Light Hearted Jewelry

I know that summer's almost over, but today is still in the low 90s and light jewelry is so appealing. It's fun and easy to make with little dangles made of PMC, some pearls, some beach glass. And blue is a color that can be worn year round. The necklace on the right uses Czech pressed glass in a matte finish along with blue quartz and silver dagger beads. Just the thing to look cool on the last hot days of summer!

Bracelets, bracelets!!

Slinky, sexy, silvery bracelets - yes, I have been going bracelet crazy in the last couple of days. I love the rich colors of natural gemstones - fluorite, deep red carnelian, blue opals, and natural carnelian which ranges from palest of yellows to dark rust. I love to combine the gems with the little silver daisy spacer beads and use a silver magnetic clasp with a guard chain and a dangle. So delightful to wear, combining them with most other bracelets or colors is easy to do. Try the purple amethyst (not shown but available) and either fluorite or natural carnelian. Or, combine the two different carnelians - gorgeous, slinky fun!

A Purple Heart

A dear friend of mine loves purple. Her bedroom is painted purple with purple carpeting. Over the years I have made purple earrings, purple necklaces and purple bracelets for her, and even given her a purple linen blouse. Now I have decided she needs a purple heart. Why? Because of her amazing gift of herself to help the orphaned children of Zambia. She has just returned from spending 2 weeks in Zambia with the group Mothers Without Borders. While she was there, she celebrated her 72nd birthday, building housing and working in the fields to make bricks with a pickax! Way to go, Jo! If you are interested in seeing what these wonderful people are doing to help with the one million orphaned children due to AIDS, check out www.motherswithoutborders.org

Organics and Silver

Combining sterling silver beads with artisan lampwork is very basic, and usually the resulting piece is worth a good price. When working with natural organic materials such as shells it can be trickier to produce a piece that makes an impact and is worth a good price. These beautiful fossilized coral pieces are hand carved and very dramatic - perfect for the focal point. Thai silver shells and lampwork beads set it off. But for big impact, the vintage ostrich eggshell really makes the necklace. Vintage ostrich eggshell such as this is no longer available, the standard ostrich egg shell is very thick and rather mottled looking - but this older version is slinky and elegant and sets off the fossilized coral in a subtle way. Additional Thai silver woven beads and silver chunky beads add to the natural effect. I enjoy combining natural and artisan made objects like this.