Metal...and Rainbows

Hi, everyone!  

My latest pair of earrings, below, is the fourth in a series of similar earrings I've made over the years.   

When I created this style in 2015, I was playing with several pewter charms by Inviciti that all had open spaces in them that could be filled with a stack of little beads.  The earrings were designed to be whimsical and eccentric.  Interestingly, what I discovered while working on this post is that my newest design in this style is probably the least eccentric of all of them. 

These earrings, below right, were the first of the three pairs I made in 2015.  I was learning how to wrap the red linen thread around the top of the "shoulders" of the component and to bring both ends of the thread down on each side, stringing my beads on the front, then threading both ends through the bottom hole and tying them together at the bottom.  I trimmed the linen thread to a nice spiky length.

These little ones below were more overtly whimsical, I think, because of the shape of the charm:  a fish!  So when I put these earrings together I made sure to wing the thread out in the same plane as the "fish tail" of the charm.  💗

These, below, also from later in 2015, are just a little over the top, with two strands of beads, in front and back.  I don't think I would do that again, because it doesn't look particularly tidy.  I do love the stripy beads and the orange-red discs and just the "go-for-it" sort of vibe these earrings carry.

So back to this year's model. 😉 These earrings are more polished, with their threads pulled tight to their backs and tucked under some nice--and carefully glued--red handmade paper.  They're also sporting a beautiful pair of small red and cornflower lampwork glass beads by Beth Mellor of Beeboo. 💗

Thanks so much for reading!  I will be back in two weeks' time.  💗

xoxo
Meridy

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How I Learned to 💗 Holiday Jewelry

I have a confession to make:  I have never been a fan of holiday-themed jewelry.  In fact, the thought of making anything even vaguely "holidayish" always filled me with dread...and if that sounds a little hyperbolic, let's just say I was always less than enthusiastic about the idea.   Maybe it's just that I'd never seen much holiday jewelry that I liked over the years, but I have always avoided making anything for Hallowe'en, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's...well, you get the picture.

But this past Christmas season, I saw a few pieces by other designers that truly knocked me out.  Monica Pryor made an exquisite wintry bracelet that was so ethereal and beautiful it could have been worn by the Queen of Winter Herself, and our own Lindsay Philipson made several pairs of Christmas-y earrings that were just plain stunning.  I began to rethink.  Could I have been wrong all these years?

So when I saw these rustic red hammered copper hearts by Shannon German when I was browsing Miss Fickle Media one day a while back...

...a strange, unfamiliar thought came to mind:  "Hmm, I could make some Valentine's Day earrings..."  I know--shocking!

But once I had the hearts in my hot little hands, I wasted no time.  I got out some red linen cording and knotted tiny copper spacers and little Czech glass rondelles (in the most luscious red!) into the cutout spaces in the hearts and then added rustic copper hearts by TierraCast. 

Happy Hearts.

I hung the earrings from my hand-formed copper ear wires and--boom--they were done!  My first holiday earrings--simple but (I hope you'll agree) kinda pretty.  :)

Now I think I might make a Valentine's Day bracelet.  (And I think I'd better hurry!)   

Thanks for reading, everyone!  See you in two weeks.  

xo  Meridy

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