white-and-blue enameled copper crescents, a shape I love.  To suspend components like these, I often knot tiny beads into thread instead of wrapping beads on metal.  But a week or so ago I'd been digging around in my little trove of gemstones looking for some garnets and found a small bag of tiny, GORGEOUS blue neon apatite beads--and they looked great with the crescents.  I also had a feeling that these rustic-cut little beads would look best wire-wrapped onto metal.

So I made four copper connectors, darkened them with liver of sulfur, and then tumbled them for hours to give them a gorgeous gleaming chestnut brown color.  Before I put all the parts together, I wrapped the apatite beads to the connectors with raw 26-gauge copper, and then attached the crescents to the connectors and to copper jump rings (which had also received the liver of sulfur and tumbling treatment).  The teal blue niobium ear wires were the perfect final touch.

"Bon Apatite" can be found in my shop, Two Trees Studio.

I really enjoyed making these blue beauties and sharing them with you.  I also wonder how many of us might be feeling that pull of restlessness that I identify as the urge to grow and expand on a creative path.  My love and best wishes go out to you all as we share our paths together!

xoxo
Meridy

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kaleidoscope patterns

Hello. I hope this finds all of you well.

I looked at the glass beads in these earrings so many times before finally deciding to buy them. I often do that and often miss out, not just in Czech glass but in all handmade items as well. I've learned to be really cautious about what I buy, first because I have purchased many a bead that I will likely never use, mostly in glass but not entirely. I make some very bad choices. And then there is only so much money from sales with which to purchase supplies, so I need to be cautious; don't always trust my quick judgment. 😊 But I kept being drawn back to these gorgeous multicolored beads, and when FunkyPrettyBeads was down to the last two listings, I purchased them, and I was not disappointed.

The beads were custom-made for a friend of Deb, owner of FPB, and she was able to obtain a small amount to sell in her shop. At some time in the future she may be able to have more made. I'd keep an eye out for them because they are just that cool.

When I received the blue ceramic beads by Gail & Arnold of SandCeramicBeads. . . . . bingo! is what I thought. What a perfect complement to the beads I have dubbed Kaleidoscope. The swirls of blues, greens, purple, on a tan base are as mesmerizing to me as the time spent with my eye glued  to a kaleidoscope, the ever-changing patterns and colors compelling me to continue to turn the barrel one more time. Each bead is different, the colors swirling this way and that, making them much more interesting than if they were all the same.

I accented the beads with turquoise and blue rondelles and round green glass beads, brass toned petal bead caps on both ends of the kaleidoscopes, and tiny brass beads, all wrapped with deeply oxidized copper wire, giving them that bit of a funky feel I need, and three brass-plated rings dangle from the bottom of each. 

So that's that! If you haven't taken a look through a kaleidoscope lately, don't pass it up if you have an opportunity. Colorful, filled with unusual patterns, they're really inspiring. Most of the images I found were not actual kaleidoscope images, but art created with kaleidoscopes in mind. They're pretty, no doubt, but I like the real thing better. This post made me add a kaleidoscope to my wish list.  

Thank you so very much for stopping in. As always, we love your feedback, and comments are always welcome. 

Have nothing but happy days!

Sincerely,
Norbel
SheFliesAgain

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Have Pliers, Will Weave Silver!

I learned my first chainmaille weave about seven or eight years ago and have been hooked ever since.  I read tutorials, experimented with different weaves, and then discovered the fabulous "Spider," a chainmaille teacher well-known and beloved in the chainmaille community.  I got her DVDs and discovered that she was a young woman with a soothing voice and a way of clearly explaining how to get those pesky rings to slide into place and weave together to make intricately patterned jewelry.  I also watched how she held her pliers and how she opened and--even more important--closed her rings (there is a very particular way to do it).  And I learned.

I love it when I get into a rhythm weaving a pattern from the rings, watching my project take shape.  It is surprisingly meditative.   I've made necklaces, lanyards, earrings (these below are antiqued copper in European 4-in-1, with spikes by Karen Totten)...

...and bracelets (this one is copper woven in half-Persian 4-in 1, with a pretty dotted heart by Kristi Bowman-Gruel):

I once even weaved a flat piece of chainmaille to use as a mesh backing on which to connect a LOT of little jasper gem dangles for the focal of a necklace.  This is the back of the focal, showing the mailled mesh:  

And the front of the necklace...

That said, I haven't been making much chainmaille recently.  There just seems to be too many other things competing for my time, creatively and otherwise.  But a few days ago, out of the blue, I got the urge to spend some time "weaving silver" (as Spider would say), so I decided to make some new earrings especially for Earrings Everyday.   They're made in one of my favorite weaves, Japanese 12-in-2, and are sterling silver from top to bottom.  I love their graceful, sinuous shape.  

These earrings can be found here.

As always, thanks so much for reading--I'll see you all again in two weeks!  

Meridy

xoxo

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Boho--Whoa!

My son Jesse is flying in from Denver tomorrow for a short visit, and I'm madly preparing the house of course, so I needed to make this week's post simpler and shorter than usual.

For this post I thought I'd try making some "Boho--Whoa!" (or Maximum Boho) earrings using some components I'd been hoarding.  I chose beautiful teal lampies by Beth Mellor of Beeboo and gorgeous textured ceramic pieces by Karen Totten of Starry Road Studio.  I added coordinating Czech glass flowers and discs and copper beads, perfect to make what I saw in my mind's eye...

Boho Whoa! earrings can be found here.  

For me, these pretties are definitely maximum, beautiful Boho, and I had a wonderful time making them. Thanks so much for looking, and I'll see you in a couple of weeks!  

xoxo

Meridy

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The Bringer of Dawn

I love it when I can find earring components with the graceful curves of a goddess, and Kristi Bowman Design's beautiful copper components never disappoint.  Whether the components are slender or zaftig, dramatic or delicate, it always makes me happy to make a beautiful pair of goddess earrings with Kristi's copper pieces.

Here are just a couple of examples of goddess earrings I've made over the last couple of years.  

These earrings, with Kristi's richly textured shield-shaped components, have an ancient, feminine, Tribal Goddess feel to them.  I also had a lot of fun playing with fiber. (Lampies are by Magdalena Ruiz.)

These earrings with tapestry-textured copper points are also tribal in tone, but they have a more modern and casual spirit, mostly because of Julie Sontag's colorful, fun enameled lampies.

Given my penchant, you have to know how excited I was when Kristi made some new goddess components recently:

They're graceful and shapely and beautiful--and of course I bought a set of them.  When they arrived and I had a chance to run my fingers over them, I knew what I wanted to make and what goddess I wanted to celebrate:  Aurora, the goddess of the dawn.  This goddess offers dawn's hopeful, renewing energy and is known for the elements of love, joy, beauty, health, and fertility.  

You can find Aurora here. 

As the goddess of the dawn, it stands to reason that her colors are the bright, warm colors of a beautiful sunrise: pink, red, magenta, gold, lavender.  I added to the beautiful copper components hot pink Czech glass flowers, magenta Czech glass rondelles, and copper accents and then wrapped and knotted everything together with magenta waxed linen cording.

Shapely, graceful, lovely...the Bringer of the Dawn.

May you all have a wonderful dawn, no matter what time of day (or night) you're reading this.  I'll see you next time!

Meridy  

xoxo

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