The need for colour!

So January is done (hooray!) and I am feeling the need for colour!

For this blog, I revisited an old design which is a bit of a favourite. I got hold of some of Helena Benkoczka's folded copper bails. Helena is perhaps best known for her beautifully colourful polymer clay components, but is a very talented jewellery designer herself AND also makes some gorgeous copper components on occasion too. These beauties have a teeny tiny Buddha stamp.

I paired these up with some of my favourite recycled glass chunks in a vivid purple and wrapped some colourful seed beads onto some oxidised copper wire and looped them through the bails.

Bright, colourful and a bit boho. However, I was in a rush to photograph them before I lost the light today and spotted a tiny bit of wire that needed to be trimmed/tucked in! It has been sorted, but I couldn't take another photo, so it sits above, annoying me! Can you spot it? 

These will be available in my next showcase over on The Earrings Show on Friday 23rd Feb. See you in a couple of weeks!

Sue x 

www.etsy.com/shop/utterlylovelystuff

Silver and Gold

Silver and Gold. And Copper.

Here is some mixed metal finery for you to enjoy while you hide from the in-laws this Christmas morn! Cast brass-over-pewter discs by Mykonos via Stinky Dog Beads, a pair of my poppy caps in copper, and sterling silver earwires, spruced up with brass beads and copper wire.

Sam the Snowman's "Silver and Gold" song from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer movie is stuck in my head right now. And if you're old enough, it's stuck in your head now too. Sorry.

We at Earrings Everyday wish you a peaceful and merry Christmas day!

Keirsten

Alabama Petticoats

Alabama Petticoats

I have been trying to force myself to use yellow--and not cheat, and use "mustard," or "saffron," or "butterscotch" and try to claim it's yellow--I mean, real, honest-to-God YELLOW. As in Tweety Bird. As in Big Bird. As in Sponge Bob. And here is me, above, using African recycled glass discs in Minion Yellow. I combined them with cool ice blue African recycled glass tulip beads, stacking them for a little more drama (and hey! Petticoats!) Just the two colors together seemed a little lonely, so I added some Indonesian glass beads in turquoise. I love these three colors together. There is something French Country about it that seems to make the yellow go down better.

I capped the yellow glass discs with rustic petaled beadcaps in sterling silver, and capped the petticoats with a pair of my own embossed sterling caps; each petticoat is fastened to the glass disc via one of my sterling silver paddle headpins. I made--as is my habit--the earwires myself and added a couple more turquoise glass beads to pull it all together.

Glass tulip beads from Happy Mango Beads.
Yellow recycled glass discs from Afrobeadia.
Petal beadcaps from Cathy Dailey.

Visit Keirsten and her work at Lune on Etsy.

Autumn Turning

Autumn Turning

I recently set myself a challenge of creating earrings from the hoard of recycled glass discs I've been collecting from Happy Mango Beads and Afrobeadia. I have them in a virtual rainbow of colors! I initially wanted to make bracelets from them (which I still intend to do), but then I got a bug to incorporate them into earrings. The lime green discs above are recycled glass from Afrobeadia, and the perfect little amber lampwork roundels are from Happy Mango Beads.

The colors in these earrings were inspired by the nearly psychedelic hues of the spirea bush outside my living room window, which is currently in a state of a blazing metamorphosis--caught between the cool lime green of summer and the fiery sun colors of autumn. I love this time--October has been unusually warm here, drawing out the season--I feel spoiled, getting treated to an extra-long version of my favorite time of year.

I merged these wonderful beads with a riot of sterling silver--torpedo beads and little round beads, which I lightly distressed with my Fretz mini-texturing hammer--and lots of silver wire. I love the icy silver with these exuberant colors.

You can see these and other items at my Etsy shop.

Recycled glass discs in green from Afrobeadia
Amber lampwork rondelles from Happy Mango Beads
Sterling torpedo beads from Monsterslayer

Go big or go home

Hoops are so versatile and are always in fashion.

From teeny-tiny to gigantic sizes, there's something in there for everyone's taste.

I hadn't made big gigangic hoops in awhile, and I decided that today was THE day :)

So this is what I made... for the big hoops earrings lovers of this world,

inspired by fun Summer nights with family and friends:

These 14kt Gold-Filled hoop earrings are oval shaped, over 3 inches tall (from the top of my cold-forged handcrafted ear wires) by over 2 inches wide.

I have wire wrapped them with rustic chunks of Chinese Turquoise.

I also incorporated some fun flirty chains in the mix.

A little bit of Rustic Chic, as I like to call it. 

You can dress them up or down, these extra large gold hoops are READY for a Summer Party!

You can find these HERE on my website.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you're enjoying your long weekend!

Nathalie Lesage, Metalsmith, Jewelry Artist

NathalieLesageJewelry

Autumn Calling

Pumpkin Pie and Eggnog. And Plum Jam.

These delicious lampwork beads from CEvansDesigns are in the exact colors of pumpkin pie and eggnog!! I had to have them. I combined them with rust-hued rings (soldered, textured and patinated by me, using a combination of dye oxide patinas), antiqued copper, blackberry pearls, and Czech glass leaves (from Happy Mango Beads) in a plum/oil slick finish. I just love the pumpkin colors with the plum.

I picture these with cozy knits in autumn hues:

Cozy, No? From Dreamyil on Etsy

I love the colors, scents and feel of autumn. I think it may be my favorite season. Its extravagance and briefness make it somehow especially poignant, like the brilliant finale of a fireworks display. One is always sad when it's over, but a little breathless at the same time.

You can see more at my Etsy shop, lunedesigns.