Winter Solstice in the Desert

Joshua Tree National Park, CA

I took a trip to the desert last week which happened to be Winter Solstice and a huge, full moon. I can't even begin the describe how beautiful and perfect it was. Both eye opening and jaw dropping gorgeous. 

At a glance the desert appears dry and lifeless but once you soften your view and relax you'll see it's teeming with life and magic. 
 
Just back home yesterday I wanted my next creation to reflect the colors, look and feel of the desert. Prickly plants, enormous rock formations, sandy earth, tall grasses, Joshua trees...

 

Joshua Tree Park, CA

 It's funny because I have always considered myself more of a mountain girl. But I've discovered that I truly love the desert, and I hope I am fortunate enough to go back one day.

Sterling silver earrings feature: disk charms- mill rolled with fabric, Agate stones dangling on ball tipped pins, Handcrafted ceramic beads and green Grossular Garnet gemstones, hand forged ear wires. 

Available at Art and Soul Jewelry. 

may Peace and Love be with you in the new year and always! 

Ripening

Here's another pair of earrings from the recent monster batch I was telling you about in my last post.

The fibre beads were made by Carolyn Saxby. I've embellished them with garnet and red sagenitic quartz.

They're listed here in my Etsy shop.

Bye for now, Claire

www.somethingtodo.etsy.com

www.somethingtodowithyourhands.com

www.somethingtodobeads.etsy.com

Strength in nature

"Let’s take our hearts for a walk in the woods,

and listen to the magic whispers of old trees." 

~Author Unknown

Trees are healing, nurturing and comforting,

not only to us, humans, but to animals and our entire planet.

 I was inspired to create this week's pair of earrings

by my latest watercolor painting called Strength...

Strength Watercolor Painting by Nathalie Lesage

Strength Trees Of Life Sterling Silver Hoop Earrings with Gemstones by Nathalie Lesage

I pulled the colors for the gemstones from my painting, and painstakingly created two fairly similar Trees Of Life using 26g Sterling Silver wire. It takes patience to work with the delicate wire, and try to make the small 1" trees come out as similar as possible.

The gemstones that I used are all AAA... Purple Garnet (amazing purple color),

Green Tourmaline, Neon Aqua Apatite from Brazil, and Carnelian.

You can find these Tree Of Life Earrings listed HERE on my site.

As a special gift, the person that will purchase this pair of earrings, will also receive

a 5" x 5" limited edition print of my painting as well in their package :)

Have a wonderful week!

Nathalie

http://www.NathalieLesageJewelry.com

http://www.TheCraftyTribe.com

Cosmos

There are some beads that require no introduction, no explanation, no overwrought designing. Basha Beads typify this. Barbara has perfected this lampwork glass technique and her beads are singular---immediately recognizable and always breathtaking. How does she capture all that glowy magic and all those cosmic nebula in each little bead?


I'll admit to being a Basha Bead hoarder - no shame there. I only like to use them when I truly feel like my design can do them justice.

 

I had a stroke of inspiration lately on how to make some wicked primitive earrings that highlight these beads without being too complicated. Plus it let me really wail on some copper with a hammer - that's always fun (read: stress relief). 


I made several variations: soft glowy ancient glass, red garnet, and scuzzy green Roman glass. For those days where you're feeling  mysterious, fiery, or calm and reflective.
 


Surprisingly simple, but these babies pack a lot of punch. I've even had guys notice them - when men start noticing your jewelry, that means you're on to something. 


Happy mid-week,

Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Tender Greens

It's finally here - that time of year when trees start to take on a misty green hue. Buds appear, swell, and burst into leaf. Skeletal gray branches come back to life, filling out and reaching toward the sky. It seems like this past winter was more brutal than most for those of us in the US - you can certainly tell by the recent posts here on Earrings Everyday! It seemed like Spring would never get here, but that's the beautiful thing about nature, you can't stop her...

Coming off of a 70F degree day full of warm sunshine, daffodils, and singing birds, I thought I'd post about a recent pair of earrings that celebrate the tender, sweet, young green of Spring. 

 


This sweet, simple little pair

features a pair of my own polymer clay "bud" beads that dangle lightly from the bottom of two amazingly craggy raw green garnet stone nuggets. I textured and painted the poly beads and then kissed them with a little gold on top for some warmth. Each bead has been crowned with wee etched nickel bead caps from Maire Dodd.

 

I hope everyone is able to pause and soak up the season this week <3

Nikki 

LoveRoot on Etsy

Neutrals

As a designer who is constantly challenging myself using color, this time around I wanted to create something a bit more neutral for the blog today. These delicate dangles feature some beautiful Smoky Quartz beads in a unique squared rectangle shape. I layered these beads with some deep red garnet drops and some tiny freshwater pearls.  I think that these muted tones could be worn with anything and always look great!

You can find these and other great earring designs in Lorelei Eurto's Etsy shop!

All outfits shown are from Anthropologie