Showing posts with label jewellery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jewellery. Show all posts

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Item of the Day

Today's Item of the Day is a seasonal offering - "Fall Pumpkins" from the Sheriff's Daughter.



When I saw these sweet Czech glass pumpkin beads, I knew I had to have them. They're such fun.
Adding a Czech glass leaf, I hung them on a pair of large, antiqued brass hoops to make a cute pair of Autumn earrings. Enjoy!
(P.S. My "significant other" was cross when he saw I'd called them "Fall" pumpkins - they should, of course, be "Autumn" as we're in Europe.)

Monday, October 5, 2009

Item of the day - Fire and ashes


"Fire and ashes" is what I called this necklace crocheted from red coated copper wire and hematite beads. The name suggested itself looking at the contrast between the bright red of the wire and the grey shimmer of the hematite.
The necklace is 40 cm long and thus lies close around your neck, but is no choker.



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Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Item of the Day

Today's item is "Glacial" - a necklace from The Sheriff's Daughter.



The aquamarine nuggets in this necklace are a beautiful shade of icy blue. As a child, I was lucky enough to have a summer holiday in Norway and we visited a glacier. As we squeezed through a huge crack at the end of the glacier, you could look right into the ice and it was just this shade of blue...or that is how I remember it anyway.


The necklace is designed to be worn with the heart toggle clasp at the front, but you could wear it at the back where, if you have long hair like me, it could be our little secret...



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Saturday, September 19, 2009

Item of the day - Green Fairy necklace


This necklace is made from dark green copper wire, faceted green glass crystals and dark green satin ribbon.
The wire has been spool knit with the crystals worked right in while the ribbon is just running inside. As the ribbon has not been added later, it got twisted during the crafting which gives a nice touch.
There is no clasp, the necklace is tied with the ribbon ends which means you can wear the bow in the back or in front for that little extra.


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Friday, September 11, 2009

Newly Listed

What a wonderful selection of newly listed items we have to choose from. Everyone has been hard at work making and listing some of the most beautiful and unusual pieces just for you.
What amazing lampwork beads from Silver Soul; her blue moon earings are just so pretty. Just look at those Swarovski crystal bicones added as an extra to the silver ear wires.
Spotted Sparrow offers these handmade cards either singley or as a set of 4. In case you are wondering; the pages are from a vintage German encyclopedia. The cards are also blank inside awaiting your message.
Cat's Wire has caught a wonderful fossilised piece of coral in this coral heart pendant The necklace itself is made from black cotton satin ribbon and a gold wire spool knit together.

Goldlily has created this Silver Angel earring set. What a wonderful gift for someone going away; their own set of guardian angels
You can click on any of the pictures or the highlighted descriptions to be taken to that item. Whilst there, have a look at some of the other wonderful works in our studios. Enjoy!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Item of the day - crab agate pendant with spool knit rope


If you want to catch attention and make a statement with big and bold jewelry, this might be your piece.
A large faceted orange crab agate has been set in a gunmetal wire crochet bezel with a hand-wrapped bail and teamed with a spool knit rope made from black satin ribbon and gunmetal wire.


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Thursday, August 27, 2009

Item of the Day

I called these earrings Pots of Honey because the color of the lampwork beads is such a warm golden honey shade which is further enhanced by the soft glow of the vermeil spacer beads, beadcaps and earwires.

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Monday, August 24, 2009

Item of the day: Botswana Agate earrings

Today's item of the day comes from Kitty Ballistic - a pair of earrings featuring beautiful Botswana Agate beads.



When I saw these beautiful agate coin beads, I had to buy them. They have a lovely milky sheen to them, and the banding is particularly attractive, although as you will see in the photo, the beads are not identical. I still think they work as a pair though, and the simple sterling silver earwires don't draw attention away from the agate banding.


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Sunday, August 23, 2009

Item of the Day

Today's item of the day comes from The Sheriffs Daughter - a set of charms called "Handful of Eyes", in joyful anticipation of Halloween.


The seven charms in the set are made with great lampwork eyeball beads (Thank you, Hoss of Beads) - each is unique and has two eyes (so you can see trouble coming from two directions at once?) - with silver beads and Swarovski crystals. These could be added to earrings, strung on a chain or thong (singly or in a bunch) or made into a cell phone charm, or given to your favourite spooky chums...

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Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Item of the day - olive wood disk pendant


A beautifully patterned olive wood disk has been crocheted into a bezel of metallic brown shimmering copper wire with black beads added to form this unusal pendant that has an old-fashioned look to me.
A big and bold piece that is sure to catch attention.


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Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Item of the Day

Snow and Ice by Silver Soul Design

It seems so wrong to even mention snow and ice in August but that is what I called this necklace, it just seems to fit.

It is made with frosted quartz nuggets, clear crystal beads and a heart shaped pendant, Bali silver spacers, pendant focal and clasp.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Item of the Day

Today's item of the day is "Luna" - a necklace from The Sheriff's Daughter.



The "Luna" in this necklace is a beautiful, textured Thai Hill Tribe silver disc. Teamed with faceted pink opalite beads, and finished with a Thai silver hammered toggle clasp, this has a feminine and almost ethereal look to it.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Item of the day - hippie flower wire crochet bracelet


Do you remember the times? If you are my age, you probably do, the 60s and 70s. Colors mixed together very randomly, almost everything was possible and the scent of flowers were in the air. Let the sunshiiiiiiiine in ;-)
This bracelet is made from single crochet wire flowers in different colors that have been combined and finished off with a sterling silver toggle clasp.

Ssssh, and Germans might even be reminded of dish soap ... know what I mean?

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Crafty tip - oxidizing copper or silver with an egg

Let me first tell you that I was not the brightest light bulb in my chemistry class. Or the physics class. My math teacher told me when he heard that I wouldn't take math in the last year that we would be getting along great. It was not even that I couldn't have done it, but I didn't like it. I am not the scientific kind of person. I like words, I like languages, I was from the other side of town, so-to-speak. In the 11th grade, my chemistry teacher didn't even know my name. He knew it after he caught me imitating him in the hallway. Too much information, sorry.
What I am trying to say is chemistry is not for my mother's daughter. Just the word „LOS“ scared me. „Liver of sulphur“ wasn't any better (although my cats raised their heads on the "liver" part and put it back down on the "sulphur" part). So what was I to do when I wanted to oxidize my first piece?

Some of my new jewelry friends told me how to do it with an egg. An ordinary egg? Maybe they didn't want to be my friends after all and made fun of me? They convinced me they were being serious.

Are you ready to rock'n'roll, sorry, I mean to boil?

Let's go ahead.

Step 1

You take an egg (no, it doesn't have to be a brown one) and boil it until it's hard.



Step 2

Put the egg into a plastic bag or a bowl with a lid. I used the bag for you to see better. Now smash it. Don't be shy. Do you see the steam? It's good to put the egg in there hot because the fumes spread better and that's what we want I've been told, the fumes from the shell.


Step 3

Here comes our piece, in this case it's a little “hat” made from copper with jasper beads. It's not really a hat, but it reminded me of one when I saw it from the side. The copper is still shiny here. As my camera is playing tricks on me at the moment, it doesn't look super shiny here, but you can tell the copper is still light-colored and unsuspecting as to what is going to happen to it soon *insert mad scientist's laughter here*



Step 4

The piece goes into the bag with the egg. You see I don't let them touch, that is only for the reason that egg is not easy to pick out of some wire crochet pieces. If you don't smash the egg that hard, you can even eat it afterwards, but I always have the feeling it works better like that. Now you close the bag and leave the two of them in there for a while. I just left them in the oven overnight. No, not in a heated oven, that would be stupid even for someone who is not a smart cook, I had to protect them from my cats.


Step 5

Here it comes fresh out of the bag. Look at that copper, it's gray! Gee, that was some tough egg. Now if you like to, go to work on the surface, depending on if you want the whole piece to be dark or if you prefer highlights. This is definitely too dark in my book, so I would scrub it down in places, but I'll spare you this part.


Yes, LOS is faster and yes, I guess it's more predictable, but it is also a lot smellier and it's chemistry.

As for me, I will have a smashed egg sandwich now, thank you very much ;-)



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Friday, July 31, 2009

Item of the Day: Dotted lampwork earrings

Here's a couple of earrings with lampwork beads that I've made myself. The beads are coral coloured sith stacked dots in black, white and petrol green. All metal parts are sterling silver.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Item of the Day: Snow White



This is a classy timeless look! A necklace of shell pearls in white with a lovely mother of pearl pendant set in sterling silver interspersed with tiny silver charlotte spacers and an easy to use sterling silver hook clasp.

There are also pretty little pearl earrings on sterling silver earwires to match.

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Friday, July 24, 2009

Item of the Day

Today's item is one of my favourite necklaces (am I supposed to say that?) - "Angel Wings".




This necklace is made of lovely, faceted opalite nuggets and crystal rondelles, with both silver beads and silver-plated seed beads. It features a pair of silver-plated brass wings at its heart, suspending another pretty opalite drop. The wings are so detailed that you can see every feather...

Monday, July 20, 2009

Item of the day - fine silver wire crochet flower earrings


Like a drop of water inside a flower one rock crystal briolette each sparkles in a crocheted setting made from fine silver wire. The earwires are handmade from sterling silver wire. These are lightweight, everyday earrings that give your outfit that extra sparkly little kick. Understatement, yet with class.

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Friday, July 17, 2009

Newly listed feelgood items


Sometimes, it can be great just to find some items that make you feel good. Just that little personal treat to help you stand up to these tough times.
How about this amazing necklace by Silver soul Design. it's called midsummer flowers and is just breathtaking; perfect for any special occasion


How about something that is cute and also practical? This lovely little purse by Materialised is called "by Moonlight" It's luxury abound with velvet, faux suede and sequins


Then there is a great tote bag that will cheer you up wherever you go. What a great saying; makes me smile. Jenny Karlsson has done it again with another instant classic. "Sanity Calms - but madness is more interesting" a solid dependable bag with real embroidery.

...and finally, we have this wonderful fluffy scarf, handknitted by loopylou in a most glamorous pink. Ladies scarf is just one of the many, many, adorable products you can find that will make you feel like a princess; and we all need a bit of that now and then don't we?
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Monday, July 13, 2009

Item of the Day: Atlantis Revisited


My choice today is a silver and Swarovski crystal necklace in Bermuda Blue shade, one of my favourite shades that seem to encompass all the colours from aqua to greeny turquoise to deep dark blue with sometimes just a hint of yellow in the centre of the pendant.
The pendant is wire wrapped and suspended from a curved sterling silver bar which is connected to more Bermuda blue crystal beads and hammered oval Bali silver connectors in 2 sizes.


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