Lake/Cobalt Blue Coin Earrings

And what's a necklace without a matching pair of earrings, as I always ask?


Nothing, that's what!



I particularly like the simplicity of these lake and cobalt blue earrings. They coordinate with the 3 Coins collection Ocean and Sky palettes. Czech glass and sterling silver.



Can you see that they're richly colored but translucent at the same time?



I took them off after work the other day and laid them down on...well, who remembers that famous scene from Roman Holiday? I actually bought this trinket while on a visit to Rome a few summers ago.



I'm not a fan of the way they look on the yellow background.




And, a final shot for scale.









Price: $10.

Ocean 3 Coins in the Fountain Necklace

I've been lucky enough to spend 3 out of the last 5 days at the pool. Swimming is one of my favorite activities.


And while the pool isn't the same as the ocean, the blues in the pool and the water reminded me of the color palette of my Ocean 3 Coins in the Fountain Necklace.


This necklace features Czech glass beads in aqua, lake and cobalt blue.


The coin-shaped beads are strung together using thick sterling silver wire and finished by a lobster-claw clasp, also in sterling silver.

It's been very popular, because blue absolutely does appeal to most people.

Price: $38.

Turquoise and Lapis Lazuli Necklace

My mother recently commissioned a piece from me for a good friend of hers whom she is currently vacationing with in Italy.


Making jewelry to give to an Italian is not for the weak...it's rather like bringing coals to Newcastle.



I know Anita likes long necklaces, and I was trying to think of a nice neutral 'goes with anything' piece, but in my experience, that's not the right way to go about designing something. If everyone can like something then no one is REALLY going to like it. It will be too bland and without a point of view, in other words.



So I decided to design something very American that Anita couldn't easily find in Italy. And what's more American than turquoise and silver? So I paired small 6mm turquoise rounds with 4mm lapis lazuli heishe beads and 4mm rondelles and 6mm and 7mm in sterling silver.


The result is a long, dainty Southwestern-inspired necklace in shades of blue with pops of silver. A few years ago, my parents went on a long vacation to the American Southewest with Anita and her husband Raoul, so I thought a turquoise necklace was a good choice to act as a reminder of that trip. And, if Anita doesn't like it, she can always quietly give it away as a gift. It may not be HER taste, but it's certainly SOMEONE'S taste.

Price: The materials alone were about $27, so you be the judge.

Facing West

I love...



watching...



the sun set...



from my new balcony.

Well, This Is A First

I don't normally show you a half-finished piece, but I was trying to describe a bracelet to a friend in Belfast today and I think showing might be easier than telling, in this instance.

Of course, because the piece isn't finished, the only thing I have to show is its current state.



The beads in the bracelet are genuine turquoise squared ovals, double drilled, turquoise rondelles and red coral and sterling silver rounds. The toggle is an oval shape and made of pewter.




I've literally taken the bag in which the half-finished bracelet is currently residing, dumped it onto a flat surface (even then, I managed to lose a bead!) and snapped some photos, just to give my pal a look-see.

The design is not yet finished--I think I'll be adding a bit more coral and sterling silver to the mix.

August's Birthstone

Peridot is August's birthstone. It's a green stone ranging from yellow-green to brown-green. The more iron that peridot crystals contain, the more green the final gemstone will be. It ranks a 6.5-7 on the Mohs scale.

Much of the world's peridot comes from mines in Arizona. Higher quality material is found in Asia and the Middle East. The greener the gem, the more money it commands.

Some people that peridot represents joy and happiness in marriage. Some have taken it internally to help alleviate the symptoms of asthma. Frankly, a nice accessory always alleviates some kind of ill, so I highly recommend wearing one.

Things My GIA Taught Me

(which makes it sound like the Gemological Institute of America is my Momma, and lately, that couldn't be more true).

We all remember that I'm working toward a degree from the GIA, right? I'm about halfway through the process, and my current class is on colored stones.

Let me tell you something--this is hard. When I say I'm bad at science, I mean it in the most profound a way anyone can mean anything.

But I'm working through it because I'm very interested in the subject matter. And I thought I'd share something interesting that I learned this week:

Pearls, an organic gemstone, need moisture from the environment so that they don't become brittle and crack. This means you should never store your pearls in an air-tight container like a safety deposit box. You should, however, put them on only after you've put on lotion or hairspray because pearls are fairly delicate.

Green/Orange Coin Earrings

I think I've realized that I like things that match flavors of sherbet.







And these earrings fit that bill. The sterling silver wire is double hinged, for great swing and they come in very handy in the summer because that's the season for greens and oranges.









These earrings are from the 3 Coins in the Fountain collection, and coordinate with the following color palettes: Funk, Tulip and, obviously, Sherbet.

$10.

Olympics

Happy Olympics to you!






While I can't say I support holding the Olympics in China (politically and ...medically), the opening ceremony was quite something. And now you know why my most recent entries featured the chinese-inspired carved serpentine bead!

Serpentine and Sky Blue Quartz Necklace...Pt. 2.

And a few more photos:



I think the focal bead of this necklace photographs more nicely with a black background.




Compare it to the white background.






And finally, the necklace and earrings together.

Serpentine and Sky Blue Quartz Necklace...Pt. 1

So, the serpentine and sky blue quartz earrings match a serpentine and sky blue quartz necklace!

And this necklace is actually one of my favorite pieces. It also sold during the University City Holiday Sale, and I'm glad it did, but I kind of miss it. And the faceted sky blue quartz beads are hard to come by, and I don't have any more.



The quartz beads are over 1 cm long, and the serpentine rounds are just at the centimeter mark. The focal point of the necklace is this beautifully carved serpentine bead that measures an inch in diameter. I tried picking up the detail in this photo, but to express it in words, I'd have to say that it has a very 'Chinese dragon' feel to it. It looks like something you'd find in Imperial China.



I like how the green and blue complement one another in this piece. The focal bead and the rounds match one another (though I bought them separately) and I wasn't sure what I wanted to pair them with, but I had the quartz beads on my work table and inspiration was born!

I've linked the beads together with sterling silver wire and added a sterling silver lobsterclaw clasp.

This sold so quickly that I wish I'd charged more!

$40.

Serpentine and Sky Blue Quartz Earrings

I thought I'd share this pair of earrings I made last year. I used seafoam green serpentine round and paired them with faceted sky blue quartz. They're connected by sterling silver wire.



The above photo I took at about 2 am on a school night, right after I finished making them, but the next day, I thought to photograph them on a black velvet background to better show off their color.



I like mixing beads of different shapes and sizes, but also different textures or finishes. And the double hinging of these earrings provides a lot of swing. They sold during last year's University City Arts League Holiday Sale, but I didn't get to see who bought them, which is a shame. I'm always curious!

Price: $12.

Made Another Sale--Finally!

So, do we remember this necklace? The one that looked like brightly colored glass bullseyes?



Well, it had been sitting over at VIX Emporium for a few months, and finally, FINALLY, someone bought it! When I was last there, Emily the owner told me that someone had been in, eyeing it salaciously, but nothing had come of it. But it wasn't there when I dropped by to pick up my check yesterday and my reckoning showed that someone finally went home with it. Yay!

And in fact, most of my stuff has sold, and it really is time to bring more pieces over to VIX. Who wants to come with?