Pixie beans

Little pixie bean faces by Green Girl Studios were the inspiration for today's earrings.  As always my original plan didn't work.  I wire wrapped cup chain on to some brass circles with a length of cup chain hanging from either side.  The pixie beans on the stick connectors were meant to hang from the middle of the circle framed by cup chain on either side.  It worked in my head but not in practice.  Unfortunately I don't have any photos to show you my failed attempts. I scrapped that idea...after spending at least 2 hours on it.  By this time I was ready to give up and make some simple earrings. I chose these hammered silver plated brass caps....and decided to do some stacking using more caps, spacers, rings and flowers.  

The earrings looked ok but nothing out of the ordinary.  I needed to make them look a bit more special.  I punched some holes on to the silver caps and added glass flowers and brass stars.  This seemed to do the trick.  I was finally happy with the outcome.

Here's another view.

And that is all for today.  These earrings are now on Etsy.  Have a lovely weekend.

Suhana <3

Etsy shop: Suhana Hart Jewellery

The Metals

Hi everyone, it's busy busy in the Hart household so another sweet little post from me featuring some of my newest painted metal components. I hope you like them.

First pair with some unusual shaped connectors.  These were very fiddly to paint (only 6mm wide), I don't think I'll be in a hurry to paint more of these.  I added brass caps and tubes on top and Czech glass flowers.  I also added some chain and stars.

For these I used slightly curved brass tubes and added various brass findings including some silver plated brass crowns hiding inside the raw brass caps.

Final pair similar to the first but I've turned the top section upside down to give them a slightly different look.

These are available in my Etsy shop now.  I'll be back in a couple of weeks time, hopefully with newer designs.  Until then, have a lovely weekend <3

Suhana <3

My Etsy shop: Buttoned Up Beads

Buttoned Up Beads

Hope and Love, Looking Forward

Joshua Tree 12/2015

As we approach the end of this year, many of us look back in contemplation and reflect. At the same time, we look forward at what's to come. 

It was a big year, with lots of shifts and changes. Our country was divided and still is on many fronts. With many people and many issues. 

None of us knows what's ahead but we can face it with hope and with love. We can be kind. We can treat one another with consideration and respect each others beliefs. 

Mannaz Rune of Higher Self

So many different human beings on this planet. The only way to survive is to embrace or at the very least, accept our differences and work as one. 

Maybe I am living in a dream.

Whatever may come, I must stay TRUE to myself. I will live in hope and with love and I will be kind. I will soften my face when looking at passers by. I will smile and say thank you to service people. I will look people in the eye and know that I have done my best. I will try to make this world a better place and keep hope that I can somehow inspire others to do the same. 

In troubled times people often (as they should) seek out messages of hope. I received a request for hope and love earrings. My thoughts immediately went to Runes. Beautiful imagery reflecting symbols of greater inspiration and meaning, this ancient alphabet still touches our subconscious on a deeper level, in modern times.

If you are interested in learning more you can check out the PBS Nova website and read more here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/viking-runes-through-time.html

These earrings are a riff on a design I first made in 2009 and again in 2011 with mixed metals.

Ball Babies Sold / Etsy 2011

 This design features two sets of rune charms. One spelling hope and one, love. Adorned with "ball babies" created of pure, fine silver. Wrapped onto solid copper, hand forged hoops. These will be available today at Art & Soul jewelry.

 This is my last post of 2016. Wishing everyone much hope and LOVE now and for the coming year. Look for my next post the 2nd Tuesday in January. 

 

The Fringes of Society

Some days we really do feel like telling everyone to just kiss off, don't we? 

All the expectations, obligations, mores, fashion ideals, traditions, and respectability in the world could not mean less to us in these moments. We're looking for a way to express the fact that we're tired of XYZ (insert whatever you please, here). We're over it. All of it. And we're looking for something different. 

See, now, many people may argue that you're being childish, you're pouting, you're rebelling in such a pathetically predictable way. I say this: it's those who are brave enough to leave the herd that are most capable of discovering new ways forward. Getting pissed off can be a good thing if we choose to channel that energy in a constructive way. 

The past month or so I've been coming to terms with the fact that this year has not been among the best. Perhaps I've been in the "anger" stage of coping, I'm not sure. But I'm not too proud to admit that I have had definite moments of rage--a rare emotion for me. 

So it makes sense that I haven't been creating as much in the studio this year. The spark is still there, it's just not burning in quite the same frenetic supernova blaze that it was last year. That's ok, because I'm going to give myself time. I'm going to tell my own self expectations to buzz off. I'm going to give myself permission to not feel guilty for saying "no" to custom orders. And I'm going to take things at my own damn pace. It's the most loving act of rebellion I can think of.

Today's earrings fall nicely in line with my "f-off" mentality, as they're big, they're wild, they're looong, and they refuse to be overlooked. They feature two carved horn shields from India that have been painted or shellacked, resulting in a lovely crackled honeycomb pattern. Truth be told, I could have just hung these charms from ear wires and been perfectly happy. However, I took the opportunity to add in some additional relatively lightweight components to turn them into real statement pieces. Rusty hoops added behind provide a layered halo effect, and a cascade of mixed metal chain fringe spills all the way down to your shoulders, creating music as you move. Everything hangs from my hammered dark copper ear wires and ends up being a lot less weighty than you'd expect. These earrings don't even need to be paired with a necklace, bracelet, or ring--they can stand strongly alone.

Happy Wednesday!
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Kenaz The Torch of Knowledge by Art and Soul Jewelry

Kenaz ~ The Torch of Knowledge

 by Art and Soul Jewelry

Earrings, kenaz runic design by Art and Soul Jewelry

"Ancestrally, we each must carry our own torch, creating a path of light that flows through the darkness. These torches are never extinguished, and can be used as signposts in the navigation of the ancestral stream, and to acquire the knowledge and tools from our ancestry" - runesecrets.com 

Earrings, kenaz runic design by Art and Soul Jewelry

A simple, yet bold design. Kenaz, ancient Viking runes, hand stamped on copper disks. Forged into domes. Accented with brass for a beautiful contrast of rich metal hues. Ear wires are hand forged sterling silver wrapped in bronze wire. http://www.artandsouljewelry.com/

 

Silver and Gold

Silver and Gold. And Copper.

Here is some mixed metal finery for you to enjoy while you hide from the in-laws this Christmas morn! Cast brass-over-pewter discs by Mykonos via Stinky Dog Beads, a pair of my poppy caps in copper, and sterling silver earwires, spruced up with brass beads and copper wire.

Sam the Snowman's "Silver and Gold" song from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer movie is stuck in my head right now. And if you're old enough, it's stuck in your head now too. Sorry.

We at Earrings Everyday wish you a peaceful and merry Christmas day!

Keirsten

Young Mermaids in Love

Young Mermaids in Love

These earrings make me think of naiads and mermaids! I gathered up some water colors--a little viridian, a little glacier green, a little teal--and bound them together in silver and brass (plus a little sparkle of AB rhinestones.)

If these two star-crossed lovers ever overcame their worldly forms and tied the knot--and I was the lady's stylist and she was thinking casual backyard wedding, maybe potluck--I might suggest these for an understated, but romantic look. This picture makes me sad (such yearning, but so impossible!):

The Mermaid, by Howard Pyle (1910)

I like to think they got together, somehow, in the end.

Pale green recycled glass beads and teal seed beads via Afrobeadia

AB rhinestone rondelles with black finish, Stinky Dog Beads

Czech glass dotted ovals from ArteBellaSurplus

Stamped brass rings and sterling beadcaps by me!

Keirsten

Etsy

Blog

Flickr

Mixed Metal Swirls

Recently I experimented with combining

 White Copper and regular Copper Metal Clay and here are the results.

 I love the look!

Some say they look like Petrified Wood or Sliced Agate!

Petrified Wood                                                                             Sliced Agate

I tried using complimenting beads on the wire wrapping

 but in the end they looked best wrapped simply with no embellishment.

Whether they resemble anything else or not I think they are very beautiful and interesting. I love how the where the 2 metals alloyed to created a third color where they connected. Exaclyl what I was hoping for.

If you'd like to see how I made them check out my post on Art Jewelry Elements HERE.

Kristi

KristiBowmanDesign.Etsy

KristiBowmanDesign on Artfire

Fanning the Flames

Always on the prowl for new artisan components to use in my designs, I recently discovered Petra Carpreau of Scorched Earth on Etsy. Located in the UK, Petra's style is raw and primitive which of course I find very appealing. She uses earthy colors with washes of metallic glaze on geometric shapes, and inserts patinated wire to form wonderful ancient looking components. They look like they have been recovered from an archeological dig of some past civilization who lived in the shadow of a volcano.

In this pair of earrings I chose to use mixed metals, brass, copper, tin and gun metal, in an asymmetrical arrangement that will bring out the metallics in the orange ceramic connectors. The result is tribal and bohemian and I hope unusual.

Warm Winter Colors by bohobeader featuring donna karan

Maliparmi / Donna Karan / Vanessa Bruno Athé slim jeans, $175 / Bibi colorful shoes / Rebecca Minkoff shoulder bag

To see more of my tribal earrings, click here or here.

Dragonflies of Summer

Mixed metal dragonfly charms from my Melismatic Morsel line have been adorned with emerald green teardrop Swarovski beads.  Finished with hand-wrought sterling earwires, these lovely earrings will dance flirtily from your earlobes, just like the lacey dragonflies flying around in the summer sun!

photo courtesy of public-domain-image.com

note - the bluish tint on the metal is not patina...just a lighting thing that I couldn't correct!

Find these and more at my website, Melismatic Art Jewelry.