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/

Siren red

Hello Earring Lovers!

I have been making quite a few pairs of earrings for a showcase at the end of this month over in Facebook Land. I particularly enjoyed making this pair.

The starting point was a pair of delicious enamelled 'tinnies' by Kimberly Rogers of Numinosity. I love everything about these! The shape. The colour (that siren red!). The texture. They remind me a little of a Rothko painting -dense colour and lots to see the more you look.

I wanted to accentuate the angle of the charms with some oxidised brass. I like the way they make the tinnies background, rather than foregroud. Some pretty contrasting czech glass and a little oxidised brass hoop to add to the clean lines, and voila! 

Hope you like them. There'll be in my showcase over on The Earrings Show on the 29th March (Facebook). See you next month :-)

Sue

Utterly Lovely Stuff

Don't forget the earwires!

Hello earring lovers!

Today's blog is all about earwires. Well, a particular design of earwires I love working with, by our very own Lucy Haslam of Faerystone. Now, our Lucy has a talent with metal and creates all sorts of wonderful things. These twirly earwires are (I think) among my faves of her creations. You could really just pop them in your lobes on their own, with no adornment! Earwires are usually things we (or certainly I)  hook on, right at the end of creating a pair of earrings , often without much thought. while the beads that hang from them are undoubtedly the stars of the show. But sometimes it's nice to give them equal billing!

This first pair, feature gorgeous ceramic drops by (of course) Petra Carpreau. The most beautiful turquoise glaze on these. I added some little hand forged copper hoops and a little ring of turquoise seed beads and a teeny tiny seed on the base of the earwires to echo the design.

This next pair feature beautiful glass headpins by Kimberly Rogers of Numinosity Beads. They are so feminine and pretty. This time I wrapped some seed beads around the earwires themselves, so they were really an integral part of the design.

And that's that from me this month! These and many more will be available in my showcase over on The Jewellery Show in Facebook Land on the 26th Jan. Do pop in and say hello!

Sue x

Utterly Lovely Stuff

Looking Back

Christmas is over, it's the last day of 2018 and I'm looking forward to the year to come. New colours to try out (and Erin will be telling you all about them shortly); new designs and maybe getting around to seeing some of the plans I've had for a while come to fruition. All I need is 48 hours in every day!

Looking back over the last year and wondering what to make for today's post, I couldn't help but return to a pair I liked so much I used them for my Etsy shop banner and for my business cards. I wasn't able to replicate them as the headpins and lampwork beads were unique, and nor would I want to.  So here's a variation on a theme.

The crusty bubbly drippy lampwork headpins in luscious lilacs and pinks are of course by Kimberly Rogers. Those 'lit from within' beads are the world famous Basha Beads and the central black arte metal lily structure that I've split with rhinestone rondelles is from Fallen Angel Brass.

         Not unlike the icicles that are supposed to be heading our way with a cold snap next week!

 

 

It just remains for me to thank you all for following our blog this year, for your support and your encouraging comments. We all hope to see you again in 2019, to join us in new earring adventures.

 

Happy New 2019!

 

Lindsay x

 

My Etsy shop

 

My Facebook page

 

 

 

Keep On Haunting Me

 October Greetings, Beady Ghouls! 

Rustic, spooky, yet hauntingly glamorous with their golden touches are these wonderful enamel houses by Anne Gardanne.   

I used a sweet little mix of vintage bobbles:  AB faceted crystals and peeled vintage faux pearls.

Darkly oxidized metal bead caps with soft lightweight rattling chains - a must for every haunted house.

👻

Garden spirits of a summer gone by.  

Lightweight polymer leaves by Heather Powers, etched lampwork glass with touches of autumn color by Kimberly Rogers and carved bone spirited little folk.

Boo! From, Luna!

Thank you, as always, for popping in and having a look at what I've been up to.  I love hearing from you and appreciate your time!  Wishing you all the best of this glorious season!  I'll be back in a couple of weeks with some bold spooky designs!

Loralee xo

Loralee Kolton ~ artful in beads.  

P.S. I haven't had time to list these earrings but feel free to message me!

5 Artists To Make One Pair Of Earrings

5 artists and 5 different materials and textures:

Brass handmade rings with a saffron patina by Missficklemedia

Woven beads by Rebecca Anderson
Polymer discs by Heather Powers
Vintage rustic plum wood beads
Glass headpins by Kimberly Rogers

I began with the luscious pumpkin orange etch glass headpins. These have to be one of my favorite headpins that I have ever purchased from Kimberly. 

 I felt like going in a jewel tone direction, so paired them with rich plum vintage wood beads.  I pulled both colors together with some polymer discs by Heather Powers.  This is precisely why I love Heather's cane beads!  

I created a little visual space to the design by adding the hand forged rings by Shannon German.  I almost called it complete, but something was still gnawing at me.  I decided to look at it with fresh eyes in the morning.   The next day I started playing with different beads to partially fill the hole of the rings.  Nothing seemed quite right until I opened my little tin of woven beads I had in my stash.  Ahhh, I found the perfect color, size, and the texture the design needed all in one small bead. 

Well, that's all for now!  I'll most likely be back on Oct 3rd with something spooky!

Loralee xo

Loralee Kolton ~  artful in beads

Glowing In The Night

Striking polymer headpins with an amazing crackle and glowing finish by Kimberly Rogers of
Numinosity Beads.  

The design challenge for me was, that the headpins are very bold and I wanted accent beads that were just as bold but didn't compete with each other.  I had these lovely matte black vintage lucite accent beads with brilliant gold stars and thought they'd be perfect mates.  They work well because they are predominantly black.  Also, having one component with a matte finish and the other with shine is a nice contrast and gives more definition.

The headpins are substantial in size but being polymer also, super lightweight!  Lucite is also very light so they make a nice statement earring without losing any comfort.

I love that the stars are carved and not just printed images.  I also added a little rhinestone spacer for a little extra sparkle.

Kimberly's headpins and beads are a favorite of mine; I'm a huge fan of her work!

Luna and I thank you for stopping by and will be back in a couple of weeks

 ~ Loralee xo

Loralee Kolton ~ Artful Jewelry in Beads

Rustic Shimmer and Glimmer

Hello! Today I have earrings that combine the lampwork headpins of Kimberly Rogers of Numinosity Beads and some remarkable iridescent spacers by Donna Conklin of Prima Donna Beads.  

Together they are magic!

Kimberly calls her headpins "Combobulations" -  she uses silver reactive glass to get that metallic luster.  I love all the textures she creates, she's always trying out new things!

Donna's iridescent spacers were born as a result of what she calls "Plan B".  She explained that she got an off batch of dichro that just kept burning out on her, but she kept at it and came up with a process that worked, and wow, that effect is amazing!

I love mixing materials so I added some partially patinated copper rings and wired some rare AB violet opal Swarovski crystals.  Next to them I also added some tiny AB faceted glass from the 1920's.  It's all in the details, right?  :)

Many thanks for popping in to have a look!

Loralee xo

Loralee Kolton ~ artful in beads

Surprisingly, Pink

When you think of rustic-industrial, pink probably doesn't jump to mind ~ but, isn't it a nice little surprise?!

THE coolest lampwork glass with nailheads by Kimberly Rogers of Numinosity Beads; one-of-a-kind, handmade, patina finished, pewter charms by Inviciti; vintage glass pearls.

↔

Stacked, mismatched headpins!

 I had one lovely, drool-worthy, orphan headpin, by Kimberly Rogers.   So, I thought I'd make a stacked mate using a small headpin by Pipandmolly, then layer a rhinestone spacer, a shimmery matte teardrop lampwork bead by Kay Mallery and a rough cut piece of pyrite.  I topped both off with yummy vintage AB faceted crystals for a little symmetry .

Many thanks for stopping by today!

Loralee xo

LoraleeKolton ~ artful in beads

All things Inviciti

Hello!

So I am busy busy busy, making lots of new things for a Facebook showcase over on The Jewellery Show on the 26th of this month. This will be my first showcase since November and I always get a little nervous, especially if I've had a gap. Will people like my new creations? Will anyone show up?! And if i take a break from making things, I always feel so rusty! Sometimes the creative spirit gets a bit....stuck...

So what's needed is some inspiration via post. And the wonderful Vincent & Nooma of Inviciti kindly obliged. They make the most beautiful pewter and painted charms, and a little package from them popped onto my doormat on Saturday and suddenly I was on a roll! Funny how that happens sometimes? How it can be so hard to create and at other times, it just flows?

So here's a group shot of everything together

Look at that gleaming pewter! So here's the first pair with some delicious lampwork by our very own super talented Kimberly of  Numinosity (by the way -have you seen her instagram feed? It's a visual feast! She has quite the eye for all things interesting, grungy and beautiful). Teamed these with some twisted silver plated rings and spacers and the Inviciti charms, of course.

The next couple of pairs have gorgeous lampwork nuggets by Maryse Fritz-Thillens. The first pair, a striking pinky purple colour, with silver plated spacers, co-ordinating czech glass and some silver-plated leaves too, just poking through the charms

Love these star charms. Just a few little twisted jumprings and spacers in this pair (possibly my favourites?)

And finally, keeping it simple with a little stack of Roman glass rondelles. Just love that these are ancient. Amazing to be able to wear a little bit of history in your lobes :-)

So that's me done for this month. All of these will be available over on The Jewellery Show on the 26th. Pop on over and say hello if you can. If they don't find a home there, they will be off to Utterly Lovely Stuff

See you next month

Sue x

Goldenrod

Our son Jesse, who lives in Kansas City, has been visiting for the last few days.  As I'm writing this, we've just dropped him off at the airport, and I'm feeling tenderhearted toward the world at the moment. 💗

That, and that feeling you often have when your grown kids leave after a visit...that bittersweet wish that they could stay longer.  But the sweet thing is that these earrings are a gift for Jesse's sister, Rhia, and working on them has added to that tenderhearted feeling too.

And about the earrings...  They owe a lot of their sleekness to these gorgeous asymmetrical lampwork headpins by Kimberly Rogers.  Their beautiful colors of mustard yellow swirled with gleaming gray and their crusty/shiny glaze make them irresistible.

I emphasized the slim, elongated lines of the headpins by topping them with slender copper tube beads wrapped with what look like little vines, and then adding small bead caps, rustic yellow Czech glass beads, and finally beautifully faceted topaz-colored helix-shaped glass crystal beads.

They're lightweight, sleek, and elegant.  (And I hope Rhia loves them!)  😊

Goldenrod

Headpins:  Kimberly Rogers
Copper tube beads:  by JBB Findings (at Rings and Things)
Bead caps:  Copper plated pewter bead caps by TierraCast (Fusionbeads.com or your favorite place to buy TierraCast)
Helix crystal beads:  Available at Danette Darbonne on Etsy.


Thank you so much for reading--I'll be back in two weeks!

xoxo
Meridy

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A Bit of Northern Soul.

Last Sunday but one Helen Backhouse and I popped over to Manchester to the Great Northern Contemporary Craft Fair. It's a week long shindig funded by The Arts Council and is a veritable hotbed for new talent. Although we have seen some of the exhibitors before, there are always lots of new Arts graduates fresh out of university, bringing their ground breaking ideas with them! Some of them are a bit whacky for my taste - but always worth a look.

Helen always heads for the ceramics (she's mad on pots and bowls) and the jewellery, of course, grabs our attention. Lots of it - and I mean lots. Seemed like every other exhibitor was a silversmith this year. Some very unusual work too - modern and edgy.  Lots of black. But I head for the textiles. They always spark my imagination and I like translating the colours and textures I see into jewellery.
I also bought some hand made buttons from one of the mixed media artists, Shirley Vauvelle.
My first pair of earrings this week uses Shirley's buttons; the inspiration was the colours from a piece of textile work by Sara Tommins.  Sarah is one of this years graduates. Always collect the business cards!

 

I really liked the effect of the grey shell layered over the links of elongated black chain with the ebony spikes, so while I was on a roll a couple more pairs took shape. Again, Shirley's buttons but this time in aqua. 

 

The third pair have baby enamels by Kimberly Rogers in yellow, with a tiny hint of pink. The lampwork is by Patricia Ritchie, with pink enamel earwires by Lucy Haslam. Normally, I hate pink and yellow together but with the black these work really well!

 

 

See how one business card sparks the flame? Next time you  are in a creative slump, bypass Pinterest (am I the only person who saves hundreds of pins only to never look at any of them ever again?) and look around you - buttons, cushions, woollies, fabric of all kinds can provide the spark you need. 

 

 

See you in two weeks time

 

Lindsay x

 

My Etsy shop

 

My facebook page

 

Sleek!

Hi everyone, it feels like ages since I posted here.  What you see below is just the tip of the iceberg 😄.  I have been in full production mode as I have an earrings showcase on Sunday.  Artists featured in my earrings today are Kimberly Rogers and Melissa Gabelle.

The obligatory group shot 💗

Kimberly's headpins with claw shaped caps.

Kimberly's headpins with some fun brass bits and glass flowers to soften the look a bit.

Melissa's flower caps with brass findings and sari silk

Melissa's flower drops with partinaed brass connectors.

These plus lots of other designs will be available on Sunday in The Earrings Show FB group.
I'll be back in a couple of weeks with new designs, see you then.

Suhana

My Etsy shop: Buttoned Up Beads
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ButtonedUpBeads?ref=ss_profile

From a Sarcophagus.

A creative slump. We all have them. Doesn't often happen to me but this week I've struggled to even summon up a pair of earrings.

I've been super busy over the last month with village events, real life and on-line shows, and grandchildren stuff and reckon I'm just tired and in need of a holiday - cue Halkidiki in a couple of weeks time to recharge my rapidly aging batteries!

So for this weeks earrings I decided to take Janine's advice and revisit an old design. Looking through albums from a couple of years ago, I found a pair I really liked and decided to make a new, differently coloured version - the originals had green kyanite with the red enamelled tins.

The enamelled tin sticks are, of course, by Kimberly Rogers . Those gorgeous lapis lazuli discs come by recommendation of Norbel, from funkyprettybeads. Very rich, with the deep red. Favourite colours of the Egyptians; Tutankhamen's sarcophagus abounds with lapis, although with gold rather than copper.
The etched copper rings are sadly no longer available - they were from Tracy Smith, of Cinnamon Beads, who is now concentrating on her jewellery (more's the pity - her copper findings were second to none). Those Tangled earwires are by none other than Lucy Haslam, who is re-opening her findings shop with some new, exciting things for us in mid-August after her move to wild Wales. Hurray, I hear you all shout. Not before time, ya slacker (don't tell her I said that!)

 

 

 

 

And they've set me off on a real red and blue thing...so expect to see more of these colours together. I'm busy studying my guide book from the Museum of Egypt in Cairo - I feel a collection coming on!

 

 

See you in  a couple of weeks.

 

 

Lindsay

(Precious Violet)

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