Raku, Enamel and Me

 Last week I splurged with some cash I had sitting in my paypal account and purchase a few enamel beads from Kristen (theBeadSwede) on etsy.  I love every thing enameled. and when I saw her shop I had to have a couple of pieces to play with.  When they arrived I was delighted--they were very well done, quick to ship, and a perfect size for using in jewelry. 

 At the same time I was digging thru my bodacious, but slowly dwindling lampwork stash and ran across some gorgeous raku  discs and orphan urchin beads by Dawn Scannell (Art Insomnia)  that I was toying with for bracelet design...I just happened to lay one of my new enameled beads next to the bracelet I was working on, and a new idea to pair them together made me think it was meant to be.

 I like asymetric, saturated color and mixing metals...so all together they went in a frenzy of organization  before I lost my excitement about these components...or decided to hoard them in my stash, because I couldn't part with them...Copper and 22k gold vermeil, an amethyst gemstone charm, an enameled copper flower charm, a whole wrist full of the most gorgeous saturated, detailed lampwork treasures and it's a bracelet!

I had so much fun with this...now I can enjoy a whole strand of favorite things together--it's like they were meant for one another.  They're off to my etsy store one day soon, but today, I think I'll just enjoy!  Thank you Dawn and Kristen for making such beauties to brighten my day!

One Knot, Two Knots, Three Knots, Four......

A funny thing happened last night while watching tv with my hubby--my fingers got itchy. It had to be something simple, because otherwise I would be so distracted I wouldn't be good company. So, I started knotting, and couldn't stop. There is something very soothing about doing a little knotting now and then. I'm sure I wouldn't think that if I had to do it all the time, but sometimes it's just the relaxing thing that fills the bill. I scrambled for some odds and ends I had around the house and once I started I couldn't stop. These ended up to be the most comfortable, and delightful bracelets. I'm happy to say they made my itchy fingers sing!

This one is my favorite, although the pictures don't show it off as well as I like. If you've been around very long, you know matchy-matchy isn't my favorite, so I loved the color combo--yummy olive greens and dark aqua/peacock blues and the occasional round pearl among the coins. I also love the sterling and brass clasp from Pegasus--there's something very bohemian

..and very me about this one.

Well, I really liked this one too...I made this with leftovers of one of my favorite strands of carved mossy pink amethyst ovals. They were hand cut, which makes them just enough different from one another to please me. Combined with this delicious Saki Silver gold vermeil flower toggle, it puts a smile on my face.

Whoa, these lush rich wine colored mother of pearl ovals aren't too shabby either....and I love this exotic matte gold vermeil clasp to add a little warmth.

This bracelet with some fancy smancy larimar ovals was where I started, these have some yummy color variations and I used a very cool gold filled clasp that slips together for a lovely finish. These beads came in an exchange/bead swap with Lori Anderson---so thanks Lori, here's how I used your lovelies.

Knotting is easy, knotting is fun....once you start you'll never be done!

Romancing the Stones

In a departure from my artisan lampwork designs, I just worked with gemstones and pearls in this newest bracelet. I love the way this piece is constructed. I used a fine goldfilled chain and wirewrapped what seemed like endless fresh water pearls, prasiolite (green amethyst) and lemon citrine gemstones with vermeil ball pins. Three large fancy cut prasiolite gemstones are also featured as endcaps and a charm with the 22k gold vermeil toggle clasp. I used various hues of greens in the various shaped freshwater pearls--coin, keishi and round pearls from almost seed-pearl size of 3mm to the larger 8mm pearls to give interest and variety. I really enjoy working with these materials--I'm hoping to give a feminine elegance to my gemstone designs that will give you a timeless treasure. 'Romancing the Stones' $144.00 can be easily sized just right for you, from 7 1/2" to 8", or with additional tweeking, I can do a little more or less with the length for your perfect fit!

Look for more gemstone designs in the near future--I'm thinking elegance and romance!

Arabian Nights

Well, this bangle feels very exotic to me with its quintet of slender sterling bangles all tied together with a quartet of charms--an amethyst gemstone encrusted 18mm sterling Bali bead (eight 6mm X 4mm faceted stones! ) and the additional 8mm carnelian and 12mm amethyst briolettes, as well as one more granulated sterling Bali bead to complete the grouping of charms. The Arabian Nights $73.00 color combination is beautiful and dramatic and this design will add a pop of color to any outfit as well and just a hint of exotic romance.

Daughter, Emily, is off to New York City this evening to visit with her college roommate for the long weekend. What's wrong with this picture??? She's leaving sunshine-y 80 degree Southern California for a few days in biting 20 degree cold and snow...what is that girl thinking!!!! Bhrrrrrrrh! Hope she enjoys her trip to winter! lol

...Looking Forward to Spring

Well, I'm finally ready to play with my beads again and this is the result of today's efforts! I love these little hand-carved ametrine leaves, with their verigated color from amethyst to pale amber. Then I paired them with keishi petal pearls that were doubled and wired onto the bracelet with lovely vermeil head pins to mimic delicate white flowers. The petite vermeil clasp has a lovely pink lavendar colored ruby gemstone that compliments the ametrine perfectly and this delicious confection is ready for your wrist. It would be perfect for a bride or an afternoon tea in springtime. I'm looking forward to spring already in my minds eye and this is just the thing to get you in the mood as well! Available for $113.00