The Heart of the Matter {Earrings-of-the-Month}

I think my aversion to Valentines’ Day must be thawing because I actually found inspiration in those chalky candy conversation hearts. The messages have been updated; ‘text me’ read one. Whaaat?!!? But I was drawn to the colors and decided to make some EcoChic Designs earrings in those same cheerful hues. I hope my subscribers enjoy these playful, one-of-a-kind earrings made especially with each one of them in mind.

This set is made from glass hearts, vintage glass beads, orange aventurine, handblown glass beads, pale amethyst, and prehnite. They'll be in the mail this week.

Tree Bling {Earrings of the Month}

I love Christmas trees. While not everyone celebrates, I think that everyone can appreciate the beauty of a tree decked out in all its holiday glory. The role of the fir tree in mid-winter celebrations pre-dates Christian times when the tree symbolized nature's triumph over the season’s gloomy darkness. The fir tree also symbolized protection – its thick fir boughs graciously protected delicate birds and provided shelter to other animals in the dense Bavarian forests.

Inspired by glass ornaments, shimmering by candlelight, I have created this month’s pieces with handblown glass beads from an artisan in Rhode Island. Happy holidays!!

Just a few interesting symbols you might find on Christmas trees...

Birds are considered a universal symbol of happiness and joy and are regarded by many to be a necessity on the Christmas tree. Because bird ornaments were difficult to create, few glassblowing families in Germany specialized in the making of these special pieces. Birds represent messengers of love and are the harbingers of good things to come.

Oranges have always been considered a very special treat at Christmas time. Costly and scarce during the winter months many years ago, oranges were highly appreciated and were quite a delicacy. Santa would often leave one of these sweet fruits in the toe of a stocking of good little boys and girls as a delightful reward. Oranges were among the first figural glass ornaments produced.

Acorns have long been thought to be good luck symbols in Germany where oak trees are considered sacred. Acorns are also believed to represent the rebirth of life as witnessed by the coming of the Christ child. Early German Christmas trees were laden with cones, cookies and nuts, most notably the acorn, to commemorate this gift of life and luck. This tradition is celebrated today with the glass acorn ornament.

True Blue. Wild 'Bout Hyacinths.

Having worked as a florist in college, flowers and their meanings are important to me. So, when I got married - 13 years ago this month - the flowers I picked were not random. The guys sported boutonnieres featuring grape hyacinth, a flower whose meaning is 'constancy' and 'sincerity.' True blue seemed a fitting flower for a wedding. Besides, it's one of my favorite flowers and one of the first to herald the coming of Spring. In climates where snow falls, it's a dramatic, gorgeous site - that vibrant bluish purple peeking through stark white ground.

I handwired amethyst, purple chalcedony, violet glass, and blue iolite together to form these one-of-a-kind creations. They'll be in the mail tomorrow to my Earrings-of-the-Month members. Hope they like them... Happy Spring!

Water Droplet Earrings and Necklace for They Are One

They Are One is a local non-profit raising funds to provide the Cornerstone Children’s Home - an orphanage in southern Sudan - with a supply of fresh, clean water. And since a friend of mine from high school is one of the founders, I am happily donating to their benefit luncheon and auction this week. Read the Off 68 article about the group and their project.

Inspired by their mission of providing water for the orphanage, I used water-colored glass beads and aquamarine chips in the creation of this one-of-a-kind necklace and earring set. A variety of blue milky glass beads are handwired with sterling silver to form water droplets. The earrings hang from hammered artisan-made ear wires and the matching pendant is suspended on a sterling silver chain.

Peace and Thank You

I just received an email this morning from the woman who won one of my necklace and earring sets. She wrote: "I wanted you to know that I wore the necklace and earrings from the York Gala, the PAX pieces, for Easter and had several compliments.  Thank you for being so generous with your talents!!"

That made my day.

Here's the one-of-a-kind necklace that she won...with matching earrings.

PAX Necklace and Earring Set
PAX, in Latin, means 'peace.' Not just 'peace' as in the opposite of war, but 'peace' as in 'calm, grace, quiet and serenity.' The story goes that the five marks on the sand dollar are actually five doves that, when broken open and released, will spread peace and happiness throughout the land.

These pieces are handwired with bits of aqua colored glass, neon blue apatite, and hefty sterling silver pieces.

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.

Art Glass Center of San Jose

Today I went to the Art Glass Center of San Jose with Pia and Jenn for a girls' day; we drove up for their Glass Artist for a Day program. We spent four hours doing three projects: (1) a torched glass pendant, (2) a stained glass sun-catcher, and (3) a fused glass dish.

Our first station was the torchwork pendant. We were blown away by the level of stress and the amount of coordination it took.

Pia concluded and I wholeheartedly concur: we will never again balk at paying five dollars for a handmade glass bead!

We got to take home the sun-catcher but will have to go back up to pick up our pendants (they have to be annealed) and our dishes (they have to be fired in a kiln).  Here's a photo of my swirled pendant in progress...I'll post a photo of a finished necklace next month.