Winter Wolf

Not long to go until Christmas and I have been making quite a few pairs of Christmas/winter themed earrings this year.

Recently I discovered the fabulous enamels made by Annet Riabukhina. She hand paints them and often adds 22ct gold or platinum which creates a luxurious feel. Her pieces are exquisite  as are these enamels with a beautiful wintery scene/wolf design. I always find it difficult to hunt out and combine other beads which will give them the justice they deserve, but I usually get there eventually.

These earrings are no exception, whilst looking through my stash of lampwork, firstly the tray of beads in blues then on to those individual boxes by various artists until I came across these beads by Gabi Sarisin. I thought they would be perfect to combine with the enamels and to enhance both the enamels and lampwork I carefully selected some silver spacer beads, bronze spacers and bead caps and I finally came up with this pair of earrings.

Thank you for taking  a look, these will be available on my group page - Nicola Morse Jewellery & components  in FB later today (Monday)

We're All Ears :: February Reveal :: Frozen

Friends. I don't have anything new to share today. Some of you know this, but others may not...my mother passed away just two days after the challenge post, on February 3rd. My Muse has not returned with all the things that I have needed to attend to, but she is thawing out a bit, so I am sure that I will be back to creating quite soon.

Photo by Damian McCoig on Unsplash

Instead of something new, I am going to share a few things that I made over the years that I think fit the wintery theme. And of course, I am most looking forward to what you have created because when you step outside your comfort zone and challenge yourself it is a thing of beauty.
  

  

Show me your best tribute to the frosty, frozen, winter chill!

We're All Ears Challenge:: February :: Frozen

They call the land where I live the "Frozen Tundra."

And this week, I totally believe this to be true!

Temperatures as I write this are dipping into the -20 to -30 range...and that is before the gusty winds of 20 to 30 miles per hour, which means that it feels like -50 below and colder!

Schools are closed for most of this week. Businesses and restaurants have shut down. Even the local university (actually, every state college in Wisconsin!) has been called off. When windchill gets colder than -20 to -30 you can get frostbite in less than 10 minutes. Imagine how fast at -50 to -60 below. This polar vortex is brutally COLD and highly DANGEROUS!

This morning I woke up to about mid 50 degrees inside my house with -27 degrees outside and 11 mph winds. Brrrr! We called the technician right away and it was a relatively minor fix, thankfully. But it made me pause to be grateful that I do have a warm place to live and the means to have something like this fixed pretty quickly. When I look out my windows it really is both harsh and beautiful, in a Game of Thrones beyond-the-wall kind of way (can't wait for April...72 days, baby!). Doesn't mean I want to be out in it, but at least it is pretty to view.

So this month, what is on my mind is what I see from my cozy vantage point: snow, ice and frost. Yes, the sun is out and the sky is blue, but the cold is bitter even when it creates undulating landscapes of snow, crackled icicles dangling precariously and dancing frost on the windows.

I am so glad my husband bought me a heated bird bath to keep all my feathered friends hydrated during this weather! They have been flitting around the feeders the past few days so I feel like they know we love them. I especially adore how the cardinals pop out against the stark palette of winter. I do have an affinity for snowflakes and hoarfrost as well. And of course, there are the Let It Go sisters and their quirky snowman friend, Olaf, in case you are into that. I see lots of white and other frosty pastels, jagged crystal points and streamers of Swarovskis playing against a backdrop of stark steel wire. All are fair game for this month!

What winter image will you use as your inspiration?

Stay warm + be safe, and see you on Friday, February 15th to show off our FROZEN earrings!

White Christmas...or not?

I don't know about you guys, but I get all warm and fuzzy inside when I think about a nice fluffy blanket of pure white snow on Christmas morning. A soggy, gray, 40F day just won't cut it. I need icicles hanging on the eaves, biting cold, frozen breath, and plenty of quiet crystalline snow.

 









Well, here in Ohio it's not looking very festive weather-wise. Granted, Christmas is a week away, but I'm hoping we can get our act together and get some snow on the ground in time for the holiday festivities. 

Today's earrings are another in my series of "polybells" that I form out of polymer clay, texture, hand paint, and then seal. This pair just shimmers with snowy white, a lacy texture, kisses of silver, and a raggedy edge. And they're lightweight like you wouldn't believe - like wearing snowflakes on your ears. Finished off with a pair of my extra long copper ear wires, and you'll look like a Snow Queen. OK, perhaps not, but at least you'll be properly festive!

Happy Wednesday and Happy Holidays!!!

Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Frosted Flakes

“Frost grows on the window glass, forming whorl patterns of lovely translucent geometry.
Breathe on the glass, and you give frost more ammunition.
Now it can build castles and cities and whole ice continents with your breath’s vapor.
In a few blinks you can almost see the winter fairies moving in . . .
But first, you hear the crackle of their wings.” 

~Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration 

I noticed today that the Wisconsin River outside my office is frozen. Yesterday it was flowing along and today it is a mirror of the first layer of ice, reflecting the clear gray sky. Brrrr! It's cold outside! I guess that means it is time to start wearing socks.... (tomorrow ;-)

Each year I make some new holiday creations. The ones that I keep coming back to are snowflakes. I love the delicate intricacy, the beautiful geometry. This is the only sort of math that intrigues me and inspires me.

 I created these Frosted Flakes as a nod to my favorite winter motif. 

  

I made these Frosted Flakes in brass with a ginger color that remind me of painting the cookie roofs of my gingerbread houses with creamy frosting icicles. These charms are also available in my shop in a silver lacy bezel with a steel gray color in case you would like to make a pair for yourself.

Just like in nature, no two flakes are alike. And these sets of Frosted Flakes are the same - mismatched pairs of flakes to remind me that the smallest thing has beauty in my life and I need only to stop and look for it. 

 I kept it simple and added some graduated dangles of tiny vintage glass pearl icicles. This is the perfect outfit to wear for your gingerbread house decorating and cookie baking party, don't you think?

Available for sale in my Etsy Shop.

Erin Prais-Hintz invites you to go on a journey of inspiration at her blog Treasures Found :: Inspiration is Everywhere. You can view a gallery of her work at http://www.tesoritrovati.com/ or purchase her popular line of 'Simple Truths' in her Etsy shop.

Bells Will Be Ringing

Copper Snowflakes and wonderful Lampwork Bells

very festive don't you think!

I don't typically do holiday inspired jewelry but I couldn't resist making some copper snowflakes

 and when I saw these adorable Bells I knew they'd be a good fit!

These Earrings are available in my Etsy shop

 and I also I have a few Snowflake in Copper available for you to create your own designs.

You can see more of Kristi's work in her Etsy and Artfire shops.

Here's a few other wonderful Bells in all shapes and sizes!

Source: wikstenmade.blogspot.com via Kristi on Pinterest

Source: vivaterra.com via Kristi on Pinterest