Pretty Roses in My Garden ~ 52 Earrings: week 22

Oops! I was so busy that I missed making earrings for week 21... yikes! The theme was "sea". I had some good ideas going, but didn't get any of them finished in time. So I'll try again next week and hopefully get caught up... and show you TWO pairs! :-)

Here's what I made for this week (week 22, if anyone's counting)...

If I had a flower garden, it would be full of roses in all colors. I love roses!

I made these rose beads using the same mold I had made for my Scattered Roses earrings a couple weeks back. I cast them in a deep red clay and painted them in layers of copper, purple, and light blue, which gave them a look of patinated copper. I combined them with czech glass, antique brass, and tufts of blue fabric.


These beads were really fun to make and I got a little carried away and made some more for you all to use in your own jewelry creations!

See them in my shop here.

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week twenty-two.

See you next week with another pair TWO pairs!!

Spirals and Stars ~ 52 Earrings: week 20

Today I was feeling very uncreative. (I'm not the only one that gets that way sometimes, right?) I wasn't in the mood to make some new beads, so I thought I'd try for something that was easy. I dug through my box of unused and "nearly" discarded beads—beads that hadn't turned out as exciting as I'd expected and had been saved for a later date in hopes of gaining new life. I found two discs with a carved spiral. They were originally a blotchy yellow and brown. I quickly changed that with layers of blue and copper paint. While the paint was drying, I searched though drawers of glass and gemstone beads and found some sodalite rounds and stars, opalite, and some iridescent faceted crystals. I simply wrapped them in a circle with brown Zebra Wire, hung them on some brass earwires... and that was that... my result of a very uncreative day.

I think I like them. :-)

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week twenty.

See you next week with another pair!

Scattered Roses ~ 52 Earrings: week 19

This week's theme is "anything faux"—that's an easy one for me! I immediately chose turquoise and coral. I love doing turquoise and coral! The challenge came in when I had to decide WHAT to make. I thought about it all week and didn't come up with anything really fabulous, until last night when I found some vintage rose beads in a box hidden away in my closet. (That box holds odds and ends from broken and old jewelry, and I was searching for something for my button challenge designs... just in case you're wondering... I didn't end up using the beads I was originally looking for, but when I found the roses, I was glad I had gone looking! :-)

So anyway... I used the rose beads to make a mold with a scattered rose pattern and then I cast the turquoise beads. For the coral beads, I just smushed two little balls of coral clay around until I got a nice coral-y shape. Both the turquoise and coral beads got a black patina and a light buffing for a soft sheen. And then I wrapped them up with silver wire—I think these are the first earrings that I've made in silver for this challenge.

I got a little carried away with photographing and got a couple extra shots...

I just love the way these turned out! I'll definitely be making some for my shop soon!

And here's one last shot that was just too cute to not share with you all...

Peter Rabbit came for a visit and says "hi" to all in blogland! :-)

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week nineteen.

See you next week with another pair!

Rusty Orange ~ 52 Earrings: week 18

*** See the previous post for my One Crayon Color Challenge creations ***

I still had orange from the One Crayon Color Challenge on my mind when I designed these new earrings. I wanted something that coordinated with the bracelets, but wasn't too match-y. I started by making a pair of polymer beads using the same rusty orange I had used to make the pony bead. I gave them both a black patina with gold accents and combined them with carnelian, amber "sea glass", and antique brass. And just for fun, I added a hemp tassel. I'm putting tassels on all kinds of things these days! I think I've been bitten by the tassel bug! :-)

And here's how it all looks together! This set is SO me!

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week eighteen.

See you next week with another pair!

Tangerine Tango ~ 52 Earrings: week 17

I'm not sure how I keep cranking out the earrings... and right at the deadline! Anke sure is keeping me on my toes with this challenge! And I'm enjoying it!

This week the theme (themes are every other week) is Tangerine Tango and as much as I like orange, this one had me stumped. Mixing the color was easy enough (although it was hard to photograph, which explains the not-so-vibrant look), but then I went through so many different ideas for the beads. I knew right away I wanted to do roses. I went from one idea that involved sculpting roses, to another that used lace, and another that required mold making... I'm all out of mold making compound so that wouldn't work... And then I remembered some knives with fancy handles I'd found at Goodwill recently—one had the perfect rose for my design! I smushed the knife handle into the clay, cut out my beads, popped them into the oven... and ta-da! beads for my earrings! I gave them both a white and copper patina and did some "messy" wirewrapping with a few orange czech glass beads—and there you have it—my Tangerine Tango earrings!

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week seventeen.

See you next week with another pair!

And Summer Turned to Autumn ~ 52 Earrings: week 16

I know, I know! You're going to tell me I've got the seasons all mixed up—it's still only Spring! And it is. But I've been thinking of Autumn, which is, after all, my very favorite season. Every Spring when the oak leaves start to open I'm reminded of Autumn—each little leaf is so tiny and velvety and tipped in red... each a perfect replica of what they grow into later in the year. And so, today I couldn't help but make earrings inspired by my favorite time of year—even if it is still months away.

I used two of my polymer leaf charms and combined them with light tortoiseshell czech glass, caramel czech saucers, green seed beads, brass bead caps and wrapped them all together with antique brass wire.

A few photos of the miniature Autumn leaves for you to enjoy...

They are each only about 1/2 an inch long!

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week sixteen.

See you next week with another pair!

Bright New Day ~ 52 Earrings: week 15

*** Go here to see my Flap Your Wings reveal post. ***

The theme for week 15 is Easter. For my earrings, my inspiration was the beauty of the early morning light—promise of a new day, new beginnings, and hope. I chose two of my new yellow rose beads (some roses are in my shop now... with more to come!) and combined them with soft pinks and golden yellows and wrapped it all together with bronze wire... and then I had to wait for some sunshine to snap a photo to show you all... I hope you like them!

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week fifteen.

See you next week with another pair!

Racing in Turquoise and Coral ~ 52 Earrings: week 14

 When it comes to horse jewelry, I love turquoise and coral... I don't know why, but they both just seem to be meant to go with horses. So, for these earrings I started by making some new turquoise/coral inlay horse beads (I'm going to list some more in my shop next week! :-). And then I combined them with the coral beads from Pam Hurst and the Bead Soup Party, antique brass, black onyx rounds, and black seed beads. Yep... I'm really going to have fun wearing them!!

And here's one more photo of my horses for you horse lovers out there:

A big thanks to my sister, Bethanne for taking this GORGEOUS photo of Strider and Lady on a very snowy day!

 Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week fourteen.

See you next week with another pair!

Happy Easter!!

Wild Ponies ~ 52 Earrings: week 13

This week's theme is "twigs" and for my earrings I decided to use actual real twigs! I went for a southwestern style and decorated the twigs with hemp and seed beads and then I wired on a pair of my stamped pony coins. Perfect for this horse-loving girl!

My two horses:

My spirited girl, Lady

And my handsome and ever-gentle Strider

Lady chowing down on green grass in the early morning sunshine.

Steamy Strider—I love this photo of him!

And eating some more...

 Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week thirteen.

See you next week with another pair!

Apple Blossoms ~ 52 Earrings: week 12

I love springtime! I'm always amazed at how green and colorful everything becomes after being so drab and brown for months. I could easily spend all day outdoors enjoying the beauty of the season!

For this week's earrings I picked an apple blossom, carefully made a mold with it, and cast some new earring drops in a light green/gold polymer clay. After they cured, I added a black patina and put them together with antique brass wire and two little carnelian coins.

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week twelve.

See you next week with another pair!

Great Grandma's Buttons ~ 52 Earrings: week 11

*** Enter my bead giveaway here! :-) ***

When Anke upped the challenge for the 52 Earrings group this week to using Spring as our theme for our next earrings, I knew right away I wanted to make a pair of earrings to coordinate with my Butterfly Dreams necklace I made for the Bead Soup Party.

Butterfly Dreams

I started out by sculpting a few flower designs, but all of them met the same end... and were smushed. I just wasn't in the sculpting mood. I dug through my box of molds and found one I had made a long time ago, but had never used. It was a simple flower button. And what made it even better was it was a mold from one of my Great Grandma's buttons. In my button stash I found two mother-of-pearl buttons that were also her's. How perfect! First the necklace made with her butterfly buttons (that I'd been hording for ages!) and now more buttons to make coordinating earrings! I cast my new buttons in a dark pink clay and gave them each a shabby white patina. And then I paired them up with the mother-of-pearl buttons, peacock pearls, and antique brass.

And here they are!

Cute and spring-y and the perfect pair of earrings to wear with my necklace!

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week eleven.

See you next week with another pair!

Wired Triangles ~ 52 Earrings: week 10

It's funny sometimes how ideas can seem so easy until the real work begins! These earrings are fairly simple, but judging by the bits of wire and various beads strewn all over my table... not to mention all the time spent getting the wire wrapping just so... whew! these earrings were quite a work out! They had started out in silver wire, with very different beads, but these colors seemed so perfect together, so I stuck with them. I can't wait to wear them out! They're made up of blue czech glass, antique brass spacers and bead caps, honey extruded polymer rounds, and bronze wire. I think maybe I really have a thing about wire wrapping... can you tell? ;-)

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week ten.

See you next week with another pair!

Flowers in Red ~ 52 Earrings: week 9

We're just a short while from the Bead Soup Party reveal (yay!!), so this week's earrings are another quick pair. They're made up of new red flower links, spotted blue and black ceramic, antique brass spacers and caps, and red rondelles.

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week nine.

See you next week with another pair!

Turtles by the Seaside ~ 52 Earrings: week 8

It's week eight of the 52 Pairs of Earrings a Year challenge and once again I'm scrambling to get something put together. I know, you all were probably expecting something totally fabulous like my Happy Returns last week, weren't you? Well, this week I have bead soup simmering on the stove and it's not leaving me much time for anything else.

So, for the second time (and I'm sure it won't be the last!) I dug deep into my polymer bead stash and found a few remnants: textured terracotta rondelles, bone rondelles and curved discs, and two seashells. To those I added frosted czech glass, ceramic rondelles, antique brass spacers and bead caps, and the cutest, little tiny brass turtles from Patina Queen on Etsy.

I'm dreaming of warm weather, the scent of sea salt, and sand in between my toes... and in the meantime I'm cooking bead soup!

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week eight.

See you next week with another pair!

Happy Returns ~ 52 Earrings: week 7

Remember last week's earrings? They were preceded by three other attempts. These new earrings were one of them. The polymer beads started out as a not-so-nice olive green. They weren't even baked when I gave up on them. It was almost dark out so I just hurried through my bead stash and more or less threw the Mystique earrings together and snapped a photo right at sunset.

The sad, ugly green beads went into the oven later... I figured there couldn't be any harm in baking them. All week I kept thinking about them and wondering if I could actually revive them. Wednesday evening I decided to add a little paint... maybe that would help. I brushed on layer upon layer. Yellow, orange, green, blue, copper... They actually started to look better! Then I decided to paint little dots. Not sure where that idea came from! I'm not a polka-dot loving girl at all!! But it seemed to fit.

I finished them off with two-tone czech crystals and some brass and glass beads. And to make them a little fancier, I sprinkled in some toho beads with the wire wrapping at the top. I think they're my favorite pair so far!

And so I decided to call them Happy Returns... an ugly idea revisited turned into a happy pair of earrings!

The fabric in the photo is my new top... somehow I got the colors to match perfectly!!

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week seven.

See you next week with another pair!

Mystique ~ 52 Earrings: week 6

Another last minute pair of earrings for the challenge! These are the result of three ideas getting thrown out! My first two ideas involved making new beads, but too many kinks developed along the way, and my third idea was just way too simple and boring.

So, I stuck with these. They're made up of ridged rounds (I picked two purplish ones from my latest batch), pewter polymer discs textured with Queen Anne's Lace, and czech crystals. They went through a couple changes and originally had dangles hanging from the bottom hole. I finally went with a little wirework to fill in the hole and give them a more finished look -- I just don't like a hole with nothing hanging from it!

I still can't decide if I like the way they turned out... I think I may add a few more crystals...

What do you all think? Are they a good pair or a bad pair? Do they need more work?

One thing's for sure: this challenge really keeps me challenged! I'm so accustomed to being able to think about an idea until it's perfect in my mind.... and THEN I begin creating. Today I took what I had and made what came to mind, without really too much thought.

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week six.

See you next week with another pair!

Raindrops in the Woods ~ 52 Earrings: week 5

Another last minute pair of earrings! I actually had these planned for last week, but then ran out of time. The loops are teal polymer clay. I textured them with a spiral stamp I made eons ago and filled in the detail with burnt umber acrylic paint. Then I sanded the edges of the loops and also the ends of the wood beads for a more worn and rustic look.

The scattered spirals with tiny dots, combined with the wooden beads make me think of raindrops falling in a woodland pool. I really like how they turned out... they're big and they're boho... and they match my new handbag! I love brown and teal together!

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week five.

Already I have a plan for next week's pair. See you then!

Wild Asters ~ 52 Earrings: week 4

It's the end of week 4 and I'm just getting my earrings finished... at the very last minute! I had another design planned, but it will have to wait until next time. It would have taken a few more days to finish. So, I chose two Aster Wheel discs from my latest batch (I'll have some listed in my shop very soon :-) and did some quirky wirework with a couple czech glass crystals... and there you have it: Wild Asters. They're a little different than what I usually make, but I really like the look.

Check out the Flickr pool here to see what everyone else mixed up for week four.

See you next week with another pair!

New Earrings for Me

Just for fun this year, I'm joining in on the 52 Pairs of Earrings a Year challenge started by Anke Humpert on Flickr.

Here's my first pair

Polymer clay rounds, czech glass flowers, and antique brass beads and bead caps.

Yeah, I know, it's now week 3 of the year, but that's okay. It's all about having fun and having more earrings... no stress!

In 2012 I will challenge myself: I will make more art - regularly!
To stick to it, I will make a pair of earrings each week (mostly polymer clay, but not exclusively!).
So 2012 is going to be a year of 52 pairs of earrings for me....! Earrings are relatively small and who does not like to have more earrings, right?
Like to join the challenge??
Just come in and show what you have made each week!

It's not too late to start. Join in on the fun here. See you next week with another pair...