Ruby Baroque Crystal

These pieces have a very simple design so the focus is on the crystals.  This is Swarovski's "baroque" pendant in the color "ruby", which has more of a blue undertone than a real ruby.

The pendant has many facets and a rippled edge around the bottom and sides.

I used the smaller sized pendants to make matching earrings.  I can't seem to find these pendants in a lot of colors, but I do like this "ruby" color.

Farewell to Autumn

We are losing the autumn colors now, and changing into a black and white palette.  I've seen a lot of gray in the skies lately, so I thought I'd bring out some photos from only a few weeks ago.

Chalk Turquoise with Bamboo Coral Jewelry Set

These chalk turquoise nuggets have an irregular shape and lean towards the green side of turquoise.  I paired them with bamboo coral, which are shaped like gem chips.  I like turquoise and coral together. 

Also in the mix are labradorite rondelles and swarovski vitrail bicones.  Then I made some earrings to match.

Large Green Pearls with Golden Accents

These crystal pearls are described as "evergreen" and they are indeed the color of pine trees.  I added some gold plated pewter beads and caps to the necklace.

If you look closely, you will see I've used Miyuki Delicas in translucent amethyst with an AB coating.  I think the sheer purple sets off the opaque luster of the green pearls nicely.

Black Filigree Beaded Brooches

A while back, I found these black enameled filigree disks.  I'm not always sure if I'm using a component in the manner it was intended, but then again, I'm not sure if it really matters.  I made several brooches with these little filigrees.  The first photo shows the brooch with fuchsia rhinestones and cream pearls. 

This one was done with all green.

White and red.  When I used seed beads rather than perfectly round beads, you can see the thread a little more.

This last one has a red beaded center and heart shaped rhinestones.  I think I'd like this one for Valentine's Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving Day.  Enjoy your turkey and tofurkey.  May you have even more things to be thankful for in the years to come.  And if you are thinking about shopping  :)   be sure to check out my Etsy Shop and use the coupon code THANKS2011 to get 15% off everything in my shop from now through the end of Cyber Monday on 11/28/2011.  If you shop there, you won't have to stay outside all night in a tent waiting to get in, and everything is made in the USA (by me).  Enjoy!

Double Strand Cream Pearl Necklace

I'm always a fan of pearl beads, and creamy white pearls are a classic.  Here I've taken creamy white 12mm glass pearl beads from Auntie's Beads and strung them into a double strand necklace.  Each strand has a similar, but different, pattern.   I like the color of the metallic gold iris bugle beads that provide a nice foil to the cream color of the pearls. 

Carved Jade with Carnelian

I picked up carved antique jade beads and faceted carnelian briolettes at two different occasions at two different shops.  It took me a while to decide what to do with them, but you see I have put them together into earrings.

I like these two colors together -- the brown and the orange.  I also think the shapes of square and teardrop look nice together also.

Colors of Autumn

I find myself staring at the colors of trees lately.  Fiery reds, golden yellow, greenish bronze, such a lovely combination of colors.  West Goshen Park is a wonderful park for a walk, and there are some very nice colors there now.  I took these photos on the cloudless day after our Halloween snow.  I think the color of the sky looks like someone painted it. You should be able to see the full sized photos if you click on them.

The sun is much lower now, and I often see it peeking through the tree leaves.  This tree has a lovely shade of burgundy in it.  I have to enjoy my autumn walks now as it will soon be too cold to venture out for many activities.  Happy Fall, everyone!

Collage Bracelet

This was interesting and different for me.  The metal framework of the bracelet came as one piece.  I was accustomed to purchasing individual bezels, and assembling them myself, but I wanted to experiment with this one.  Then, instead of pouring resin into the bezels, I purchased clear resin domes.   These must have been made in a mold.  If I poured the resin myself straight into the bezels, I would not get such high domes.  I created my own "scrapbook paper" digitally using shades of ivory, plum and turquoise.  I prefer making my own as compared to finding something I like at the craft store. 

Although I am pleased with the way it looks, I don't think I'll go with the bezel bracelet blank again.  It is a much more costly finding than using the individual bezel blanks, and the resin domes are costly also.  When one is making items for resale, one has to think of the non-crafting buyer, who might not understand the cost of supplies.   I definitely plan to continue making my own scrapbook paper.  I like using my own colors and designs.  I never seem to find anything I like at the craft store.  And since I make it digitally, I know I can always print more, and not worry about the store running out of stock.

Gilders Paste Color Comparison

Gilders Paste is a wonderful little thing.  I currently have a selection of four of their metallic colors.  I would like to have all of their colors, but cannot find the rationalization for such a thing on my budget right now.  Something to aim for!  It is a type of color rub.  You will see from my close ups that it is not really a full opaque coating but is more of an accent color.  These comparisons were done on coral colored baked polymer clay.

This is gilders paste in "gold".  I needed 2 coats to get this level of opacity.  It is pictured next to a gold plated toggle.

This is "antique gold".  It has more copper and less yellow in it than my antique gold jewelry findings.

This is "copper".  You can see it is more the color of antique copper than shiny new copper. 

This is silver.  This had an odd texture.  The other ones are like a hard cake of shoe polish.  This is more souffle-like.  It got everywhere on my desk with its fluffiness.  I don't know if all the silvers are like that, or I got an odd container of gilders paste here.  It is pretty though, with a color a bit darker than the silver plated toggle shown next to it.

I haven't found these in any bricks and mortar stores, but some internet stores will sell these.  One great place to buy them is B'sue Boutiques.  Her shipping is reasonable and very speedy.  She also included a couple little candies in my order, their photo is not available due to reasons I don't care to mention.  Ah, they were gone too soon!  :-)  

The Best Bunny Day Ever!

A couple of days ago, the weather was manic-depressive -- it rained, it hailed, it was cloudy, and the sun came out for little bits of time.  All day, I noticed a bunny outside, parked under a large bush.  He was protected from all the bad weather.  He just sat there all day, munching on the grass.  I thought, he must be having a great day.  Just chilling all day, protected from the hail and rain, munching on his favorite snack.  He was there from morning 'till dusk.  Of course, I had to photograph him, Photoshop him, and then finally, Warhol him.

Clay Key Fobs

I've just realized I cannot say "clay key fob" three times quickly.  I should probably name these something else, but yes, these are key fobs made from polymer clay.

I've combined abstract colors of clay, and then stamped them.  I liked the way the colors streak together.  I had recently made some other projects with carefully thought out color recipes that I developed, which somehow led me to the "not blended" look that I've used here.

I don't really expect anyone to carry their fob on their finger ("clay key fob finger"), but I couldn't find a better prop than my "hand". 

Teal Pearls with Lampwork

Still thinking of fall colors, I used teal pearls with lampwork beads in two shades of blue in this necklace.

I used black seed beads to pick up the black swirl in the lampwork beads, and to darken the overall look of the design. 

The necklace makes me think of the different colors of blue in the sky immediately preceding the twilight hours.  But then, the teal pearls also make me think of Philadelphia Eagles green, which is also a teal color.  I don't think I would wear this with a football jersey, though you could if you wanted to. :)

Orange Sea Glass with Golden Pearls

This is a design with sea glass.  Sea glass is so pretty.  It is usually matte with a touch of transparency.  I thought of autumn colors, and used orange sea glass beads in this necklace.  I added golden freshwater pearls, and other touches of glass and gold.

This would be a nice look for fall, don't you think?

Brown Lampwork Focal

I thought this brown lampwork bead was really nice.  It has a foiled core, and splashes of color, such as yellow, green and red.  I placed it on golden crinkle wire, which is permanently crinkled stainless steel flexible wire, and set it off with green, red, and yellow beads which echo the color splashes.  It is a nice clean look which brings the eye immediately to the focal bead.

Goodnight Irene

Last week started with an earthquake and ended with hurricane, floods, and tornadoes.  I'd rather not have another week like that, thank you very much.

These are photos of Chester Creek, much higher than usual, much browner than usual.  We miraculously escaped any real damage at our home, but I wish I could say the same for others that needed to evacuate, or lost their homes, and in some cases, lost loved ones.  Glorious weather can bring us such joy, but weather can also be so cruel. 

The above is not actually Chester Creek at all, just some land nearby that only looks like a creek at the moment. 

I don't remember what this tree looked like before the storm, so this may not all be from the hurricane.  I'm calling it "yoga tree", because I would like to be so flexible that I could bend in this position.  If you click upon it, you should be able to see more details of the contortionist tree.