'Food has a story' Necklace and Earring Set {Donation}

I am donating this set to MEarth for their Earth Day Silent Auction fundraiser.

‘Food has a story.’ 

I located an artisan in southern California who was able to turn my handwriting into a pendant. I chose this sentence because I believe it’s something people need to remember and embrace – and it seemed an appropriate connection to MEarth’s FoodConnect programs. “When people gather around a table to share food, magic happens,” I read on MEarth’swebsite. I couldn’t agree more.

A ‘Food has a story’ pendant, in sterling silver, is the focal point of this one-of-a-kind necklace. The pendant is handwired in sterling silver with faceted light and dark smoky quartz rondelles, faceted moonstone rondelles, tiny turquoise nuggets, and an up-cycled sterling silver chain. It closes in the rear with a sterling silver hook-and-eye clasp. 

The coordinating earrings are made with up-cycled sterling findings and faceted pale sapphires they hang from sterling silver earwires.

Urchins = Adventure and Fearlessness {Earrings-of-the-Month}

September 2014: I am woefully tardy in posting this. Sorry! I've had a crazier than usual couple of weeks.

This month’s pieces are inspired by sea urchins which have come represent the embodiment of all I want for my children’s palates: adventure and fearlessness. 

If you’ve seen the movie The Hundred Foot Journey you may relate. I took D with me to see the movie on opening night. As we walked out he wanted two things: (1) to buy the DVD and (2) to cook with sea urchin. I was floored. Needless to say, I went in search of urchin. I bought most already prepped, but wanted him to clean one. He did and created an incredible spiced soup with coconut milk and fresh herbs. 

Here's the post from my kitchen blog: How to Clean an Urchin...

Here's his soup: D's Spiced Coconut & Urchin Soup...

So, that was it. Urchin = parenting success in making sure that my kids will eat with purpose and an open mind. Here’s to new things…on your plates and in your ears!

September EcoChic Designs’ Earrings are black and green lampwork glass beads and gemstones handwired with sterling silver findings to create one-of-a-kind pieces just for you! Enjoy!

Reflections of Growth {Earrings of the Month}

The end of the school year almost always brings to me tears with the chaos that ensues from tying up all the loose ends and unfinished projects. But, as my boys were reflecting on their respective school years and finalizing their summative assessments for various teachers, I took some time to pause and look at the tremendous growth we’ve seen this year. No tears, just deep breaths. From their typing skills to their analytical abilities, this school year has taken my kids to new heights. So, on that note, I was inspired to create pieces that – to me – illustrated growth and change. I had some Rhyolite from a trip to Oregon a few years ago and love how the colors remind me of an old growth forest – with its palate of green and brown and I used green onyx for growth and the glittering Golden Pyrite represents success.

Oregon Rhyolite, Golden Pyrite, Hematite, and green onyx are handwired with sterling silver findings to create one-of-a-kind pieces just for my subscribers. Enjoy!

Camilla's Pumpkin Patch {Earrings-of-the-Month}

I love pumpkins. No, I don't mean love as in a casual crush. I mean love as in full-blown-lusty-obsession love. I love pumpkins. I once ate so many pumpkins one season that I had an allergic reaction to it. Dead serious. So, I've curtailed my pumpkin creations in recent years and have turned to making jewelry that reminds me of a pumpkin patch instead.

This month's pieces include light carnelian nuggets, dark carved carnelian, recycled orange glass, orange aventurine,and more - all hand-wired with sterling silver to create one-of-a-kind pieces for my subscribers' lobes during October. I hope they like them.

"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.

The Start of Something...

During a hike in Modoc National Forest, we came across this nest and it got me thinking about fresh starts and new beginnings. So much potential. My eldest son started middle school this school year. Not a lot of change, in that he’s on the same campus with the same classmates and many of the same enrichment teachers, but a change nonetheless. I still see him as this soft, little boy – most of the time – but I’m beginning to see glimmers of his teenage self, with harder edges and a wee bit of tween ‘tude. As I recently told my cousin who is about to have her first baby: enjoy each stage because it passes quickly. So, I’m taking my own advice. I’m facing this growth head on and embracing the person he is becoming. Enjoy!

The Start of Something…

The SEPTEMBER 2013 EcoChic Designs’ Earrings-of-the-Month selections are made in the shades of these eggs, with aquamarines, amazonite, turquoise, smokey topaz, golden pyrite, blue recycled glass and more...all handwired with sterling silver.

These will be in the mail early next week...just after the Labor Day holiday. Hope the gals enjoy!

'C' is for Charley Liana {Nursing Bracelet}

I can hardly believe that one of my 'baby' cousins is about to become a mother. For goodness sake...I used to change her diapers. But, it's true. M and her husband Justin are preparing to embark on one of the most amazing adventures ever: parenthood. They know they are having a girl; they have named her Charley Liana.

For their baby shower this weekend, I wanted to create something for her that was both meaningful and 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 M could use this bracelet as a nursing reminder, just switching it from one arm to the other, if she wished. Useful.

Here are the meaningful parts...

A sterling silver disc with a 'C' because, well, 'C' is for Charley Liana. That's pretty self-explanatory.

A sterling silver sloth to remind her to take it slow and enjoy the ride. With your first baby, it's always a race to the next milestone. Oh, she can hold her head up...when will she sit up? Oh, she can sit...when will she crawl? Oh, she can crawl...when will she stand? Oh, she can stand...when will she walk? 

Enjoy each phase. they pass quickly. And then you blink and you have a middle schooler. Yes, I say this from experience. As Eric Carle wrote: slowly, slowly goes the sloth. 

A sterling heart with tulips because motherhood makes your heart blossom in ways that you never imagined possible. I know that sounds cliché, but I really didn't understand how much love I would feel for the little person I just created until I held him in my arms. I know you'll feel the same way about Charley.

And a sterling heart with footprints because Charley is a dream come true.

Some people come into our lives

and leave footprints on our hearts

and we are never ever the same.

Some people come into our lives

and quickly go... Some stay for awhile

and embrace our silent dreams.

I also used a sterling hand charm with a heart cut-out of it from the book The Kissing Hand. If you haven't read it, do! I neglected to take a photo of that charm before I wrapped it up. Whoops.

This bracelet was made especially for M and her soon-to-be-born baby girl, Charley Liana. 

The beads are faceted pink chalcedony. 

All of the elements are sterling silver and hand-wired with love. 

July's Pieces - The Silver Lining Earrings

Read about my inspiration for this month's pieces. And....they are all finished, wrapped, and ready to go into the mail early next week to the subscribers of my EcoChic Designs' Earrings-of-the-Month club. Enjoy, ladies!

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!

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!

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.

MAY EcoChic Designs Earrings-of-the-Month

It's that time again...earrings are packaged up and ready to go, a few days early because my husband's and my birthdays are only a week apart and our next two weekends are jam-packed. It's all fun stuff, to be sure, but it doesn't leave much time for much else, especially not a trip to the post office. So, I am sending the earrings out a little bit early because I will be swamped for the next ten days and don't want to leave earlobes naked for too long.

This month, I picked HONEY as my theme for a couple of reasons - I love honey; I love bees; and I've been reading a book called Robbing the Bees: A Biography of Honey.

Many countries celebrate women this month. In this country, it's Mothers' Day; in Italy, it's Festa Della Donna (Festival of the Woman). While not all of my club members are mothers, all are women. For my mothers' day/festa della donna offering, I decided to make creations in all the shades of honey because motherhood, for me, has been a sweet - and sometimes sticky - journey. Sticky because, well, I have two boys eighteen months apart.

The pieces were made with faceted honey quartz, lemon quartz, recycled glass in pale and bright yellow, and amber. All one-of-a-kind, all handwired with sterling silver. So, whether the gals are mothers, grandmothers, or beloved aunties - or all of the above - I hope they will wear these and feel celebrated and appreciated.

Mint Chocolate Bracelet I

This chunky bracelet features both with deep smoky quartz, bright Russian amazonite, sparkling bronzite, and a pale green chalcedony. All are handwired with sterling silver to form this one-of-a-kind piece. it closes with a sterling silver toggle.

Click here to purchase this piece from my etsy site.

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.

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.

"Almost Right" Assymetrical Necklace

My seven-year-old was sitting on my lap, running his fingers along my necklace that I had just finished.

"Mommy," he said, "this necklace is almost right."

"What do you mean?" I queried, curious as to what he would change. It's always nice to get a second opinion on a design.

"The pattern is almost right. You have," he explained, putting his fingers on pairs of beads, "right, wrong, right. It should be right, right, right. This is wrong, but it's almost right."

I tried to explain assymetry and the aesthetics of assymetrical designs. He tolerated my explanation and concluded, simply, "Good job on the right parts. Maybe you'll get it all right next time."

Not because of his assessment, but I am keeping this 'Almost Right' necklace for myself. It pairs really nicely with the blues I've been wearing recently and, of course, my favorite Gap denim jacket!

Rough fluorite nuggets are handwired - in an almost right pattern - with amazonite nuggets and aquamarine nuggets to form this one of a kind necklace.

Easter Eggs

I found these solid sterling silver Easter egg charms and the boys picked out the colors. Recycled glass beads and gemstones are handwired with the charms to make dainty Spring necklaces for their friends. Happy Easter!

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.

Mini Mushroom Man

When I was a kid, living in the Netherlands, we lived just around the corner from Wil Huygen who wrote Leven en werken van de Kabouter, translated and published in English as Gnomes.  My mom was never brave enough to knock on his door and ask him to sign our copy of the book, but when my parents and I would hike through the forests near our home in Soest, I would skip past all of the mushrooms, imagining all the kabouter who lived there.  A long way from Holland, I saw this mushroom on a Christmas Eve hike through Point Lobos and I was reminded of my childhood hikes.

Kabouter is the Dutch word for gnome. In Dutch mythology and Dutch folklore, kabouters are tiny men who live underground or else are household spirits helping in the home. They are generally shy of humans. The males have long, full beards and wear tall, pointed red hats. In the Legend of the Wooden Shoes, an old Dutch folktale, the kabouter teaches the Dutch man how to make wooden shoes.

So, when I found these sterling silver gnome charms, I had to have them. I chose vibrant red druzy and luminous rose quartz nuggets handwired with recycled red glass and sterling silver to create this one-of-a-kind necklace.