Chinese lanterns

Some months ago I found a wood burner for sale. With some vague ideas in mind what to do with it, I couldn’t resist and bought it. The vague idea was so vague that until this day I still don’t remember what it was. Never mind, yesterday I decided it was time to have some fun with it and start experimenting.

I still had some wooden beads (bought with a very vague idea what to do with them) and went to work. 

As you might know I live in a truck converted into a mobile home. Not much space to work. Especially not with a very hot wood burner. But I managed to burn some patterns in the beads, without setting our truck on fire (a whole lotta wood inside) and without burning patterns into my fingers. I wasn’t very satisfied with how they initially turned out. So out came the green patina. It looked better but still something was lacking. I dove in our cabinet and found a forgotten little box… with blue and red acryl paint in it (never used, bought with a very vague idea what to do with it). I added some dots to the beads, some red faux suede, old padre beads and voila… Chinese lanterns for in your ears.

What do you think? Should I continue experimenting with the wood burner? On beads of course.. not on something else. Well... perhaps.....I have a vague idea....

Thank you for looking!
I wish you all a wonderful week.

Janine

Esfera Jewelry

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Blue Bells

Gorgeous Blue Flower Headpins from Lara Lutrick paired with cool Pyrite discs.

I strung little silver beads inside the disc which seemed like a simple task but it was not an easy!

But I'm glad I persisted and got them in there because I love the way they look.

I added some gorgeous little Glass Beads on top which match the flowers almost perfectly!

They hang about 2" from Handmade Hypoallergenic Niobium Earwires.

Kristi

KristiBowmanDesign.com

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Vintage Green Bloom Earrings

In my last post I wrote about making beaded wire hoops above the earring dangles.  I'm still playing with that idea, as you can see in today's earrings.

The green flower drops are very unusual,  I've never seen anything like them before.  I bought them from a vintage bead vendor at Bead Fest last year.  They are flat on the back and have a little tab at the top, with a side to side hole through it.  The were quite expensive, but I'm pretty much hopeless when it comes to resisting really unique beads.

I topped the earrings with pretty pink lampwork beads from Paradise Beads.

While I'm not much of a pink color fan, I've always loved deep pink and bright green because it reminds me of camellias and their green leaves.

Camellia in our backyard.

The Camellia Earrings can be found in my shop.

Linda Landig Jewelry

Pobrecitos

I was chatting with buddy Kim of NuminosityBeads the other day and she called something or someone a "pobrecito". Being from the Midwest, Spanish isn't as prevalent in my lexicon as I'd like it be. Since I'm a word hound and love to pepper my conversations with obscure underused linguistic gems, I immediately googled this funny little term. Turns out a "pobrecito" is more or less a "poor little guy". What a perfect expression!

 You stubbed your pinkie toe--it's a pobrecito.

Your basset hound puppy trips over his big floppy ears--he's a pobrecito.

You always got picked last for the kickball team in gym class--you're a pobrecito (or pobrecita).

As I was in the midst of creating a silverworked agate drusy earring series several weeks ago, I found myself cooing over this wee lilac purple pair. So tiny, so easy to overlook, so easy to underappreciate next to their bigger, swankier mates. The earlier conversation with Kim was fresh in my mind, and voila, a star was born. 

To create these teeny post earrings I cut, soldered, filed, and sanded sterling silver sheet and bezel wire plus trios of my hand-cast cratered granules. Such a soft spring hue to usher in all the budding flowers, bulbs, and blooming trees. Squeal-worthy little babies.

So now you have a new word for the day--use it with abandon!

Happy Wednesday,
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Ancient Symbols, and other similarities

Hello, and Happy April! I made two pairs of earrings over the weekend and decided to share them both because to me they have commonalities, and I also couldn't decide which I wanted to show you. :) I love the spiral and sun, ancient symbols, and love to see them in jewelry. Two of my favorite ceramic artists made the elements; two of my favorite lampwork glass artists made the beads. They both include antique Venetian glass beads, and the main colors are two that I have had a serious hankering to work with! Oddly enough. Both are colors I've rarely used, and I've been happy to find myself actively seeking out different palettes. Anyone else out there find half their shop or accessory wardrobe is made up of one recurring palette? Even though my tastes are diverse, I still find the color thing an issue now and then. So that's that! Here's the first pair:   

The soft and lovely blue spirals were made by Jana Bliznakova of HappyFishThings. The Caramel Raku lampwork beads are by Leese Mahoney of GlassByLeese. Copper-plated accent beads, vibrant blue antique Venetian glass beads, hand-dyed ribbon, oxidized copper and black Niobium ear wires finish them off. 

The small, vibrant orange/red suns were made by Petra Carpreau of  ScorchedEarthOnEtsy. The rustic yellow with a hint of green lampwork glass beads are by Kimberly Rogers of Numinosity and NuminosityBeads. The dangles are strung on waxed Irish linen and include antique Venetian glass beads, Czech glass beads, Red Creek Jasper Heishi beads, and rustic Green Garnet nuggets. Another Green Garnet sits atop the yellow canvas of Kim's glass beads. Again wrapped with oxidized copper and hanging from black Niobium ear wires. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit with us today. The ever so talented and fun Ms. Nikki Zehler will be here tomorrow, I believe. A visit with Nikki is always worth the time! Thanks again. Have a great rest of the week. Sincerely, norbel

She Flies Again on Etsy

Bohemian and Rustic

A pair of everyday earrings in a bohemian and rustic style.

Ingredients from bottom to top:
Green ceramic wheels - Happy Fish Things
Waxed linen cording
Matte brown seed beads size 6/0
Rustic wooden beads
Etched brass jump rings
Handmade brass (oxidized) earring hooks

All my best,
Malin de Koning
www.beadingbymalindekoning.blogspot.com

We're All Ears :: April Inspiration

New green things are pushing their way through all over the place! Buds are appearing on trees. The grass is greening up. Happy Spring!

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I don't often get a chance to go for walks, but I want to change all of that. I want to get out and explore the 26+ miles of Green Circle Trail that is unique to my community. Some of it starts fairly close to my own home! I think that needs to be a goal for me for the rest of this year, to not only walk all 26 miles, but to experience the natural beauty of our area.

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One of the most delightful and magical plants to me are the common fiddlehead fern. They are so gorgeous when they are just sprouting and later when their feathery leaves stretch out over the cool forest floor. They are called 'fiddlehead' because of the way their curved fronds resemble the curled scroll ornamentation on a stringed instrument. I understand that you can also eat the tender curly shoots as a vegetable with wonderful anti-oxidant properties. I would like to try that!

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Our modern-day ferns are actually descendants of ancient species. They have been around for 300+ million years! The secret to the fern's longevity is likely their ability to thrive in the shadow of their more showy forest siblings.




I found this fascinating time-lapse video of a cluster of fiddlehead ferns unfurling their feathery fronds and thought you might like to be inspired by this for April! Let's see where this earthy, yet otherworldly inspiration takes us.

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Will it be the coiled fiddleheads... the feather leaves, or the bright spring green color that inspires you? Join me for the reveal of our fern-inspired earrings on April 15th!