Vintage Velocipedes

Hi there, I hope you are all having a great summer whereever you are in the northern hemisphere, and a great winter if you are in the southern. I myself have been enjoying cosy day excursions so far, and sitting on the veranda in my back garden. Later in the summer I will be going away on a little trip to the south of Sweden.

Bicycling has always been a favourite thing of mine. As a child and teenager it was my major method of transport most of the year. If the temperature was more than 5 degrees Celsius that is. I could easily bike more than 20-30 km a day just to get to different places. I would still bike every day today if I could, but unfortunately since a few years back I have too much balance problems due to MS. I plan to get a tricycle for grown-ups though, in a not too far future. They are good, but a bit pricey, so I hope to get a contribution from a fund for people with MS.

Check out those old style bicycles on the earrings I made. High wheelers or penny farthings. They are super cool don't you agree.

Art beads:

Tag shaped ceramic earrings pendants with decals of old bicycles  - DonnaPerlinplim

Ceramic cone beads with a pale yellow matte glaze - NadiaTerra

Other ingredients:

Rustic glass beads

Heavily oxidized copper wire

Handmade Sterling Silver earrings hooks, heavily oxidized

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All my best,

Malin

www.beadingbymalindekoning.blogspot.se

A Healthy Dose of Inner Peace and Sunshine

In an (ongoing) effort to combat my "jeweler's ass", I bought a bike last week. Because let's admit it, sitting for extended periods of time at my jeweler's bench isn't the best form of exercise. 

As a kid, we practically grew up outside---sloshing through creeks, trekking through woods, catching butterflies in fields---exploring, experiencing, growing. A big part of this involved riding our bikes. At a time when we were still too young to drive cars and unable to own horses, having a bike was a great alternative. You could just hop on and pedal away---leaving your worries behind, if only temporarily---powered by just YOU and your sense of direction. It's an empowering thing, when you think about it. 

Flash forward 15 or so years. My parents had recently been cleaning out their garage and doling out childhood items back to my brother and I. It had been years since I had ridden a bike - this was going to be great! The initial excitement about having my old Huffy soon faded when I realized the tires were both flat, the gears rusted, and the brakes dried out and cracked. Old friend, you gave me much happiness, but that chapter has ended. 

So I stewed. And stewed. And then decided to get a new bike.  Not a cheap Walmart bike, but a real grown-up bike that will last me for years. It's sleek, efficient, and just what I need to explore trails. 

I knew that I had missed biking, but I didn't realize HOW much I had missed it until I hit that first downhill coast. You know that feeling you get at the top of a roller coaster when you crest and know that you're about to head down? That delicious anticipation and excitement? And then you're speeding downhill and the wind is whipping your hair and the scenery is blurring past and you're grinning like the biggest idiot alive. THAT. I've missed that.

So instead of slaving away at the stinky claustrophobic gym like a robot this past week, I've been enjoying a healthy dose of inner peace and sunshine. Hell, I even have a little bit of a tan on my lily-white arms. Now this changes everything...

These earrings feature two incredible slabs of chrysocolla stone---the marriage of warm sandy brown to the deep teal veins struck me immediately. I like to let stones like this speak for themselves, so I very simply capped them off using silver solder, oxidized, and left it at that. Long, slender, and serene.

Wising you much peace and much sunshine this week!

Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy