Vintage with Aqua

This vintage joy inspired me to incorporate the aqua colors.  Edged with gold lined pink and bronze seed beads.  Then strung with vintage. Beads that echo the gold metallic tones and aqua.  The beautiful colored drop draws it all together.  I love how it all works. SOLD

Green Floral Sea Glass Necklace

Part of the fun of finding sea glass is the mystery of what the piece of glass used to be.  Sometimes it is easy and other times it is a guess.  This shard is lightly scrolled with a raised floral imprint.  The glass is the translucent color of depression glass.  Best guess is it was a serving piece, a platter perhaps?  I drew in colors of gold and green.  The shimmery swarovskis really add some drama to the cobalt blue on the bottom.  Strung with hand cut garnets and swarovski crystals.  One of my favorite pieces so far!  SOLD

More Seaglass Inspiration

I have always had an endless fascination for the treasures the waves cast upon the shore in the form of sea glass. This past week I had the opportunity to walk the shores and look for more to add to my collection. It was a great haul with some red, pink, purple, an orange brown, aqua, cobalt and the usual frosty white.

 Digging thru my collection when I got home inspired me to try a few in a beading project. These pieces were probably from an old window pane and a glass jar of some kind. Embellished in corresponding colors of aqua, green, gold and more really made these pieces pop. I had originally intended this to be one piece. I tried a few configurations and then it became apparent that this needed to be 3 separate pieces. I am pretty happy with the individual feel of each one. I used a pale blue faceted stone for the stringing. Finished off with 14kt gold finish clasps. It makes me want to dig thru and come up with more possibilities!   #1 & #2 SOLD

From left to right...windowpane, old jar ?, windowpane with snippet of blue shard.

The Impossibility of Color

For me Inspiration comes in many forms.  It might start with a color, or a feeling....a flash of sight.  It all starts with something.  Sometimes it is as simple as a stone.  Then I gather materials that I think might work and start assembling the actual piece.  I usually end up using a few things and the piece always changes in mid creation.  The starting point is the most exciting journey for me.  I love creating beautiful pieces that are individual to each wearer.  I love best creating something that inspires me to move on to higher levels.

Color, and combining textures, can be difficult sometimes.  But if you can find the right color to join two differing one's together it can make all the difference in the world.  This piece fits right into that description.  The sparkle of the druzy was the initial draw.  I have had this actual piece for about 5 years.  It was one of the very first cabochons i ever bought. Then I started pulling out more sparkle, crystals and the like.  Two colors of seed beads, a vintage faceted piece of glass and off the journey went.

It sometimes feels a little like following the yellow brick road.  But if the journey did not wander thru some difficult places it would not be worth the trip.  As my friend, jenny, put it it is about the "infinite possibility of color".

Jasper and Marble Pendant

Frog Eye Jasper paired with a piece of marble.  I love the non symmetrical look of this piece that works through a carefully achieved craft of balance.  Lots of little details with swarovski crystals in varying hues, tiny freshwater pearls, a vintage faceted glass periwinkle bead, a creamy stick pearl and drop all tied together with garnet seed beads and tiny brown delicas.  I can see myself making more of this assemblage pieces in different colors.  Texture, color

Carnelian and Amber Necklace

Today finally feels and looks like spring!  Even though there is snow on the ground it should all be melted by the end of the week with the temps predicted.  Finally!  It seems like a very long winter with lots of great studio creating time.

I have been experimenting with edging, ruffles specifically.  This one lends itself to the soft edges and colors I used.  Two slightly mismatched carnelian cabochons buffer a vintage amber stone.  Periwinkle blue faceted glass beads help draw the blue further.  Strung with carnelian beads and a gold clasp.  I am crazy for this particular color of blue and find myself using it a lot lately.  But I really think it is the odd color of mustard brown seed beads that really draws it all together and makes the palette work!

Yellow Opal and Vintage Leaf Necklace

Two perfectly matched sets of yellow opals paired with a vintage metal leaf.  Outlined and edged with clear gold, copper brown and red velvet seed and delica beads.  Gently ruffled edges.  Strung with block onyx and red swarovski crystals.  Unique and over the top.

3 Seaglass and Rock Necklaces

Finally strung some of the pendants I finished a while ago.  I have a specific gallery in mind for these...I especially like the brown and blue one.  Brown and blue is such a great color combination together!

Yellow Opal Earrings

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I love the pale yellow and gold swirls in these yellow opal cabochons.  I paired one pair with pale champagne colored swarovski crystals.  The other with faceted citrine briolette drops.  These definitely are some of my favorites!

Earrings

Pink Opal Stones with Garnet and Swarovski Crystal

Zebra Stone with Sunstone, Garnet, Swarovski crystal and Vintage Crystal

                       Rejuvenated and back from vacation...these were created in the studio today!

Mermaids Tears And Stone Pendants

I just love looking at these...Each piece is Maine sea glass or a stone hand drilled and hand beaded.  Surrounded by color and enhanced with one crystal in coordinating colors.  Eventually these will become individual pendants but for now they are residing on my studio table as a piece of art.  My favorite beading project is to incorporate an organic piece into my work.  Something you might not give a second glance.  A stone, a piece of glass buffeted smooth by the waves of time and sand...An old tale of yore tells of mermaid tears in the guise of glass tossed upon the shores from the depths of the deep.  A romantic tale but it lends credence to the beauty of such things and makes them even more glamorous and desirable.  Beach glass hunting takes many hours of my time.  Walking in quiet splendor at the edge of the ocean scouring for a mermaids tears...

Berries In The Snow Earrings

Statement Earrings in varying shades of black, silver and red.  I started with vintage black onyx rectangles and edged them with black lined clear seed beads surrounded with tiny pale grey and red velvet glass beads.  Paired with clear silver Celtic etched round cabochons.  I added more of the tiny beads around them with a ruffled red edge.  Embellished with clear and black swarovski crystals and branched fringing.  Large silver earring wires complete this dramatic pair of earrings.

Turquoise and Apatitie necklace

I love this multi colored piece of turquoise.  The hues of green, blue and brown blend perfectly together.  I decided to pull the greens from this piece and paired it with roku colored green and brown seed beads.  Backed with the softest of leather and stranded with care.  I used vintage czech beads with a slightly feathered design, more seed beads and some chinese turquoise beads (again with that same green tone).  Finished off with a 14kt gold clasp.  The fringe is really the piece de la resistance.  Hand drilled pear shaped faceted briolettes  in a gorgeous shade of aqua green dangle gently from the bottom.

Swarovski's with Opal Necklace

7 rivolis edged with lots of glass seed beads.  Hand strung with an opal cabochon in the middle of all of the sparkle.  You will definitely be noticed with this one around your neck!

Two New Designs

Trying out some new color combinations....I think they really work well together.

Downton Abbey Inspired Line

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I am really loving the new creative feel I am getting with my jewelry!  That romantic era is so inspiring.  Here are a few pieces to give you a glimpse of my new line!

Winter Storm Creativity

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With the whallop of new snow that we got this week I have spent a lot of time in the studio.  Sitting at my work table I could watch the flakes pile up flake by flake.  A total of over 20" at the end.  But with typical Maine weather by the second day after it was 41 degrees!  A whole lot of shoveling and melt in between.  I took advantage of the sunshine to snap some pictures of my most recent works.  Along with some designs of my own creation I filled some orders for customers.

New Necklaces

I have been experimenting with vintage flowers and some new spike beads.  I guess I would call this the "Floral Series".  I tend to work in series (or groups) of like subjects.  Maybe out of sync but a reoccurring theme usually evolves...until I have exhausted the possibilities and it leaves my head.  Mixing vintage, new products, colors and lots of contrast makes creating more fun.  I especially like the way the tangerine and burgundy play together with the mustard yellow cabochon.  The blue piece has the new spike beads that I used laying a little more flat than they were intended for.

Trilobite Fossil Earrings

Fossils are a reoccurring theme in my work.  I find it so surreal to hold one in my hand and realize that it once was a life form from thousands of years ago.  These matched trilobite fossils have sat in my cabochon drawers for a while.  At first they were going to be part of a necklace, then a bracelet.  But once I started working on it they became earrings.  Which really was the original plan when I ordered them!

I edged each one in matte black, a purple hued roku finish and grey seed beads.  Then I ruffled the whole piece with a coppery brown #15.  A piece of faceted  labarodite hanging from the bottom finishes them off.  Sterling silver hand made ear wires.

Goddess Necklace

Inspired this morning by a tutorial I started a bracelet.  But, as it is with most projects, one thing led to another thing...and the bracelet that at first was just zebra jasper was joined by a carved face.  hen the carved face was joined with some chinese turquoise.  the some labradorite and before you know it the bracelet became a necklace.  Sort of a stone soup ingredients from my studio kind of story.  The face still needs some work for the fringe.  And joining the jasper pieces to the strand.  But it is off to a good start after a day of beading.

Stay tuned for an update picture tomorrow!

Valentines Day Glamour

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Hand beaded faceted glass pieces encased with glass bead glamour.  Glass strung beads and a gold plated clasp finish it all off.

Cuff Bracelets

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Each cuff bracelet takes up to a week to fully bead.  These are two of my favorites. Using lush materials, such as faceted garnets and vintage cabochons, I consider these to be works of art for your arm.  Hundreds of tiny glass beads are individually hand sewn onto each cuff.  Edged in the finest soft leather on the inside.  truly one of a kind pieces.

Faceted Black Onyx

Faceted Black Onyx beaded with blue and black.  Fresh water pearls, sterling silver handmade clasp...these colors are so glamorous!
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Labradorite & Picture Jasper Necklace

The soothing green/blue tones of this Picture Jasper Cabochon balance perfectly with the glow of Labradorite.

Each cab is stitched with hundreds of tiny beads encasing them.  Joined together in a tangle of more labradorite and swarovski opal colored crystals.  Strung with more labradorite that starts with a double strand and becomes one.  A hand formed sterling silver swirl clasp finishes off this piece.

Vintage Mystery Box Necklace

Recently The Beadin Path in Freeport, Maine offered some mystery boxes for sale.  Each box was stuffed with vintage findings including most of the pieces from this necklace.  Done in amber and green shades it includes vintage and current day pieces.  Vintage lucite flowers, swarovski crystals, glass seed beads, stone cabochon, a jade butterfly, glass leaves....strung with vintage amber beads (faceted and smooth) and peridot with 2 vintage glass gold and black flower beads.

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I think the balance of the piece is achieved with the use of the two color sided strands with the drape of the leaf fringe.  All finished off with a black patina handmade clasp in sterling silver.