Winter Enchantment

The good folks at Artbeads.com suggested that I make a piece that represents what I find beautiful or inspirational about the winter season.  I thought of this quote imediately:

“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all.”

-Stanley Horowitz 

 Doesn't this leaf look like an etching?

Then I ordered a few things from Artbeads.com.  I was really taken with products with the "gunmetal" finish, they are really a beautiful addition to more traditional finishes.  I also fell in love with the feather charm and snowflake charms, and there are so many charms to choose from!
 I made the earrings first, they were so fun to make and I'll be wearing these every day for a month at least!

I love the "fancy link" in this gunmetal finish!

Then I started in on the necklace, beginning with the small bird's nest in the center 

and working out with stylized tree branches.

The strong solid links and cables on the right side are balanced by the more delicate work on the other side.  The crystals add lots of sparkle and the dangles provide lots of movement.

Plus, it will be REALLY FUN to wear!
Necklace: $149, Earrings: $49

Happy Creating,

-Carmen Rose

FTC disclaimer: I received some of the products shown in this blog from Artbeads.com free of charge, I have not been paid for my endorsement of these products and I am reviewing the products honestly.

Summer Time Jewelry

Aren't these Venetian glass beads the cutest thing ever? I love that foil lined bead look!  And these are much nicer than some I've worked with.  The shape is nice and round and consistent and the hole is much smaller making a far nicer bead than other hand made beads I've worked with. 

I got nine of these little marvels from Artbeads.com and used seven of them in a summer time bracelet. 

I used two strands of heart shaped chain, added these venetian glass beads and some other accent beads and a few silver charms that say "peace."  The purple swirl beads are hand made polymer clay beads I made ages ago.  I love the color combination, and if you look closely you'll see the alphabet beads also spell out "PEACE."  I really love the  bracelet, but the EARRINGS are my fav:

The earrings use the same glass beads, in the 10 mm size and the 6mm size.  Artbeads.com has a great selection of glass beads in general, and venetian glass beads in particular.  They are so pretty that it's hard to choose!  And they have this style bead in a variety of colors, I also like the peridot and aquamarine!

But my favorite thing about the earrings is the little cluster of tiny little silver flower buds!  The individual bead charms look like this:  They are an adorable little silver flower with a loop on the back. 

And then there is this tiny little bud that goes with them so beautifully:

I played around with them some, unsure of how I was going to use them, but when I saw how cute they were when they were all stacked together... I knew that was how I would use them!  I used four of the tiny flowers plus a bud on each earring, and they are SO fun to wear!

Artbeads.com has tons of charms to choose from, and as I was looking through their selection, these little ones were the ones that jumped out at me.  And since Artbeads.com has so many colors to choose from on these Venetian glass beads, this pair of earrings could be made in a variety of great colors.  Wouldn't they be cute in a combination of aquamarine and peridot?  I think so!  

FTC disclaimer: I received some of the products shown in this blog from Artbeads.com free of charge, I have not been paid for my endorsement of these products and I am reviewing the products honestly.

Happy Beading,

-Carmen Rose