Can't decide? I've got you covered!

Do you sometimes feel like you have multiple personalities when it comes to accessorizing?

I do..... some days I feel bohemian and I'd love to wear long colorful dangly funky earrings and colorful flowy clothes, and other days I'm more 'subtle' minded and want something that can showcase my love of happy colors in a much more compact design.

If you feel this way too, then I've got you covered with this 'dual' offering today!

Still different, but with similar elements that can give you this particular vibe, no matter if you go long or go short :) Have you tried making a matching long and short pair of earrings too?

I've made these 3" long earrings starting with a pair of my handmade polymer clay headpins, and some fun sparkling Czech glass beads in various fresh summery colors:

And I loved the drop section on these long earrings so much, I decided to make an almost matching mini pair for those days where we want to carry that same boho feel, but in a much more subtle way:

Sparkling colorful Czech Glass beads, Copper and Gold-tone accents and findings, finished with Niobium Ear wires.

So, are you in the mood for "long" boho, or "mini" boho today? What's your general preference when it comes to earrings?

You can find my handmade jewelry making components and some of my finished jewelry listed in my Etsy shop HERE.

Enjoy the weekend!
Cheers,
Nathalie
Visit My Garden Of Love on Etsy HERE.
Visit The Crafty Tribe on Etsy HERE.

Around the Galaxy

What does the sky in your area looks like at night? Do you see the stars? Do you see the space station?

We live in a small quiet cul-de-sac where there's not much light pollution. We're very lucky in that. We're surrounded by large spruce trees (mainly). It's peaceful and quiet.

Each Summer and Fall, we enjoy sitting outside by the fire pit, camping style, and quietly gaze at the stars in the night sky. I have my lounge chair, my blankets (so the mossies don't bite me!), and I lay back and look at the night sky.

It feels so wondrous to me to look up and catch a glimpse at the vastness of our Universe... I love the energy and ethereal beauty of it all. I remember fondly a visit to NASA when I was around 8 years old. It blew my mind. I loved it! I also remember going to the (then) Planetarium Dow in Montreal to learn about the planets and the stars. It's was so beautiful and so inspiring!

That's how I try to live my life - Nathalie Lesage

It's not quite warm enough here yet to sit by the fire pit, and so I dream of what's to come. This is what inspired my "Galaxy Collection", based on the patterns created when I did this pack of Mokume Gane with polymer clay and silver metal leaf, recently:

I wire wrapped the top portion of my polymer clay drops with sterling silver wire, and added in a round 'moon' by the way of a smooth round Czech glass bead. It's half-clear, half-silver, and sparkles a lot in person.

The rings and metal beads all around, to me, are like various space stations. Think far away bases where space travelers all around the Galaxy can stop to get supplies, and meet others on their journey.

Soon the weather will be warm enough so that we can go explore the night sky. I can't wait!

I will be listing these earrings and other jewelry components from my Galaxy collection in my shop over the next few days.

Live long and prosper.... and enjoy the stars in your sky!

Cheers,
Nathalie Lesage
Visit my Jewelry & Handmade Components shop on Etsy: My Garden Of Love
Visit my Digital Download shop on Etsy: The Crafty Tribe

Love in the heart and in the air

As we were just wrapping up a beautiful Easter weekend spent with our loved ones, I felt a lot of love and kindness in the air. Family, Friends and strangers are smiling more, the hint of warm sunshine and the light scent of fresh new flowers blooming creates a palpable positive shift in the energy around here.

Do you feel it too where you live? How about at home? With your family and friends?

This loving vibe and this sentiment is what inspired me this week:

I've designed a romantic 'vine' inspired design, because we're all intertwined by our feelings, our own vibrations and energy, as well as those of others around us. As my eyes were admiring the beautiful flowers blooming around town, my heart was also more open to see the beauty in others, even in total strangers I interacted with...

I've used the long 18 gauge copper wire with which I've created a pair of my Mokume Gane polymer clay headpins to not only set the beads on the earrings, but also to wrap around everything like a vine would do, coming on the way back down. It lovingly gently hugs the beads and rests on the drops, waiting for more places to go.

For these earrings, I've actually used one part of some pretty TierraCast lead-free pewter clasps. I'm not a huge fan of the bar-toggle type of clasps, but I liked the design of these with the 3 vine leaves, and I thought they could be a cool part of this design.

On my copper headpins, I've wrapped some sparkling yellow glass seed beads, as a repeat of the flecks of gold metal leaf found in my polymer clay drops. I've also added in some rustic TierraCast copper tone flat spacers, and a pair of Cosmic 12mm Indicolite Swarovski Crystals. The ear wires are non-allergenic Niobium ear wires (copper color with a copper bead accent), also from TierraCast.

I'm not feeling well enough to make elaborate time-consuming designs at the moment, but, as my dear friend Monica of TG Bears (her handmade bears are absolutely LOVELY) reminded me, I've come a long way since almost a year ago when I became very ill.

I'm feeling impatient at times with myself as there's so much more I'd like to do, but I'm thankful for my friends who love me and remind me to look at myself with more loving eyes, and to be thankful to do what I can at the moment. I'm definitely able to do far more than a year ago (and than most of last year). It's progress!

Thank you all for being here, as well as on FB/IG, and for all your lovely comments. It really helps me keep my chin up, and try to do a bit more despite having been so ill this past year.

More tests are coming with a neurologist (to confirm what we're 99.9% sure of what I have). It hasn't been easy, but creating art is healing, even if I'm not feeling well most days.

May you be showered with love and romance this Spring season xoxo

Cheers,
Nathalie Lesage
Visit my Etsy shop for Jewelry & Supplies: My Garden Of Love
Visit my Etsy shop for Instant Downloads Graphic Art: The Crafty Tribe