Layers Upon Layers

 
I've always been fascinated by the layers in things. Nothing is ever black and white, most things are gray...meaning there are nuances, multiple factors, different sides. Maybe that's why I have such a hard time making decisions sometimes! 


Lately I've been on a big layering/stacking kick with my earrings. Taking lots of little bits and stacking them together haphazardly yet melodiously and then using wire to accentuate. 


It's been fun to experiment with stacking things both vertically and flipping them on their sides horizontally. Quite the challenge to dig through +20 bead boxes to find that one PERFECT missing element. But then again, that's the fun of assemblage jewelry. 


One of my latest pairs features several elements that I've really been digging on: muddy ceramic discs from Marsha Neal and blackened pewter charms from Inviciti. Married together with my beloved Roman glass, rustic wood bicones, and some pyrite. I love the browns and robin's egg blues of this pair. Very soothing and natural. And they have such fun swing to em!


Happy Wednesday!
Nikki
LoveRoot on Etsy

Minnehaha Falls

The frigid wonders of winter were my inspiration for these icy cold water colored chandelier earrings with Sterling silver. I chose aqua Roman glass, apatite nuggets, rondelles of green prase, apatite and more Roman glass to echo the watery hues of the frozen falls. Combined with exquisite Sterling silver chandelier components, the wire linked glass and stones are intended to capture the feeling of rushing water, stopped suddenly forming the ice crystals.


"With what deep murmurs through time’s silent stealth

Doth thy transparent, cool, and wat’ry wealth

Here flowing fall,

And chide, and call,

As if his liquid, loose retinue stay’d

Ling’ring, and were of this steep place afraid;

The common pass

Where, clear as glass,

All must descend

Not to an end,

But quicken’d by this deep and rocky grave,

Rise to a longer course more bright and brave. " . . . The Waterfall by Henry Vaughn


The beauty and wonder of a spectacular waterfall will draw people any time of year, but Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis may attract even more people in winter than it does through the rest of the year.

If you live in Minnesota, you learn to appreciate outdoor activities as much in winter as you do in summer. Creative people in Minnesota think up all kinds of events to get you out of the house in winter no matter how cold it gets.






Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry
Chrysalis Too on Etsy

Tribal

The rustic tribal look is really popular these days but not something that I do very often, but when Jana (Happy Fish Things) sent these to me, I had to give it a try! I thought that these lampwork beads by Bubby & McGurk Beads paired nicely with the drops with their shades of green and cream.

                                          These earrings are available here on my website.

Thanks so much for stopping by.....have a fabulous weekend!

Kristy Abner

Kristy's Kreations

Aubergine Earrings

Last May I bought some cool, sort of Art Deco style copper stampings for use as earring dangles and  I decided to use them for my Earrings Everyday post this week.  As I looked at that expanse of plain copper on the dangles, I started wondering, "What would happen if I used alcohol inks on these?".  I've dabbled (just a little) with alcohol inks on polymer clay, but I'd never used them on metals before.  It was really fun!

 So I sanded off some of the copper patina and then painted the copper with aubergine (purple) alcohol ink. I dabbed a bit of it off the center of the stampings, so the surface color would be more nuanced.  Once the ink had dried, I sanded back the ridges, exposing the copper there.  That last step transformed the whole look, as the contrast really gave it some pizazz!

I found some very pretty lampwork beads to pull out those purple colors.  Unfortunately I don't remember who the glass artist was.  Then I topped the lampwork glass beads with faceted amethysts.

I really had a blast doing these. In fact I went ahead and made two more pairs of earrings!  The pair in the middle of the picture below are dyed red and topped with cane glass.  The pair on the right are dyed purple in the outer portion of the stampings and red in the center.  I topped those with turquoise "sugar glass".  I think no piece of metal in my collection is safe from being colored now!  There will certainly be more alcohol inks in my future.

Linda

Linda Landig Jewelry

For the Love of Purple

 I've said it before and I'll say it again. Pinterst is the place for inspiration. Do you use Pinterest? If so, what for? Do you have a love/hate relationship like I do? I shouldn't say that. I don't hate it at all. I just know that I loose all sense of time and the real world when I am there. You can get lost in a sea of images. Anything you are looking for... anything. 

So today it's purple. And you can find purple anything on Pinterst. From cake, flowers, candy, shoes, hair, fingernails! It's all there. 

So how about some earrings? 

These earrings were built around the focal beads you see in the center. Handmade polymer clay beads with a Kaleidoscope, millefiori pattern. You may or may not know, I have been working on some ceramic beads this year. And with my renewed interest in bead-making, I have opened up my boxes (and boxes) of polymer beads and supplies again. 

I packed up my beads and supplies seven years ago and honestly never looked back. Until recently. When I was working with polymer clay I never ever dreamed I would leave it. I couldn't imagine my life without it. If you've ever worked with it, you know it can be all-consuming. 

So while unpacking some things I found these beads. I was immediately captivated with the pattern, and colors. I particularly love the purple and how it stands out against the grays.

The beads sat on my work table for a few days. I would look over at them periodically and again admire the colors and patterns of the beads. 

As a jewelry designer this is part of my process. Just having something on my work table for a while seems to work on my subconscious, I think. And again, just browsing the color on Pinterst I think kind of spurs on the process of the design and bringing the elements together.  

I have paired the clay beads up with some purple Furnace glass, hand forged fine silver hoops and tiny Czech glass beaded dangle. 

Be sure to checkout the Earrings Everyday Pinterest board for more beautiful earrings and inspirations! http://www.pinterest.com/kristibowman/earrings-everyday/ 

Do you use Pinterest? If so, what for? Do you like it and find it useful? Please share your thoughts with us! 

Peace, Cindy 
Art & Soul Jewelry
Art & Soul Jewelry Pinterst 

Mayra

And here I go again pairing turquoise with orange! I can't help it...it just happens. Do you have any color combinations that you find yourself frequently going with? I went to a bead show lately and my husband teased me afterwards when I showed him my stash. It consisted mainly of blues and greens with some orange thrown in for good measure.

 I love these clay charms from Stinky Dog Beads. If you haven't checked out Kitty's online store yet, you should do that soon. You won't be disappointed.
                               You will find these earrings here on my website.

Thanks for stopping by...and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Kristy Abner

Kristy's Kreations

 

We're All Ears :: November Reveal

So what did you think about that sweet little short animation?
 
I was completely enthralled by it. I watched it over and over and paused and pressed rewind so many times. I just wanted to zoom in and see it even closer! What I took away from that film were three things: the leaves and foliage on the mountainside and in the woods; the details on the outfit of the little girl; and the diaphanous wings of the creature. I sought to do something inspired by all three of these inspirations.

I loved this recent post that Miss Gloria just shared with us on how she approaches her task of making earrings for her reveal days. Since I really only get one reveal day a month, I like to make sure that I have more than one pair of earrings created for the challenge, and the way that Miss Gloria approaches her creative sessions is one that I quite like and decided to put into action: creating in your comfort zone and taking a risk. So for this first set of earrings, I focused on a tried and true design of mine: falling articulated color-filled leaves. Leaves are everywhere in this short...from the misty treetops on the hillside to the cool green vines snaking their way around the massive boulders. There seemed to be three different colors of the leaves: white and misty, rust and copper and fresh and green. I made a pair of earrings in all three colorways using at least 4 different metal patinas to hand paint each leaf before assembling.

Clearly, I love making these, as I have made them before in all the colors of the rainbow. I love that they are lightweight and dangly. I always sell out of them at $22 and my own personal favorite pair is periwinkle blue leaves. I must have eleventy-billion of these sweet little leaves, so I am sure that I could make you a pair if you like! ;-) Just ask!

 

The outfit of the little girl is intriguing... does it hint at a rustic peasant lifestyle? a bygone era? a faraway land? It has a decidedly ethnic quality to it, from the fur trim to the brocade to the beaded tassel (did you catch that?). I wanted to make something inspired by the beaded tassel, but found myself drawn to the ornate trim on the edge of her coat. I spied a little bag of some of my favorite Vintaj components in these sweet little flower designs and kept is quite simple. Long again, as that is how I like my earrings (could easily go shorter), with a faceted merlot pearl dangling. I employed a new-to-me trick I learned of making knotted head pins. I learned it in a little online tutorial and thought I would give it a shot. Pearls always have such small holes, and this solves my dilemma of how to string them in an elegant way.

And following along with Miss Gloria, I had to take a risk. The feathers of the mystical creature seemed like the perfect way to test that out. In my printer's cabinet pearl drawer I found a small compartment of small top-drilled stick pearls. I thought they looked a lot like feathers, so I set about trying to come up with a design that would mimic the look of the wings.

I played around with a little dark annealed steel wire to make a crescent shaped form. Then using a contrasting bronze colored wire (more out of necessity than esthetic), I wire wrapped the stick pearls to the form. At the bottom I dangled a crystal briolette, reminding me of the flash that the water made as it coursed through the creature. I even made my own ear wires, something I would like to do more, but rarely have the time. These were a risk for me in the unexpected shape and the complete handcraftiness.  I quite like the way they hang and hug the curves of my jaw line. I think I will explore this shape some more!

If you were inspired to create something based on the inspiration animation, please add your link below. And be sure to come back on Friday, December 5th for our next We're All Ears inspiration!

What inspired you about the animation Nebula? Do share!

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