A sense of direction

At this particular time in my life I feel I could use a stronger sense of direction. And a stronger aim. A kind of "just go for it". I suspect my subconciousness has had an effect on my design. As if it wants to push me a little harder.

In these earrings I've used beads and components that have been waiting for many years to come to use. Things I love but haven't been able to combine well with other things. I hope I managed with these earrings.

I think they would be suitable for for instance an opening night for a furniture designer, or perhaps a fancier dinner party with close friends.

Ingredients (from bottom to top):
Bronze drop bead
Green magnesite triangles (possibly partially man made)
Lovely white magnesite squares
Matte golden colour covered lucite squares (super light weight)

Strung on doubled 26G oxidized copper wire
Handmade earring hooks in oxidized copper

All copper is free from traces of allergenic metals such as nickel for instance.

All my best,
Malin

We're All Ears :: March Challenge :: Monochromatic

Seeing Miss Malin's earring post the other day inspired me. I loved the sleek look of these earrings that relied heavily on a play of patterns and contrast.

That lead me down a rabbit hole that included Anthropologie and their front page feature on Black & White. Here is what their graphic says Celebrate the Contrast.

Now I don't know if I could go fully monochrome in my life. I like color way too much! But the cool thing about monochromatic color schemes - in this case specifically black + white - is you can add in literally any other color and it becomes really exciting! It can be contemporary and sleek, elemental and tribal (hello, Black Panther!), and also vintage and romantic, depending on the patterns, placement and colors that you use. I also think that mixing patterns that are exclusively black + white is a bold way to bring in texture and life and a bit of whimsy to any design. I think we can all agree that the entire world could use more life with a bit of whimsy, n'est ce pas?

I found some great advice from a Buzzfeed article entitled "21 Ways to Mix, Match and Clash Prints Like A Pro" that has some applicable guidelines whether you are dressing, decorating...or designing.

Here are some of my favorites from the article (and my suggestions for designing earrings):

1. Choose one print to dominate and one as an accent.
3. Keep your fabrics (or beads ;-) in the same color family (monochrome, baby!).
4. Pick different prints that share a single color (like red plaid with red stripes).
6. If you want to use the same pattern, invert the colors (so black windowpane on white, and vice versa).
8. Use the same exact pattern in both a larger and smaller scale (like large circles with tiny dots).
10. Break up patterns with a belt (or in our world I would suggest a metallic or solid color accent spacer - but you could think of it as a belt!)
11.Tie a plaid shirt or printed sweatshirt around your waist for an easy and casual dose of added print (how about using patterned ribbon or colorful fibers to break up the bold patterns?)
12. Textured fabrics (or beads or components), like perforated leather, totally count as a print.
14. Pair two types of the same print (like mixing two florals or two stripes or two dots).
17. Pair neutral (or tone-on-tone) prints with a bold monochromatic print.
21. When in doubt, polka dots and stripes always work!

And here are some pictures of interiors and outfits to get your creative juices flowing.

For the March challenge of We're All Ears, I am encouraging you to go monochrome - black + white. Mix all the patterns. Throw in a pop of a color if you like (and don't forget, metal is a color, too! Just look at that awesome copper light fixture and the gold accents above! And a red hat or shoes...yes, please!). Play with scale and texture. Above all...have fun! See you on Friday, March 16th!

Let's go to the Fun Fair?

Scene: You have an extremely messy bead table. So many ideas and concepts tried out over a long period, which has left a myriad of beads and components just laying there. You sit and plainlessly fumble around with your beads. It's such an enjoyable process indeed. Then suddenly, you have something you didn't ever consider in the first place. But you like it somehow.

There is something about these earrings that make me think of some kind of fun fair or a merry-go-round from around the turn of the century 1900. Or a spinning top toy. You know the ones where you press a rod at the top and they start spinning. When I look at them I feel like I am happily swirling round and round.

Art beads:
White distressed matte glaze on dark ceramic cones - NadiaTerra
Green and lime glazed on edge raku fired on dark ceramic heishis - Jubilee

Other beads and components (from bottom):
Brass head pins
Brown 8/0 seed beads
Turquoise rubber heishi spacer beads
Gold and white distressed plastic bumpy heishi beads
Turquoise rubber heishi spacer beads
Red rubber heishi spacer beads
Red coral heishis
Opal white gilt lined 6/0 seed beads
Oxidized brass wire, messy wrapped
Brass square profiled rings
Vintaj brass earring hooks

All my best,
Malin

www.beadingbymalindekoning.blogspot.com

You Little Rascal

Art Beads:

Ceramic drop charms - ScorchedEarth

Purple patinated hammered copper rings - MissFickleMedia

Other beads and components:

Dupioni Silk

Copper findings

Fabric glue

Handmade oxidized copper earrings hooks

All my best,

Malin

www.beadingbymalindekoning.blogspot.com

RinTinTin

I've had a hankering lately to play with materials that I've taken a break from in the past year, including tin--both vintage and new. I shared this story earlier in the week on my Facebook page, but I do believe it bears elaboration here. 

My husband and I host a family Christmas party every year. Last year someone brought cookies on a red and white tin plate which got left behind at the end of the night. For all of the past 12 months, Matt and I have kept the plate stashed on top of the fridge, loathe to throw it away because it was kind of nice, but not wanting to keep it because it's not really our style. Being slick, flat tin, it would occasionally slide off the fridge and clatter to the ground, eliciting expletives and foul moods. 

the devil platter on the workbench

Last week I decided that enough was enough. I took metal shears and cut it up for use in hollow tinned metal baubles. Annoyance eliminated, jewelry gained. 

Using a technique elaborated by guru Tracy DiPiazza of pipnmolly, I cut out circles in the tin, gradually dapped them into half spheres, soldered them together using my soldering iron, filed, sanded, oxidized, and waxed. In the past I have typically hung each bauble with a lightweight wood bead of some sort. However, since I've been headed in a "less is more" direction the past year, I decided to let these little wonders speak for themselves. I simply torched up some fat-bottomed copper headpins, dotted them on top with some additional silver solder, and hung them from my long copper ear wires.


I did a whole series in different prints and colors. And when they were all done I sat on my couch and let them pour through my hands, making the most delightful muted popping noise. 

Quite the transformation--from annoying clatter to music for the ears. 

Happy New Year!
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

I Give You Nothing

Those who know me know that I don't get political with people. It's not my thing. It does not feed my soul. I believe what I believe, and that's enough for me. Likewise, I get nothing out of complaining. Especially aimless, complaining-for-the-sake-of-it complaining.

I try to live a purpose-driven life, and getting worked up over these sorts of things does not serve me. It's a trait that I had to develop and nurture quite a few years ago after hellish anxiety took me for a nosedive. I gently keep after it, as one softly blows on an ember to coax it into a steady fire. I remind myself that we have control over how we live our lives. It's a matter of accepting that control.  
So, I'm going to stay true to form and stop myself right here. I am only going to leave you with a quote that a beautifully kind, like-minded soul gifted me recently. It's from Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes". It dawned on me this morning that it applies pretty damn well to..........well, things of late: 

 

He gathered the boy somewhat closer and thought, evil has only the power that we give it. I give you nothing. I take back. Starve. Starve. Starve.

Today's earrings were named for these powerful words. They feature wee, smooth, matte nuggets of veined howlite. I fell in love with these beads at a local show recently--small, soft little pebbles that roll through your hands like tears. I appreciate that they aren't polished to a shiny gleam--I wish more stones were matte finished. I kept it simple, wire wrapping them in links of three and dotting them with blackened silver solder. 

Keep the fire burning and be strong, my friends.

Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

We're All Ears :: September Inspiration

"Geometric shapes hold an energy pattern, and scientists did some experiments which say certain geometric shapes can affect matter around them. It's simply because when a human looks at a shape, they instantly receive energy from their brain."  ~Tom DeLonge

That is exactly what I thought when I watched this mesmerizing performance art from Japanese dance and art troupe ENRA.




ENRA’ is a visual dance performance troupe from Japan performing stunningly unique animation-based digital performances. The images used in the performances are not attuned to the dancers, but interactively staged in a way never imagined before. The members of ENRA are experts in genres including martial arts, gymnastics, ballet, animation, dance, juggling and street dance.

'Torque Starter' is a feast for the mind. Using stunning visual effects combined with the perfectly timed movement of a lone performer who is juggling a lighted ball, 'Torque Starter' is filled with a frenetic energy and a host of geometrical shapes and images. Because the video is completely in black and white, the shapes become the dancers, morphing into one another at every turn and transforming the blank 'canvas' of the screen into a living painting, or almost more like calligraphy, with the absence of any color. 

I have watched this several times and each time I see something different. One time I might try to focus on each element as it moves across the screen. Another time, I might narrow my vision on the dancing orb of light that the juggler is spinning, almost blurring the rest of the images. It becomes almost meditative, except for the hyperactive pace. As I have viewed this multiple times, I have been sketching, and like Tom DeLonge said, the shapes are bringing an energy to my brain. I can see components forming from the geometry that is being imprinted on my brain each time I start the video over. So tell me...

What shapes are you most drawn to?

Without color to rely on this month, the shapes and forms will certainly take precedent in your designs and I am excited to see what you come up with!

Show us your interpretation of this mesmerizing mix of art, graphics, music, shape and light!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To participate in the We're All Ears creative challenge:

Make earrings inspired by this inspiration.

Write a post on your blog.

Add your exact blog post URL link to the
InLinkz code right here on 

Friday, September 18th.

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Cherry Ice Earrings By Cindys Art and Soul Jewelry

These earrings are a riff on another set I did a while back. 

Almost a year ago exactly!

My most popular and most pinned post to date! 

http://earrings-everyday.blogspot.com/2014/06/love-for-green.html

I mentioned in that post that I really loved how they came out. 

I still get inspired every time I see them.

The inspiration finally took over and this is what happened...

Cherry Ice Earrings by Cindy's Art and Soul

I've been working with ceramics for a little over a year now and I thrilled to be able to make beads again. And also to be able to make beads that I can use in my jewelry work. And maybe even to inspire others jewelry as well. I have to admit it's a real thrill for me to be able to add something to another artists creative endeavor. 

Cherry Ice Earrings by Cindy's Art and Soul Jewelry

 These earrings feature:

 

natural, found sea glass

I love how this glass still has a bit of the original pressed lines.

ceramic beads

handmade from white stoneware clay finished with a bright red glaze.

 hand forged fine silver hoops

hand stamped with tiny spiral images

and tiny micro faceted moonstones

 

Great for a pop of color this summer!

Imagine a white linen top and x-faded blue jeans. 

OR maybe 

 white cotton draw string pants - 

you know, the kind with big flowy 

(yes I made that word up) 

legs and a red tank...

 

Available at Art and Soul Jewelry

 

Peace & blessings~

 

 

Cubist Roses

It's not often that I use clearly identifiable imagery in my jewelry. I usually prefer to leave things more abstract and open to interpretation - makes things more interesting and guarantees that no two people will have the same experience. 

However, when I saw these burnt graphic ceramic cubist roses from DonnaPerlinplim, SOMETHING inside me clicked. What IS that that thing? Our muse? Our happy place? The voice that keeps talking and doesn't know when to shut up?

 
I took the background golds, silvers, and ivories and pulled them out using my beloved stacked bead approach: old neolithic quartz trade beads from Africa, discs of real ostrich shell (I know!), shards of crusty Roman glass, and some grungy wee metal bead caps. I finished things off with some globby soft soldering on the wire wraps to make things interesting. 

 
The end result is cubist modern meets grungy primitive - now that's not something you see everyday!

Happy Wednesday!
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

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

The New Bohemian

The new bohemian.

She is wild but not reckless.

She is strong and still vulnerable.

She is grounded and still lifts others up. 

She is PEACE.

Peace Earrings #3
Moonstone, Swarovski, Found Sea Glass, Amazonite, and handmade silver charms.

You can find these and more peace earrings at:

http://www.artandsouljewelry.com/
http://cindypack.blogspot.com/

Happiness and Peace to all!
Cindy

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At The Beach Earrings

I named these At The Beach because I am (as this is being posted) at the beach! Probably the last of our 90 degree weather here in WA and we decided to go to the ocean where it's in the mid 60's. That's fine with me! I love the beach and I love camping. 

We are headed to a spot that is also near the Hoh Rainforest. I am hoping to re-charge my creative batteries and gain inspiration. I have never come home from a trip to the forest or to the ocean feeling uninspired. So, I am really looking forward to it! 

My inspiration for these? The beach of course! See my Washington State Pinterest board for more of where my inspiration comes from. 

However, I actually collected these beach glass (or sea-glass) pieces while visiting California. I have very fond memories of that vacation and still draw inspiration from it. 

The bright and shimmering Kyanite seem to fit very comfortably with the frosty white glass. Our Pacific Ocean  (like I own it?) *usually does not look *that blue. But it still reminds me of water and of the ocean, non the less. 

I've gathered my components around hand-forged, fine silver hoops and hammered dangle charms. Hand stamped with little star-fishes. Oxidized and hand polished on the high spots to show off their character. 

Available at ArtAndSoulJewelry.com 
☮ Cindy

Turquoise Earrings - Or Why I Need To Go To France Soon

Since I started writing for Earrings Everyday, I've added a lot more pins to my Fashion Finds board on Pinterest, because I've always enjoyed the posts here that paired earrings with outfits.  It turns out that I've really had fun adding to this board (I'm more than a little bit addicted to Pinterest anyway).  I seem to be on a turquoise kick lately and I just fell in love with this outfit.

If you look closely, you'll see that it is actually a 2 piece outfit.  It includes a cute little vest with it.  The sleeves are semi-transparent and the whole thing looks all twirly and soft.

Here's what I'd wear with it.  That is, I'd wear these earrings with this outfit if I lived in France, because that's where this dress is sold.  I know...le sigh.

Lampwork discs by Outwest

Au revoir!

Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry on Etsy

Linda Landig Jewelry on ArtFire

Navy Gold and White

THIS dress that I stumbled upon on ModCloth today inspired these beaded earrings. They feature some buri seeds, Lucite, and glass rounds, with some sunshine  yellow silk ties, and hand-cut vintage tin discs. I love this color palette, and the dress is amazing. I might even think about it for my sister's wedding.

These earrings will be available momentarily at my Etsy shop!