The Jewelry Blog: Karen Hill Tribes

Thursday, January 22, 2009

A Batch of Bracelets

I love bracelets as you can probably tell by looking at this post today. New gemstones and sterling silver are a great temptation and make it hard to leave the office to go home. Sometimes I have so many pretty gemstones that it is overwhelming - I want to use them all at once, think of 10 different projects and can't get started on any of them. But I have gotten a bit done this week.
The unusual bracelet above is definitely a "happy" bracelet full of colour and fun. I pulled some of my James Derrick Reeves special lampwork beads from my secret stash and used turquoise chalcedony, carnelian, amethyst, and jade to pick up the colours in these very colourful beads.
Below, Suzette Celestin's very feminine beads are complemented by large nuggets of pink Peruvian opal and green quartz in this unique bracelet that appears to be a harbinger of Spring (ah, but at least 2 months of chill before the warm comes to Arkansas!).

In contrast to all the colour above is this jasper bracelet handmade (of course) with ocean jasper in soothing shades of green and off-white and wonderfully subtle lampwork beads to match.
Below the jasper is a new combination for me: porcelain jasper ovals with faceted and smooth muscovite, gold-laced lampwork bead with the same quiet tones as the jasper and intricate sterling silver. You will be able to find this one on the Unusual Jewelry page of the Cluny Grey Jewelry website.

Finally, for those who love what I call "strong pastels" a chalcedony bracelet with pink, tuquoise, and blue chalcedony - beautiful gemstone beads - with matching lampwork and a second strand made up of Karen Hill Tribes sterling silver chain and charms.
Remember: Wherever you go, wear your jewelry!

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Monday, August 11, 2008

Strange Brew: Dragonflies, Blue Topaz, and Unakite

These are what we in Arkansas call the "dog days" of summer. Theories abound as to where the name originates from ancient and astronomical (the Dog Star, Sirius, is supposedly in ascendancy during August) to folk (more rabid dogs roam the country roads during the hot days of August) to the idea that August in the southern US is too hot even for a dog to bear.
I'm trying to stay cool, and every now and then make something between the custom orders. Although it's unusual for me, I have 3 totally different bracelets here - I usually start using a gemstone and make piece after piece until I don't want to look at that particular gemstone anymore. I'll blame the difference on the August heat.
Above is a Swarovski bracelet made with those dragonfly tubes from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes that I love. Swarovski butterflies are on either side of the clasp, and the other Swarovski crystals are huge! All of the crystals have the Aurora Borealis finish on them.

Below is a bracelet made with a stone that I haven't used in months and months: unakite. Maybe I was just waiting for the right lampwork beads; if so, these lampwork beads by Suzette Celestin were well worth the wait. I'll swear she made them while daydreaming about unakite! It will be posted on a new page called Gemstone Bracelets that will be on the website soon. It's a page featuring the bracelets that really don't fit any of the other categories that we have a page for.

Finally, the last bracelet, above, is made with faceted black onyx and London blue topaz. I'm very low on blue topaz jewelry; one reason is that good blue topaz, Swiss or London blue, is very hard to find. I'm really not terribly fond of the blue topaz that is so pale that you can hardly tell that it's blue, so I tend to wait until I have collected a few gem-quality pieces of blue topaz before I make anything.

Stay cool, enjoy what is left of the summer, and above all, wear your jewelry!!!