New Fall Jewelry

The creative bug has bitten me hard lately with the desire to make fall-inspired jewelry!  I've been busy playing with beads both new and old... and trying to take some breaks to actually put things away and organize so I don't have so many pretties getting lost in the chaos of my studio!

As I'm gearing up for two holiday shows the first full week of December, I thought this would be a good time to share a few of the goodies I've been working on.  I plan on having all of these at my Holiday Open House on Sunday, December 4th (check out the Facebook Event HERE) and, if they are still around, the Minnesota Women's Art Festival on Saturday, December 10th.

Let me start out with some little birdie necklaces that are just dripping with art bead goodness!  I just got a few of the amazing new bird beads from Heather Powers of Humblebeads and couldn't wait to make something with them.  I've always loved Heather's solid color birds, but these are truly swoon-worthy with the rich and colorful designs she's added in using her magical abilities.  Using some design tips that Heather shared, I sat down to play with my new goodies and make some stacked necklaces.  Both necklaces are on long chain with twigs by Diane Hawkey.  The one on the left features a leaf by Tracee Dock of The Classic Bead and the one on the right has an oak leaf made by Michelle McCarthy of Firefly Design Studio.

Next up, let's continue on with the Humblebeads theme.  I whipped up a little pair of owl charms (love these little hoots!!) made by Heather by adding some matte sunset dumortierite, Czech glass, and brass.  The pair on the right features some awesome rusty, crusty polymer clay daggers made by Heather's talented husband Jess Contreras (aka Mr. Humblebeads!)

In the process of trying to get my beads organized and (a little bit more) under control, I found some pairs of little oak leaves made from dyed coconut leaves that I picked up from Allegory Gallery a couple of years ago.  Now I'm wishing that I had grabbed more of them because these earrings turned out so cute!  They are colorful and super light.  I'm so tempted to keep the orange pair, but I'll let them out into the world to find a happy new home!

Thanks for stopping by to check out my newest jewelry designs.  Now I'm going back to my bead table to get back to work creating more designs for my upcoming shows!

Acorn Inspiration

This week has certainly ushered in some fall weather rather quickly.  On Tuesday I was wearing a sundress and sandals, today I need a sweater and, shudder, socks!  (Seriously, it's 48 degrees now and we will only warm up to 58.)  I actually love fall... that delicious crispness in the air, the color changes, dreams of bonfires, pumpkins, apples, and acorns!  My problem is that living in Minnesota, fall is brief and means that our looong winter will soon be here.

But anyway, I digress.  The fall weather has lots of us thinking about fall themed jewelry.  There is a great post over on the Art Jewelry Elements blog today all about acorn and oak leaf jewelry and its symbolism.  Check out the whole thing (including some yummy acorn and oak art beads I'm drooling over) HERE.

The mighty oak tree, it's leaves, and acorns have had meaning and significance in many cultures and mythologies.  I think I'm most drawn to the idea of the oak tree and acorns as symbols of strength and endurance.  Also the idea that since acorns are only produced by fully mature oak trees that they stand for patience and perseverance.  

I've been doing my best in the acorn department making and squirreling away a whole bunch of acorn necklace and earring sets for Art Wander.

I just got some fun new iridescent green Swarovski Crystal pearls that I can't wait to use in an acorn and oak leaf set or two and I'm also playing around with a couple of other fall themed pieces.  We'll see how much I can get made and priced in the next two weeks!