The *Earth Mother* Necklace

A gift,

wrought of silver and stone...

An ode to Mother Earth,

for an Earth Mother...

The back of the cabochon was too beautiful to cover.


The essence of Mother Earth,


captured in stone...

So I learnt a new technique*,


to let her shine,

to let her breathe.

She is held by a whisper of silver...

A drop of natural faceted chalcedony,


magnificently milky....

...and faceted aquamarines twinkle above her,

like stars on a cloudless night...

An Earth Mother necklace...

...for my very own Earth Mother.

Merry Christmas, Mum.


B.
-xo-


*I taught myself how to create step bezel.  Rather than create a bezel using sheet metal which covers the entire back of the cabochon, I used heavy gauge wire to create a 'step' inside the bezel.  The wire is just enough to hold the stone securely, but thin enough to expose the maximum amount of stone.  Sheesh, it sounds simple when I say it like that! LOL  But to get a snug fit was, well, HOURS of work!!


Oh, and eight soldering joins went into the creation of this necklace! <:-)

The 'Marrakech' earrings

Last week I was fortunate enough to meet one of my favourite bead suppliers in person, the lovely Jo of Cranberry Beads, at the Perth Bead Fair.  I came home with some gorgeous new seed beads and some of them have already found their way into one of my latest projects...

Following along with my Moroccan theme, the Marrakech earrings feature seed beads in shades of bronze, chocolate, silver...

...from the teardrop-shaped earrings hang three gorgeous wire-wrapped micro faceted smoky quartz briolettes...

...the earrings are slightly convex in shape, and are reminiscent of the arches and domes so frequently found in Moroccan architecture...

I wasn't sure about this design after I made the first earring, so I let it sit in my studio while I mulled on it overnight.  My husband saw it, loved it, and assured me it was a great design.  What do you think, should I listen to my husband more often? ;-)

Thanks for looking, and be well!