Tag: jewelry design

Getting my Groove On…

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Groove

Well it’s offcial. I sat down last night I finally made my way back into jewelry making after a 10 week hiatus due to the birth of my second daughter. I am elated, because the hiatus was more like, one year after my first! It was just a couple of pairs of earrings but it was enough to get the creativity flowing & have the ideas come rushing forth. Here’s what I’m working on today, I think I’ll call it, “orange crush”:

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They are vintage orange beads with a gold AB finsih on one side. I got these at an online aution get this – over 11 years ago!!! Yep. I thought they looked cool but in over a decade I was at a loss as to what to do with them. I’ve been hanging on to them ever since: something about them told me when the time was right, I would use them. Trust me, there have been many time when I have considered destashing them or giving them away! Stay tuned for the finished piece…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 68

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Day68

Wow day 68! I will be so proud when I make it to Day 75 of this! I was in a bit of a funk today…I am not100% sure why. I don’t feel tired as in, I need sleep tired, just slow. I think I need to cut out the bread products for awhile and detox out the gluten. That would help. I also had such a negative experience with a potential new supplier yesterday. I really hate being a hard ass, but business is business, you know? I think I really need to start critiquing online businesses. One thing that’s great about buying from Etsy is that there is feedback. Doing a google search & finding these online stores really is buy at your own risk at times. I was also thinking I really need to thank all the suppliers I have, big & small for the great service they offer. How often do we let people know when they are doing something right & that we appreciate it? Okay, mental note to self to do this…

Back to today’s creation. Today when I woke up, the sun had this haze coming over the horizon that reminded me of the summer. I was also up early unable to sleep due to a bit of back pain so it really felt like I was on a trip getting ready to start a day of exploration. So the piece I was inspired to make, is entirely in white and accented in silver. I love white & silver toegther. So clean & fresh, like a summer blouse or a white washed house against clear blue skies on a tropical isalnd…ahhhh…are you feeling me or what?

Here’s the bracelet, done entirely in fiber optic cat’s eye & accented in lead-free pewter & sterling silver:

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With that, I must start my Saturday night. DD is in front of me, singing me a song & dancing. Must go enjoy the simple things in life that makes us smile… 🙂

100 Days of Creativity: Day 67

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Day67

So, the sun today really had me thinking of summer. As the snow slowly melts I was looking at our back deck thinking about sitting out there soaking up some sun. We bough DD (almost 18 months) a wooden playhouse yesterday. Can’t wait to put it together. That energy really made me migrate to the colourful beads. Anything turquoise/aqua & white really makes me think hot weather. So this is my contribution to my Artfire Studio for today:

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All fiber optic cat’s eye accented in sterling silver. Makes me want to go sip lemonade in the shade or a pina colada on the beach!

I need not say it is Friday night & I so do not want to be working…so I say so long farewell for now…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 66

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Day66

Thank you daylight savings time…I didn’t think I would be able to post my thing for today since I was out. I didn’t get anything created all day. But, I was able to put together these simple & affordable earrings at 5pm right before supper. Thanks to the extended daylight, I even got photos.

I put these earrings in my Etsy Shop & not my Artfire Studio as I had another sale today dipping my inventory below 100. I wanted to add a couple more affordable pieces, & these chip bead hoops seem to be quite popular:

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The first pair are snowflake obsidian chips. The second is crazy lace agate…I always loved the name of that stone. 🙂 Affordable at $12 & free shipping. In this economy, I can see why simple & affordable would be attractive to customers.

Hopefully I will be home tomorrow as I would like to make something a bit more intricate. But, since I can’t sit for very long comfortably I’m not sure I can swing that anyway…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 65

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Day65

I had a really, really good day today. I could get used to this leisurely living. Only, looking at the toilet & the pile of laundry I realize I have to do a bit of housework tomorrow. The other good thing, is this extended daytime means I was still able to make a piece today for my 100 Days of Creativity & photograph it since I made it right before dinner! I sold another pair of earrings today so I listed this bracelet in my Etsy Shop since I want to try & keep 100 listings there if possible:

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Made completely out of coffee brown fiber optic cat’s eye beads & accented in lead free pewter bead caps. There is also sterling silver daisy spacers. I strung it on a heavy guage sterling silver wire: 20 gauge to be exact. I wanted it to be very solid & it is just that! It reminds me of a bangle in some ways. It’s 7.5 inches, & since it is quite solid, would look fab on a smaller wrist too hanging lower like a bangle…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 64

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Day64

I took the day to relax. My body was so tired & the hormones were making me feel kind of weepy. This is the first day I have felt any kind of altered state hormonally & I guess I am allowed at almost 38 weeks. So it was a nice day just hanging out with my 17 month old & sneaking in a couple pieces of jewelry. It’s hard to just lay around for me…esp. considering that’s all I will be doing for 6 weeks after this baby is born. Sit and nurse. Sleep when baby sleeps…I look forward to it and yet I don’t want to get bored with sitting around ahead of time…thank goodness for supportive husbands!

So this is what I came up with today. Again, simple pieces but I like how they turned out as they had my signature funky style:

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This bracelet has 25mm shell beads & caramel mother-of-pearl. I added these sterling silver coil spacers to give it a bit of funkiness.

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I took these wood beads & made a necklace that can be worn longer on the chain or as a choker. The wood beads are on a thick gauge wire so that they stay in this “U” shape regardless if worn long or choker style.

I continue to amaze myself because I can honestly say at this moment I am fresh outof ideas…then tomorrow comes & something just comes to me…let’s see if I can still keep that going tomorrow…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 63

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Day63

Today I struggled to get motivated. Definitely my body is slowing down…but I did get a couple of bracelets made. Really, I am starting to amaze myself that I can keep going, but I just can’t sit around & wait, you know? 🙂

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This cuff bracelet captures my earthy side! 10mm moonstone beads need nothing but themselves to make a bold statement.

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I am really happy how this turned out. Very soft. This bracelet contains violet pearls & moonstone chips. Maybe I should be wearing it, since moonstone is supposed to bring on easy birth! This piece is the birthstone, planetary stone & mystical stone for those born under the sign of Cancer or in the month of June.

100 Days of Creativity: Day 62

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Day62

Finally! A beautiful day! Felt like spring & the sun came out…a great way to start daylight savings time. Only, it doesn’t make me motivated to stay in and make jewelry. I did however, get 4 pairs of earrings made. Simple designs, mind you. I always feel unfulfilled when I just make simple pairs of earrings. Then today I had a sale in my Etsy Shop of a similar style…so I guess that’s all the confirmation I need that it’s well worth doing! 🙂

It was the day of the hoop earring. I made these gold-filled hoops with a cloisonné bead theme:

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Then these chip bead sterling silver hoops featuring turritella agate & red tiger’s eye:

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I’d love to get my hands on more turritella agate. I love the beautiful pattern of the stone. Anyway, I have a terrible crick in my neck so I have to keep it short & sweet tonight…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 61

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Day61

I am totally finding it hard to concentrate tonight! Sloooooow like molasses I am. But it is Saturday night so I am excused. On an up note, I had a very productive jewelry making day. Played around with sterling silver chain to make some more delicate classy jewelry that seems to be so popular; at least from my customers…

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I am annoyed with this weather. Garnet is really hard to photograph since it is a dark stone, and with it being cloudy so much it makes it even tougher. I am too lazy & too pregnant to dig the light box out of the garage. I wanted the first thing I made today to be an anklet as I already had in my Artfire Studio a necklace, bracelet, earrings & ring. I also thought of making a headpiece but that is just too much work, therefore too much sitting for me right now. So I am keeping with simple. I just had a handful of these 3mm garnet beads left. Nice to make more room in the bead box…

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This necklace was inspired by the 13mm Swarovski crystal rings. A supplier of mine had these and I thought I would get two to play around with them, maybe use them in earrings. Only, once I got them home, I had no inspiration as to what to do with them! So they sat in the bead box for 3 years. I think they make a great focal point for this hematite & sterling silver chain necklace.

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These last two pieces, are my favourites of today. I adore black & white, and the black carnelian beads with freshwater pearls in these matching earrings & necklace are elegant, classy & sassy!  Yep, still milking those 10mm black carnelian beads. 😉

100 Days of Creativity: Day 60

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Day60

I could have made more jewelry today while this piece was in the tumbler but it was so dark I figured it wouldn’t be worth it since I couldn’t get a decent shot anyway. I started this one last night & finished it this morning:

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It was hard to get a decent shot but it truly a fun, funky ring. It contains a 10x14mm faceted quartz bead wrapped in 20 guage sterling silver wire. I make these rings on a whim for fun so I don’t pay much attention to size. This one turned out to be quite small even for my fingers; size 4. According to a fellow jewelry maker, size 7 is the most common size for rings. Ooops. I have a size 5 ring finger myself. But, it’s made & hopefully it will appeal to someone with small fingers who has a hard time finding rings to fit. Great for a teen, as well.

100 Days of Creativity: Day 59

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Day59

I felt compelled today to use up my sea green quartz beads today. Tada:

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The necklace uses up these pretty faceted quartz beads in varying hues of green. They measure 10x14mm. Accented with 4mm green quartz beads. These are not naturally occuring colours; these are dyed, but oh so pretty.

With the leftover 4mm beads, I decided to make a cuff bracelet. These paler green colours go really well with silver; so I paired them up with 3mm corrugated sterling silver beads.

I’m not exactly sure how I got these two pieces done today; sitting is a bit of a challenge right now! All I can say is a thoroughly enjoy doing it… 🙂 You can take a closer look at these pieces in my Artfire Studio.

100 Days of Creativity: Day 58

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Day58

I am so impressed I actualy made a piece of jewelry today. Seriously…it feels like there is a bowling ball wedged in my pelvis! Sitting for long periods of time is definitely not going to happen so I put togther these cute & yummy earrings this morning:

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I so want summer to come…can you tell with these colours? ‘So cheery & bright & yummy looking. 🙂

Anyway…I must get up or change positions or something…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 57

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Day57

Well, I did it. By the skin of my teeth I did it…I now have 100 things in my Etsy Shop for sale. I am really tired & brain dead…it is hard to focus after being kept up last night with contractions. I will continue tomorrow with my 100 days provided that I feel up to doing it. Tonight I am just finding it hard to concentrate…

So here’s what rounded out the items available in my shop:

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I’ve been doing a lot with the black carnelian beads lately, & really wanted to play with typical carnelian. So I cheated & dipped into the “premium” supplies, which I usually only use for custom orders, to make this pretty bracelet. Carnelian is the traditional birthstone for August.  These 6mm faceted beads are accented by sterling silver.

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This bracelet was the challenge for the day: how to use up these 7mm lantern hematite beads. I paired it with 6mm tiger’s eye for a very earthy piece.

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I figure you can’t go wrong with pearls. These 9mm freshwater pearls are very special to me since they are from the Philippines. A classy yet interesting pair of earrings mixing the dangle style with the hoop style.

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For my final piece, I couldn’t help but get into those 10mm faceted black carnelian beads again. I really like how these earrings turned out coupled with the 7mm pewter beads. Tempting to keep for myself… 🙂

So, if it turns out I can keep up with the 100 Days of creativity, I will be putting any new work in my empty Artfire Studio. Don’t worry, regardless you’ll still be hearing from me…!

100 Days of Creativity: Day 56

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Day56

I am happy to report that I was able to make another 3 pieces today…bringing me pretty close to my goal of 100 pieces in my Etsy Shop. Here’s what I came up with:

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I only had a handful of these pretty jade beads left, & they are very special to me as they were purchased during a trip to India a good friend of mine took. So I came up with this bracelet, and then a matching pair of earrings with the final last two beads. These 9mm beads are really pretty, I hope these pieces go to a loving home. 🙂 Jade is also the mystical stone for those born in the month of March so it was very appropriate to make these pieces & list them this month.

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The third piece, a bracelet, is comprised of 10mm denim fossil beads. I love these beads as they are a blue/black mottled colour that really do live up to their name. I wanted to make a versatile piece as usual, that will go with many outfits. I already had a pair of earrings listed, so a matching bracelet seemed like a natural choice.

I can;t wait for tomorrow & see if I can break the 100 item mark in my Etsy Shop! 🙂

100 Days of Creativity: Day 55

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Day55

Today I really wanted to work on something slightly more challenging than earrings. I am getting rather sick of making earrings. Well, that is harsh. More like, feeling uninspired to make earrings now. So I decided today was all about the cuff:

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This hematite cuff was hard to photograph. In fact, I would like to try & get more shots of it if there is time & adequate lighting in the next few days. It is has such a nice, shiny lustre however that makes it hard to get a good photo without glare/blur. This angle seemed to come out okay. When I started out to make this piece, I really saw it as a earthy, wear it to dress up your jeans type of piece. But it really is shiny & bold, I think it would make a statement with whatever you wore it with…

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These two are very similar, using the same materials. This was my way of using up these green tube fossil beads. I paired them with South Seashell beads. South Sea shell beads are man-made. Mollusk Shells are pulverized to a powder, an iridescent pigment added, and shaped into beads. I thought this was a clever way to transform discarded shells into beads. Fossil beads are formed from limestone, a sedimentary rock which is formed by the skeletons of tiny marine organisms (calcium carbonate). Since limestone is so porous, it is ideal for making into beads since it will easily take on dye. Get a closer look at these pieces on Etsy…

Well, that was fun. Now I have to think what to do tomorrow…I am sort of running out of creative steam since I have made so many things in the past little while. But tomorrow is a new day and a new set of thoughts. Until then…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 54

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Day54

Another jewelry making blitz afternoon! Let’s get right to it, shall we:

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This chunky fun red agate cuff was a cheat today: I actually made it last spring; and had unlisted it to get new photos of it. I just remembered it today & relisted it. It’s very bold & earthy. Fun!

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This was my favourite piece today. I have had these 36mm onyx tubes for almost a decade! That’s right: one of those “these are neat” purchases and they never seemed to really work the few times I tried to incorporate them into a design. I realized today that simple is better, so I simply paired them with these 6mm stardust beads. The curved design of the pendants hug your wrist. I had six of these, so I made two identical bracelets, both available in my Etsy Shop…

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I think as of today I am officially satisfied with exploring with Celtic influence! I have quite a few of these Celtic pewter beads so it’s easy to get many ideas for simply stated pieces. This is a remake of a pair of earrings that sold in this design with hematite. This time, I used faceted smoky quartz & added bead caps for accent.

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Woohoo!  The end of the amethyst chips.  Simple yet fun earrings and that stash is officially used up! 🙂

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These 25mm Celtic braid charms work well as a pendant, too!  With 4mm onyx beads and sterling silver fine cable chain this piece is great for someone who wants a simple, dainty necklace that still makes a statement. I also made the piece full adjustable to a maximum of 20 inches so that it could be worn at variable lengths for variable neck sizes.

With that, I have broken the 90 item mark! So in a couple of days, I should make my goal of 100 pieces.

100 Days of Creativity: Day 53

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Day53

Holy crick in the neck!!!  This was a lot of listing…I got in the zone this afternoon and made these 5 pairs of earrings today:

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For the sake of my neck I will try to be brief…I was inspired again by the up-coming St. Patrick’s Day…actually, I was happy to have an opportunity to work with malachite again! I have quite a bit of it and no opportunity to play with it lately. 🙂

I am putting the push on to get my 100 things. I am so close, so I am motivated to just get it done! I do enjoy making earrings when I need volume. It’s like a gratifying creative snack! Once the energy gets flowing I can usually churn out several pars in such a short period of time. They are also easy to photograph so there is not a lot of time editing pictures. Hence, 5 pairs in one afternoon…and afternoon for me with a toddler doesn’t mean the full 4 hours!

A very productive day. For more on malachite & these pieces please visit heavenly flower on Etsy…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 52

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Day52

I wasn’t home much today, so I just was able to make this simple yet pretty pair of lapis lazuli hoops:

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I have been hanging on to this hanful of lapis chips forever! I was happy to finally use them up in these earrings. These chips have many pyrite inclusions giving them pretty gold flecks throughout. Did you know lapis lazuli is the planetary stone for Capricorn? Learn more about the metaphysical properties of this stone by checking out the Etsy listing for this piece…

I am happy to say that two of the four Celtic earrings I listed last night sold almost instantly. I have an idea for a necklace I was hoping to get to today but I was just too busy. I am officially at 36 weeks today so I am giving myself another week of creating…then it’s all fair game when it comes to birth…anything that gets done after that will be bonus.

100 Days of Creativity: Day 51

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Day51

Whew, I think my eyes are bloodshot tonight! Another busy day & I am still amazed at how much energy I have.  Still, I also feel myself quickly fading…so on to the shiny happy things created today…

I was struck with the luck o’ the Irish today! 4 pairs of earrings in anticipation for St. Patrick’s Day:

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I am really happy with how these turned out!  Sometimes themed items can look a bit tacky but I think these are lovely if I don’t say so myself. The first pair I entitled “Celtic Wedding” as I think they would make a lovely bridal pair as well. I am happy to work in malachite with the other three pieces. I haven’t had the opportunity to work in this rich green stone for a very long time!

What I am not happy with, is my descriptions of the pieces in my Etsy listings. They were rather…blah…because I am feeling rather brain dead tonight. So tomorrow I want to rework the wording & also add a bit of information on the history of the Celtic knot symbol. But, that is for another day. I also have ideas for a Celtic themed necklace & bracelet. I have to run into the city tomorrow to the Naturopathic Doctor to pick up my herbs for birth preparation, so I’m not sure if I’ll get to that tomorrow or not…we shall see what my head comes up with tomorrow…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 50

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Day50

Wow – I can’t believe I am half way through! Where did the last 50 days go? Time really does fly when you are having fun as they say…

I really wish I had something spectacular for the halfway mark, but it has been a busy day & I am lucky to even get one thing made, photographed & listed.

Here it is…still milking those 10mm faceted black carnelian beads I love so much! I decided I don’t have enough gold in my shop, so I put this pair together today:

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Check out my shop for more info on this piece. I am thinking tomorrow I will make a few celtic themed pieces in honour of St. Patrick’s Day! That is the plan anyway…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 47

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Day47

I had a pretty good day today: three things designed, made, photographed & listed.

I have a lot of pieces made out of hematite in my shop. A few years ago, I had a lot of requests for hematite pieces. It is a pretty, shiny, weighty stone that appealed to both men & women. Since it is an ore which is melted and molded into beads & pendants, it is also very affordable. So I stocked up…because of this, I have a lot of hematite odds & ends: 20 beads in this size, 10 beads in another size, 50 beads in this shape…I thought of starting a destah site & just selling them but really, the effort to photograph these & put them up for sale, well, I’d rather be making  jewelry…

So I decided to challenge myself to make some pieces out of the smaller lots of odds & ends using up as many of the beads per piece as possible. These three creations emerged:

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Piece #1: hematite & pink jade bracelet

Piece #2: hematite & moonstone bracelet

Piece #3: hematite & peridot anklet

Ah, pink jade. The controversy. I bought these pink jade beads several years ago from a distributor in China; before I knew that pink jade is awfully rare. I question whether or not this is the real deal, or simply dyed. No guarantees here folks, & that is reflected in the price. Either way, it is a pretty stone & makes for a great addition to jewelry making.

Check out these pieces, & my other hematite creations, in the “down to earth” section of my etsy shop…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 46

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Day46

Moving right along…I decided to try & double up on my item per day idea. I really would like to have 100 items featured in my Etsy Shop before I depart to new baby land. It’s going to be cutting it close…but I am going to try & do two pieces a day if possible. Here are today’s offerings; item 68 & 69 in my Etsy Shop:

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I absolutely love the cute turquoise hoop earrings. Turquoise is a stone I am partial to; I think it’s all the spiritual energy connected to it. However, I bought these chip beads ages ago & cannot guarantee 100% these are not howlite, so I have priced them accordingly. I know I would never buy howlite personally, but the colour of these chip is really blue rather than green-blue; I would hate to misrepresent something. Either way. they are a pretty pair of earrings.

The necklace actually started out as a ring, but I wasn’t feeling it. I started wire wrapping the focal bead, which is a 18×24 oval coffe brown cat’s eye bead. When it wasn’t working out I removed some of the wire & it became this pendant…and I fashioned a necklace out of coffee brown & olive cat’s eye beads.

Happy Friday everyone!

100 Days of Creativity: Day 45

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Day45

I’ve been noticing this trend the past few days where I am just exhausted in the evening…so I am trying to stay ahead of the game & post to Etsy & here on my blog earlier in the day.

So today my focus is on these pretty black carnelian beads. I obtained them oh, ages ago and am just getting around to using them in designs. I don’t have very many, so I treat them like a rare gem. 🙂 They are 10mm and faceted…

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I decided to pair them up with these crystal quartz rondelle beads, which I think I have almost used up. I bought them some years back for a custom project & over estimated how many I would need. I am delighted to breathe new life into them as new pieces; for many years I have not been sure what to do with them. 8mm Bali (AKA daisy) sterling silver spacers finish this bracelet, making a nice piece of bling if I don’t say so myself.  Check it out closer in my Etsy shop…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 44

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Day44

…tiny bubbles…in the wine…make me happy…make me feel fine…

Today was a “no-brainer” (I hate that term) as far as my creation of the day goes. Inspired by yesterday’s “pearly shells” necklace:

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I thought the freshwater pearls looked like bubbles, and I had the song “Tiny Bubbles” stuck in my head from designing the “Pearly Shells” necklace yesterday.  This bracelet looks good on my wrist if I don’t say so myself. It almost made its way to my jewelry box instead of stored in the inventory binder! Check it out…

Sometime ago I also designed “Pearly Shells” earrings…but I haven’t been inspired to make any other pieces around that theme until now.

…so here’s to the ginger lei…I give to you today…and here’s a kiss…that will not fade away…

100 Days of Creativity: Day 43

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Day43

Pearly Shells, from the ocean…shining in the sun, covering up the shore…

Today’s creation, came together in no time, & I am really happy with the results. It is inspired by all the vacation photos I have been viewing on Facebook…lucky friends I have. The sun was shining today and despite the winter temperatures outside, inside it felt very tropical to me. 🙂

The great things about this piece, is that you get 4 pieces of jewelry in one! Wear it as a full-length necklace, a choker, a lariat, or wrap it around your wrist as a funky chunky bracelet…

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It is fashioned completely out of shells: the circles and the pearly type beads, which are South Sea Shell beads. I came across these beads as a cheaper alternative to pearls many years ago. Mollusk Shells are pulverized to a powder, then an iridescent pigment added, and shaped into beads. I thought this was a great way to recycle discarded shells. I have since grown to prefer to use pearls in my work, butI have a few of these leftover from past projects. Voila, there you have it. A fun, versatile piece that will go with many outfits. You can check it out in my shop as usual, as well as other pieces inspired by the sea in my “still waters run deep” section on Etsy…

…When I see them my heart tells me that I love you…more than all the little pearly shells… (I grew up with this song. Used to know the actions that went along with it, as well as “Tiny Bubbles”.  Happy times!)