Linen Hoop Earrings

Linen and Lace Hoop Earrings

Here's the first piece of jewelry I made from the little bead stash I got from Diana. (See my previous post) These hoop earrings look kinda funky and punky, don't you think?  I made a circle frame for these earrings out of 18 gauge sterling wire, then wrapped the frames with black waxed linen and small faceted black onyx beads. I've had this linen wrapped hoop idea for a while. Diana's ceramic charms were the perfect motivation to actually execute the idea!  I knew her pieces would be the perfect focals to hang from the center! The charms here are porcelain with a lace impression.  I'd love to make some more of these in some different color combination! You can check out more of Diana's work in her Etsy shop. Thanks for looking! :)

Earring Swap with a Friend!

Diana of Suburban Girl Studio and I did an earring swap together! Diana is a jewelry designer, ceramic bead artist and a member of the Beads-Of-Clay group. We were chatting on face book one day and decided that doing a swap would be fun! I love doing swaps. It's a great way to get to know other artists and exchange some fun things! Here are the earrings she made me with her handmade ceramic charms. I love these swirly cranberry red charms! :) This pair will be great for Fall!

 Diana's Earrings

I made Diana a pair of my leather earrings. I wanted to make her a fashionable pair she could wear for Fall. Below is the pair I sent her. I made these with Greek leather, Carnelian gemstones and amber glass with antiqued copper chain and brass findings. Check out Diana's blog post about our earring swap here.

 My Earrings

In addition, Diana was super sweet and spoiled me with a goody bag of her handmade ceramic beads and charms! She sent me this little stash along with her earrings. I love these! She does beautiful work!

Suburban Girl Beads, Charms and Button

Diana's ceramic work is wonderful and I can't wait to add some of her handmade components to my jewelry designs! Check out her Suburban Girl Beads Etsy Shop for lovely ceramic jewelry components and go shopping! :)

September Earrings

Leather, wood beads and Prenite nuggets.

These earrings remind me of September days. That transition from Summer to Fall. Here, I used greens of the Summer season mixed with wood and earthy muted tones to suggest a change to Autumn weather and fashion! Happy September!

Baby Belly Update!

33 weeks pregnant today! We enjoyed a nice weekend in New Hampshire. The weather was beautiful all weekend. Josh took this pic while we were on a walk. Sure is a little tough getting around being this pregnant! Just walking or standing for a while wears me out, but I'm hanging in there! :)

Sunrise

My last minute entry into the Art Bead Scene (ABS) monthly challenge. The inspiration for the month of August is the painting "Sunrise" by John Savitsky.

The radiating sun in this painting really speaks to me. I love the sun motif and the colors in this artwork. These are some of my favorite colors to work with in my jewelry designs!

I used a carved coconut shell pendant for the focal and honey-colored Greek leather for the bail. The pendant is strung on a beaded strand of natural beads, gemstones and textured ceramic beads by Marti Conrad. More Greek leather in a dark chocolate up both sides and around the back. The necklace is finished off with a drilled beach stone by Pam McKay for a loop and bead closure.

There's still time to enter! You can check out all the entries so far this month at the ABS flickr gallery!

Whirlpool

I love designing simple, casual jewelry with earthy, rustic elements. Something you would wear with jeans and a t-shirt. Every day active jewelry. This ceramic pendant by Indian Creek Studios, reminds me of a vacation we took a few years ago at Niagara Falls. We hiked along the Niagara river where there is a huge raging whirlpool. It was beautiful and awe inspiring! This pendant reminds me of that whirlpool. It has a texture to it that looks like moving water! Visit Indian Creek Studios shop and blog to see more of Pam's ceramic beads and jewelry components! :)

Blogger Award

A couple of beady friends here in blog land were sweet enough to pass on this blog award! Thank you Kristen and Courtney! :) Now, according to the award rules, I must share 7 things about myself and pass the award on to 7 other blogs, so here it goes:

1. Summer and Autumn are my favorite seasons.
2. I love nature and spending time outdoors, especially during my favorite times of the year!
3. I'm deeply inspired by foreign cultures and concepts.
4. I enjoy working with others and I seem to work best when collaborating on projects.
5. I love teaching jewelry-making and sharing the joy of beading!
6. I love jewelry and beading books and I collect many.
7. I hope to write my own jewelry-making book one day. 

Below are 7 other blogging artists worthy of mention, although I love many others as well. Please check out these fabulous jewelry and bead artists! Some of them may be new to you, so don't miss' em!

Suburban Girl Studio

Lucid Moon Studio 

Sharon's Jewelry Garden 

Stefanie's Sammelsurium


Clay Designs by Glee

Yolanda's Clay 

MaryAnn Carroll