‘Lighting Sun’ Tulip Necklace and Earring Set {Donation}

Inspired by the shades and stature of the Lighting Sun tulips, I created this especially for the York School Auction Gala, April 2014.

Carnelian nuggets, orange recycled glass, and faceted moonstone are all handwired with sterling silver to create this one-of-a-kind necklace and earring set. These pieces feature upcycled sterling findings and chain; the sterling ear wires are handmade by an artisan in the San Francisco bay area.

"From the Inky Depths" Choker and Earring Set {Donation}

I’m always happy to support local organizations with donations of EcoChic Designs’ pieces. So, when a friend asked me to donate to a fundraising event for her son's school, I didn't hesitate. This choker - and coordinating earrings - will be up for bid at a fundraising event for MAOS at the end of this month...

From the Inky Depths

A hefty pewter octopus is the focal point of this choker and earring set. Inky purple, deep red, clear, and murky brown recycled glass beads, faceted smoky quartz nuggets, hematite rounds and twisted barrels, bronzite, ocean jasper are hand-wired with the sterling silver to create this one-of-a-kind piece. 

MAOS is an advanced college preparatory academy in a public school setting with over 250 students from diverse socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds throughout Monterey County. Some of their collaborating partners include: Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Moss Landing Marine Lab, CSU Monterey Bay, Hopkins Marine Lab, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and Naval Postgraduate School.

Like the Reveil Dijonnais

This month's EcoChic Designs's earrings-of-the-month creations are inspired by June's birth flower: the rose.

But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold. 

~Oliver Wendell Holmes 

Roses are not my favorite flowers. I think it was too many years, working as a florist, bundling up dozens of roses - with baby's breath and ferns. Ugh. Roses were de rigueur; I longed for the customer who said "Oh, just be creative! What are those odd-looking blossoms?"

But I am a sucker for garden roses. Walking through rows of bushes covered in lacy blooms, I inevitably stick my nose into one of them and inhale the heady scent of the rose. Ahhhh...summer! Enjoy these creations, in the colors of my favorite garden rose - Reveil Dijonnais - with its dramatic yellow, orange, and magenta petals. They will be on their way to my earrings-of-the-month subscribers this week.

Oh, Honey, Honey!

These are in the mail this week for my earrings-of-the-month club members. I picked HONEY as my theme for February's EcoChic Designs creations for a couple of reasons: I love honey; and I am currently working on an article about honey and beekeepers. I have always told my boys that their job of learning and stretching their minds never ends. So, I have to live up to that goal as well. Last month I went to a butchery seminar for an article. I have never had any illusions that meat just appears in the grocery store, headless, legless, and wrapped in paper or plastic. Many of my friends are hunters or fisherman, so deliveries of homemade sausages, cuts of wild boar, and whole fishes and crabs are not out of the ordinary. However, until EcoFarm's 2013 Butchery Skills Seminar, last week, I have never seen a whole carcass broken down into saleable cuts.

But this isn't about meat. This is about honey. Sweet, golden, delectable honey.

These earrings are one-of-a-kind creations, inspired by HONEY. Golden chalcedony, faceted citrine, lemon quartz, recycled yellow glass, and amber are handwired with sterling silver for this month's pieces. They hang from hammered sterling earwires.

Two of Two

In addition to everything else I have scheduled this weekend, I - happily! - added two bracelets for a dear friend. She wanted some pieces for her girlfriends and described one as a stunning Chumash with black hair and blue eyes. Love that combination. For her I picked a combination of faceted smoky quartz barrels, faceted London blue topaz rondelles, shiny hematite, and a lone recycled blue bead...all handwired with sterling and closing with a sterling hook-and-eye. I hope she likes it!

Olive Love

I recently won an olive oil recipe contest - check out my Malfatti di Ricotta e Bietola (dumplings with chard and cheese) - and, as part of my prize, get to attend the Paso Robles Olive Festival this weekend. I get some other fun perks, including access to the We Olive! VIP tent, wine, beer, a gift certificate, and tickets to the growers' dinner! Woohoo. I love olives.

So, naturally, I had to make some jewelry to wear - to the festival, during my interview...and just to get in the olive mood.

I used a sterling silver olive leaf as the focal point, dangling a deep purple, kalamata-shaped recycled glass bead from the finding. Then I handwired rough garnet nuggets - wrinkled like the gaeta olives - with watermelon tourmaline slabs - with colors of green picholine to the purplish liguria.

The matching earrings have garnets and watermelon tourmaline as well. Can't wait till Saturday!

Alaskan Forget-Me-Not Necklaces

It used to be a struggle to find souvenirs during our adventures for the boys' friends. Riley and Dylan always wanted to bring home books. Books are great - don't get me wrong - but cumbersome and arduous when your bags are already packed to max capacity.

So, we've resolved that (1) their friends will get postcards while we're away. (2) We will pick up a couple of books - for close friends who are boys - and beads - for close friends who are girls. And, then, (3) I will create something with the beads when we get home. All agreed.

So, while we were in Alaska this month, they bought a couple of books and found these forget-me-not beads in one of the ports. The Forget-Me-Not is Alaska's state flower. I just finished the necklaces last night...

Left: forget-me-not clay bead handwired with glass beads hangs from a trio of green cords
Center: forget-me-not clay bead handwired with an amazonite round hangs from a trio of blue cords
Right: forget-me-not clay bead handwired with a recycled yellow glass bead hangs from a trio of yellow cords

For a March Baby Boy...

When a friend had her first baby, a boy, I wanted to create something for her that was both meaningful and useful. I used milky aquamarines since that is his birthstone (meaningful) and added an easy-to-use silver toggle clasp (useful).

In my blissful sleeplessness of new motherhood, I often forgot which side I was supposed to nurse the baby on next.  So, I swapped a ring from one hand to the other.  I figured she could use this as a nursing reminder, just switching it from one arm to the other, if she wished.

This one-of-a-kind bracelet features milky aquamarine nuggets handwired with recycled blue glass and features a sterling silver charm with her sweet boy’s name.  It closes with a sterling silver toggle.

Welcome to the world, Orion!

EcoChic Designs Earrings of the Months Club: March 2012

It's time to ship off earrings to my earrings-of-the-month club members.

Because we've had such a mild winter, almost every weekend finds me at the shore; my family and I hike along the bluffs or explore the tidepools, taking full advantage of living on the temperate central coast of California. So, this month I found inspiration in the ocean, a mermaid's playground.

One day, I watched waves crash on the shore and marveled as the sunlight shone through the water. That spawned one-of-a-kind pieces featuring recycled blue and white glass, milky aquamarines, vibrant neon blue apatite, amazonite, and pearls.

I hope the gals who receive these are pleased...I know I had fun creating them.

In case you're wondering, I'm offering a monthly delivery of a handmade, one-of-a-kind pair of earrings. You tell me your preference of style and length; I create and surprise you, letting you know what inspired me.  For more information about the club, feel free to email me at constantmotioncamilla at gmail dot com.

Just Smurfy

I love to barter, especially when it's for something that I absolutely can not do. I can NOT sew. So, Pia made us Smurf hats and I made her a Smurf necklace!

A sterling Smurf-gnome is handwired with bright blue agate, faceted blue onyx nuggets, blue chalcedony, smooth recycled blue glass, and milky aquamarines to form this one-of-a-kind necklace.

Enjoy, P!

Chocolate Bracelets

Do you remember those candy bracelets from when you were a kid? I loved those. I don't know if I liked that candy; I kinda doubt that...it looks like chalk. Or if I just like the idea of wearing something that you could also eat. I've always loved dual-functioning things. Whatever the case may be, I created a grown up version, except that you don't actually eat these.

Totally unique bracelets are handwired with sterling silver and close with a hefty Hill Tribe sterling hook and eye clasp. These one-of-a-kind pieces have all the shades of chocolate - from tiger's eye to smoky quartz and bronzite to recycled rootbeer glass beads.

I'll be displaying these pieces and more at the TREAT YOURSELF Craft Faire. Saturday, August 6th. 2-5pm. Casanova Oakknoll Community Center. 735 Ramona Avenue, Monterey.

If you're local to Monterey, stop by.

Sweet Inspirations

With our move half done - we are officially out of our old house thanks to my rockstar husband - I can begin to focus on the TREAT YOURSELF event I have this weekend. Three days to get ready. Ouch. I just hope I can find everything in the stacks of boxes littering my new home. TREAT YOURSELF is a local craft faire that features artisans peddling their wares, paired with a sweet treat. Shopping and sweets, what more could you want?

And since I'm also prepping for the class I'm teaching this trimester about chocolate, I looked no further than my chocolate stash for some sweet inspiration. The colors on the Vosges Black Pearl Bar screamed "Pick me, pick me!" And so, I did.

I'll be displaying pieces in all shades of chocolate with some spicy wasabi in there. Here's a green amethyst briolette handwired with recycled green glass and sterling silver to create a one-of-a-kind necklace.

If you're local, I hope you will stop by the TREAT YOURSELF Craft Faire. Saturday, August 6th. 2-5pm. Casanova Oakknoll Community Center. 735 Ramona Avenue, Monterey.

Chocolate Swirl Necklace

This simple necklace really shows off the beauty of a piece of chocolate-colored recycled glass. I handwired the glass with a piece of swirled, deep purple charoite and an oxidized sterling round bead. This pendant hangs from an oxidized sterling chain and closes with a sterling silver toggle.

Click here to see more photos of this piece or to purchase this from my etsy site.

Mint Chocolate Necklace III

I rarely create completely symmetrical pieces. My 7-year-old says, "Mommy, you need to practice your patterns. This is right, right, wrong..."; and when we were at the Carmel Valley Art and Wine Festival he made a point of showing me another jeweler's pieces: "See, Mommy. This necklace-maker understands patterns - right, right, right. Do you understand?!?" Yes, I understand.

These nuggets are so visually interesting, I went with a symmetrical design so as not to distract the eye.

A micro-faceted smoky topaz, recycled chocolate glass, and deep garnet hang at the focal point of this necklace. Hammered smoky quart, rough minty fluorite, and smooth smoky quartz are handwired with sterling silver to complete this one-of-a-kind piece. It closes in the rear with a twisted sterling toggle and green aventurine.

Click here to purchase this piece or to see more photos of this necklace on my etsy store.

Mint Chocolate Necklace II

And another one...

A rough minty fluorite nugget, faceted chrysoprase, and smoky quartz round hang at the center of this piece.Green aventurine, smooth smoky quartz nuggets, recycled green glass, and chocolate are hand-wired with both bright and oxidized sterling silver to form this one-of-a-kind necklace. It closes in the rear with a sterling lobster clasp.

Click here to purchase this piece or to see more photos on my etsy site.

Orb Earrings II

These stunning earrings feature heavily textured sterling silver orbs, tangerine recycled glass beads, carnelian, and corrugated sterling silver beads. All are handwired with sterling silver and hang from sterling French wires.

Click here to purchase this from my etsy site or to see more photos.

Surf Zone Earrings

Surf Zone Earrings - blue recycled glass and bluberry quartz are handwired onto sterling silver and dangle from sterling earring wires. The blue veins in the blueberry quartz remind me of the way the water churns in the surf zone just off the shoreline.

Click here to purchase these through my etsy site, or to see more photographs.

Orb Earrings I

I love these earrings. The sunny shade of yellow makes me smile; and the movement of these earrings is so much fun.

 

These stunning earrings feature heavily textured sterling silver orbs, yellow recycled glass beads, and textured  sterling silver beads. All are handwired with sterling silver and hang from sterling French wires.

 

Click here to purchase these from my etsy site, or to see more images.

Swirled Glass Hippie Chic Choker

Remember when I went to the Art Glass Center in San Jose with some girlfriends? Well, I finally got around to doing something with the pendant that I had made.

I decided to do something "hippie chic" with knotted hemp and recycled glass beads. But since I haven't done those knots since I was in college in Berkeley, I had to relearn the process. So, after lots of trial and error, I finally figured it out. Phew...

Here it is. The swirled glass pendant was torched and twisted by me. And the hemp was also twisted and knotted by me. I think I'll go back to working with sterling silver wire. It's less time consuming.

Watermelon Chunks Necklace

Another one-of-a-kind watermelon tourmaline creation...

For this neckace, I handwired deep pink chalcedony ovals with matte recycled green glass, pale fluorite nuggets, and watermelon tourmaline with some repurposed sterling silver chain links. There are some moss agate rounds where the necklace closes in the rear with a sterling silver toggle.

Click here to purchase this piece or to view more photos of this necklace.