Two New Pairs of Twisted Tornado Earrings

I've recently listed 2 more pairs of my popular twisted tornado earrings.  This first pair features bright green seed beads on the outermost wrapping.

For the next pair, I chose white seed beads, which are much more prominent against the gray, oxidized sterling silver.

It's interesting how the same design can look so different simply by selecting different color seed beads.

I actually had a 3rd pair that I thought looked great.  That is, until I set them up for the "hanging" photo.  They were not close enough in length to be considered a pair!  In person, on my earring display cards, they look fine.  But in a photo, not so much.

Oh well.

Large Brown Pearl

The pearl I selected for this necklace is large and a deep, chocolate brown.  It is hanging from the center of one of my messy wire wrapped elements (aka, twisted tornado).  It's a fairly simple design, that takes quite a bit of sterling silver wire to complete.

You can click on the photo to go directly to the listing.  There is a matching pair of earrings too -- a separate listing.

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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Aqua Blues . The Necklace

These colors are so reminiscent of the ocean and all things tropical. I enjoy making these free-form wire wrapped elements, but the real fun is in composing the collection of drops.

Here, I've used a large rondelle of chrysocolla, an abalone rectangle, a faceted amazonite rectangle, little teal coin pearls and a beautiful glass leaf. You see an assortment of other little goodies as well -- turquoise, sterling silver beads and a crystal.

All of the silver has been oxidized and hand sanded to reveal just a bit of the shiny silver. This necklace is for sale in my etsy shop.
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Freeform Wire Wrapping

These "messy" (aka freeform) wire wrapped bracelets are fun to make. I start with lots and lots of 20 ga dead soft sterling silver wire and create the wrapped elements. I oxidize them and sand them by hand with 800 grit sand paper to highlight just a small amount of the shiny silver.

The elements are connected with jump rings and decorative dangles are added in between. Voila, a bracelet is born!

I currently have 2 of these bracelets listed in my etsy shop. To receive special offers and news, please sign up for my etsy shop newsletter.

A Study in Blue

Freshwater pearls again. Are your tired of them yet? I hope not because this necklace is full of them -- in all different shapes and shades of blue.

This 17 1/2" necklace features coin shaped pearls, round pearls and faceted pearls. I selected the simple lighter blue round pearls to create matching earrings, which are included with the necklace. Visit my etsy shop to see more photos of this necklace and the matching earrings and plenty more jewelry.

White Pearls

I can't think of a more classic item for a woman to have in her jewelry collection than white pearls. These earrings take that classic concept in a different direction. For these earrings, I started with pinkish-white keshi pearls that I neatly wrapped with sterling silver wire. I then suspended them from sterling silver earwires that I forged myself.

All of the silver has been oxidized and then tumbled it for that shiny steel gray finish that I love.

These earrings 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.

Striped Lampwork Earrings

These artisan lampwork beads feature stripes in shades of golden yellow and cinnamon-y orange. I have surrounded them top and bottom with amber beads.

From below hangs a chain: each link of the chain holds a bead of amber, ranging in color from a rich, buttery yellow to a pale honey color, finishing with warm cinnamon. Some of the amber is transparent, some is translucent and some are completely opaque.

All of the silver is sterling. Length from the bottom of the leverback earwires is 1 3/4" (4.5 cm).

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.

A New Line of Necklaces

I made a bunch of fine silver loops (rings? circles?) the other day of varying diameters. Using different hammers, I gave them texture and made some earrings. The larger diameter rings were just too big for earrings so I made some necklaces, with the rings as focal points. Here are two of them. I love the rolo chain I used. I think it's my new favorite: it's substantial without being too heavy. I oxidized all of the silver and tumbled it. This results in a steel gray, sleek and modern finish. I'm also loving the gray handmade paper I used as the backdrop for these photos.

Both of these pieces are for sale in my etsy shop.

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.

Wire Wrapped Jewelry

In April, 2007, I attended Artfest in Port Townsend, WA. I took a wire wrapping class taught by Nina Bagley. Inspired by the technique I learned, I created the Aqua Blues Necklace.

The necklace features turquoise, amazonite, abalone, freshwater pearls and a glass bead in the shape of a leaf.

All of the sterling silver wrapped segments have been antiqued and then hand sanded for a vintage, distressed look.

This piece and others using the same techniques can be purchased at my etsy shop: www.vickiorion.etsy.com