The days are growing longer; I locked the office this evening at 7:30 and it was not totally dark yet - and it was around 70 degrees! I love warm weather and the long, long days of summer - and especially summer nights when I feel totally energized and focused on whatever I'm doing whether it's reading a good book, making jewelry or cooking dinner.The bracelet above reminds me of summer; turquoise and coral, the colours of swimming pools and summer dresses.The lapis bracelet below also used coral for that hint of summer warmth. The pretty lampwork bead is by Lynn Nurge and is a beautiful colour also - the inspiration for the bracelet. The lapis bracelet is topped off with a toggle with lapis cabochons in each end.
Last is a bracelet with two strands of mixed gemstones: lapis, yellow calcite, carnelian, and turquoise, and yes, it too makes me think of the bright colours of summer - and for some reason, also Colorado. I don't know if it's the generous helping of sterling silver throughout the bracelet (I love the little twisted rings) or just the bright colours (don't ask me why), but it evokes memories of the summer when my son was finishing graduate school at the University of Denver and living in Fort Collins. I drove all the way from Arkansas to spend some times there - all through Missouri, turning left at Saint Louis, and then through Kansas - straight through the middle of Kansas which seemed to go on forever. Arriving there was worth the drive however - I would do it again tomorrow if I could. I had spent the previous 2 years visiting Denver, a city I liked, and I liked Fort Collins even more. By the way, yttrium fluorite comes from Fort Collins, the only place where it is found. It is a stone that is a pale lavender colour - quite pretty - and it keeps eluding me. I'm hoping I find some soon to make jewelry for my daughter-in-law and myself as a memento of that time in Colorado.
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I just spent the last week in Florida! How wonderful is that? It was business as usual with the work laptop and almost the entire jewelry inventory along for the ride, but somehow business is quite different with waves frothing on white sand and people you love all around you.
It's funny that I made so much blue-toned jewelry before going to Florida - I'm sure it was my subconscious anticipating the sea. The top lapis bracelet with two strands of lapis is a blue that mimics the dark blue of the ocean close to the horizon; the necklace (of Swarovski crystals entirely) has that clear turquoise that you see closer to the shore as does the bottom bracelet made of Peruvian blue opals. The two Swarovski starfish are just a nice bonus! The lampwork bracelet that you see immediately below is a bit of an anomaly, but still somehow seemed to fit into the sea/beach theme.
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