Romance is Alive

I see crystals and think, Romance! I love amethyst, lavender, plum shades in just about anything! 

 

These earrings feature hand forged .999 pure silver hoop rings with tiny spiral images, amethyst Czech glass fire polished crystals wrapped with fine silver spiral headpins. Bronze Czech glass crystals at the top connect to hand forged sterling silver ear wires. A rustic, antique finish complements the shiny crystals!

Available at Art & Soul Jewelry

Peace & Blessings, 

The Art of Restraint

A very kind woman gifted me with a very generous compliment the other week:

"...you do something very mature, as an artist. You know when to stop with a piece. Most people load on all but the kitchen sink, but your pieces are restrained and elegant. That is a rare quality." 

When I stopped grinning, squealing, and blushing like mad, I had to pause and think, because she hit on something that I strive very hard to emphasize with my pieces: less is more; more is just more. 

As designers, it can be hard to self-edit, especially when you're surrounded by mounds of attractive, colorful, shapely unique beads:

"Ooooooo, I've always loved these beads, let's add in a couple here."
           and
"Ack, the colors of these match those perfectly, let's add in a couple here."
           and 
"Crap, I forgot I wanted to include these stones, let's add in a couple here." 

And before we know it, our designs can get unwieldy, impractical, and sometimes gaudy. 

Knowing when to stop or when to remove components from a design can be a tricky thing. We may feel like we are dumbing things down, like we haven't invested enough time and creative energy into a piece, like it's too simple. I'm here to tell you that's BS! Unless you're planning on hitting the red carpet, a runway, or an art gallery opening somewhere, most people don't typically wear ginormous overwrought pieces of jewelry. Not that there's anything wrong with statement pieces - I do plenty of those - that's a discussion for another day!

 
Case in point: these demure ceramic raku squares from local artist Jennifer Pottner of Urban Raku. Her work is INCREDIBLE. I visited with her the other week at a local bead show and snagged this pair from her table. Their muted, velvety dark gold and plum hues really spoke to me - the colors of autumn without clubbing you over the head with pumpkins and scarecrows and bright orange and all that. The size on the squares was enough to make a statement itself, plus I didn't want to cover up too much of that beautiful finish. So I chose to give them simple ridged soldered "belts". Sleek, geometric, artful, and restrained as all get out.

So the next time you're feeling the need to do more, ask yourself if you could actually do with a little less :) 

Happy Wednesday!
Nikki 
LoveRoot on Etsy

Plum Poppies

Plum Poppies

These "fairy flower" lampwork beads from Mermaid Glass are a delicious, pale plum color. They make me think of poppies! And plum jelly. I love the burst of amber in the center. I've wired them onto sturdy 18-gauge copper earwires, and accented them with little square glass beads in iridescent butterscotch and lilac glass rounds.

As usual, I picture them with jeans! And some wild shoes.

Purple poppies by lunebijoux featuring lace up boots

You can see more at my Etsy shop HERE.

Plummy Orbs

Subtly Plummy Orbs

These earrings feature beads from one of my favorite beadmakers--Alisha White. I just love the hollow globes she does. These are in a mysterious taupe-plum, so subtle it's almost impossible to identify. There's almost an iridescence about them, like a soap bubble. And of course they're light as air to wear!

These are on a slightly longer earwire, so they will swing just a little:

I had in mind a little "Coyote Ugly" ensemble, with just a hint of faux-demure:

Via Polyvore

You can visit my Etsy store by clicking HERE. (And here's what sounds like an interesting recipe for making your own plum liqueur...)