A Bouquet....

One of my favorite patterns for earrings is what I call "Fringe" earrings. They remind me of Native American beadwork, but there are so many variations to the basic pattern. 


So...I thought I'd show you a 'bouquet' of some of the colors I have made these in. All have 7 dangles, in graduating lengths, and at the end of each dangle is either a dagger bead or (in the 'dressed up' version) Swarovski crystal beads. 


I intend to write down my version of these earrings and give away the tutorial - just need to find the time (ha ha!) to get it done! In the meantime, these cute and swingy earrings can be yours for just $15.00 per pair - and if you don't see the color you want, just ask! May just have what you're looking for in my bead stash!!


Here it is!

The colors are....going clockwise from the almost-top - light amythest, pale blue, dark amythest, jonquil yellow and green....makes a pretty little picture just as they are. Oh, and I need only to attach the earrings to their silver-plated french hook earring findings to be complete!

More to come....

Cancer Awareness....

....a subject close to my heart. As some of you know, in 2010, I fought a battle with Non-Hodgins Lymphoma, and am now 18 months in remission! My form of cancer is considered 'incurable but treatable' - and this remission is as good as it gets, and I thank God for every single moment I have - He is the One who got me through that experience, and is still my Rock! If you like, you can read about my journey with Lymphoma in my blog about the experience: Raindrops And Sunbeams Blog 

Since then, awareness of cancer has been a subject dear to my heart. I want someday to walk in the "Light The Night" walk, which in Virginia Beach is in early November, and I decided to make some 'awareness' jewelry to offer for purchase, and use 50% of the profits from those sales to try and reach the $100 goal to get my 'survivor' T-shirt and walk the walk. Alas, just 'cause you make the jewelry does not make it sell.....but I always have hope that someday the things I make will reach the right person....and I'll be on my way!

I designed these little earrings, and can do them in any color to represent any cancer that has a color - but the first ones were to be lavender - that indicates support for ANY type of cancer - and I love lavender!

The main part of the earrings is a tiny strip of peyote stitch made with delica beads - and the background is white with a lavender heart in the center - I love my little heart pattern!! I then 'zipped' up the peyote strip into a tube, strung some Tanzanite Swarovski 4mm crystal bicone beads on a head pin - 2 at the bottom, the 'heart' tube, and then 2 more at the top - attaching it to a silver-plated earring.

They are tiny, but they move with you and make a statement of your support in the prettiest manner! These sweet earrings are $15.00 per pair - the profit on them is not big, since I'm trying to make them a reasonable price, hoping for quantity to make up the difference! :-)

Here they are: 

More to come......stay tuned!!

Thought I would show y'all what we did in March for our monthly Craft Night at church - it was spring, and I wanted to do something with flowers.....so....

I used bell flower beads - the ones pictured are the palest pink, but I had several other colors from pastel to bright for everyone to choose from. We strung them on silver-tone wire, so they'd be different lengths, putting spirals at the bottom for interest and added two shades of green glass dagger beads for leaves. Then we found pearls (some real, some glass pearls), to match or contrast, and strung them on silver tone head pins, using the excess length to spiral down the bead a bit as we finished off the wrapped loop. The whole collection was then suspended from silvery chain, so they would move every time your head moved!

The results were extraordinary - everyone's earrings looked completely different, just from the different ways they decided to put the components together - that's what makes Craft Night so much fun - there really aren't any 'rules' - just a main idea to jump start the imagination!

Here is the sample I made....

More to come.......keep checking back....and if you're so inclined to want to purchase them....just send me a message!

 

I'm back......really!

Last post in January - and now here it is almost the middle of June! Talk about not being with it!

Yet again I am hoping to get on a more regular schedule of posting - and show y'all what I've been playing with craft-wise - and it's not all jewelry! I am still trying to put together a website, but this blog will do just fine til that's done, and will get me in the habit of posting and changing up the content.

Just need to get some photos together, get out the camera and re-acquaint myself with how to use it, and get back in the swing.

I was looking through a huge stack of magazines I have accumulated in my craft room,
and found a really cool design from way back in 2005 - don't remember which magazine, but I had the components to try this out, and when I did, I loved the result! Thought I would show you what I came up with - 

Dragonfly Earrings!

How pretty these are!! Dagger beads and Swarovski crystal bicone beads - such rich colors of iridescent dark amythest, and clear crystal beads - I like! Thinking I'd love to try these in some other color palettes......suggestions?

More to come, I promise.....just need to get pictures!

Back soon!

Building On Ideas...

After talking about my idea to continue the design of the "Dream" earrings, using warmer colors.....I did! Looked through my stash of pretty crystal bicone beads, and picked out some warm colors....jonquil yellow, crystal AB, Antique Rose, Copper, and Ruby Red....and put this combination on graduated lengths of silver-plated chain....put all the chains on a large jump ring, which I strung through a silver bail....really like that look! As usual, the earrings are all on sterling silver french hooks - and I'm likin' the warm colors just as much as the cool ones I made earlier....

These are also $20.00, and if you would like them....send me an email at trysh *at* gmail *dot* com....you know to remove the asterisks in the address :-). I will then send you a Paypal invoice, and ship them out as soon as payment is credited to my account. I make no money on the shipping - what I am charged, I just pass on...

That said....here are the "Dream" earrings in warm colors:

Since I was on a roll, I decided to keep going and finish up another idea I floated out here on this blog....to create a necklace to complement my "Sunshine" earrings....I had actually started it - but was hesitant to put the design on a copper chain....seems that lots of folks might have a skin reaction to copper - even though most copper jewelry findings now have a coating on it that not only helps prevent tarnish, but also helps with the reactions.

But...the perception is there - so I decided to try and put it on leather....and that worked out really well! The black of the leather actually made the copper and the mother-of-pearl disc beads pop out! Love it. I used a 'trailer hitch' clasp - it is just the simplest one to use...and I also liked it for this design.

The price on this is $20.00 - just refer to the directions above if this design strikes your fancy....

Here it is...

Now to do some thinking on what to do with the tiny pearl chips I got last week....what could I combine them with? Do earrings? A necklace? Bracelet?

Hmmm.....send me your thoughts on what I should do with the dark blue pearl nuggest (they are real small)....and win yourself a pair of fringe earrings! Don't know what they are? Come back tomorrow - I'll post a pair so you can see! Be sure and check back for details!!

Some Copper Fun...

While trying to solve some problems making copper charms, I started playing around with different gauge copper wire....coiling it, hammering it....

I think that anyone who uses a hammer on a regular basis would crack up watching me with my tiny little anvil, and tiny hammer....but the wire coils are tiny too, and a big hammer is kinda overkill. So, I look silly, but that little hammer does a good job!

First I experimented with putting together different gauge coils in the same design....with small and smaller copper jump rings....liked how that looked, and couldn't resist adding some copper crystal bicone beads on long headpins - and liked that even more! These might become a favorite of mine!

Here they are:

That was such fun, I kept on going and tried doing scrolls - connected coils - I started out thinking bracelet - but then decided to stay small....I wear earrings more than bracelets, after all. Couldn't leave them totally plain - so I added some Swarovski glass pears drops - the creamy color goes well with copper!

Here is the second design:

But, this design would be very cool as a necklace with added dangles....little steampunk flavor I think....hmmmm.....I know exactly what I want to do here.....stay tuned!