Layering

Hello lovely earring friends,

First of all, my apologies for missing my post in the first week of September. It was my first work week after my holiday and well, what can I say, I just completely forgot about it. 

The earrings I like to share with you today were made for my last earring show. I love vintage beads, especially flower beads and bead caps. Layering them meant I could even use more LOL.

Layered vintage resin and enameled beads and bead caps and gorgeous lampwork glass beads made by Karen Kordan.

 
Here combined with delicious polymer clay beads made by Elaine from TooAquarius.

Thank you so much for looking and your support for Earrings Everyday :)
Share the love, don't be shy and leave some words. And do check out the other posts of my friends here. 

See you in a couple of week(if I remember LOL).Wishing you all a wonderful day, full of laughter, joy and lots of love.

Janine
Esfera Jewelry

“Pink will always show one's love.”

― Anthony T. Hincks

 To keep a bit of organized chaos at my workspace, I've made a habit of keeping the lids of small boxes near me.  As I search through my stash, usually looking for something completely unrelated,  I toss in components, beads and odds & ends of things I feel will complement each other for a possible future project.  Sometimes the combinations never get used and other times, magic happens!

Over the past few months, I noticed this beautiful mixture of pinks come together in one of those lids.

The top fuchsia beads are from the 1960s, extremely unique with texture in a resin that I hadn't seen before.  They almost have a foiled appearance and have a cast of orange in certain light.  Amazing.

Next, I added these outstanding satin, raspberry-colored, vintage glass pearls from the 1950s.  They have THE most beautiful soft, almost metallic sheen to them.  Super lovely next to the rough textured resin!

Then by chance, I ran across some stunning hot pink headpins by Sasha Crow which completed the look!  *dropped the mic* I knew it was the right combination and the earrings were finished!

Thank you so much for stopping by to see what I've been up to!  I'll be back next month with more goodies!

Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com

Along Came A Spider

Jill Stoffregen of Foxpaws made these stunning porcelain discs with a lovely silver luster.  They are  rustic, tribal and made the most lovely spider webs!

I constructed my own spiders from bead-caps, rhinestone spacers, and metal accent beads.  I really love these miniature industrial-looking sculptures.

The spider's legs mimic the web pattern in the discs and it all just works so well together.

🕸

Thank you for stopping by and checking out my worktable today! 

There's a pretty good chance I will be continuing with my spooky designs for a while 'cause - 'tis the season!

Until next time!

Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com

Autumn Glow

As summer days start to fade a bit, I'm looking ahead toward autumn jewelry designs. Although I'm sad that summer will end soon; I really love fall colors! Our early autumns are usually quite sunny and pleasant  here. I love the glow of the sun as seen through a canopy of autumn colored leaves.

I made today's earrings with this image in mind. I started with some small lampwork glass beads by Beads and Botanicals. Brass bead caps fancy them up a bit. Three really cool, fluted vintage beads in yellow and orange dangle from each earring. The vintage beads are acrylic and weigh next to nothing, so although they have a definite presence, they are very comfortable to wear. I wire wrapped the brass around the tops of the vintage beads for an extra decorative touch. I would wear these year round, but especially late summer through November.

What's on your autumn bucket list? We'll be crunching through leaves, taking photography trips and celebrating our granddaughter's first birthday. The Autumn Glow earrings are available in my shop now.  I'll see you again in two weeks.

Linda Landig Jewelry

Heart & Soul

                   I enjoy using symbolism in my work; I love when an idea hits you indirectly.

The eye connectors by Inviciti  were absolutely perfect for this design!  Some say eyes are the gateway to the soul and I think they're right.

To me, the large textured jump rings with the deep grooves symbolize radiance.

I almost lost my mind when I found these rare vintage sacred heart charms on the bottom!  I tried over and over to capture their detail and amazing color but it wasn't easy.   

I've never really been into"wordy" type beads per se. However, I do use them as a sort of contradiction.  For example, a "Lucky" word bead might be used with a black cat or something that normally evokes a darker meaning. 🙃

Thank you for checking out my worktable today!  Hope you found a little inspiration! See you next time! 

                                                 Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com

https://www.facebook.com/loraleekolton.jewelry/

Bits & Pieces

I have saved all the bits and pieces from past projects for (at least) the past ten years!  I use mainly vintage chain because I'm so in love with the natural patina and quality, like the tube links above.  I'm embarrassed to tell you though, just how long it took me to find the right way to connect these so they would hang correctly and not turn.  Sure, it looks easy... sigh!  As I'm sure you know, each project has it's own challenges no matter how simple it may appear!  lol

These lovely enamel charms are by Cathleen Zaring of Blue Hare Artwear.  I remember seeing them in her shop and nearly jumping out of my chair!  I'm especially fond of her rustic work like these.  That beautiful celadon peaking out of white enamel and pops of dark copper - swoon!  I also had perfectly matched tin-cut crystals from the 1930's - The size and cut are perfect and doesn't interfere with the enamel design but still adds so much life.

➼

These vintage tin charms by Tracy DiPiazza Metalworks are so well made.  They are double faced so no matter which way you turn them they show the same image- how great for short or pulled back hair!  She also solders the edges so there are no sharp or rough spots.  Tracy's attention to detail is just one of the reasons I love her.  That might be an understatement - I lovessssss her soooo much!  Last year I purchased one of her necklaces and I've never been able to put it away, I just leave it in an open box on my dresser so I can look at it as I pass by- I kid you not!  :D

Again, I used all sorts of vintage bits of chain, links, and connectors.  The oval ornate jump-rings below have a slight twist and were originally one long chain. Adding them gave a bit of dimension, especially since the overall design is very flat.

Many thanks for taking the time to pop in! I'll be back in a couple of weeks!

Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com

loralee kolton - artful in beads on facebook

Incan Inspiration

So it's been a while since I made anything. My beads and tools have remained untouched for weeks, mainly due to a hugely busy time in my day job. I've missed being creative. It's been a bit daunting sitting down to try to make something again. My mojo has been much neglected and so.... disappeared!

When I'm short on inspiration and confidence, I turn to past designs to help get things moving again. I have a stash of Suhana Hart's beautiful painted brass charms which are sealed with resin. They are beautifully intricate and colourful, and I've used these daggers in similar designs for a previous blogpost. These particular daggers are stunning. They were painted by Suhana's husband Martin (what a creative family!) and they remind me of Incan designs. I thought I'd build on this and used brass hoops as a frame for wrapping seed beads in co-ordinating indigo and turquoise colours. I have some vintage beads in my stash, and these seemed to finish off the Incan vibe well, and added some interesting shape and texture.

And here's a shot of them hanging in all their Incan glory

That's it from me. Hugely grateful to this blog for making me sit down with my beads again! See you in a few weeks

Sue x

Utterly Lovely Stuff

Retro Temple

Hello, Beady Peeps!

I was in the mood for something different, so here we go...

Rustic, distressed patina pewter charms by Inviciti. I remember when I bought  these because I loved them so much I purchased multiples! When I like something, I tend to REALLLY like it a lot!!  lol

Vincent and Nooma always come up with interesting and exquisite new finishes.  I wanted to play on that touch of burnt orange they subtlety added so I paired them with these lovely rare carved vintage Celluloid beads from the 40's. Then, gave them an added pop of color with another pair of green carved vintage pieces also from the 1940's.

I love the multicultural vibe of these earrings and hope you do too!

Loralee xo

Loralee Kotlon ~ artful in beads

Excavation

I was in the mood for making earrings this weekend, but was frustrated that there was no clear space on my table to actually be able to create anything.  Sigh.  I know many of you fight this battle too.

So I shoved some of the ruble off to the side and put some of it on the floor. I decided that I would begin excavating my work surface by just using the beads that were already on the table.  And I vowed to then put away any leftover beads from those that I used.  I ended up with three pairs of earrings and the start of a cleaner work space.

Orange Butterfly Earrings

These earrings use a pair of my ceramic butterfly charms, paired with lampwork glass spacers, Czech glass flowers and Swarovski crystals.  Although the design isn't technically difficult, I had the darnedest time finding beads that had a pleasing balance of shapes, sizes and colors.  I like these earrings now because they have "happy colors"!

Fan Earrings

I have found that many of my customers are wanting shorter, less showy earrings, but designs that are still unique and colorful.  This pair of earrings fits the bill.  The brick red beads are vintage Lucite and therefore very lightweight.  The rounded triangle shapes are higher on the sides, with a "valley" down the center.  I love these unique shapes.  I topped them with verdigris bell shaped bead caps.  They remind me of opened paper fans.

Lantern Earrings

The brick red and black glass beads I used here are vintage glass.  They are sort of cone shaped, but with flat faces all around, rather than being smoothly rounded.  I topped them with the same bead caps as in the previous earrings (successfully using up the last of those bead caps, thus adding, maybe 2 square inches of cleared space to my table!).  These earrings remind me of little lanterns that you might hang in the garden on a lovely summer evening.

 If I keep excavating I should have a lot more earrings to share with you in my next post.

I hope you and yours are enjoying the summer, even as the "Back To School" displays are filling the aisles in all the stores.

 Linda Landig Jewelry

The Little Flapper Girls

Now the Flapper was my kind of woman;  Light-hearted, nonconformists who eagerly tried new clothing styles not to mention challenging traditional ideas of behavior by wearing make-up, publicly drinking, smoking & acting unladylike.  

They sported a short bobbed do, wore lipstick, rouge and short fringed skirts, giving the title, "It Girl".

That is exactly what this fun, free spirited design reminds me of. These have become a huge hit.  I wasn't sure how they were going to be perceived, but I sold 4 pair, 2 to the same customer; one for her and the other a gift.  Who would not love to fashion these little gals!!

The hand painted wood heads are so darn cute, each one slightly different.  I bought the brass flower beads off ETSY and hand painted them in girly pink, of course, folded over some soft copper flower caps and finished them with copper findings.  Ball end headpins strung with rounds of cream Howlite serve as tiny swinging feet.

I was provided a little gift with my next head order, Its a BOY!! 

OMG, how cute is he? Now you have it, a Flapper Couple ♥

These are totally out of my design style, but I had such a great time working with them, I hope the trend continues.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by, share a comment or two if you can and we will see you again July 6th.  

My ETSY Shop- Y.u.c.c.a. B.l.o.o.m.

Asian Romance

I had to share my latest and greatest design that I call ♥ Asian Romance ♥.  They just have that aura about them with the fan shaped peacocks, don't you agree?  

Searching around on ETSY, I stumbled onto these little copper cups.  OMG!! I have found a million and one uses for them.  Do they ever add to a design.  I bought every last one I could get my hands on, I think I have about 60, but hey when you see a good thing, ya gotta jump on it.

I chose to add some dainty copper curb chain that I darkened a bit with some seed pearls in burgundy,  I think they flow with the fans perfectly as they swing freely from the cups.  

They are currently available in my ETSY shop

Thanks again for stopping and taking a peek.  Bye for now and see you again in two weeks friends!!  Lynn

My ETSY Shop- Yucca Bloom

Vintage Green Bloom Earrings

In my last post I wrote about making beaded wire hoops above the earring dangles.  I'm still playing with that idea, as you can see in today's earrings.

The green flower drops are very unusual,  I've never seen anything like them before.  I bought them from a vintage bead vendor at Bead Fest last year.  They are flat on the back and have a little tab at the top, with a side to side hole through it.  The were quite expensive, but I'm pretty much hopeless when it comes to resisting really unique beads.

I topped the earrings with pretty pink lampwork beads from Paradise Beads.

While I'm not much of a pink color fan, I've always loved deep pink and bright green because it reminds me of camellias and their green leaves.

Camellia in our backyard.

The Camellia Earrings can be found in my shop.

Linda Landig Jewelry