New Brass Earrings

I did a big photo shoot the other day and included a bunch of brass earrings. I'll be listing these, along with the other things I photographed over the next week or 2. I've been working with a lot of brass lately, as I can offer those earrings at a lower price than ones of comparable design in sterling. Plus, I like the warmth of oxidized brass. Here's the first new pair.

I started with a frosted glass bead of the palest gray (almost white) and topped it with a cute beadcap, a wavy spacer and another gray glass bead. Voila! A pair of earrings for everyday.

Click on the photo to go directly to the listing. Or, have a look at my entire etsy shop.

Cassiterite and Carnelian . Earrings

I had never heard of cassiterite before my friend Deb sent me a strand as an extra goodie in a bead order I had placed with her.

It's a beautiful stone that according my new gem book, Gemstones of the World, by Walter Schumann, is an ore of tin. The primary colors are gray and brown, but it can have white, yellow and red.

This particular strand of beads has some really nice reddish-brown streaks. That's why I chose to use some glossy carnelian rounds as accent beads.

These unique earrings are for sale in my etsy shop.

And now for something completely different ...

I've been playing around with some new ideas over the past few weeks. My "Bowl of Shame" (credit to Anji for joining the phrase) is full of failed pieces of jewelry, and while I don't have the process completely figured out, I did manage to make a few pretty good pieces.

Here's the necklace I have listed in my etsy shop. I started with a disc of sterling silver and debossed the flower stems using brass wire and my rolling mill. I drilled holes for the flowers and used handmade ball-end headpins to hold the 2 layers of Bali silver spacer beads in place. Then the tricky part: ball the OTHER end of the headpin to hold the bead flowers in place.

The challenges I encountered were numerous. The length of the back end of the wire needs to be to just right to create a ball large enough to NOT go through the hole. The silver disc acts as a big heat sink and really slows down the melting of the back end of the headpin. This can definitely affect (and begin to melt) the silver disc and the spacer beads. Ask me how I know.

I'm still figuring it all out, but I'm pleased with this necklace. Not so pleased with the huge pile of silver in the Bowl of Shame.

Glacial Reflections

These earrings are icy cold and super hot all at the same time. I found these fabulous brushed silver teardrop beads last year in Tucson. I used a few for simple earrings and then the idea for these earrings struck me - a year later.

The tight cluster on top of the beads is composed of little white freshwater pearls and a variety of Swarovski crystals in shades of gray. I always like to hand this style of earring on leverback earwires for the security they provide.

For sale in my etsy shop, or click on the photo to go directly to the listing.

Silvery Gray Pearls

These earrings are so simple, yet so striking. I started with silvery gray keshi stick shaped pearls. I put them on handmade oxidized sterling silver head pins. Then I attached them to matching earwires and voila, a perfect pair of earrings for everyday wear.

These types of pearls are purchased in temporarily strung strands, like most other pearls. (The really expensive ones are sold individually.) When I cut the strands to start working with them, it's always interesting to see if there are any 2 that are similar enough to make a pair! When looking at round or roundish pearls on temporary strands, it's easier to see if the pearls are uniform in size and shape. These stick pearls are much more difficult to judge.

These are the last 2 pearls of this color that make an acceptable pair. Sigh.

Ripe Peaches!

Can't you imagine that yummy taste of your first peach in summer by looking at these earrings? No? Me neither. I'm in Alaska and a really ripe peach is almost impossible to find, even in the height of summer. But a girl can dream, can't she?

These luscious peach moonstone briolettes will have to suffice. The color is delectable and I've topped them with a cluster of smaller peach and gray moonstone beads. The gray helps to balance the force of the peach. You wouldn't want the juice of the ripe peaches running down your chin, would you? Have I gone to far with the food analogy?

Click either one of the photos to go directly to the listing in my etsy shop.

Lovely Kyanite

One of my favorite purchases at the Tucson Gem Shows this year was a strand of beautifully smooth kyanite briolettes. When using this this past week, I decided to keep the design simple. I used some oxidized sterling silver wire and chain and a pair of my hand forged earwires. This necklace and these earrings are perfect for dressing up an outfit of jeans and a crisp white shirt.

Both are available in my etsy shop.

Love Affair ... with Labradorite

Yes, I'm featuring labradorite yet again. Maybe it's the gray skies we've been having lately that have driven me to my labradorite stash. Whatever the cause, my love of labradorite continues, especially when I find such lovely stones as these plump briolettes.

I purchased them from my friend Deb in Hong Kong. She has 2 etsy shops -- visit them both! They will give you a small insight into the kind of gem hoarder she really is.

Back to the stones. You can see that these labs are HUGE, as far as labs go. Here, I simply wrapped them with some sterling silver wire and suspended them from leverback earwires. They really don't need much more adornment. I love these stones so much that I kept the the first pair of these earrings that I made. It was several months before I could even think about using another pair of the labs to make earrings to sell!

You all know that I'm not a photographer, so I can't explain why these earrings look so different when photographed on a white background. The white certainly shows the blue flash much more distinctly. It probably makes no sense, but both of these photos are truly representative of these earrings.
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Double Gray . Earrings

These earrings feature plump labradorite briolettes and steel gray freshwater pearls. I have let them hang on hand forged sterling silver earwires which I oxidized and tumbled for a shiny finish.

Most of the earrings I make hang on ready-made earwires, but I do like to make my own occasionally. This gives my pieces a more unique look. See this post for my tutorial on making this particular style of earwire.

Here's another photo of these earrings which shows the "flash" in the labradorite beads.

Earthy Trio

These earrings feature a trio of earthy stone beads -- etched black onyx, crazy lace agate and butterscotch colored agate.

Starting with my hand forged earrings, I added a jump ring from which to hang the trio. All of the silver is sterling and has been oxidized and tumbled for a shiny steel gray finish.

They are for sale in my etsy shop. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to receive announcements about sales and specials.

Marcasite & Keshi Pearls

Recently listed in my etsy shop is this lovely necklace featuring olive green keshi pearls and perfectly round marcasite beads.

The keshi pearls are in a cup-like shape and the headpins that hold them in place have a ball at the end that makes the combination look a little like a flower. The grayish green color of the marcasite beads is a perfect complement to the pearls. This cluster hangs from a circle of fine silver wire that I shaped and fused from wire.

I purchased the marcasite beads from my friend Deb at Crysallis Creations. I had never seen marcasite in bead form before -- only as little sparkling elements.

Rolo style chain is my latest favorite. The links are round and substantial. I oxidized all of the silver and tumbled it for a sleek, polished gray finish.

Wilma ... Again?

You see, I have a weakness for pearls. Apparently large, white ones. These are a bit different in that they are quite bumpy.

I've added them to the bottom of my hand forged sterling silver earwires, which have been oxidized and tumbled. I love the steel gray looking finish that results.

Visit my etsy shop to see more photos of these and lots of other jewelry.

Labradorite Flash Earrings

I purchased two strands of these fabulous labradorite briolettes from my friend Deb of Crysallis Creations. After I made a pair of earrings for myself, I decided I could *maybe* part with a few of these beads. But it's torture. They are so gorgeous ... words and pictures are insufficient to convey how beautiful they really are.

Labradorite is a gray, mostly translucent stone that can have lots of inclusions. That's what makes them so visually interesting. There is also an element of "flash" that is visible when viewed at a certain angle. These briolettes are full of blue-ish flash.

For these earrings, I topped them with three petal shaped keshi pearls in a creamy off-white color. They hang loosely and move freely. All of the silver is sterling and has been oxidized to a dark gray, then hand sanded, revealing some of the silvery color of the metal. These earrings are for sale in my etsy shop.

A Trio of Greens

Today I'm featuring a pair of earrings that use the color green in three forms. Green aventurine is a pale, translucent shade of green. A rondelle of apple green variscite comes next. It is often mistaken for turquoise, but these particular beads are greener than any turquoise in my collection. The third green bead here is a faceted teardrop of green topaz.

These greens work so well together. Here, they are hanging from a textured circle of fine silver and gracefully arced sterling silver earwires.

I have oxidized and tumbled the silver for a shiny, steel gray finish. Sophisticated ... and sweet all at the same time.

They are for sale in my etsy shop.

Carnelian Earrings

To continue with the fall themed colors, I'm highlighting these sterling silver earrings featuring Carnelain beads in a faceted coin shape. Carnelian is a deep rusty orange color that looks great with browns, beige and all shades of green.

I forged the earrings from sterling silver wire and I fused the circles from fine silver wire. All of the silver has been oxidized and tumbled for a shiny gray sophisticated look. These long earrings will swing freely and look dramatic.

They are for sale in my etsy shop.

New Lariat Style Necklace

Starting with sterling silver rolo chain, I created this lariat necklace. I love rolo chain for it's sturdiness -- it can carry substantial designs, using large pearls and stones. I oxidized the chain and the other silver components, then tumbled them for this highly polished steel gray finish.

I created the textured circle by fusing a length of fine silver wire and then hammering the resulting circle. It acts as one part of the toggle closure and the stick pearl acts as the other part. The pearls I selected for this necklace begin with a deep midnight blue, transitioning to a paler blue and then gray, and finishing with stark white. The asymmetrical aspect of the necklace has huge appeal and really works with this style.

This necklace is available for sale in my etsy store.