Triangles and Wire

Sometimes the simplest jewelry designs are the most enduring. Back in November I did a blog post about resurrecting an old style of earrings that I got tired of making. In that post I proclaimed that I would work on those earrings the very next week. HA! Three months later, I finally did it. I need to remember to NOT commit to such tight time frames any more.

Back to the earrings. They really are very simple. I start with a length of 20 ga wire and make a tight spiral. Hammer (or roll) to flatten, form in and around the triangle glass bead, make the hook part and finish. It took me a bit (2 pairs)  to remember some of the finer points of the forming. But then it went rather quickly.

There are 22 pairs in the photo above. Some are done with sterling silver wire and some are with gold filled. Some are larger triangles (12 mm) and some are small triangles (7 mm). Some are transparent, some are opaque and some have a matte finish. There are a couple of pairs with a metallic finish and a couple of pairs where the glass has graphic patterns.

Cobalt blue, transparent, large, sterling silver

In the center: red, transparent, small, gold filled

In the foreground: bronze metallic, opaque, small, gold filled

In the background: amber, transparent, large, gold filled

Cobalt blue, opaque (matte finish), large, gold filled

Teal, translucent, large, sterling silver

I'm not sure which pairs will end up in my etsy shop. It will depend on which ones photograph well and which ones I can recreate, based on how many glass triangles I have in stock in any particular color. The sterling ones will be $25 and the gold filled will be $28.

If you see a pair that you would like to have, let me know!

Purple and Gold

I don't often work with gold filled, mainly because of the expense.  But this trio of stones seemed to need gold, as opposed to silver.  The three stones are:  a marquis shaped briolette of deep, dark purple, a crystal quartz briolette of unmatched clarity and a wonderfully mottled moss amethyst.

Click on the photo to go directly to the listing in my etsy shop.

New-ish in the Shop

I listed these earrings a few days ago and then discovered that they are in a lovely etsy treasury too:
Smooth & Creamy

The earrings feature unusual briolettes of champagne quartz.  What makes them unusual is the fact that they are drilled from front-to-back.  Most brios are drilled side-to-side.  The holes in them were bigger than most brios have.  I still used 24 ga wire, which allows the brios to swing freely.  It's not often that there is extra space in a brio hole!

I topped the champagne colored bead with a series of spacers in both sterling silver and vermeil gold.  The earwires are gold filled.

Lovely and neutral, these earrings are for sale in my etsy shop.

Brand New Earrings in Gold Filled

I heart vintage glass beads and have an enormous collection that I work with often. I've been hoarding these lusciously creamy colored faceted beads for many years. Now it is time to share them with the world!

The design is simple and a bit sophisticated -- I think that comes from the use of gold filled wire for the earwires. These earrings are for sale in my etsy shop.

Labradorite . Lemon Quartz . Earrings

You are all very aware of my labradorite love. I found these 8 mm faceted labradorite beads while down in Homer this past summer at Gig's Beads. Not only are they a really nice size, but they have a generous amount of blue flash.

I added a bright vermeil gold spacer followed by a faceted bead of pale yellow lemon quartz.

The gold filled earwires finish the look.

These lovely earrings are for sale in my etsy shop. Click on the photo to go directly to the listing.

Gold Filled

I don't often work with gold filled, finding that most of my customers prefer sterling silver or my newer line of brass. My gold filled stash of wire was calling my name the other day and I made a small batch of those long, almond shaped earwires that are so eye-catching. I posted about another pair of earrings I made that same day, using those big, bold round silver and brass beads.

I am fond of the way smoky quartz looks with gold filled, so that's what I chose for this pair of earrings. These briolettes are about as flawless as can be. Of course, they are much lovelier in person!

Click on the photo to see some photos at different angles.

Big and Bold

I've had these beads for a while. I realize I start with that line quite often, but really, you need to see my bead collection to fully understand that it's possible to "lose track" of my beads. But, I digress.

These beads are sterling silver and brass and remind me of a simple mandala. I suspended them, along with some sterling accent beads, from hand formed gold filled earwires.

A bit heavier than most of my earrings, these are sill quite comfortable to wear and quite eye catching.

They are for sale in my etsy shop.

Old, Old Earrings

Today I'm wearing a pair of earrings that I made during the very first year of my jewelry-making odyssey -- 1997! I was living in Scottsdale, Arizona, working at Revlon and preparing to move to Alaska with Rick. On a whim, I took a basic beading class at the local bead store. While I can't remember the name of the store, I do know that they were bought out a few years ago by Artgems, which is now completely out of business.

I managed to complete a very simple necklace and earring set at that first class. And then I proceeded to shop for beads at the store. I know, big surprise. I purchased these wavy coin shaped Italian glass beads in every color they had. To this day, I have never seen these beads anywhere else. And you know I've seen plenty of beads over the past 12 years!

The gold filled leverback earwires have been replaced once, but other than that, I still love these earrings.