Carved Mother of Pearl

I have a wide variety of mother-of-pearl pendants and have used them in all sorts of necklaces.  For this special piece, I wrapped the pendant with antiqued brass filigree and added a bunch of beads and a little "wish" charm above.

This lovely necklace is for sale in my etsy shop.

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 :)

Ballet Slipper Pink . Lampwork . Earrings

These soft pink lampwork beads are from my Artisan Beaders teammate Deronda. Definitely feminine, definitely understated, definitely pretty.

I placed the beads on decorative headpins and topped them with a "rolled" style Thai Hill Tribe silver bead. They hang simply from sterling silver earwires, which have been left bright and shiny.

These are perfect for the girly girl on your shopping list. Don't forget, free worldwide shipping in my etsy shop through year-end!

September Birthstone ...

... is Sapphire. While most of us think blue when we think sapphire, it occurs in a wide variety of colors, including pink, which I'm featuring here.

This necklace starts with a rather large faceted nugget of pink sapphire. I topped it with a cluster of garnets, golden freshwater pearls ruby rondelles and faceted citrine rondelles. While this is quite nontraditional as far as sapphires go, the color combination seems quite regal to me.


If you have any September birthdays to consider, this necklace would be a wonderful choice! Click on the photo to go directly to this listing in my etsy shop and to see the necklace from some different angles.

Smooth Green Amethyst . Earrings

When I was bead shopping in Tucson last February, I was totally taken with the selection of smooth briolettes. In the past, I remember seeing mostly faceted brios, but this year, there was a profusion of the smooth ones. Naturally, I needed some of those.

This pair of earrings features some of those smooth stones in pale green amethyst, otherwise knows as prasiolite. I topped them with a loose cluster of pink tourmaline, the palest blue aquamarine and peridot.

This color combination is perfect for spring. They are for sale in my etsy shop.

Pink Chalcedony . Earrings

I just listed these earrings in my etsy shop a couple of days ago. The pink of the chalcedony briolettes is bordering on lavender, but when I added the pink pearls, the stones appeared more pink. That's the nature of a translucent stone such as chalcedony.

The pearls are in a loose cluster atop the chalcedony and will swing freely. They hang on sterling silver leverback earwires for maximum security.

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

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Fuchsia Clusters

These bold, bright earrings feature coin pearls in a beautiful fuchsia (or raspberry, if you prefer) color. Hanging freely below them is a cluster of coordinating beads. Included are Swarovski crystals in three shades of pink and 4 mm garnets.

While I can't promise delivery before Christmas, wouldn't these earrings be perfect for a New Year's Eve party?

These earrings are available for sale in my etsy shop.

New Smoky Quartz Earrings

The color combination of pink and brown has been popular for a while and I still like it. In this pair of earrings, the colors are subdued. The smoky quartz faceted coins are a light, cocoa brown and the freshwater pearls are the palest of pink.I created the earwires from sterling silver wire using first a small torch and then a hammer and anvil. I oxidized the silver and tumbled it for that shiny, steel gray finish I love. These earrings are for sale in my etsy shop.

To receive news of specials and sales, don't forget to sign up for my etsy shop newsletter using the form on the right!

Lampwork Earings

I started with lovely lampwork beads from Deronda Designs. They are of and indescribable golden hue, with touches of aqua and soft pink. Emerging from the bottom is a collection of glass beads in coordinating colors, including some tiny aqua colored vintage glass beads.

These earrings are 1 1/2" (3.6 cm) from the bottom of the sterling silver leverback earwires. They are available for sale in my
etsy shop.

Clusters!

I recently created a series of pendants using some of my larger beads. Finding new ways to use these larger components has been a challenge for me. Here are the latest creations in this voyage of discovery.

I love the minty blue-green of amazonite. This large bead is top-drilled and is softly faceted. The cluster above is made up of freshwater pearls, Peruvian opals, apatite rounds and white cupped keshi pearls.
The deep pink stone is a sapphire --- yes, they come in many colors besides blue. I have topped it with golden freshwater pearls, garnets, smooth ruby rondelles and citrine rondelles. The red and gold color combination has a regal feel.

This Time it's Pink & Brown

This piece is done using the same techniques as the Aqua Blues Necklace. The difference is in the color of the beads. Pink and brown continues to be a very popular color combination and this necklace highlights the combo.

The drops include smoky quartz, pink opal, bronzite and freshwater pearls. All of the silver is sterling and has been oxidized for a vintage, distressed look.