Seasonal "Twigz"

Hello!  I have something totally new to share with you tonight!

We all have our favorite beadmakers and one at the top of my list is Kimberly Rogers of Numinosity Beads.  I can always count on her to challenge me as a designer which I thrive on.  

One of her latest creations is called "Twigz", they are made of glass on a zigzag of steel wire.

Shown above, are a pair in blood-red garnet glass. I have added lovely mismatched, mellow, Miriam Haskell glass pearls, heavily oxidized caps, spacers, and vintage accent beads. I kept this pair elongated, slim, and elegant.  I purposely left a bend of steel wire exposed as a design element. I think it lends a bit of delicacy and grace if you will.   They have a very gothic vibe.

And moving on into winter ~ Icy Twigz

Here are a pair in etched black glass with hints of blues and greens.  I have wire wrapped some dark grey silk to the top with the tiniest clear AB Swarovski crystals I could find.  

It's hard to photograph just how spectacular the large antique tin-cut crystals are at the top.  They just dazzle in the light.  I used handcrafted ear-wires by Lucy Haslam with that lovely dark twisted effect.

Well, thank you so much for taking a look at what's happening currently on my work table!

Until next time!  Much love from me and the studio cats.

Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com

The Unknown

“I will not let you go into the unknown alone.”
― Bram Stoker

October Greetings, My Friends!

Today I have some lovely antiqued collage earring charms by Jill Stoffregen of Foxpaws to show you.  

The charms are made of thin porcelain ceramic and are quite delicate. I used a 4 ply wax linen cord to attach them to the rest of the components so there wouldn't be any metal rubbing against them.  In this particular pair, I frayed the ends of the cord to create a tattered look which also went perfectly with the slashes you see in the sleeves.  

I created a sort of gobbet using vintage bead-caps and amber-colored faceted beads.  Well, of course, we all know vampires don't drink....wine...However, they may offer you some to be hospitable. 

I hope you enjoyed your stay at my little bead table today!  It was wonderful to see you again!

Be well,

Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com 

 

Fall, Leaves, Fall

 I've been collecting art beads for over a decade now and I'm pretty good at remembering who made what and when, but for the life of me, I can't recall buying these delicate ceramic leaves.  It's very possible they were included in a package as a gift or a trade at some time.  So if they look familiar, please help a girl out!  lol. They are lovely!

I designed these freestyle- just doing what felt right.  I usually make all my necklaces that way as well, no beadboard.  It's like dabbling on a canvas with paint to me.  These feel tribal with a wee bit of Victorian.

I made the faux tin pieces (on copper) last year at an autumn beading retreat with Heather Powers.  There won't be a retreat this year because of social distancing so I'm really missing being in South Haven, Michigan, right now.  Maybe that's why I pulled these out to work with.

The ornate rings are vintage, as are the tiny wood beads by Miriam Haskell.

Here are some stunning lampwork headpins by my favorite artist Kimberly Rogers.  Falling leaves upon falling leaves with an almost birch tree background.

The accent beads are hollow vintage brushed silver-tone with a light aged patina.  Amber rhinestone oxidized spacers for a little sparkle.

It's an hour and a half past midnight and I'm late with this posting -- life has been busy lately!  Hope I squeezed this in just in time...but I don't think so...lol 

 Please take care and enjoy the season.     Love to you all ~

Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com

Tin Moon Madness

Hello, my Beady Friends!

Happy September!  My workshop is in full Halloween mode now!

    I happened to find this Chocolate tin from at least 20 years ago in one of my nightstand drawers.  It was given to me long before I started making jewelry, so until a few days ago, it was just a cute tin box.  But now, I'm looking at through new eyes!

 

I put my disc cutter to work and began to punch out as many discs as possible, not wasting one bit of this adorable tin.  For this design, I'll just be using the large stripe discs and will save the spooky eyes for another day.

The lovely enameled bats are by Israeli bead artist, Pearly Karpel. 

Thanks for stopping by to see what's happing on my worktable today!  I'm excited about Autumn and looking forward to digging deep into all kinds of Halloween designs for the next couple of months!

 Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com

Mod Moons

Hello, Beady Peeps!  

I've been working on Autumn designs for an upcoming show and so I thought I'd give you a sneak peek of one of my favorite pairs.

 

Rustic blackened discs with magnificent enameled silvery moons and golden halos, by Anne Gardanne.

As much as they are rustic, they are equally modern as well.  So, I decided to add some irregular handmade copper rings for perfect visual balance and a striking look without overpowering the charms themselves.  The creamy background adds a lot of visual weight and I truly felt adding beads would just ruin the beautiful lines.  If you can't already tell, I'm sorta crazy about these - or should I say "over the moon"?

Thanks for dropping by my work table to see what's happening!  Until next time~

Loralee xo

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

Simple, But Significant

Hello, friends!

This past week I've been working on a few projects and in-between, have also been playing around with random things living on my worktable.  So, for this blog post, I have an eclectic mix for you.

I may have mentioned in past posts one of my favorite quotes from Mad Men: "Make it simple, but significant."...you'll probably hear it from me again down the road because it's become my mantra.

Lovely artisan enameled discs by Anne Gardanne and wire wrapped fiber cocoons by Anna Pierson.

Outstanding lampwork headpins by Kimberly Rogers that I've looped and added tiny vintage Miriam Haskell wood beads to.  The wood beads were surprisingly delicate to work with, perhaps due to their age.  They are well worth the risk, as they are beautiful.

Vintage Japanese opal glass with delicate frit.  I added artisan hollow glass dangles to the bottom.  I am embarrassed to say I cannot remember the name of the glass artist but I will try to find out and update my info so bear with me!


Thank you so very much for stopping by today and seeing what I've been up to.  As always, if you have any questions please feel free to ask here or message me.

Loralee xo

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

https://www.etsy.com/shop/loraleekolton

Come Play With Us, Danny...

I love my little ghouls!

I've had these wonderful little faces by Claire Lockwood of Something To Do With Your Hands for probably a couple of years now.  They have always been a favorite of mine!  I remember squeeing when they arrived from England and I've hoarded them ever since.

Recently I purchased some Czech glass flowers in matte black. As they sat on my worktable, it dawned on me that they would make cool Victorian dresses!

I also added a pair of twisted lampwork beads by Michelle Hicks Lusk of Caliente Art Glass 

I hope these were a nice and strange little surprise!

Thank you all for dropping by my bead table today!

Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com

"Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them." ~ A.A. Milne

I love playing around with strong contrast, and this pair of earrings has quite a nice mixture of texture and different types of material.

The beautiful porcelain earring charms are by Terri DelSignore of Artisticaos.  They have all the qualities I love - beautiful color, nice lines, and endless possibilities for designing with.

 I decided to build an abstract sort of flowering weed.  I didn't want to add a lot of color to the top of this pair, keeping the focus on the colorful stems. I used dyed lucite berries and added some sweet vintage glass pearls for a little softness and light.  It's a nice sophisticated and versatile color palette this way.

It popped into my head to use some bold rustic metal bead caps to represent the withering sepal. Also, they complement the outline of the leaves. I think the rustic look of the metal lends a nice little element of surprise, too, and really brings the whole design together.

Thank you, thank you, for stopping by to see what's happening on my worktable today!

See you back here in a couple of weeks!  

Loralee xo

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

Mod Squad

Is 'Tribal Mid-century' even a thing?  Well, that's what I'm calling this pair!

Fabulous French artisan lampwork beads by Un Vent de Liberte.

Very cool asymmetrical charms by Yvonne Irvin-Faus which are made of painted plexiglass.

Thanks for stopping by my bead table today!

I know my taste can be eclectic and sometimes I get questions or comments about my stash of supplies. Well, I simply buy what catches my eye or what moves me emotionally. Normally when I make a purchase it will sit in the drawer a long while - even years.  Last week, for example, I bought a tiny vintage glass pickle button, circa 1930.  I have no clue how that will be used in the future, but I know it will be waiting for me when the time is right! 

Loralee xo

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

Statement Headpins

Some of my favorite pet projects are working on these asymmetrical headpin designs.  It gets my juices flowing - it's all freeform and sort of like a  game of word association (sort of..lol) well, you know what I mean, right?  

These stunning vibrant lampwork headpins are by Kimberly Rogers of Numinosity Beads.  

This color combination is by far one of my favorites!

I decided to let the beads move freely on this particular design.  I made large loops at the top leaving space on the wire for movement.

I softened some of the bold colors by adding lovely vintage Miriam Haskell pink glass pearls and balanced the look by adding some spacers with bling.

Here is another example but in earth tones.

I think I'll call these "Twist and Shout"  lol

These organic, etched headpins are also by Kimberly Rogers.  I used recycled African glass with beautiful daisies, one big lustrous Miriam Haskell glass pearl, heavily oxidized spacers, and tiny AB crystals. 

Thank you for stopping by my worktable today!  See you back here in a couple of weeks!

Loralee xo

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

Sweet Bun-Buns

Joan Miller of Joan Miller Porcelain is the amazing talent behind these sweet little bunnies.  For me, the biggest design challenge working with Joan's pieces is enhancing without overpowering; adding just enough to the ongoing story. 

Atop are bunches of tiny hand-painted flowers. I love the contrast of the matte mottled metal against the glossy clean lines of the porcelain charms.  The copper accents are warm and mingle nicely with the color palette. The heavily oxidized ear-wires give balance to the dark outlined characters.

Below are hand-painted pewter bunny silhouette charms by Kelly Luttrell of Soul Relica.  I love the softened squared off clover shape, it's just perfect for a tiny rabbit portrait.

I've hoarded these matte floral cubes for years, again by Joan. They look great not only colorwise but in proportion and shape as well. 

My adorable plate was made by The Storybook Rabbit. If you've never checked her out you should!  

I've provided links to all :) 

💜

Thank you so much for stopping my worktable today!!  Hoppy April, Y'all!

Loralee xo

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

Cute As A Button

Mismatched vintage red buttons that go 'sew' nicely with these unique bone connectors!  

Itty-bitty green vintage daisy spacers and oxidized copper wire.  

Handmade ear-wires by Joan Moritz Langmo

Thank you for stopping by to see what's happening on my worktable this week!  I'll be back on 4/2 with some sweet bunnies :)

Loralee xo

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

Charming Green Elephants

This is the season of renewal, the season of Green!  Elephants are a symbol of strength, power, and wisdom.

Vintage celluloid elephant charms circa the 1940s. 

Gorgeous polymer, tribal-inspired flowers by Kimberly Rogers of Numinosity.

Sweet little vintage buttons.

I hope you all have a good and safe week!  Keep the faith!

Loralee xo

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

Hope Springs Eternal

Being on the cusp of Spring, I bring to you this day ~

Proverb-

"It is human nature always to find fresh cause for optimism."

There are two amazing and glorious things about these earrings: First, the newly created enamel work by Inviciti!!!  Yass! Garden sprouts with seedlings, just ready to emerge from the earth. Also, I'd like to mention that this is one of my favorite retro color combinations! 

Secondly, rare scalloped antique furnace glass!!  I've had this strand in my stash for a long time and I can't even begin to tell you how special it is.  Stunning emerald green with a beautiful scalloped edge that captures light and brings so much texture.  I also found some vintage black spacers with the same scalloped edge to build on.  At the very top are rustic peeled vintage glass pearls which always have a nice mellow color.

♡

Thank you for stopping by my worktable today!!  Happy Spring!!

Loralee xo

www.loraleekolton.etsy.com

Elephant Sunset

Hey guys!  Not only have I been craving warmth these days but I've also been working on some animal themes for an upcoming charity event.  Mix the two together and voila!

The lovely drenched pewter elephants are by Kelly Luttrell of Soul Relica.

The accent beads are by polymer great, Jon Burgess.

I used blackened annealed steel, heavily oxidized vintage spacers and topped them off with a coiled wire bead cap. 

Thank you for stopping by my worktable!  See you in a couple of weeks!

Loralee xo

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