A New Necklace for a New Year

The first new item in my etsy shop for 2012 is a stunner, if I do say so myself.  I started with a circle I fused from fine silver wire.  After hammering it for texture, I started to add dangles of white keshi pearls and pink tourmaline.  It sat like that for a week or more before I decided how to complete the necklace.  Once I found that gorgeous ruby briolette, the necklace came together pretty quickly.

To see the necklace from some other angles, click on the photo.  It will take you directly to the listing in my etsy shop.

Peach Moonstone Earrings

Just when I think I've completely run out of new ideas for earring designs, something happens.  Rick comes back in from his studio/shop (it's a building separate from the house and I only let him back in the house at lunch or after 5pm -- I run a tight ship) with a bag of sterling silver ovals that I asked him to solder closed for me.

Here, I must digress to tell you why these ovals were cut in the first place.  I make these very popular and good selling bracelets of mixed chains.

As you can see, half of the bracelet is large link chain that I purchase in bulk, by the spool.  Yes, it's very expensive because it's heavy.  Those of you that work with chain know that every time you cut a link, you lose a link.  This is not so painful when working with small cable chain, but this big stuff really hurts!  Each link is about an inch long.  I had a big bag full of them and .... continued ...

So, I'm staring at these now solid links and I start scheming.  This is the result:

Voila!  A new earring design is born.  Needless to say, I made a whole series of similar earrings with a variety of stones.  They are longer than many of my designs and will (hopefully) appeal to a different set of shoppers.

I only have one show left this season and for that I am grateful.  It's the "lightest" show season I have had since 1997 and it feels good.  If you live in Southcentral Alaska, please visit me at the Bad Girls of the North craft show at the Millennium Hotel, Nov 5 & 6.

Pretty in Pink . Pearls . Tourmaline . Earrings

These earrings are a bit different and came into being while looking at my beads with a new set of eyes, much the same way as these earrings.  The pink pearls have proven difficult for me to use effectively, as they are drilled on the diagonal.  Of course, they look great strung together and form a chevron pattern, but I was tired of that look.

Wrapping the pearls with sterling silver wire, straight across the top, leaves a line of wire from the exit hole to the top wrap.  I suspended a pink tourmaline rondelle from that bit of wire.  Different, huh?

You can click on the photo to go directly to the listing and see how these earrings look when hanging.

Quick note -- I will be out of town February 3-14.  I hope to do a little blogging while in Tucson about the shows and my bead purchases :)

Another New Pair of Earrings

I just love smoky quartz. My collection includes 4mm faceted rounds, fat twists, several sizes of coin shapes, rectangles, countless briolettes and these special pyramids.

I've tried using them with the pointy part up, but they didn't look right. I guess I consider the way I've used them to be "upside down", but I like the resulting flat surface that I can then build upon.

The smoky quartz is topped with a sterling spacer bead and a short, fat rondelle of pink tourmaline. The silver circle is one I fused from 16 ga wire and hammered and textured. The earwires are one of the several styles I make myself.

These earrings are for sale in my etsy shop.

Pink on Pink on Pink

For these earrings, I used three distinctly different pink tourmaline beads. I stacked them in size order on decorative headpins. In between the beads, I added sterling silver spacer beads for continuity.


I use leverback earring findings when I think they complement the look better than hook-style earwires. To me, these earrings said "leverback".


For pink lovers, these earrings are for sale in my etsy shop.

Fruit Punch

Here's a new color combination for me! I've used a lemon yellow faceted freshwater pearl, a peach moonstone briolette and a slice of pink tourmaline.

Looks almost good enough to eat, doesn't it? These bright, fresh colors are just what I need this time of year, when everything is still shades of gray.

This sweet necklace is for sale in my etsy shop.

Soft Colors ... Redux

I'm really taken by the softness conveyed by certain gemstones. For these earrings, I paired pale green with shades of pink.

At the bottom of this cascade of gemstones is a faceted cube of prasiolite (green amethyst). Above it are another prasiolite, some pink tourmaline rounds and a light green tourmaline barrel.

I choose not to oxidized the silver on earrings such as these, as I feel the bright silver best shows the beauty of the stones.

See some different photos of these earrings by clicking on the photo.

Golden Clarity . Citrine Earrings

I purchased these extraordinarily clear and smooth citrine briolettes at one of my local bead stores. The owner of the Bead Shack is a world traveler and owning a bead store gives her all the reason she needs to travel and explore.

I topped these yummy beads with a small cluster of mystic topaz and pink and green tourmaline beads. The color combination is a bit different for me, but I do love the way these earrings turned out.

Cascading Gemstones

These earrings are a design that I never tire of. I always use a different combination of small gemstones, so no two pairs are exactly the same.

In this pair, I used amethysts, garnets, citrine, iolite and tourmaline in several colors. All of the shapes are different, giving these earrings textural interest.

To see the earrings from a different angle, please visit my etsy shop.

Black Spinel

When I posted a photo of these earrings to my flickr account, my friend Patty called them "a party on a leverback". I think she was right!I started with a plump, faceted briolette of shiny black spinel. It is topped with a cluster of more black spinel in a tiny rondelle shape, pink tourmaline and green amethyst. The sterling silver leverback earwires finish these earrings perfectly.

They are for sale in my etsy shop.