Persephone's Passion {Earrings-of-the-Month}

For my January EcoChic Designs Earrings-of-the-Month pieces, I found inspiration in this pomegranate pendant. 

Since the deep red color of the pomegranate arils gave rise to the naming of the garnet - January's birthstone - I handwired garnets galore with sterling silver. Some pieces also have sterling stardust beads and moonstones.

These lovelies are in the mail today to my members. Enjoy!

 

 

Hot, Hot, Hot! {Earrings of the Month}

We have been in the middle of an unseasonably hot month. Earlier, D and I spent the day in San Francisco while R was at an all-day seminar in Santa Clara. We hiked four miles, all over San Francisco, up and down from Coit Tower during a record-breaking weekend. It was 107 in the City that day. When we picked up R and his classmate, it was 109 in Santa Clara. Crazy hot.

And, while it has let up some, it's still hot. So, this month, I was inspired by heat and the warm colors of carnelian, amber, garnets, and rough rubies. All of these creations are handwired with sterling silver and hang from sterling silver earwires. I hope my subscribers enjoy these...and I really hope it starts to cool down soon.

Awesome Arils {earrings of the month}

This month's earrings were inspired by our recent move - we are homeowners once again! - and January's birthstone.

So, we finally were able to get out of our rented postage stamp-sized townhouse and into a real house. Relief. Excitement. All of those things washed over us. We moved to a street called 'Granada.' I was looking at my face cream, a pomegranate cream "for aging skin" (no joke); the bottle included other languages, including French and Spanish. 'Granada' drew my attention. And it dawned on me: we live on a street named for the pomegranate. How cool is that?!

We love pomegranates!

Originally from Persia, pomegranates are one of the oldest cultivated fruits. Ancient Romans used the skins in the process of tanning leather. Perhaps due to the fruit's princely blossom crown, it has gained distinction as a royal fruit. Chaucer, Shakespeare and Homer have all extolled the virtues of the pomegranate in literature. The Moors brought the seedy fruit to Spain where Granada was named for it. The first pomegranate was planted in Britain by King Henry VIII. It reached our shores by way of the Spanish conquistadors.

The deep red color of the pomegranate arils gave rise to the naming of the garnet gemstone, January’s birthstone. So, the pieces this month are gobs and gobs of garnets handwired with sterling silver. They are going in the mail this weekend! Hope the gals enjoy.

The Color of Gratitude {Earrings-of-the-Month}

THANK YOU! With the holiday season looming, I started to think about how to represent abundance or gratitude. What colors meant 'thank you'? I wondered. I read that brown symbolized stability, reliability, and approachability. And being the color of dirt it's also associated with all things natural and organic. I love that.

In flower symbolism, dark pink roses mean 'thank you.' So, I created pieces this month with those two colors in mind. To me, brown + pink = the color of gratitude

My November 2013 EcoChic Designs' earrings-of-the-month selection feature smoky quartz, smoky topaz, garnet, pink moonstone, hot pink chalcedony, and bronzite. I'm very grateful for my subscribers support of handmade. Thank you.

Persephone's Passion

For my January EcoChic Designs Earrings-of-the-Month pieces, I found inspiration in this pomegranate pendant. Since the deep red color of the pomegranate arils gave rise to the naming of the garnet - January's birthstone - I handwired garnets galore with sterling silver. Some pieces are garnets alone, other include recycled red glass or watermelon tourmaline. These lovelies are in the mail next week to my members. Enjoy!

That's a Wrap!

I just finished creating tags for the January shipment of my earrings-of-the-month creations...well, for current members. I do have three new members - thanks to a generous Christmas elf who doesn't like her friends and family to have naked lobes! - whose style and length preferences I don't yet know. So, those will go out next week.

But this month wraps the first 12 months of this venture, EcoChic Designs' Earrings-of-the-Month club. I've had a lot of fun and look forward to another years of inspired earrings for my members.

January's Pieces are inspired by the pomegranate...

"Ardent for Arils"

Originally from Persia, the pomegranate is one of the oldest cultivated fruits. Ancient Romans used the skins in the process of tanning leather. Perhaps due to the fruit's princely blossom crown, it has gained distinction as a royal fruit. Chaucer, Shakespeare and Homer have all extolled the virtues of the pomegranate in literature. The Moors brought the seedy fruit to Spain where Granada was named for it. The first pomegranate was planted in Britain by King Henry VIII. It reached our shores by way of the Spanish conquistadors.

The deep red color of the pomegranate arils gave rise to the naming of the garnet gemstone, January’s birthstone. So, for this month, garnets galore are handwired with sterling silver and hang from handmade, hammered sterling ear wires.

Photos of the pieces to come....

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!

Big Love Bracelet

Hearts, red, pink. I know it's not Valentines', but I love this color combination.

This chunky, one-of-a-kind bracelet features multiple shades of red and luminous pale pink. A large red agate druzy is handwired with rough rose quartz nuggets, hammered pyrope garnets, and deep red recycled glass rounds to form this piece. It closes wtih a sterling silver heart toggle clasp.

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

Lacrimi de Cristo Necklace

Lacrimi de Cristo. Tears of Christ.

Okay, so admittedly I am not a theist, but when I saw these artisan Mission-style crosses, I wanted to create some pieces for those who do believe, using in shades that are most often seen during this season; the colors used in the sanctuary for most of Lent is purple, red violet, or dark violet.

An artisan sterling silver Mission-style cross hangs at the center of this one-of-a-kind necklace and is handwired with rough freeform pyrope garnets, frosted Burma rubies, and round purple charoite. The necklace closes in the rear with a sterling silver lobster clasp.

I created this as an Easter gift for my mom, but have three other crosses and would be happy to make a similar piece for you. Please contact me for a quote.

Purple Bunny Choker

With Easter only three weeks away, I decided that I needed to use all of my sterling bunny buttons in jewelry this week. 

This Spring-hued choker - in soft and muted purples - features a sterling silver bunny button. Perfect for Spring, for Easter, or anytime!

The sterling silver button is handwired with smooth amethyst nuggets, faceted amethyst nuggets, fluorite rounds, recycled purple glass, and tiny garnet and rose quartz rounds to form this one-of-a-kind choker.

Another faceted amethyst nugget dangles as a focal point below the rabbit. The necklace closes in the rear with a sterling silver lobster clasp.

Click here to purchase this piece on my etsy site.

Beet Queen Choker

If you folllow my kitchen blog, Culinary Adventures with Camilla, you know that I recently cooked an all-beet dinner for a friend's 38th birthday. Beet bread. Beet chutney. Beet-rubbed leg of lamb. Even beet mousse!

So, naturally, I had beets on the brain when I made this hefty choker.

Large (dyed) agate druzy nuggets - in shades of red and golden beets - are handwired with faceted watermelon quartz, garnets, and recycled red glass to form this one-of-a-kind choker. It closes in the rear with a sterling silver lobster clasp.

Click here to purchase this piece from my etsy site.

"All Sorts of Oohs"

Whenever I donate to an auction, I choose to do it because of the cause it supports.  I will always support the boys' school, my alma mater, and various foundations around the area that are close to my heart.

But it's not often that I get any feedback from the person who won it. I knew that a friend had been outbid.  I just didn't know who walked away with it in the end.  So, after having donated my Bacchus Lariat to the York School auction, I was very excited to get this email from the winner:

"Guess what: I’m the one who bought it. It’s terrific. I wore it today and got all sorts of oohs. Thanks from York, thanks from me. Love seeing those boys and being in touch from afar; they are growing up so fast!"

Enjoy!

Cin Cin for a Good Cause

Hefty sterling silver grapes and luscious cabernet-colored recycled glass inspired this choker and earring set that's going to my dad's Monterey Peninsula Sunrise Rotary Club's International Night 2011 auction in May. 

Click here for more information about the event.

Cin Cin Choker and Earring Set: a hefty sterling grape cluster hangs at the center of the choker. Recycled cabernet-colored glass, sterling silver, and garnets are all handwired to complete this one-of-a-kind choker.  Recycled cabernet colored glass and garnets are handwired with sterling silver and hang from sterling French wires to match the choker.

Fruity Inspiration

When Jake came in with a handful of blood oranges from his tree, I was inspired by the bright colors, both sanguine and sunny.  Gorgeous.  I forbade him from slicing all of them until I could photograph a necklace that matched them. 

"Where's the necklace?" he queried.

"In my head," I admitted.

He groan, "Oh, brother."

"No, seriously, give me an hour." 

And he did...just.  As soon as I photographed the pieces, this last orange was sliced and devoured.

I used magenta and orange druzy agate nuggets, recycled red and orange glass, orange turquoise, and garnet rounds to create this one-of-a-kind necklace.  For the focal point, I opted for a small sterling silver flower that reminded me of delicate orange blossom.

Luscious Watermelon Tourmaline Necklace

A couple of weeks ago, I purchased two watermelon tourmaline briolettes and excitedly waited for some time to create something with them.  But one of the briolettes had a massive inclusion that had not been noted in the description; thankfully the gem-monger let me exchange it for something else.  So, in the end, I only had one piece if watermelon tourmaline to use. 

One of the things that so appealed to me about this gem: it is two-toned, rich green and lucscious magenta.  When I agonzied over which color to use - either pink, red, or green - I decided that I wanted to use both red and green to create this one-of-a-kind piece.

I handwired the watermelon tourmaline with textured sterling silver beads that reminded me of the striped fruit, garnet rondelles, garnet rounds, garnet ovals, and green aventurine rounds with sterling silver and incorporated some repurposed oxidized sterling silver chain.  The necklace closes in the rear with a sterling silver lobster clasp.

To purchase this necklace, click here.

Tulipa 'Burgundy Lace'

'Burgundy Lace' tulips are a rich wine color with magenta highlights.  Fabulous colors.  But my favorite part of this tulip is its delicately fringed petals.  They inspired this piece and I used crystal-encrusted druzy nuggets to add texture to this necklace.

A heavily-plated sterling silver (over brass) tulip bead cap is handwired with magenta jade, cabernet freshwater pearls, recycled deep red glass, garnet rounds, Swarovski crystals and hefty faceted nuggets of burgundy druzy agate to form this one-of-a-kind necklace. It closes in the rear with a sterling silver heart-motif toggle.

Click here to purchase this necklace on etsy.com.

Bacchus II Lariat

To the Greeks he was Dionysus.  To the Romans he was Bacchus.  To both cultures, he was the god of wine and intoxication. 

I created a wine-themed lariat for York School's fundraising gala on March 5th, 2011; I liked it so much I decided to make a similar piece for sale with slightly different gems and glass pieces.

This Bacchus lariat features a hefty sterling silver grape cluster on one strand and Bacchus's face on a grape leaf on the other, recycled glass in deep red and black, garnets, and hematite are handwired with sterling silver complete this one-of-a-kind piece.  Click here to purchase this piece on etsy.

Beautiful Briolettes

Briolette-cut gemstones resemble a drop of falling water.  Graceful.  Simple.  Bold.  I recently acquired a a few briolettes.  To highlight the beauty of the gems I created some very simple necklaces. 

The lower necklace in the photo to the right is a 15-carat smooth polished amethyst handwired with textured sterling silver bits and hanging from a sterling silver chain.

The raspberry colored gem is a 22-carat heart briolette, also, handwired with textured sterling silver bits and a faceted garnet hangs from a sterling silver chain.

I also have a smaller tanzanite briolette, but need to get a smaller gauge sterling wire to finish that one.

I haven't had a chance to list these for sale on etsy yet, but I will this weekend.