It's a boy

Sooooo much has happened since I last posted a couple of weeks ago. I had mentioned that I'd soon be a "grand-maman" later on in April. Well, turns out that this little cuddle monkey decided he needed to come out 3 weeks early (!!!)

My husband and our brand new grandson, wrapped in a soft baby blanket that I designed

We had a bit of a scare because of some late-pregnancy complications. His mommy was going to be induced to get him out last Friday, but he decided to come out himself without medical help... a few days earlier than planned.

Thank God everyone is now fine, healthy and safe. Little Harvey (and his mommy) ended up going on a 50 minute Air Evacuation Helicopter ride when he was just 30 hours old to get him ASAP to the big hospital on the South end of the Island as he was having difficulty breathing.

He is ever so precious and we're all very proud and happy of this new arrival in our family.

So, in his honor, I was inspired to make something in 'blue' to celebrate our new beautiful grandson:

I created this design starting with some cool 'iceberg' blue (gray-ish blue) Czech glass beads at the top, nesting them in some Bali silver bead caps.

I have a large collection of pearls - some of them I have purchased from one of my favorite Pearls seller on Ebay: Rainbow Island Pearls, and these large Keshei pearls with natural light shades of blue-mauve looked like a good fit. I love their uneven surface catching the light and adding movement... paired with a set of my small handmade polymer clay dagger drops.

These drops have specks of silver leaf, and swirls of greyish-blue. I used simple hypoallergenic Titanium ear wires to finish the design.

The polymer clay drops almost remind me of stars in the evening sky around here. They move a lot, and are really fun to watch. Very lightweight and versatile!

I think these earrings would be perfect to wear with a pair of jeans and a cool Summery tank top.  What do you think?

Have a wonderful weekend ahead!

Cheers,
New Grandma (Grand-maman) Nathalie :)
Visit my shops:
My Garden Of Love on Etsy
The Crafty Tribe on Etsy

Not your grandma's pearls

I've accumulated an extensive stash of fresh water pearls over the years. I hoard them. 

I really think I need an intervention group or something for my bead-hoarding...

(but I'm guessing that we'd all end up participating in the group lol)

The other day, when Miss Erin showcased the new 2015 Pantone colors, I started looking through my stash and pulled out a couple of strands of pearls that caught my eye with their soft cool hues.
They seemed to match really well with this year's palette.

When I use pearls in my designs, I aim to set them up in a non-traditional way, so that we don't end up thinking that we're wearing our grandma's pearls ;)

So this is what I've come up with for this design:

Designer Pearl Earrings by Nathalie Lesage at NatLJ.com

The fresh water pearls featured at the top are a soft cool blue, almost a dusk blue (Pantone 16-4120). Although the color is soft, I think these two pearls at the top really 'pop' and add a touch of brightness and spunk to the design. They seem almost luminescent :)

The set of pearls at the bottom is a Titanium grey (Pantone 17-4014) that picks up

the same metalic hues as the Hill Tribe Fine Silver Squares.

Soft cool grey hues inspired by the Pantone 2015 colors

These hollow HT square were very plain originally, but a few years ago, I had heavily distressed them to use them in a project, and I ended up using something else instead. I kept wanting to do something with these, and it seems that today was the right moment.

I hope that you'll agree that these are not your grandma's pearls :D

You can find these earrings HERE on my website.

Have a fabulous day!

Nathalie

Metalsmith & Jewelry Artist

www.NathalieLesageJewelry.com

Athena Earrings

I have an extensive collection of pearls, including some beauties from the Sea of Cortez, some salt water pearls and large cultured freshwater pearls (as shown here). I've been hoarding them for some time, and I do make the occasional special jewelry with them, but other than that, I keep my stash close to my heart.

I've decided that they really need to come out and play. It's not fair to keep them stored away. They are meant to be enjoyed and worn. It's just hard to let go sometimes...

So today, I introduce you to my Athena pearl earrings, featuring a pair of large (~10mm) natural cultured freshwater pearls, wire wrapped in 14kt gold-filed wire and surrounded by an eclectic cluster of sparkling Labradorite gemstones that seem to 'dance' around the pearls.

These sassy earrings would go great with this adorable little quilted Jeans dress, don't you think?

Athena Summer Outfit by nathalie-lesage featuring a flower arrangement

You can find these modern flirty pearl earrings HERE on my website.

I will be making more in various colors of pearls/gemstones combinations... they make me happy :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Don't forget to participate in our We're All Ears May Challenge! (details HERE)

Nathalie Lesage

Metalsmith, Jewelry Artist

www.NathalieLesageJewelry.com

Star Factory

Star Factory

I am just enchanted by these Unicorn lampwork beads in "midnight special"--they make me think of a glowing nebula!

Photo of the Omega Nebula by NASA

The way these lampwork drops (available from Stinky Dog Beads) are configured, they are most stunning when viewing the drop section head-on, so I devised a design that would keep their shining faces front and center. Here I've combined them with amber, freshwater pearls in lime, and antiqued copper. The idea of a "star factory" must have also put me in an industrial mindset because the metal sections feel very hardware-like to me. And that's always a good thing!

I leave you with a stellar spire from the "Eagle Nebula",

and a little music to go with it:



Keirsten