My newest earrings started with these tiny (under 2 cm long) rustic black clay hearts with their pretty metallic bronze glaze...
Made by Sarah Kandell-Gritzmaker of Slate Studios Supply, these little hearts are one-of-a-kind pieces that beautifully carry off both rustic and delicate. I wanted that balance to be the focus of what I brought to the rest of the elements of the earrings I would create with the them.
Since the ceramic hearts are so small, everything else needed to be equally petite, including these little bits of sparkle, 7 x 5 mm Czech glass rondelles, opal with mercury style and AB finish...
Maybe the most interesting thing, though, are the bits of chain that became crucial parts of the earrings. I cut two "crescents" from a strand of antiqued copper crescent moon chain (below) from Beadshop.com. (They also carry this chain in bright silver tone, antiqued silver, antiqued brass, and gold.)
In the finished earrings, the copper crescents from the chain remind me of armor, a contrast to the pearly Czech rondelles and the delicate open-wire petals of the copper bead caps.
When I finished the earrings, I wrapped some 15/0 silver-lined pearl seed beads to each copper ear wire to continue the quiet sparkle.
These little earrings (less than 2 inches long) remind me of the famous quotation from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" about the petite yet very strong-minded Hermia: "Though she be but little, she is fierce." 💗
xo
Meridy
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