A Real HUM-DINGER!

For today’s earrings, I decided to keep my promise to myself and continue to design at least a few earring pairs with my own enamels. Just like the last pair of earrings I shared, these enamels were designed for a recent bird-themed show. Although I typically go for matchy-matchy designs, I do like to mix things up every so often, and these similar-but-different hummingbirds were just begging to be paired together. I was instantly attracted to the soft print and pastel colors, and the copper blanks somehow reminded me of the gilded bird cages I saw hanging all over the souks in the Marrakech medina a few years back on a family vacation.

Knowing I wanted to give the finished earrings a romantic but subtle vibe, I embossed the copper before adding the powdered glass enamel base coats and kept the oxidation intact after applying the iron oxides. Now that the charms were done, the design of the earrings remained.

I remembered coming across some fancy copper connectors from Joan Langmo recently while rummaging through my boxes of treasured components and hoped I could remember where I saw them (if you only saw my “organization”, you would understand why I said I hoped)! I hit the jackpot when I found not only the connectors I was looking for, but also some lovely flat copper flower stampings that I had completely forgotten about. It took just a bit of finagling to get all the pieces to play nicely together (do you ever feel that engineering is the most challenging part of designing? I know I do quite often!) by adding dainty Czech glass flowers on top of the copper stampings. Next, I added the hollow lampwork from Alisha White, sandwiched between pretty copper caps, at the top – just the thing to add a bit of color without distracting from the hummingbird enamels. The last step was to add the dangling Czech flowers on each side of the connectors to balance the earrings and tie everything together.

I just LOVE this subtle mix of colors:

Below you can see how the pair looks when hanging:

I’m still debating whether I “love” these or not – perhaps I’ll feel the urge to change them up a bit. But for now, they will appear this way later today in my etsy shop, TwinklingOfAnEye.

You can find other earrings in my fb group.

Thanks for spending a part of your day with me - see you in a few weeks! :-) 

Empty Nest

For whatever reason (I’ve yet to discover a definitive one), I don’t tend to design earrings with my own enamels. But being a brand new year in the midst of a very strange season, I decided it was time to mix things up a bit and change all that…at least for today!

I recently designed a flurry of bird enamels (or maybe that should be a flock?) for a themed show and tried my hand at some enamels that were more like portraits than my typical outlined “cartoon” style pieces. Much to my surprise, the process of making small translucent strokes, firing, adding another layer of strokes, firing (repeat ad infinitum), was somehow mesmerizing. However, having no painting background, my poor birds, although changing appearance with each layer, were not looking at all like what I had intended after even after a half dozen firings! Perhaps they were better kept for my own designs, where I could take my time figuring out how to bring them to life. Which brings me (finally!) to today’s earrings…

Here’s how my birds started their journey after cutting copper sheet and laying down the first base coats (the poor things would have a quite a journey of color ahead of them before they left the nest):

 

If you are familiar with my earrings, you know that I don’t tend to do anything simple – I guess it’s just not how I am wired. But I wanted beads that would complement the birds without distracting from them (after all, they had already been forced through quite a metamorphosis). I think I found the perfect match in a beautiful etched pair from Regis Teixera, and added some leather flowers (how cool is that?) to keep in line with a more rustic vibe, rich amber-hued Czech glass flowers and rings, and an assortment of brass caps. I really like how these turned out, but I also am aware of just how much I have to learn (I would greatly appreciate any painting tips you might have)! It’s difficult to know just when to stop...

Who knows? Maybe I’ll have a few more pairs of bird earrings to add to the flock by next time. But for now, these will be available in my etsy shop, TwinklingOfAnEye later today

You can regularly find other new earrings in my fb group.

Thanks for spending a part of your day with me. See you in a few weeks! :-)

Birds of a Feather

Sitting in my studio this morning all I could hear was silence...….and birds! The house next door to us is a tall 3 storey affair with a chimney where starlings nest every year. Some years I've counted over 30 baby birds lined up along the rooftop as they have several broods. They're very noisy and very greedy and can go through a couple of fat slabs in our feeder in a day, squabbling all the way. By contrast, the blackbirds that nest in our hedge are quiet and gentle. I saw one this morning picking our viola flowers to line her nest - soft and fragrant. Clever lady.
 

Todays earrings are birdy. Polymer clay birds (mum and baby) by Jana Bliznakova, textured ceramic discs by Nitta of  Corvus Ceramics, czech glass feathers, peanut beads and dark copper metalwork by Lucy Haslam all add to the rustic feel.

So off I go to fill up the bird feeders yet again - see you in a couple of weeks time.

                                                                  Lindsay xx

                                                              My Etsy shop

                                                            My Facebook page

Just Because

I decided to go all glamorous for today's post.  Perfect for winter (my favourite season).

First up are my wire wrapped hoops but on a much bigger scale, topped by cute little ceramic birds by Caroline Dewison.

Another view.

Then there are these.  I had to find a way to include a rainbow :D Here I have wire wrapped brass triangle frames with cup chain, stacked with silver plated brass, raw brass caps and Czech glass flowers. I'm making more of these btw ;)  

Another view.

These will be listed on Etsy shortly.  Have a lovely weekend everyone.,  See you soon with my last post of the year.

Suhana <3

My Etsy Shop: Suhana Hart Jewellery

Ravens Eye

Ravens Eye Earrings

There are so many fascinating stories in the history of the native American people. I was inspired by a Pacific northwestern tribal mythology that portrays the raven as both a creator and a trickster. In the legends of Haida Gwai, the raven was highly respected as an intelligent bird and was depicted as the creator of their world and the provider for their needs. As for the trickster role in the myth, the raven was believed to have brought about the pairing of the sexes.

My earrings were designed to capture that "totem" image of the raven that is common among the Pacific northwestern tribes. Primitive ceramic charms that resemble the ravens eye from Jana Bližňáková of Happy Fish Things, accompanied by colorful trade beads and copper wire wrap.

Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry

Here's to 2015

So, it's fallen to me to wish you a happy new year and share the first pair of earrings of 2015!  How I wish I had a new pair to share with you! I've not made many earrings for a few weeks now and those I have made are for magazine submissions so they're under wraps.  Lacking new earrings, I thought I'd look back, on my blog, to see what earrings I'd made this time last year and share those. To my amazement, I found that the earrings I made a year ago are the first pairs I shared on this blog, which means I've been a contributor for a whole year! I can't believe it!  Since that approach didn't work either, I thought I'd share one of the most - what's the word? - significant(?) pairs of earrings, personally speaking, that I made in the last year.

These earrings were the first thing that I made with my new ceramic beads when I started making them last summer. (The lampwork drops were made by Anne Gardanne.)  Starting to make ceramic beads and getting a kiln were certainly the most significant jewellery-related events of 2014 for me. Perhaps the most significant thing full stop! I love it and I'm looking forward to doing much more of it in 2015.  What have you lined up for 2015? Whatever the year brings you, may it include many, many earrings!

Anyway, once again, let me wish you all a Happy 2015!

Bye for now, Claire

www.somethingtodowithyourhands.com

Blackbird Earrings

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

Take these broken wings and learn to fly

All your life

You were only waiting 

for this moment to arrive

You have to love a good Beatles song on a rainy Monday!

I created these blackbird earrings for my fall collection - they fit so many themes during this time of year.  I  see them as playful crows on an autumn day or the blackest of ravens in a haunting forest or as blackbirds offering hope to those who need to remember to lift their wings and soar.  

Read more about these Raven Forest Earrings.

Birch Branch and Bird Earrings

There is just something so appealing to me when I see a row of birch trees.  I'm reminded of Robert Frost's poem and the forests here in Michigan.  The papery bark is just waiting for a second life.  I love how they stand out in stark contrast to the heavy trunks of other trees in the woods. My favorite Autumn scene is when the birch leaves turn their golden hues.  There are all sorts of myth and folklore about birch trees, so it seems I'm not the only one captured by their beauty.

You can read more about these Birch Branch and Bird Earrings here.

Birch Forest by humblebeads on Polyvore

Girl on Fire Earrings

I love books for teens, don't ask me why.  My own teens could care less about Twilight, the Hunger Games or anything else that happens to be popular.  I however am not above the hype. We went to see the Hunger Games this weekend and Capitol City fashion is quite the inspiration.

In the story, the main character is presented in several outfits that have real flames, flicker like flames or shimmer with light to represent their coal producing district.  So I thought a pair of Girl on Fire earrings were in order. 

I added the silk ribbon and Czech glass as the flame and embers.  The birds are the iconic mocking jay in the story. I threw in the chain to represent the bondage of the districts to the fascist government and some of my branch beads to represent the main character's favorite hunting grounds and refuge.  Even the bow of the earwires are a nod to an integral part of the story.

 You can find these earrings in my Etsy shop.

-Heather Powers is the editor of the Art Bead Scene, the author of Jewelry Designs from Nature and the hands behind Humblebeads.

Free Bird

Birds offer me never-ending inspiration in my jewelry designs. I have always said, I could probably open up another online store with just bird related jewelry items.  These earrings are super sweet.  I hand-stamped some copper discs, and then hammered and darkened them to bring out the detail. Dangling on pale green beading wire from Soft Flex Co., below small perched birds. The sweetest birds you'll ever see.  It's a simple design and looks great with any season. The ear wires are nickel free natural brass from Vintaj Brass Co. You can find these earrings in my online store.

You can find these and other fun jewelry designs in my Etsy shop, Lorelei Eurto Jewelry.
Check out my blog too, Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio

A Feathered Village

These Feathered Village earrings were inspired by a pretty skirt from Anthropologie! I love the pattern on the skirt, a nice olive background with little red flying birds above housetops.  I used some ceramic beads with that same dotted pattern, a few Red Czech glass rondelles and some sweet little pewter bird charms.  The pearl chain gives a little white detail that fits perfectly. Round darkened bronze ear wires add to the overall handmade look.

I put together a whole outfit with a long sleeve t, and some olive suede pumps!

Here is a nice detail of the skirt!

You can find these and other fun jewelry designs in my Etsy shop, Lorelei Eurto Jewelry.
Check out my blog too, Lorelei's Blog: Inside the Studio