Friday, July 1, 2016

We're All Ears :: July Reveal

Where has the time gone, and what I have I been doing with it? My last blog post and earring inspiration for We're All Ears was in October 2015! 

Well, it has been a weird and busy 9 months. Brutal winter flooding. Escape vacations to bask in the wonderous Redwoods and see friends in Spokane, Washington. Lots of custom jewelry orders. The creation of an exclusive collection of feather-themed jewelry for Sunflower Flats, a lovely shop in Tillamook, Oregon. Some environmental activism related to deforestation and water quality here on the Oregon coast. Pet emergencies. The list continues . . . as does life.

But then, while scrolling through my news feed, this challenge caught my eye. 


On the day I noticed the challenge inspiration on my newsfeed, I had just returned from the nursery with a new favorite perriniel - the balloon flower. What a coincidence! Balloons, it seems, were calling my name. 


Keepin' it simple, I dove into my long-time hoarded, matched gemstone slabs, the balloon-shaped ones. I was inspired to use the yellows, oranges, and reds from the hot-air balloon photo. (As much as I wanted to use purple to represent my flowers, I had no purple-colored slabs.) I love working with these stones because keeping the focus on the stones forces me to keep the design minimal, a departure from my usual style. 

Bumblebee jasper (from Intrinsic Trading), jet, resin, dark annealed steel wire


Cherry creek jasper (from Hampton's Rock Shop), turquoise, antiqued copper
Yea! These are actually right-side up, hot-air balloon orientation!




To see other designs by talented artists, visit this blog post: Earrings Everyday. Thanks, Erin, for your continued inspiration! This challenge got me back into the blogosphere and helped me get motivated to fullfil an order for 15 pairs of gemstone slab earrings for a local shop. Yea!

7 comments:

  1. Wow what beautiful earrings.love the stones.I used to use stones alot.
    Thanks for showing stones again.

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  2. Ooh, these are all so yummy. I adore semi-precious stones. All of your earring pairs are beautiful and you've definitely showcased the natural beauty of the beads.

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  3. Such beautiful designs! Love your wirework!

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  4. Gorgeous earrings and components! Well done!

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  5. Beautiful, simple, and stunning! I love the fact that you let the natural beauty of the stones take center stage!

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  6. Love the gemstone pairs! And what cool flowers you shared... I've never seen anything like those.

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  7. Yea! Glad that the inspiration struck you at the right time. I love that you deconstructed the balloons and inverted them. Such beautiful slabs of stone, reminiscent of what you might view from the air! Thank you for joining in the fun of the We're All Ears challenge. Join me on August 5th for our next inspiration! Enjoy the day! Erin

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