Colors of the Desert, Earrings-of-the-Month

“I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams...”

― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince 

For eight days during Spring Break, we laid low in the desert, exploring, hiking, and enjoying a completely new environment to us central California coasters. I always imagined deserts to be flat-colored. Lots of browns and greys. Certainly there were those shades, but there were also radiant pops of color at almost every turn. From golden poppies to carmine rocks and shocks of magenta. The desert was a surprise and a delight. I even spent hours in a bead shop in Tehachapi!

The selections for my earrings-of-the-month subscribers run the gamut to match my inspiration. Pieces include striped orange agate faceted rondelles, amethyst rondelles, peridot cubes, grey pearls, ruddy ceramic discs, carnelian teardrops and rounds, lime green magnasite, and turquoise all handwired with sterling silver.

'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.

Toasting Fifteen {earrings-of-the-month}

Fifteen years ago, this month, this happened...

My husband Jake and I are celebrating 15 years of marriage this month. Fifteen years. On one hand that feels like a lifetime; on the other, it seems to have passed in the blink of an eye.

In this past decade and a half, we've had two kids, lived in two states and five different houses, and juggled probably about dozen different jobs between us. We've been to Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona; we've traveled to Italy and Costa Rica. We've SCUBA'd, zip-lined, canoed, and tangoed. It's been an amazing adventure.

But it's also been work. Don't let anyone tell you that marriage is easy. Still, being happily married is a daily choice...and I choose it. Every. Day.

So, I was inspired to create earrings that feature the traditional gift of fifteen years of marriage: crystal. And because pearls symbolize wisdom acquired through experience, I added some of those into the designs, too.

The earrings are combinations of clear genuine crystal quartz and pearls handwired with sterling silver. They hang from sterling silver earwires. Photos to come. I hope all the gals enjoy!

Glistening Petals (Earrings-of-the-Month)

I guess I’ve always loved the look of GLISTENING PETALS – wildflowers on a secluded trail that have been kissed by a thick morning dew. I thought I’d make EcoChic Designs’ February pieces that resembled gem-kissed petals.

I’ve played with different sized wires and different sized gems to achieve the look I wanted. I hope you wear these and enjoy the sparkle.

EcoChic Designs’ February 2015 one-of-a-kind pieces…are glistening petals.

Sterling silver petals are handwired with different faceted gemstones, including rainbow tourmaline, moonstone, amethyst, topaz, and more. Enjoy!

Wishes for the Forties: Bliss, Blue Jeans, and Bubbly

As a friend was looking towards her fortieth birthday, she asked me to create a bracelet for her...and to surprise her with a story. So, here goes.

My wishes for her forties...at the center of the bracelet is a sterling silver wishbone.

I selected smooth iolite rondelles and faceted rondelles of pale smoky quartz because they reminded me of denim and champagne! Once you hit your forties, you care less about pretense and are more than comfortable popping open an expensive bottle of bubbly in your blue jeans and your favorite t-shirt.

I included a hummingbird because they represent the enjoyment of life and lightness of being; a lotus blossom symbolizes the purity and the love of god; and the owl is sacred to the Greek goddess of knowledge. Life, faith, and knowledge. That is bliss.

Happy 40th, S. Hope you like it.

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.

All that Twinkles {Earrings-of-the-Month}

For the past three Christmases I have been a Grinch.

What I mean is that we lived in a postage stamp-sized townhouse and I refused to have a Christmas tree (except for the rosemary one that sat on our dining room table). We put a wreath on the door, but I didn’t have Christmas lights strung from the roof or anywhere else for that matter. And I didn't bake any gingerbread.

Here's the last time I was festive: 2010. Yikes.

And, I’ll be honest, I love twinkle lights. They remind me of glitter for the house…except I don’t have to vacuum it up when I’m finished! 

So, this month, in celebration of the fact that we are finally in a real house – where I can hang twinkle lights – my earring selection twinkles, too.

The pieces this month are comprised of sterling silver, diamond-cut sterling chains, sterling stardust beads, and faceted moonstone and champagne topaz…all handwired…and all one-of-a-kind.

May they bring my subscribers joy during this holiday season and beyond. These are in the mail to the gals this weekend. I'll post photos soon!