New Earrings

Ok, all of the furor over Thanksgiving has died down. I took Friday and Saturday off to relax and gain back some of the sleep I had been missing and enjoyed playing with my new kitties. Today, I have been back to work photographing new pieces and listing them, then promoting on Twitter, Facebook, and last but not least, here. As usual, I took many more photos than I could possibly edit in one sitting, so I will have more to work on for future posts and listings.

First up is a brand new light teal crackle glass and sterling silver wire wrapped chandelier earrings.

I had a lot of fun designing and creating these earrings. I started with the curved sterling earring frame and went through my bead stash. These glass tube beads really cried out to be put in the spotlight! I went with only three as they are too wide to fit five on this small frame. The two leftover holes have round beads that are used throughout the rest of the earring wired to cover them. The darker Czech crystal sets off the lighter teal tubes. If I had used a light green crystal for the top, it would have gotten lost. The darker crystal provides a focus, draws the eye immediately to it, then down to the longer beads at the bottom. These are very light a playful, and would pop with a white shirt!

I am especially proud of this design. I wanted to make hoops for a long time and looked at different interpretations of the classic hoop earring. I was admiring the look of chain incorporated in some other artists pieces, which gave me the idea for these. I wrapped the chain on first then added one-cut glass charlotte 15/0 seed beads for the outer scallop. The charlottes add a bit of sparkle when the earrings move with their single faceted side. Each scallop was molded over a mandrel to make sure that they were all even. I hung them on handformed gold filled earwires. All said, the pair took me three hours to construct. I am planning on cobalt and silver next, then maybe red and gold for Valentines Day. I love the permutations of all the color combinations that can be made!

These are my most daring earrings to date! The super long glass drops were originally created for use in chandeliers and lamp making. I saw them and thought about what great earring these would make! I love the feminine look of the lilac keshi pearls with micro faceted amethysts and sterling silver. They look like an exotic flower hanging from the ear. They are a tiny bit heavy, but not uncomfortably so. The earwires are handformed of 20 gauge sterling wire and rubber earnuts are included.