Treasures by Louise

Coordinating Jewelry for an outfit For a recent commission, I was asked to create a necklace and earrings inspired by a dress, to be worn for a friend's wedding in October. Inspiration for Jewelry The dress is as pictured, and I wanted to find "just that special bead" to compliment the pattern on the dress. I was fortunate that our Bead Guild's twice yearly bead show was happening in early October. I found the focal bead, accent beads and spacers at Small and Beautiful Beads, one of my favorite vendors. There's always a crowd at her booth, which is full of lovely colored beads as well as finished jewelry to inspire. The recipient received many compliments on her jewelry and enjoyed the beautiful wedding last month. Congratulations to Bride and Groom!

Lizard Earrings On our trip last summer to Arizona, we traveled north from Phoenix, and stopped at a park along the highway. I'm always carrying my camera and looking for the little details. I caught sight of a little lizard sheltering in the shade. It took a few tries, and I got a nice picture of this cutie!  This little lizard had found some meager shade under a fence rail. He looked like napping and keeping cool was his first priority.   Lizard seen at a park on the highway north of Phoenix, Az. ~110 deg. F.  I was quick enough to photograph a few more lizards during the week: Lizard with lichen, Arizona Colorful collared lizard on a nature trail, Arizona Inspired by the wildlife, I created some lizard earrings. The brass lizards and the lever back ear wires are from B'Sue Boutiques, and the Fire Agate beads are from Michaels. The bead caps are by Vintaj. I'm keeping these for my personal collection! Lizard Earrings with Fire Aga...

After a hiatus, I'm back to creating. I've been a caregiver for a little while. After Mom's illness and her passing, I tried to cope by keeping busy. I'm taking some time to regroup. Now I'm starting to create, making earrings; because I need to start somewhere. Earrings June 2017 Teardrop lightweight earrings Right: Snowflake Obsidian and silver plate hearts; Left: Teal cathedral beads and tiny compasses on silver plate mounts. I'm cleaning, sorting and organizing, too. This vintage quilt is a keeper, freshly washed: Crown of Thorns, vintage quilt in my collection. Thanks for stopping by my blog; hopefully I'll be blogging more regularly! :)

Jewelry Treasures by Louise is the new name. It's time to decide to do a fall craft show. There's no question really, it's at a great time of the year, and I need the practice. I joined last year, and it was a little slow, because it was a new venue and not strongly promoted. This year should be better as everyone learns the ropes! Hopefully it will also generate more traffic to my Etsy store. So I will be busy creating new designs and preparing my displays in the coming weeks...In preparation, I've decided to order official business cards, and wanted my blog to reflect the name I will be using going forward. Meanwhile here are some things I have been playing with, putting some new designs in [PicMonkey] collages. I love how these pictures came out: Chandelier Earrings in crystals and glass pearls   Bohemian Feather Necklace and Earrings The Bohemian Feather Necklace and Earrings has been claimed already and I will be making more of this style.

All Ears for Earrings Everyday: Inspired by the colors of the damselflies photo from Earrings Everyday I created a pair of earrings from Bead Gallery Beads and natural coconut shell shards. I used a reconstituted turquoise stone and some orange glass rondels. The wire is a vintage brass Artistic Wire, used for the wraps as well as the handcrafted ear wires. I accented the ear wires with an orange rondel and a bit of 26 gauge copper wire. The triangular shards of coconut shell imitate the bodies of the damselflies. These were fun to make, though a bit rustic. I may tweak the construction a bit, but I liked the challenge of using the complementary colors, and am pleased with the results. See the other artist's earrings at this post here: Earrings Everyday We're all ears and winners!

New Years Resolutions I had almost resolved to NOT make any New Years Resolutions, but it actually feels like I might accomplish this one: To learn new techniques and think outside-the-box. I am teaching myself Chain Maille, though it seems more tedious than I'd like. I'm hoping as I get more skilled at it, it will go more smoothly. I have convinced myself of the necessity to close jump rings that appear "closed", though it seems redundant! And I'm getting better at it. I recommend a task light, for sure, and a magnifier if you need one. I have found two books that are really great for beginners: The first, I found at my local library, and think I must really purchase: I miss this book and was sad to have to return it, I must have renewed it three times! It was a wonderful introduction to Chain Maille patterns and is encyclopedic in it's coverage. Chain Maille Jewelry Workshop by Karen Karon is available both in softcover and as an e-book from many pla...