Earrings full of colour, rust and texture - "Full of life" and "Under the blue sky"

We all have all-times favorite bead artists and Kimberly Rogers (numinosity beads) is one of mine. The enameled copper (he numis-sticks) rom both earring pairs are made by her and I also have a little hoard of enameled pieces as well as glass beads from her ;)

The tinned glass beads from Sasha Crow are comparable new in my stash but they were just made for the numi-sticks. Both dark and rustic, with an organic surface and interesting textures.

I love how the beads dangling from the chain creates beautiful movement and even while the earrings are rustic and with patina, they are still also colourful. 

There is a little bit more texture at the top of the enameled pieces because they were too "naked" for me and while I create everything has to have a kind of balance. I used very thin steel wire, braided it (surprisingly easy!) and wrapped the braided wire around. It creates the required subtle but necessary accent. 

The "greenish" one ("Full of life") you can find in my shop here (the blueish/pink one "Under the blue sky" is sold).

"Frozen time" - New years first post and, of course, earrings!

It may be a little late to wish you all a happy new year, no? The time before christmas was just running away with work, more work and even more work, combined with christmas markets, workshops I gave and last but not least the creation of advent calendars and christmas presents. The time "between the years" ("zwischen den Jahren" in german) was filled with family visits and family dramas. What else? Thankfully most of them had a happy ending. Especially with the young dog of my little brother ("higher" than me by the way ^^)... he had a car accident. But he is getting better and better after the first critical days. 

I made a lot of "stuff" too. Some of it already sold (yes, it happens to me again and again that I forget to take pictures.... or that it is too dark to take them) and others I still have to take pictures off. Quite difficult since I need daylight for my camera and there are just a few hours every day. Normally they are gone when I am back home from work.

But these beauties, what shall I say? Made last year (how long ago that already sounds ;) ) with gorgeous rustic, crusty and organic blue lampwork headpins made by Kimberly Rogers from numinosity. She also send me some silk with it. Originally for some other earrings, but the dark purple was just meant to be with all the shades of blue frozen in glass.

The wire is wrapped with steel wire, combined with dark oxidized sterling silver ear wires. They have a good weight, move and dangle beautifully and before all, they are just magical. Frozen time was the name instantly coming into my mind. There is a feeling of old in the blue, of a hidden, deeper meaning, of stories untold but just below the surface... 

You can find them here in my shop.

"What time tells" - Delicate, rustic earrings

Delicate and yet rustic, lovely shades of green combined with a really dark patina. They seem to be just found at a archaeological site, some ancient relics from a different time. Holding them in my hand, they seem to tell a story about earth and stone, about dark woods and wild land.  

The green crusty beads are made by Kimberly Rogers from numinosity beads and the tinned headpin drops are from Sasha Crow with some small semi-precious stones in between.

They are also listed in my shop :)

"Purple haze" - All the beauty of artisan lampwork!

Gorgeous jewel tones, from purple to a deep blue combined with all the shades in between. The dark patina of the wire keeps the focus on the colours. I just love the long slender shape of the lampwork headpins. Tactile qualities are also always something that play an import role for me creating jewelery. The matte surface of the glass is wonderful to touch and in contrast with the soft fibers of the silk around the top.

All the beads are artisan lampwork beads. The beautiful headpins are from Kimberly Rogers (numinosity beads) and the small weenies on top from Julie Wong Sontag (ugliebeads). It seems again that the pieces were made for each other!

Oh, I had to put the other pair I made with such long headpins out of my shop. I couldn't bear to pass them away and now wearing them so often!

You can find them in my shop here :)

"Human hands" - Earrings

It may sound like a strange name, or? But for me, it is what these earrings represent for me. Have a look at all the beads, at every single one of them...

Do you see all the different colours, the subtle shades making every single one of them unique?

The rough and crusty surface, the little speckles time left on them...

Some of the beads are new. Lovely made by Kimberly from numinosity beads. But other are old, some just a few hundred years and some even one or two thousand years old. Roman glass, trade beads, art beads, the work of human hands then and now combined. 

To hold something in my hand that was made by other hand so long ago, lost in the earth just to be found again. It is beauty, pure beauty, with all the stories they behold.

A clear design, a round and a spindle shape combined, but with the weight of so many stories inside. 

Human hands.

You can find them here, if you want to hold onto these ancient little treasures :)

"Ocean Tides" - Earings

There are colours, images and feelings I am always coming back to. The ocean is on of my deepest and oldest inspirations. I started with the enameled pieces, numi-sticks from Kimberly Rogers (Numinosity Beads). Green crusty spots on a whitish-grey surface reminding me of the coast, the grown algae and moss, the sea foam of the waves crushing against it... the different blue lampwork beads are all from Sue Reynolds (she has an etsy shop here, but you may rather find her selling on fb). With the beautiful shades of blue I could think of nothing else than the sea.

Funny thing is: I already showed them on fb and Sasha Crow (she makes cool headpins, here) found a wonderful name for them too! "Moody Indigo". Just a beautiful name! These earrings are ocean tideas for me, since the name is always a representation of the feeling and thoughts a piece has for me... but moody indigo somehow is stuck now in my brain, I'll see if I can create something this time for a name!

I also put them in my shop here :)

"Wonderland Dreams" - Earings

Purple and blue, violett and green, it is all inside. Layer of layer, swirling chaos and yet in beautiful harmony... 

I am naming my jewelery. It is not always easy but I want to name my jewelery because the names represent for me their story, their feeling, their meaning for me. I started not too long ago. I already told you quite often, that "to create keeps me sane". This also means that my creations reflect a part of myself, sometimes more, sometimes less. In the same way they evolve together with me... 

...so one day I felt something was missing. Names. The names to their stories. It is not always easy to find the right name due to mainly two reasons: The first is the usual problem to put complex feelings and thoughts into words... the second occurs if I am not really attached to a piece. Then it may be nice and all of that but it is not representing me. 

But for these earrings the name was there even before I had to think about it. Dark and dreamy, beautiful and a step next to reality.

The headpins are made by Kimberly Rogers from numinosity beads and the tiny wee beads are made by Julie Wong Sontag from Uglibeads. So different, but the colour keeps them together like they are always mean to be this way.

I hope you can see how long they really are! A hand being used as a kind of universal ruler. Yes, it is biased because hand sizes are different... but still.. ;)

I also uploaded them into my shop (yes, finally some new pieces in my shop, more coming soon ;)).

"Age-old ocean" - Earrings

I really thought I already showed these earrings on my blog a long time ago. Seems that I was wrong. Unbelievable if I think how much I love them! ;)

They are actually quite simple: Some of my own polymer clay beads combined with some numi-sticks made by Kimberly Rogers and oxidized copper wire...

...but their look isn't simple. They look old and crusty, fossils dug out from deep inside the earth, remembrances of oceans long gone...doesn't the enamel on the numi-sticks look like sea-shells and barnacles?

I am sorry that it took me so long to show them finally... because they have a beautiful story to tell :)

Yes, they are also in my shop finally! Here.

"Deep down" - Earrings

There is something so magical in the work of Kimberly (numinosity beads). It may sound simple: copper sticks combined with enamel on both sides. It may even be simple... until you get to this small step that makes a huge difference. The part where you create something with depth and beauty, something complex and fascinating, something just magical from these simple components.

To achieve this, that is not an easy task. It makes all the difference. I will always recognize a numi-stick even if there are a lot of different enameled copper sticks available. Some are boring, some are beautiful on their own... but always different.

Beads, findings, material, jewelery... it has to speak to me. Not just pretty but beautiful and this means (at least for me) some form of attachment, the piece has to stir something inside of me. 

Just a few numi-sticks left... some more on their way... but I am proud of myself that I am finally able to use them even with the danger of running out of numi-sticks! ;)

I will have to redo the earwires... so still some time before I'll put them in my shop ;)

"Hidden grove" - Rustic and organic earrings

"Hidden grove" 

Light falls through the dark ancient trees, lightens up the shadow deep down. 

Like jewels hidden around you, it reveals the rich colours of the flowers around you. 

Even if the sun is warm, you feel the cool air coming from the lake before you.

 Bringing the rich scent of earth and water, of life and decay with it.

The enamel copper are numi-sticks made by Kimberly Rogers from Numinosity. I just got some new ones yesterday! 

The earrings are in my shop here.

I also need a different kind of ruler for a better look. My hand images are sadly not enough.

"Frozen time" - Earrings

This is glass. But if you would have told me that this is frozen water, I would have believed you. 

Just a moment frozen in time. The light breaking through the glass. Caught inside. They seem to glow.

Like vines are the copper headpins growing around the glass headpins. 

How can something so hard, just pure glass and metall, look so organic and alive?

They are also in my etsy shop here :)

...also the double lampwork headpins are numi-baubles made by Kimberly Rogers from numinosity beads (I need more!).