Chain, Chain, Chain...

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." 💗

 

Thanks so much for reading!  I'll be back again on June 13.

xo
Meridy

My Shop

Faerie Grove

My inspiration for my EE earrings this week came from something I'd stashed away in the past.  😊

Faerie Grove

I'd had most of the elements for these tucked away together in a baggie for a long time--at least a year, probably longer.  I knew the pretty spotted tanzanite lampies by Terry Turner and the silvery leaf charms would make cute earrings; I just didn't know exactly HOW.  So I stashed them in the bag with a few other beads and put them away...and this week, I decided to sit down with them and figure out what they would be.

I took some of the beads in the bag out of the running.  I loved the Thai silver beads that were in there, but they just weren't quite right, and neither were a couple of other things that were in the bag.  I decided to make the tanzanite color a focus, as I love the color, and the little Swarovski and Czech rondelles were perfect, in hue and in size, keeping the earrings sleek and simple and lightweight. The pretty little Nunn Design antiqued silver bead caps added just the right touch too without adding bulk to a slim, light earring. 

   

It was fun finally seeing these earrings come into form.  I hope you like them.  💗

Thanks for reading!  I'll be back in a few weeks with more.  

xoxo

Meridy

My shop

My FB page