Showing posts with label beads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beads. Show all posts

Friday, June 27, 2008

Dragonfly Lore

They say when a dragonfly lands on you, you will hear excellent news from someone far away from home.

Dragonflies, or damselflies, were connected to Freya the Norse goddess of love, fertility and warfare. Freya was famous for her beauty and her knowledge as a magician. It was she who taught Odin the shamanic practices known as seidr which were still practiced during Christian times. The paired bodies of mating dragonflies form the shape of a heart, perhaps being the source for that modern symbol of love. In ancient lore, the dragonfly represents transformation, adaptation and insight. (Source: Crystalinks)

I find their iridescent gracefulness charming, and have clothing and jewelry featuring their images, so this necklace seems like a natural to me. I have taken a brass casting dragonfly made from a vintage mold and paired it with a beautiful 29mm ocean blue jade briolette to signify the water, which draws them, and some moonstone nuggets that are iridescent, like their wings. The necklace also has two kinds of small coppery Czech beads. The necklace is 21" long and has a lobster claw closure; if you would like it longer, let me know. If you want it a lot longer, a small extra charge may be involved.

The dragonfly has a 2 7/8" wing span and is 2 1/2" long. It's meant to hang just below the clavicle, but wear it as you feel comfortable. It sells for $27.50

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Lots of sexy quartz.

Eve, The Seductress
First, take a big, juicy faceted asymmetrical ruby quartz stone and then place it above a long, lovely crystal quartz stick, all held together with sterling wire. The ruby quartz stones are a beautiful fresh blood red, and for those who might be inclined to describe jewelry as sexy (my sweetie kind of laughed when I said they were sexy -- some people just don't get it...), these earrings are. Partly it's the ruby quartz, its color and glow. But also it's the smooth drip of the crystal quartz sticks, lovely inclusions sparkling n the light. The mix of textures and shapes really make these a captivating pair of earrings.

As mentioned, the sticks are full of lovely inclusions. I can appreciate AAA-quality stones, that's for sure. There's something about the flawlessness that can be captivating. But really, in some ways I love the flawed ones even more, because they catch the light differently, and remind us that yes, these are real stones, with real imperfections, not imitation. These earrings are 2 1/4" long at the drop and their price: $22.50. And yes, they are sexy. Very sexy. :)

The Little Black Dress
This next pair are very much like the previous pair, except they are made from faceted, asymmetrical jet black quartz. Another difference is that the quartz crystals on these are a bit shorter, for an overall shorter earring at 2" from the drop. The black facets, smooth crystal sticks and shiny sterling silver all lend a nice glimmer and glow.

These earrings have the same sexy quotient, and with elegance to boot. Definitely the perfect earrings to wear with that little black dress. This pair also sells for $22.50.

Bubble Gum
This tiny, little pair of rose quartz and pink and blue Czech glass earrings remind me of my teen years in their colors and freshness. I didn't alter this photo to make the earrings glow; they just glow all on their own, in the light.

The focal stones are 6mm pale rose quartz coin disc beads, with lots of lovely inclusions. They are snuggled in with frosted baby blue and iridescent pink Czech beads. The length of the earrings are exactly 1" at the drop. Cute, swingy little things. And very affordable at $8.50.

Swag
I adore swingy, swaggy earrings, and especially on people with short hair, where the earrings hang down and swig around hypnotically. I particularly like it when it's earrings that pick up the light like these purple-y lavender lampwork and Czech glass earrings do.

All metal is sterling silver, of course, including the chain. The beads used are pearlized large, and bi-color seed (purple center, blue outside), Czech glass. These are used at the top of the earrings, and then also to surround the luminescent lampwork glass earrings made with purple and lavender center and outside, with light pink-lavender swirls and polka dots. They measure 2 1/8" at the drop and sell for $16.50.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Two new pair of earrings.

Of course people have varying preferences when it comes to earring length and weight, so I try to satisfy that by making a variety. Lately I've had a long-earring-jones, so I made two pair that are quite substantial, being a bit over 2" long.

"Springtime" is the name of the first pair.
This last Winter was a pretty severe one. Spring comes and it's like waking up from a slumber. These earrings express some of that joy of color and vibrant awakening.

These earrings are are about 2 1/8" long, from where the ear wire ends and the drop begins. They are made from two lampwork barrel beads with flower designs in shades of reds and pinks, white and aqua embedded in green apple glass. The beads are nestled between two silver accent beads and little turquoise seed beads.

Dangling from them are silver-wrapped 4mm garnet coin beads, peridot nuggets, white freshwater pearls and more seed beads. The ear wire is sterling silver.

These next earrings are called "Still Waters."

I tell you, these were the hardest darned earrings to shoot and try to represent accurately. They are made of large pieces of faceted quartz in the most delicate, watery aqua color, and they just kind of washed out under the lens of the camera.

These earrings are 2 1/4" long from the beginning of the drop to the bottom-most beads.

There is a hole in the upper third of the beads, from which dangle varying lengths of delicate sterling silver figaro chains.

At the end of each chain are silver-wrapped freshwater pearls, copper seed beads, peridot nuggets, turquoise seed beads, as well as 4mm aurora borealis and aqua bi-cone swarovski crystals. They're great on someone with short hair, and feel very swaggy. Not for sale, as these are sold.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Welcome!

Welcome to Adorn Me jewelry!

Jewelry, and even more specifically, a love of stones, metals, pearls and elements of jewelry-making, has been a lifelong passion -- one that has never dimmed or dulled over time.

Adorn Me jewelry has a focus on making unique pieces that will never have its exact match, even when the same materials are used, because of the differences in stones, and because the technique is far removed from assembly line jewelry (have done assembly line type of jewelry creation and it's mind numbingly boring -- never again!).

Adorn Me makes jewelry for all sizes of bodies, but there is a special focus on very large women who have a hard time finding unique, beautiful necklaces, bracelets and anklets in their size.

Adorn Me is happy to take special orders. If there is something specific you are looking for, please drop an email and we'll set it up. The contact form on Adorn Me's home site at AdornMeJewelry.net is set up for that, but there's not much else there yet, as making jewelry has been priority one so far.

This first set was custom made for a client who likes bracelet and earring sets.

My client likes this enough that she now wants a matching necklace, which will be in the works shortly. Materials used are pink-y plum blister pearls, fresh water pearls, amethyst nuggets, a variety of glass beads, Swarovski crystals and sterling silver. She prefers a lobster claw clasp on the bracelet, so that is what was used. The bracelet is 9" long and the earrings about 1 3/4" from the ear wire drop.

These next photos are of the set in alternate lighting, so the colors show up a bit differently, and just for the heck of it, a closeup of a fresh water pearl and one of the glass beads.
Wire-wrapping is a time-consuming art, and therefore fetches a higher price than when just strung beads. It's a joy, though. Been doing this for decades now and it doesn't get old.


This last photo is of the focal point of the bracelet. It is a cluster of pearls, amethysts and glass beads held together by sterling silver wire. The blister pearls spark iridescent hues of blues, purples, red, pinks, fuschia and silver, while the fresh water pearls have their own soft glow. Finally, the glass beads give off their own varied glimmer. This is an excellent set to wear dressed down a bit during the day. But at night -- at night, dressed in your finery, a set like this would flicker, twinkle and spark on the surface of your skin.


Still working on image quality and trying to make improvements. I just think I will need a new camera at some point, so please forgive the less than stellar photos.