During the Big Game/The Big Snow

We’re going to watch the game, but I’ll be listening more than looking.

The game, for me tonight, is to see how many pairs of earrings (or perhaps how many bracelets) I can finish!

Heresy, I know, right?

We just got over a foot of snow, so it’s been “perfect” weather to stay inside and create more jewelry.  With all the white, and the ice, outside, you wouldn’t think I’d be in the mood to create anything even remotely resembling it.  (I wasn’t – the pieces above were made in November, and January.)  But I don’t hate the snow.  If inspiration strikes, I may just create more icy, frosty, light-catching, frozen crystal goodness.  Clear jewelry is popular these days, since it goes with just about anything.  It’s always been a favorite of mine, especially AB crystals.  I have a feeling there will be a lot of clear jewelry in the store in the coming months!

The gold and clear AB fringe earrings were made during a class I took during a bead society meeting.  Wouldn’t they look good with red tips, instead of gold, for Valentine’s Day?  Or for American Heart Month?

New Work

Here are some of the things I’ve made recently.

Clear AB and Sapphire Blue Dangles

Click on the picture to see more images!

Long, Lovely Aurora Borealis Earrings

Long Clear AB Dangles

Here are the long spiral stitch earrings in clear and clear AB seed beads.

In bright light, they shine like icicles melting in the sun.  In lower light, they look white, almost opaque, yet if you look closely, you can still see the shiny AB finish.

They are the same approximate length as the Cranberry Dangles, and the ones with sapphire blue seed beads, which I’ll post later today. These also took three hours to complete.

These would be great for an informal beach wedding, with your hair swept up, with a gauzy dress with thin straps, or no straps.  They can be worn long after the wedding, whenever you want something carefree and romantic.

If you click on the picture, it will take you directly to my store on Art Fire.  Thank you for looking!

Cranberry Dangle Earrings

Cranberry Dangle Earrings

There’s a subtle variety of colors going on here: some of the cranberry-colored size 15 beads are darker, some are lighter.  The peridot size 11 beads are lined with wine color…they’re at once peridot green AND a light wine color.  Together, these colors remind me of apples in late summer, when their darkest reds have developed, but lighter reds and streaks of spring green still remain.

Their shape and color also remind me of dried cayenne peppers.

The entire earring is approximately four inches long.  It took three hours to complete the pair, one stitch at a time, bead by bead.

Cranberry Dangle Earrings Detailed View

I made three pairs of these.  They’re available in my store on Art Fire.  Click on any of these pictures, and you’ll be taken there.

I also have one pair made with clear and clear AB  seed beads,  and three pairs in light sapphire blue and clear AB, which I’ll post tomorrow.

They would look lovely with a wedding dress, or a romantic off-the-shoulder white blouse.

Cranberry Dangle Earrings Close View

What I’ve been making recently

Here are some of the new pieces I’ve made recently. You can find these in my new store on Art Fire.

http://www.artfire.com/users/elfriedabijoux

pink cubic zirconia earrings

Aqua Spirals

These may look familiar to some of you; I used to have a picture of them on this blog.  They used to be longer, and were hung from a wrapped loop instead of from the bottom of the earwire.  I always thought they “needed something,” but I never knew what.  So I took out the wrapped loop, suspended them directly from the earwire, and voila!  I think they look better now.

Blueberry Ring Earrings

These are some of my favorite new pieces. I’m also making a pair in teal and turquoise seed beads.  Those will be available in a few days.  I’ll post a picture of them here, and they’ll also be in my store.

These were a lot of fun to make.  I love the darker blue beads…sadly, I won’t be able to buy them anymore.  They’ve been discontinued by the company that distributes them.  I do have a few tubes of them socked away, and they’ll always be some of my favorite beads to work with.  Making these was a lot like making beaded bezels for cabs…except I don’t put a cab in the middle!  I worked outward from the middle, in circular peyote stitch, increasing as I went.  Then I went all the way back through, reinforcing the stitches, and finally knotting off and hiding the thread.  It took about two hours to make one pair, stitch by stitch, bead by bead.

Of the earrings I’ve made recently, these are one of my favorite pairs.  They’re not overly blingy.  I think they’d look great on an independent sort of woman, maybe a college student or someone that age, who doesn’t want or need bling to stand out.  Someone who appreciates jewelry that’s unique and artistic.

Clicking on any of these pictures will take you directly to my store.  Feel free to browse!

(At the moment, I’m only selling to customers  in the U.S.   I apologize if that causes anyone any inconvenience.)

New Jewelry!

I have a new store!

http://www.artfire.com/users/elfriedabijoux

Visit me on Art Fire to see some of the new work I’ve been creating lately.

Afternoon Sunlight, Part II

Here’s the same bridal headpiece I posted last night…but in full sun.

And here are the shapes I made a few days ago…still not completely dry. They’re slightly smaller than they were, but not by much.

Here’s the next batch. I’m not ready to use it yet, so it will remain like this until it’s needed.

A Bridal Headpiece in Cream

Here is a beaded silk flower wreath, with several shades of cream and champagne-colored seed beads, white iris sequins, and organza ribbon. It only needs a few finishing touches, and it will be complete. It contains a mix of cream tones and whites, with pale golden cream flowers, white sequins that flash very pale pinks and lavendars, tiny milky white beads, and tinier champagne-colored seed beads and organza ribbon that shines in soft champagne tones.

It would look great with or without a cream-colored veil. It could be positioned as a bun wrap, as a headband, or as a floral wreath.

Santa and the bird cage

Some of the projects I’m currently working on:

What’s this guy doing here???

(Yes…I know, it’s June.)

I like to work about six months ahead. (I’m also making Christmas and New Year’s jewelry, and Christmas decorations, gift boxes and cards.)

So he’s not so early, after all.

This is an old Christmas decoration, a plastic Santa that used to have a red, flocked velvet-like coat. Over the years, it faded unevenly here and there, and bits of it cracked and fell off. It was almost likable in the shabbiest chic sort of way…but…not really. Santa had a bad case of mange.

This was not a Santa who would give you big, shiny presents. This was a Santa that had fallen on hard times. This was a Santa who left IOU’s and coupons clipped from waiting room magazines, and swiped your stockings because he needed new socks.

So I threw it away.

But I had second thoughts. If the coat hadn’t been so shabby, I would have kept it.

Then I remembered: I’m an artist. I own glue.

I have the technology. I can rebuild him.

Fortunately, during the twenty minutes that Old Saint Nick sat in the trash, no one threw away a gallon of bacon grease or any six-week-old marinara, so retrieving him was not a big deal.

So here he is, coatless. (Greaseless, sauceless and acceptably clean.)

I’m not going to redo the flocking. He’s going to get a shinier, perhaps even beadier, coat this time. Santa wants Bling.

Project number two: I saw this bird cage in a friend’s garage, and asked if I could have it. Most people would look at it and think, “bird cage.” I saw it and thought, “LARGE wire frame to wrap beads around.”

Then, for a few moments, I had second thoughts. An old, used bird cage…eewww…gross.

But this is not a real bird cage. There is no door. There’s no perch. There’s no little mirror, no wire hooks for attaching a water bottle or a seed tray. But most importantly…the gaps between the bars are so wide that even large birds could easily escape. A fully-grown eagle could be out of there in about two seconds, presuming you could cram one in without losing a hand.

Unless, for some reason, it decided to humor you and stay in voluntarily, just to be polite.

The interesting thing about this cage is, any bird or animal too big to get out would be too big to put in there in the first place. Anything small enough to be put in…would be small enough to easily escape.

I suspect this cage was used as some kind of decoration (perhaps a fake bird once resided therein) or as a plant hanger. Ivy would look nice, dangling down around the sides, and climbing up the bars. It’s a little rusty, so it may have hung outside, but it’s otherwise clean.

Wonder how they got a flower pot inside? Did this cage once imprison a Chia pet?

I’m afraid the gold color will come off if I give it the Brillo treatment, but I don’t want the rust. Maybe I’ll go light on the scrubbing. Or maybe I’ll paint it after I clean it up.

And after that, it will get a shinier, perhaps even beadier, coat.

Birdie wants Bling.