A Preview of the New Fall Colours

I don't know about you, but I'm enjoying summer; so far, the heat and humidity have not been that bad here in Arkansas. Of course, as I soon as I write this, we will probably be stricken with a heat wave and humidity so dense if feels as though we're breathing underwater. It has been what I think of as "pleasantly hot"; that is, hot enough to enjoy cooling off in the pool and to want nice cold drinks, but not hot enough to make me want to avoid going out of doors at all (wait until August!).
Meanwhile I've been working on some jewelry commissions, and even trying to get ready for Fall a bit (yes, already).
Above is a bracelet I made using some of the new Fall 2007 colours although the look definitely says summer also. The lampwork beads are some of my favourites; they are etched for a matte finish. (I think of them as having a "desert" look.) Fire agate and gorgeous aqua chalcedony complete the look.
Above and below are more new Fall colours. I made a trio of these bracelets that can be worn separately or 2 at a time or all 3 together. These colours are from a palette described as "forest". The colour I love is the muted aqua/teal colour; in the bracelet this colour is represented by the faceted kyanite coins. I'm not sure how to describe the colour, but it is referred to as "Stargazer", and I love that name. Smoky quartz is great with this colour, and the dark brown, the darkest brown is a big colour for this Fall also. Finally, the sparkly sunstone that glitters represents a bright golden dark peach colour that is a favourite of mine anytime.
Enjoy summer; no matter what the calendar says, summer never lasts as long as winter......

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Rubies: Divinely Decadent

Rubies are one of my favourite gemstones. Rubies conjure visions of long-ago India, beautiful dark-haired women in colourful saris trimmed lavishly in gold, their ears and arms heavy with golden jewelry made of rubies and other precious gemstones...corpulent Eastern kings who leer at dancing girls, rubies and diamonds flashing on every finger...exotic courtesans who live only to be beautiful and to please...
But rubies are also a modern favourite; the ruby is the July birthstone and one of the three precious gemstones other than diamonds (the other two are emerald and sapphire). I love to work with rubies although I am limited somewhat by price. However, the natural rubies that you see on this page were all fairly inexpensive, as rubies go. Although I do have some gem-quality rubies on the Cluny Grey Jewelry website, I decided to feature these natural rubies today.

The top photo is a close-up of a ruby bracelet made of the natural rubies, sterling silver, and one wonderful borosilicate lampwork bead by Frozenfyre. You can see the full bracelet in the picture below. Above is a simple draped chain and ruby necklace of sterling silver with the natural rubies holding everything together.

The last bracelet is a handcrafted chain from the Karen Hill Tribes doubled with a toggle clasp and ruby charms. A very simple bracelet that can be worn everyday, these natural rubies are also a dark maroon/burgundy colour that can go with many different clothing colours.
Happy Birthday to you July babies!


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In the Pink...Drusies, Too!

I"ve still been busy, but have stayed at the studio late to make a few things so that the website doesn't start to look bare! I forced myself to use the marvelous lampwork beads above, created by Lynn Nurge, although I was enjoying having them where I could look at them everyday. They are one of my favorite glass colours, a pink opal. The almost teal green center of the flower and swirl on the swirl beads is lovely, too. I mixed the lampwork with green apatite beads that have a touch of teal in them and with rose quartz. The bracelet is made so that the flower should be on top of the wrist, almost like a wrist corsage and can be seen on our lampwork bracelets page as can another new lampwork bracelet with soft shell-like opal lampwork, too. I've also been fortunate enough to find some good drusy beads, so I have been trying to use some of them, also. I love to mix them with dendrite opal as you can see here above and below in the earrings and bracelet. The translucent greyish-looking rondelles in the bracelet are actually ocean jasper. The huge focal is a drusy, of course, and so are the biggest beads near the toggle clasp. These can be seen on our Drusy Jewelry page.

The bracelet below is made of dark pink opals and lampwork beads mixed with sterling silver. The pink opals are really a bit darker in real life than the picture actually indicates, and the lampwork beads are luscious. I chose opals with dark inclusions because they were also those that were the darkest pink, and I wanted them to match the wonderful lampwork beads.

Finally, the bottom earrings are made with the "bumpy" lampwork beads that went with the set of lampwork from the first flower bracelet above. They are on our Lampwork Earrings page.

Meanwhile, the pool looks very inviting and I need to work on my tan (yes, I tan, but I don't burn), but it seems that there is always something else to do. In about 2 weeks, we are having a large part of our downstairs carpeting ripped up and wood floors put down; we're putting tile and a new shower in our bathroom and a Jacuzzi tub upstairs.
What a mess it will be! But at least it will give me an excuse to go early to the office/studio and come home late.


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