Handmade earrings for a friend

Okay so now that the creative juices are flowing...i have made a belated birthday gift for a friend. a pair of earrings that are just super cute. I used gold filled chain bought at the craft store, and beautiful chunky dark smokey topaz acrylic beads which i found on ebay. Crystal pearls in an olive color also bought at craft store with gold tone hypo-allergenic surgical steel ear wires.

I wanted something flirty and that could go from end of summer right into winter. The dark smokey topaz was just the right shade of sexy. The olive pearl adds earthiness and softness to the facets of the topaz and the hard edge of the chain.


Still experimenting with new scanner so sorry about the fuzz in some places. And it also made the earwires look silver on the end when they are gold. I'm just very happy with these earrings. i 'd love to add them to my Artfire store. Gonna do another pair in silver. I've got deep emerald green chunky beads which would look great for the holidays. Also very sheer lavender which are so nice. I am hereby inspired. Now to create a bracelet to match...hmmm

New silver hoop earrings

I have been looking all over for new sterling silver hoop earrings for years. None really ever tickled my fancy and if they did they were out of budget.

I wanted a mid sized silver hoop that could go with everything. When I get or am gifted hoop earrings they must go with everything and have to be pure silver or pure gold in order to withstand being on in the shower and sleeping in them. Yes i sleep with earrings, a watch and bracelet on. My mom used to have bangles on...try that ..every time she moved you could hear the light tinkling of the bangles and bracelets. That was when I was little, I think she only has on one or two bracelets now.
So my search has been going on for a long time. It's not like i don't have a pair already but they are my great grandmother's handed down to me and the latch needs to be adjusted so i don't want to loose a 4 generation heirloom. so the search became a lil more important.

well looking for a suit to interview in while being prego (yeah exactly..not happening) i decided to give up and buy just earrings to go with an outfit i had at home already. At JCPenny they had tremendous sales and i found a gorgeous pair of Sterling silver hoop earrings at a ridiculous percentage off. The original price was $35 and i got them for $10 including the tax! How insane is that!

They are simple, lightweight and just what i needed. Just goes to show that you can find great value and quality during times of fashion distress. They came in a few different sizes and they were all at really good prices.

New items for Fundraiser and store

Having my beads come in from the mail is always exciting it gets the design jucies and creativity flowing. I just get inspired.

I was able to create quite a bit of jewelry. some going to a silent auction fundraiser for the school attached to my church, and from that i have new items to put in my store as well because they are reproducible.

First up: Cherries in the Snow
This set of earrings has Czech glass in clear aurora borealis and a dark cherry red. I've always loved the idea of red on snow or when you get shaved ice and the first drops of cherry red syrup hit the serene white canvas of ice. and that is what inspired me for this set of earrings. what i love is youcan give them a shake and the "Cherries" end up in different spots so you never have the same look twice. Set on silver chain it's just a fun set of earrings.

Icicles
This is a simple and elegant pair of earrings. The silver wire was hand shaped and there is just a bit of lovely sparkle with the Swarovski bicone at the end of the wire. I love this because it reminds me of wavy hair. It also reminds me of what an icicle looks like when the sunlight hits it for the first time. Shiny, delicate and serene. The great thing about these is that they are easy to customize. so going to be a staple at A Different Shade of Me.

Got a few bracelets done. I seem to be on a natural gemstone thing as well, because a lot of these pieces have natural stones. They are truly lovely.











This bracelet is called Calming Copper.
I really like the chocolate button pearls used in this bracelet. The copper freshwater pearls are warming to the skin and great for any skintone. The Turquoise nuggets are a calming shade of green turquoise with brown in there that is just earthy and soothing to look at. I often find myself staring and looking at the crevasess and the patterns on each nugget and marvel at how time and pressure created this beautiful component to my bracelet.


This Bracelet I made for the fundraiser and it's called Cool Moss.

The green jasper is dark and moody. Been experimenting with chain and i love the delicate look it has with the beads and that it's asymmetrical. It even has a lime green pearl that is just bright and delicate looking against the earthy green of the Jasper. It's just lovely.

Industrial Waves Earrings

These earrings are just so neat. I'm sorry the pic isn't more clear. I forgot to take them out while i was outside. I was in a rush to drop off the fundraiser items (of which this is one). The hand forged copper teardrops are from England and the pearls are a gorgeous blue. You see the rocky texture of the back but the other side has this very smooth side that is just like blue steel. The contrast is just wonderful.

I do have one more bracelet t that i completed but the sun went down before i could move it due to the glue. Can't wait to post about it tomorrow.

Also making a birthday present for a friend and she wants something in fuchsia and black. This great that I'm getting so inspired and creative. I look forward to making more and sharing more with you all.

Creating new items

Very much on a turquoise and copper feel this week.

I'm calling the earrings and bracelet: Good Earth
I've got copper potato pearls and chocolate flat pearls with turquoise chunky beads. I have order the toggle claps and the beadalon copper wire to string it along with crimp tubes and all that jazz to finish it out.

Simple matching earrings with a turquoise bead and copper pearl. Simple but stunning. (will post earrings later)


Also made some gorgeous drop earrings I call them: Take the Plunge

They sit on silver chain 2.5 inches long and the faceted glass cubes are delicate, yet striking. This can be customized as well to any color. It looks like beautiful ice.

I also have a few ribbon bookmarks that are pretty.

Gilded Age
I love the dark copper beads and the gold tone carved bead. Great for any guy who wants to add some masculine bling to their book.

This one is called: Feelin' 80's. The shocking turquoise of the 80's is lovingly reflected here with pink ribbon and black beads. This would be great for any child of the 80's or any little girl with a good book. It's one of my daughter's favorites.

happiness!

Bead Swap August 2009 Part 2

Okay the Bracelet and matchign earrings are finished!

Thank you to Cathy Dailey of CathyDailey's Handcrafted Artisan Findings for the wonderful Hammered Links and the S clasp. Will so order more, my mom wants me to recreate this bracelet set for her.

Here they are:



This experience has been wonderful. I enjoyed creating and making this bracelet and then had to make earrings.

Tropical rainforest, with colors that can go into fall and winter seamlessly. They would so look great with jeans and a cute top (See previous post to see the inspiring plants that helped make this creation possible.). Could een go with a simple black dress.

Getting better at Photo editing and lighting. These were taken outside and i just love the pictures. So happy with the results. This rekindled my passion for creating jewelry. Hope to open my own Etsy or Artfire.com store.

From the Earth to Beautiful Bauble: Marcasite

Marcasite is a natural mineral used in jewelry. It is a light and brittle mineral that is often mistaken for pyrite. Pyrite and marcasite have the same chemical formula, but different crystal system, thereby making them two separate minerals. In jewelry, pyrite is used as a gem while marcasite is not. It is a mined stone and when used in jewelry, marcasite is cut and shaped very much like diamonds.

For our lovely collection of Marcasite you can look for the names of these lovely pieces:

Belair
Legacy
Graceful
Sentimental










Renaissance(one of my personal favorites)

Le Cabaret


on our ring pages pages we have

Reign (gorgeous on any right hand)
Santa Cruz Ring
Antique Lace Ring
Legacy earrings
Antiquity Pin
Introduced in May 2008, we have a beautiful set called Dreamscape a beautiful necklace and earrings which has both marcasite and onyx to make a lovely art deco set that is timeless.

To place an order or for more information on JBPL contact me or use the order form at the top left of the page.