Sneak Preview: The *Safi* Earrings in Turquoise

May I present the latest pair of earrings from my *Moroccan Odyssey* Collection...

The *Safi* Earrings in Turquoise

Moroccan-inspired motifs in shades of yummy turquoise,

complimented by some impossibly delicious cobalt chalcedony briolettes...

(these babies absolutely *glow*!)

Turquoise and cobalt were just made for each other!

~*~

I'm starting to have a nice little collection of *Safi* Earrings...

they look so cheerful hanging out together...

Nothing like a dash of colour to brighten your day,

and make you feel great!

May your day be filled with glorious colour, my friends! :-)

Sneak Preview: The *Safi* Earrings in Saffron

I'm on an earring-making kick!

I couldn't stop at just one pair of *Safi* earrings...

...I had to make more...

I've had lots of fun playing with bold colour combinations.

This saffron-hued pair speak of Summer and sunshine...

The AAA chalcedony briolettes are a beautiful pale aqua...


...there is something so lovely about chalcedony!


I'm loving the exotic 'tilak' cut, too...

More earrings coming soon...


And some necklaces too!


~*~


I had my back turned for all of two seconds while I was outside taking photos of these earrings when...

...somebody discovered a lovely puddle of mud in the driveway...

...I was laughing so hard I could hardly hold the camera still to take photos!

Thankfully India, ever the princess, wisely decided to steer clear of the mud and pick flowers instead...

Moroccan earrings and mud pies...who could ask for a better day?! ;-)

Sneak Preview: The *Safi* Earrings in Azure

I'm thrilled to be creating again...

It just feels...right :-)

So it is with much joy that I bring you the latest creation from my *Moroccan Odyssey* Collection...

The *Safi* Earrings in Azure

Inspired by the Moroccan city of Safi which is renowned for it's beautiful, colourful pottery...

Photo credit: Zaphgod


Who wouldn't be inspired by these exquisite colours!



Photo credit: Hypo Centre


These earrings feature my original beadwoven medallions in shades of cobalt, delicious mystic orange carnelian briolettes, and hand forged earwires...

All metal components are sterling silver, which I have patinated and brushed for an antique look...

Cobalt and orange are my favourite colours at the moment...I find them so uplifting!


But the *Safi* earrings are begging to be created in other colours too.  Stay tuned ;-)


What colours are you loving right now?

My creative space...

...is turquoise and orange...

...however, I think I may have a problem, because...

...I can't stop making things...

...in these colours...

...h...e...l...p...!

More creative spaces over at Kootoyoo.

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!

Ophelia earrings

I love creating earrings.  

They are a small enough project to provide almost instant gratification.

They give me the opportunity to test colourways, metals and materials on a small scale before commiting to a larger and more time-consuming project.

Oh, and I love wearing them too :-)

My 'Ophelia' earrings are one of my latest designs...

In shades of olive and sage, with antiqued brass findings and chain, they have a decidedly vintage look to them...just the look I was aiming for!

Ophelia was a character in Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', and the subject of a number of paintings by John William Waterhouse...the name seemed just right for my romantic, vintage-look earrings...

There is a matching 'Ophelia' bracelet and necklace to come.  And the set will form part of a future collection that I have planned.  Stay tuned!

Thanks for looking, and be well!

Earrings galore

I just can't get enough of earrings at the moment. There is something so satisfying in weaving together a handful of beads and creating something wearable within an hour or two. Now that's what I call instant gratification!

I thought these creole hoops were interesting as soon as I saw them. I had lots of fun bringing them to life by weaving my tiny beads around them.

These 'starfish' were supposed to be part of a necklace, but I changed my mind about including them. Too cute to throw in my box of 'naughty bits', I whipped them up into a pair of earrings. Voila!

And finally, some very simple right angle weave and netted earrings in yummy shades of chocolate and cream. Good enough to eat! ;)

Earrings...and some beaded beads

Following are my first ever attempts at creating earrings. I don't know why I didn't make any sooner. Quick and easy, and requiring a minimum of materials, each pair was created in a few hours. Perfect for Christmas gifts :)

The bronze/turquoise pair was created with delicas, Czech fire-polished beads, copper daggers, and size 15 seed beads:

The turquoise pair was created with Czech seed beads in sizes 11, 8 and 6, Czech pressed glass leaves and a couple of turquoise stones. Not real turquoise, probably dyed howlite:

The purple earrings were created with purple AB crystal teardrops, delicas and size 15 seed beads:

And the back:

And just for fun, some beaded beads in crazy, bright colours. Can you tell I'm not afraid to use colour? LOL One day I'll learn how to tone it down ;-)

This photo taken in sunlight better shows the true colours of the beads. Vibrant, huh. I made up each bead as I went along, using cubic RAW, triangle weave, or a combination of both. These were so fun to make. And quick! Three hours of beadweaving produced the set of five, which I have collectively named 'The Moulin Rouge Collection' because the colours reminded me of those a cabaret dancer would wear! LOL :-)