Sunstone, Swarovski, Boro and Vermeil

I am a huge fan of gold, even though I know that sterling silver is the rage (but gold is coming back "in" as a fashion must). I had to post this bracelet because I was so happy with the way that it turned out. Wonderful borosilicate beads are alternated with the new copper coloured Swarovski rondelles; the gemstone beads are sunstone, a pale sunstone, but still with the telltale sparkle that makes sunstone such a beauty. The turquoise beads are lampwork and the gold is vermeil. Many people are unsure what vermeil is (pronounced vair - may). The base of vermeil is actually sterling silver; then the sterling is plated with 24 karat (usually, it can be a lower karat) gold. In the world of handcrafted jewelry, vermeil is often the alternative to using actual gold or base metal plated findings. First, the choice of findings in, say, 14 karat gold is extremely limited and prohibitively expensive. Even gold filled items, though a good choice, are hard to find. Vermeil, perhaps because its base is sterling presents a choice for quality, yet affordable, gold findings. With care (don't go swimming in it, take a shower in it, wear it non-stop for days) and proper storage (actually a baggy is great), it will look great for years and years.
This bracelet is up for auction on Ebay this week: check for Cluny Grey or user id: chloemarie99.


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The Art of the Bracelet

I have no special theme for this blog; I just got some different lampwork beads in from a bead artist I haven't used before, and it drove me to create. These beads were really not in sets the way so many usually are although some have similar colours. Just one lampwork bead is in the first bracelet, and it has a strong yellow, green, and an orangey-red with a touch of yellow, too. I decided to go crazy and used yellow agate, carved brecciated jasper, yellow calcite, and an Indian agate oval. I used a light chain for a second strand with a few little cubes of yellow calcite dangling from it in three places.
I'm still using some Indian agate here, and some fancy jasper. The two lampwork beads are different but still in the same strong colour families. This time I used larger links and used just a half strand after finishing the first one. The charms are Indian agate and Karen Hill Tribes' sterling silver.
I love to work with purple (always - even though I don't wear purple clothes really). The large floral encased lampwork bead on the left is from James Derrick Reeves, and the lentil on the right is one of the new beads (and one I really like). I was going to add charms, but now I'm not sure. The chain has patterned oval links and I have fastened it in 2 places so that it has a scalloped effect. I've used fluorite, a purple fancy jasper rectangle, amethyst nuggets, and a purple crazy lace agate rondelle.
I am fond of mixing the chain with the bracelets having gemstones and lampwork combined. It gives a certain je ne sais quoi that I especially like.

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Lampwork and Gemstones and Silver, Oh My!

I have got to stop buying lampwork beads or I am going to be broke. But they are so enticing, even on an internet page. I like them best when they are combined with gemstones although later this week I'm going to start doing a few with just lampwork and Swarovski crystals.
One of my favorite lampworkers is James Derrick Reeves; I use his beads all the time, and I have used them in the bracelet above. I love his colour combinations. This particular set had turquoise with 2 tones of purple - a very pinkish purple or almost magenta, and a true purple. I used some of the beads in the set with some fantastic amazonite that I'd bought recently - amazonite that is a very nice clear turquoise colour (I'm having a difficult time finding pretty amazonite lately). I added a couple of purple crazy lace agate faceted rondelles and a charoite barrel. I favored the Thai sterling silver from the Karen Hill Tribes: an intricate rose charm, a pretty toggle clasp, and a great cap that I inserted amazonite into to look like a flower bud charm. Spring is practically here!


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Chisca!!

Another stone for me to fall in love with! This time it's muscovite: a relatively soft stone but with great sparkle! And sparkle does it for me! In the bracelet above (if you're not familiar with the gemstone) the muscovite is the purplish stone with flecks; there are ovals and rectangles - all smooth. Oh, but that sparkle, like little pieces of glitter stuck beneath the surface! The colour of muscovite reminds me of biting inside a ripe plum (the colour - I'm not chewing on the muscovite). I really like this bracelet, and not just because of the muscovite. I like the faceted Cape amethyst nuggets, the half strand made of opal-lined glass beads, the little rectangular charm from the Karen Hill Tribes that hangs from it, and of course the lampwork beads: the larger by James Derrick Reeves and the smaller by Burt Gumeson (my 2 favorite lampworkers). If it doesn't sell (it's up for auction on Ebay this week), I'm thinking about keeping it for myself.

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The Challenge of Polymer Clay

Along with making my regular jewelry, I have been playing with polymer clay, a very interesting medium that is fascinating to work with because of the ability to blend or swirl colours. The top pendant was just a colour experiment - I love the metallics, so I always have to introduce the copper, gold, or silver in with it. The next piece is my first attempt at making a rose; I made the rose, and fired it, but haven't yet sanded or smoothed it or coated it with a gloss. Keeping fingerprints and nail prints out of the finished product I see will be a problem already, especially if I can't sand them out. How do others get the finished product to look so perfect?

The next piece is actually two pieces blended into one bracelet. First, I am interested in chain maille, so the chain part of the bracelet was an experiment that ended happily I thought with mixing different rings together. Then I made the stone part of the bracelet in response to another Forum challenge at Art Jewelry magazine: my colours were soft blue, apricot, and lavender. Blue lace agate served for the soft blue, large freshwater pearls and sunstone for the apricot, and Cape amethyst for the lavender. When I combined it with the chain maille, I was quite happy with the result and felt I had risen to the challenge.

The final bracelet is one I made thinking about the crisp navy blues of Spring - especially navy mixed with white. The rainbow moonstone I used has tons of flash, and I adore iolite. I also like double strand bracelets a lot. So i was rather satisfied with this bracelet as well. Not a bad week for jewelry!

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Aquamarine: March's Birthstone

Aquamarine is a very popular stone named because of its colour (from Latin "water of the sea") which is actually caused by iron. It is a member of the beryl family (like the emerald)with a Moh's hardness of 7 1/2 to 8.
Sailors often wore amulets or talismans of aquamarine since they believed that it would protect them on ocean journies and repel sea monsters.
Aquamarine symbolizes friendship and also represents the astrological signs Gemini, Aries and Pisces.
Some believe that aquamarine will help with breathing problems and eye illnesses, and will cure the hiccups (how it does this I don't know!). Emotionally, aquamarine is believed to ease depression, grief, and rejuvenate love.
The most important deposits are in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Aquamarine can also be found in china, Australia, Burma, India, Kenya, Madagscar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the USA.
I like mixing aquamarine with lampwork (as you can see above). Aquamarine is also gorgeous with sterling silver.

I have more aquamarine on my website and Ebay store Studio G and on my website: Cluny Grey Jewelry.
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Inspiration and Perspiration or What Is Necessary To Make Jewelry

ERBLÜHENDE KATZE BLOMSTRENDE KATT BLOOMING CAT Hehkeys Katti
If the colours in this bracelet look unusual for me, it's because they were given to me as a challenge by the ART JEWELRY MAGAZINE FORUM (thanks Karlarei!) The bracelet includes lampwork beads, jade, and yellow calcite as well as sterling silver.

I love these challenges since they wake me up and force me to put things together that I would have shied away from before. If you make jewelry,even casually, but love to do it, try a colour challenge (or some other kind of design challenge) with other jewelrymaking friends - remembering to let them tell you what you must attempt. The results may surprise you!I am still entranced with amazonite and with ocean jasper (found off the coast of Madagascar; hmmm... there is a water theme there) and so I combined them both with some lampwork beads (by James Derrick Reeves, one of my favorite lampworkers). The faceted amazonite and the smooth ocean jasper beads are a delight to work with.

I've been trying to use up my stock of chrysoprase (so I can buy more, I guess) and green beads in preparation for Saint Patrick's Day. I especially like the way the earrings turned out with the green onyx bezel set at the bottom and the little dangles below. You can't really see them very well in this picture though. One of the charms is a bright sterling silver Karen Hill Tribe orchid - I adore these filigreed flower pendants/charms. Of course, I think that Karen Hill Tribe is some of the best silverwork in the world!

Before one of the Forum challenges, I hadn't touched my rhodonite for a while although I love working with faceted rectangles, ovals and carved beads and I had all of these in rhodonite. The Forum made me go back to the rhodonite container and check out all the beads. I also love leopardskin jasper - a stone that looks so wonderful you would almost think that someone had painted the pattern on - but it is natural. I put these two together and I like them so much that I am going to have to make a set for myself with gold or vermeil.
Most of the jewelry here is up for auction on Ebay this week (check cluny grey or user id: chloemarie99). It's also on the Cluny Grey website.
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Hail from Hot Springs

I'm working at my sister's house in Hot Springs this week because of a family member's hospitalization. I really thought it would be difficult to work here. Not so. I've made 11 pieces in the few days since I've been here. One is this fluorite and lampwork bracelet and earrings set. The lampwork is by James Derrick Reeves and goes wonderfully with the fluorite. The earrings have purple fluorite teardrops with slight lines running through them. Actually the only thing about working here is getting my pictures done and online. I have to use my digital camera, put them on my laptop, edit them, save them to a disk, then pull them up on her computer - it's a bit more difficult than it sounds.
My next bracelet (I just made matching earrings, but don't have a photo to upload yet) consists of lampwork beads, citrine, amazonite and a second strand chain made of smooth and twisted rings as well as filigree pieces. Amazonite looks so beautiful with yellow that I'm tempted to keep making jewelry these colours over and over. (I must restrain myself). These 2 pieces are for auction on Ebay this week: look for clunygrey or user id: chloemarie99 . I'll get some more pictures up soon, I hope, and I may be able to go home in a few days, or even this weekend.
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Moon Gold & Sea Shimmer

I am a total fan of gold; I suppose I will always love it. The bracelet above is a celebration of gold with lots of vermeil (24k gold layered over sterling silver) and exquisite lentil lampwork beads that have metallic gold swirled richly throughout. The faceted nuggets are rainbow moonstones from Spain. The earrings are also made of the same beautiful lentils. I made this just because I really like it. I really don't sell very much gold since sterling silver is the rage. Gold is supposed to be making a big comeback in the fashion world - I can't wait! My dream is to work with pure gold and precious gems.
The second bracelet I created as the result of Art Jewelry Magazine's Forum Colour Challenge. The colours given to me were light and dark topaz, silver, and French rose. What I love the most about this bracelet featuring rhodonite, lots of sterling silver, and smoky topaz are the vase shaped Botswana agate beads that are a pinkish-taupe colour. In fact, I liked them so much that I made a pair of matching earrings using them.
Chrysoprase and lampwork beads from James Derrick Reeves are punctuated by 3 large charms in the middle of the bracelet. The sterling silver "S" clasp has a very detailed rose on it.
I've made several of these mother of pearl bangle bracelets; I don't know what I'm going to do when I run out of this lot of mother of pearl. The size of the rounded rectangles and the wonderful gleam and shimmer and colours in these pieces are just phenomenal. Little keishi pearls are at the ends of this bracelet beside the hook clasp.
These pieces will be up for auction on Ebay this week; check for Cluny Grey or user id: chloemarie99 .
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Busy! Busy! Busy!

I've been very busy making bracelets (among other things) with earrings to match. The first bracelet features faceted nuggets of pietersite, sterling silver, and lampwork beads by James Derrick Reeves in a blue and tan. The bracelet has 2 strands: one main strand with heavy gemstones and the lampwork , and a second strand that is a chain with little pietersie charms and Karen Hill Tribe flower charms. The matching earrings featuring matching lampwork beads and faceted pietersite rounds as well as more sterling silver.
Ahhh, red, just in time for Valentine's Day. Deep red carved jasper beads, faceted carnelian rondelles, and one of the most beautiful silver-laced lampwork beads are combined with lots of Turkish and Karen Hill Tribe sterling silver. The matching earrings have the carved jasper rounds, special ruffled sterling silver Tahi beads with dangles, and carnelian.
Sea Shimmer: mother of pearl ovals and a large round, Turkish sterling silver accents, keishi pearls in a lovely silvery grey, and the sparkling silver laced lampwork beads by Annie Divilbliss all shimmer in this bracelet. A second strand is made up of swirled filigrees and large sterling silver rings. The pretty sterling silver "S" clasp closure with a rose on top is from the Thai Karen Hill Tribe. The matching earrings are made from keishi pearls and mobe pearls turned on their sides.
Saffron Spice: It is a portent of the summer to come: hot and spicy with a touch of light turquoisey-blue. The beads are yellow calcite and genuine citrine. The second strand are Karen Hill Tribe sterling silver bamboo beads with a floating charm or gemstone dangle hanging from it. The matching earrings are calcite hanging from curvy chandeliers.
Carnelian and red agate complement wonderful borosilicate beads that have a lovely shade of blue and a peachy orange in their depths. A little red agate turtle adds an amusing touch. The second 1/2 strand consists of curvey filigrees and large sterling silver rings linked together. The matching earrings are made of red agate ovals that have a beautiful carved design. This one is really special!


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New Week: New Bracelets

A sweet blue agate, blue quartz, sterling silver, and lampwork bead bracelet, made sweeter with the addition of Thai Karen Hill Tribe sterling silver. The flower and leaf and the wonderful base of the earrings are all Karen Hill Tribe. Feminine, but not fragile.

Blue has always been one of my favorite colours, and I love it combined with opalite. What's so great is that the opalite picks up the lighter colour in the lampwork beads (from Burt Gumeson's "Jewels" collection, and the agate and quartz picks up the blue in them. There are about 60 charms here, so this is a really full bracelet - nice and fat for those who like them that way!

Fluorite is a softer stone to work with and to wear on a daily basis, but it's worth it because of the wonderful colour variations of the stone. In this 2 strand bracelet, large and small nuggets, a large carved oval, and faceted rondelles echo the colours of the lampwork beads with their subtle shades of greens and purples. The second strand is 3/4's wirewrapped little nuggets, and 1/4 large sterling silver rings doubled. The flowered lampwork bead is especially striking.

The last bracelet also has 2 strands, the second featuring large sterling silver rings once again (this is such a great look; it has substance, but is light) plus smokey topaz smooth rondelles. The great lampwork beads are laced with silver and blend perfectly with the topaz. All the bracelets have matching earrings, even if they are not shown here. All of these bracelets are for auction this week on Ebay. Check for user id: chloemarie99.

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One More Charming Bracelet & One That Shines!

I've been working on doing this bracelet for a while. The lampwork beads are by Burt Gumeson of Gumeson Designs and I bought them a colour of a time: the series is called "Jewels." I knew that I wanted at least one bracelet with the different colours combined, so here is the first one. I added different real jewels: citrine, amethyst, jade, blue quartz, blue agate, rhodonite, and fluorite. I added lots of sterling silver: Turkish, Thai Karen Hill Tribe, and Bali. The double linked sterling silver chain is also from the Thai Karen Hill Tribe. I listed this on Ebay tonight.

I love bangle bracelets and I am fond of this one because of the huge dichroic beads that have depth and sparkle and are fabulous. They are made by Dee Howl (yeah, I wish that I could make them!) and I couldn't believe that I was able to get them; her stuff goes fast! I made earrings to go with these and I cannot believe how much I like even the earrings - it's those wonderful beads of hers!
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Pink Is So Pretty!

Here are 2 bracelets I just made while thinking in terms of Valentine's Day: hence the pink. I am in love with the first one, a bangle made with thick round sterling silver tube beads from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes, and the wonderful lampwork of James Derrick Reeves. I used 2 of his swirling pink lentils around a regular bead also decorated with swirls for the front of the bracelet. Little Czech pink opal bellflowers are coming out of more Thai sterling silver - rosebuds here; there are Bali sterling silver beaded rondelles, and the "S" clasp that is decorated with a rose is also Thai as is the rose charm that is hanging beside it. This bracelet may be hard for me to let go - oh, and there are matching earrings, too.
This bracelet has a focal bead from LittleCrow, a beautiful pink tulip with green leaves around its base. The star gemstone here is pink rhodonite in cubes, long tube-like beads, faceted rondelles and a carved oval and a "ruffled bead. And of course there's a lot of sterling silver including the toggle clasp!
These will probably be on auction on Ebay: search for Cluny Grey or for user id: chloemarie99
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More Garnets for January!!!

The more I work with garnets, the more I want to work with them, especially when I get nice, evenly faceted garnets like the ones in these earrings. They are small teardrops with the hole running from top to bottom (which I often prefer when I am making earrings). They are beautifully faceted, so I simply took a bunch and hung them from a large jump ring first, then from these Bali sterling silver earwires with the large swirl on them. The garnets really catch the light.I love these large pearls in the deep burgundy garnet colour; yes, they are the same colour as the garnets, they simply have the pearl nacre! The faceted garnet nuggets here are from Spain and they are about 6-8mm wide and about 12-14mm long, so a very good and hard-to-find size for faceted nuggets in garnet. The name of this bracelet is "Wine Dark Sea" from Homer's Odyssey - I think the name is really more appropriate for this bracelet than for the Mediterranean. The lampwork beads are made by an artist here in the United States. The Bali sterling silver adds a nice counterpoint to this assymetrical bracelet.
"Red Sunset", the bracelet in the very first photo is named partially because of the wonderful borosilicate beads from Beingbeads Studio. Turkish filigree shows them off, and I've loaded the rest of the bracelet with sterling silver from Bali and from the Thai Karen Hill Tribe. On the left side of the picture, you can see a very large smooth garnet nugget -it's almost 18mm-that you don't see very often. More of the garnet coloured freshwater pearls mix with the stones. The second slender strand has only 2 elements: Karen Hill Tribe sterling silver bamboo beads and smooth garnet rondelles. This is one of my favourites, and it too uses those high-quality garnet faceted nuggets from Spain.
Garnets are such a classic that I don't think that they will ever really go out of style. And, they are one stone that because they are such a very dark red in most cases work as a neutral. I have a large oval garnet set in a simple setting of yellow gold and I can wear with everything in my wardrobe. Garnet, unlike a lot of other gemstones, translates well in to many different styles. It looks great in contemporary jewelry, Grecian, traditional, Victorian, Edwardian, Medieval - try to think of a period of western European history where someone didn't use garnets in jewelry! (I should have added here that these pieces are currently up for auction on Ebay! Search for Cluny Grey or for user id: chloemarie99)
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More of the "Canyon Aesthetic" II

I love the bright colours in this bracelet: yellow calcite, sodalite, dumorterite, carnelian, turquoise. The sterling silver prayer box opens, and adds balance to the 2 strand bracelet. "Canyon Mission" is up for auction on Ebay this week.
"Arroyo" too is part of the "Canyon Aesthetic" style. Carnelian, dumorterite, sodalite, carved jasper, and carnelian are combined with lots of intricately hand-decorated Turkish, Bali and Karen Hill Tribe sterling silver to give a lush but casual look to this wire-wrapped bracelet. Charms dangling from most of the links between the stones. "Arroyo" is also up for auction on Ebay this week: search for Cluny Grey or for user id: chloemarie99.

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Garnet: January's Birthstone

Garnet is the birthstone for January according to both traditional and modern interpretations. It is also associated with the astrological signs Leo, Capricorn and Aquarius. In the ancient world it was often referred to as the carbuncle. The name garnet probably comes from "pomegranate", and garnets do resemble pomegranate seeds when many are used together.

Garnet blends well with many other stones; it's really almost a neutral since it's such a dark red stone. Lampwork beads, beautifully patterned leopardskin jasper faceted garnets, garnet rounds, and wheels combine with sterling silver and a large flower charm from the Thai Karen Hill Tribes mix with the dark red tones of the garnet in the bracelet here and in the matching necklace.

The garnets in the charm bracelet combine with the beautiful glow of borosilicate beads that also have a garnet cast to the colour. The handmade charms are made of many different sizes and shapes of smooth and faceted garnet beads.






Most people probably associate garnets with the Victorian Age since they experienced great popularity during this time.
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A Few Favorites

Looking back over the recent months, I've discovered that there are some materials I really like to work with although they are certainly not in the semi-precious stones or artists' lampwork category. One is crystal as in the bracelet above made with Preciosa crystals (I like Swarovski also). These crystals are not Aurora Borealis coated so they are much more subtle than they would be otherwise.
I also love beadsbeads that are lined with silver foil, especially when they are well lined (no missing or ragged spots) like the ones above that are light blue and have flowers painted on the outside. Good quality silver foil looks great with white silver.
I personally wear more gold than I do silver, or I wear a mixture. The bracelet above has beads with sparkly gold middles, vermeil and 14 karat gold-filled accents and blue Preciosa crystals. jewelry The Jewelry Blog

The "Canyon Aesthetic" in Jewelry

Combining turquoise with rust, orange and red and especially sterling silver or giving a rough edge to a gemstone otherwise associated with a more refined or sophisticated milieu (such as rubies or tourmalines cut into rough nuggets) I've come to call the "Canyone Aesthetic." The first bracelet illustrates the "Canyon Aesthetic" with turquoise and silver paired with lampwork beads in the canyon colours then mixed with very eenly faceted red aventurine barrels and the more sophisticated matching earrings with an ornate sterling silver chandelier base and the same regularly faceted stones. As sterling silver has supplanted gold according to the preferences of a younger generation in the last few years, we see more and more of the Canyon Aesthetic. It is a style of jewelry that is replacing the idea of Southwestern as turquoise and silver, the elaborate "Squash Blossom", and the tackier geegaws created for the tourist trade.
Still in the realm of the Canyon Aesthetic is the next bracelet featuring lampwork beads, breciated jasper carved ovals and vase beads and deep burgundy freshwater pearls.

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The Weight of Rubies

Rubies are one of my favorite stones; these rubies are a dark opaque burgundy and look wonderful with the beautiful lampwork floral bead from Littlecrow (whose beads are just fantastic!). The lovely swirled bead is by Alyson Straley. Turkish silver is also one of my favorites. Turkish sterling silver is a high quality silver with marvelously intricate patterns and beading and granulation. The cones here and the bead to the left of the floral focal is Turkish as are the flower studded earwires that close in the back. Bali is great, too, but Thai Karen Hill Tribe is another favorite of mine. The super high silver content combined with great workmanship and unique designs make it very desirable for jewelry designers. The ruffled hand-decorated caps on the earrings around the large ruby make almost any piece special! This bracelet was an entry in the Internation Jewelry Designers' Guild Virtual Trunk Show.

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The International Jewelry Designers' Guild Virtual Trunk Show

You can't miss this Virtual Trunk Show brought to you by the members of the International Jewelry Designers' Guild. Yes, I am a member, but so are many others, and the work is fabulous! If you are a jewelry fan, you have got to look, even if you can't buy right now! Only on Sunday starting at noon Eastern Standard Time - December 4, 2005.

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