Weathered Wild Flowers

My hubby and I can't resist snapping pictures everywhere we go. Thankfully, in this digital age, it's easy to take and store a ton of images almost effortlessly. I love having this huge pool of images to inspire me, and remind me of the places we've visited together throughout the years.

My inspiration this week is a picture taken by my love, as we strolled through a field of wildflowers at sunset in the Peace River region, Northern British-Columbia, Canada:

Northern Wildflowers at Sunset by "Mr. Nathalie" :)

I just love the colors, and that sense of freedom and peace I feel when I look at that photograph.

These flowers have been there for a long time, wild and free, sun-kissed and happy.

I used both copper and sterling silver in making these wild flowers earrings.

Softly weathered, definitely wild and rustic.

 Topped with small handmade multicolored artisan glass beads from Little Crow,

which capture a variety of colors that we found during our sunset walk in the forest.

The antique patina creating shadows, and the satin texture on the petals softly catching the sunlight.

Thank you for stopping by! Enjoy your weekend!

... and believe in your dreams... 

Nathalie Lesage

www.MyGardenOfLove.com

Chain Gang

I designed these earrings around these wonderful African brass beads from Afrobeadia, and my embossed sterling silver rings. I fashioned copper chain links to join the beads together.

I had so much fun with the design, I did it again with my copper embossed rings, and fine silver links! Both pair feature Argentium silver earwires embellished with copper beads and brass wire.

And here's a little tune from the Pretenders to start your work-day off right!

Blue Boho Chic

It's party time for the Boho-Chic girl... Perfect for the holidays, or perhaps a cruise... 

Sensual and playful, my Desire Charm Earrings are ready for special occasions:

I've created this Blue Boho Chic set on Polyvore,

that I think these earrings would have a lot of fun partying with:

Blue Boho Chic by nathalie-lesage featuring tree wall art

These charm earrings feature a gorgeous pair of handmade glazed ceramic discs made by our wonderful Cindy Pack of ArtAndSoulJewelry.com - I managed to snatch these beauties up recently and couldn't wait to work with them.

I have wire-wrapped the discs with sterling silver and copper wire, and suspended some Olivine and Topaz color Swarovski Crystals to add some sparkles (it's the holidays after all!!) and various copper and sterling accents... and a pair of my handmade sterling silver ear wires.

I'll be adding these and other jewelry (including some of my famous Trees of Life) after the holidays. I'm taking a break for a  couple of weeks, working on updating my website to kick off 2015 with new designs and surprises.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!!

 from

Nathalie Lesage at www.NatLJ.com

Subtlety in textures and color

I'm attracted to the textural subtlety that my "silk" Fretz hammer produces when I hammer metal with it... I wasn't sure about it when I first ordered it a few years ago, but I always love the results when I use it. My inspiration this week is Subtlety in Textures and Colors:

One of my very favorite "subtle" gemstone to use is Labradorite. See the hint of purple on the top left gemstone? And the hint of green flash on the top right one? (seen in both the picture above and just below)... the purple (especially) makes me go ga-ga lol

I love to chase the "flash" of Labradorite, depending on the direction that the stones are cut, and how the light hits it, you get these gorgeous colors, it's like opening a present on your birthday :)

 

You can also see some beautiful flashes of blue in the larger bottom gemstones... yummy!

And look at the "Silk" texture on the bottom hoops... I love how the look changes depending on the angle and how the light hits the copper (above and below):

 

This is the hammer that I've used. 

It looks funky a bit, and it's not a cheap tool, 

but the results are subtle and pretty darn cool, if you ask me :)

Silk Texture Fretz Hammer at RioGrande

Of course, I had to mix my metals again... I've left the copper and sterling silver au naturel, because so many love their metals bright, but I can oxidize them if a buyer prefers the antique look.

The rich warm hues in the copper are perfect for Fall.

These earrings are listed HERE on my NatLJ.com website :)

So, what about you??

Do you have a favorite subtle touch that you like to use when you make

(or 'see' when you buy) jewelry?

Do you have favorite textures that you tend to be more attracted to?

I'd love to hear about it!

Have a great day and thank you for stopping by!

Nathalie Lesage

Metalsmith, Jewelry Artist

http://www.NathalieLesageJewelry.com

Cedar Cove Spices it up with NatLJ

In one of my previous posts, I had mentioned that I sometimes submit jewelry designs to stylists of TV shows for consideration to be used on the series that they are working on...

Well, I'm very happy to say that Hallmark's Cedar Cove ended up adding some Nathalie Lesage Jewelry 'spice' to their episode which aired on August 23rd 2014 (View the episode here: Season 2, Episode 6, Trials and Tribulations)!!

The beautiful character, Grace as seen here, is wearing my Turquoise Spice Earrings:

I love mixed metals and the color turquoise, so these earrings had all my favorite things all wrapped up into one bundle :) Textured Copper, Sterling Silver and pretty glass drops in a lovely shade of turquoise.

You can see more pictures and details for these earrings HERE on my website :)

It's very exciting and fun to see my earrings (they used them for a good portion of the episode) in action on TV! It's a great TV show... if you're in Canada, you can catch it on the W Network, in the States, on the Hallmark Channel.

My hubby and I were away to be part of our oldest son's wedding (the wedding was on the Friday, Aug. 22nd), and I had very little Internet access where we were, and I found out they were used on the show, I was so thrilled! It made for a great weekend all around :)

Have a great week!

Nathalie Lesage

Metalsmith, Jewelry Artist

http://www.NatLJ.com

Last Days of Summer

Tomorrow is my birthday, and it's always a little bitter sweet for me. 

I enjoy the celebrations, but it also reminds me that Summer is sadly fading away.

When I was a child, it meant that I'd be starting school the following week

and that my days at the beach were coming to an end.

Inspired by what this week has meant for me for nearly half a century,

I've created this set on Polyvore, to go with my earrings

I just LOVE this dress, don't you?

Boho Beach by nathalie-lesage featuring a glitter lipstick

The earrings I've made are simple 'stick' earrings with mixed metal

and features a pair of gorgeous 'blue jeans' color Topaz gemstones:

I wanted to capture the simplicity and breezy airy feeling of the beach,

and some of the geometric lines found in the dress and sandals.

The gorgeous slightly muted blue shade of these faceted Topaz gemstones

captures the sun and some of the colors in the sundress :)

 

I think that mixing metals is my favorite thing to do... 

You can find these earrings on my website.

Enjoy the end of Summer while it lasts!

Nathalie Lesage

Metalsmith, Jewelry Artist

http://www.NathalieLesageJewelry.com

 

Waste Not

Mixed Metal Earrings with Turquoise

When you are always trying something new in your designs as I am, you are bound to have some results that fall short of your expectations. So what do you do, throw it out and start over or keep going and adapt?

I started these earrings with a completely different idea in mind, but then my stamping did not turn out well. I was going for a primitive look anyway, so I hammered over the stamping to get a roughened surface.  I continued to hammer the body of the earrings into a slightly domed shape and the finials until they were thin enough to punch holes through. Then I applied a heat patina that brought out a warm brassy tone.

Often the unplanned things that happen, turn out to be pleasant surprises. I love it when that happens!

For a coordinating outfit, I chose to go dressy instead of casual this time around. The earrings, of course, could work either way.

Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire
Chrysalis Too on Etsy



Ralph Lauren Dress - $415
houseoffraser.co.uk

Ted Baker Blazer - $190
johnlewis.com

Burberry Pumps - $846
matchesfashion.com

Tote Bag - $3020

asprey.com

LibbySue Scarf - $18

amazon.com

River Island Belt - $29

riverisland.com