Beaded Lace Earrings - Week 14

So - I've been having fun with these Earrings! They make up way fast compared with some of the other things I bead. I made the first pair with vintage glass pearls and Swarovski crystals, and used these odd-colored drops. They're purple in reflected light, but blue when the light comes through them.  

I started a bracelet in the Gwenevere's Cuff class I taught last week. I used a nut and a gold crystal for the clasp, and used bronze seed beads and jet & black diamond Swars, to try for a steampunk effect. I liked it enough to finish it right away. I had enough crystals left over to make matching earrings. (Can you spot the mistake? I'm such a perfectionist!)

Week #13, Tanzanite Lizette Earrings

That's what I get for not posting in a couple of weeks! I'm gonna have to figure out if I'm behind or not. I've been making earrings, but hadn't realized that I missed a couple of weeks of posting.  Time flies! 

Anyway, here's a pair of Lisette earrings, made with crystal AB Delicas,  silver-lined crystal 15ºs, Starling chain, Tanzanite Swarovski Marguerites, and pale Alexandrite colored facetted drops. I even found sterling earwires with the Tanzanite Swars. already on them. I think the drops are a little big for these earrings, but I like the color.

Week 12 - Pamela Beaded Lace Earrings

I only had 10 of the golden teardrop beads left, and wanted to make some dangle-y earrings to match a pendant I made in class the other day. I had just run across the instructions for Beaded Lace Earrings that I took from Pam Rodriguez at the Shepherdess in 1987. I used my version of that technique to make these, and thought I'd name them after her.

The Pamela earrings are made from CZ 11º brown iris seed beads, CZ 12º silver lined topaz rocailles (They have the tiniest square holes, so I was constantly taking the needle off the thread to poke it through them for the 2nd pass up the fringe! But the square holes reflect the light and make a beautiful sparkle.),  Japanese twisted bugles with a bronze luster on the ends, Bronze metallic 8º seed beads, Olivine Aurum Swarovski crystals, Czech firepolish round and drop beads, and brass metal teardrop dangles. I used c-lon thread, so I'm wondering how long it will take for the metal dangles to cut through. I really like them, so I hope they last a while!

Week 11 - Earth Day Earrings

I wanted to make some recycled earrings for Earth Day, So I went through a box of old Earrings. I used to make these Ear Chimes in the late '80s.... They're about 4 inches long and make a really pretty chime sound whenever you move. I made the dangles from stained glass - cut and drilled them, then fired them in a kiln until the edges were rounded. When the earrings were all assembled, I glued seed beads on the jump rings to seal them. 

 I couldn't stand to take them apart, so I found some pieces of glass that had never been made into earrings. I used 2 fused glass diamonds, Swarovski crystals from something I took apart a long time ago, Gold filled wire from the scrap bag, and gold colored Goddesses that I've had for 20 years. The gold filled earwires and 2mm beads are the only new things I used. So I think it counts as recycled!

An interesting thing is that the pink glass on both earrings is the same color. I know it has to do with how I took the pictures. The Earth Day earrings have light coming through them, and the Ear Chimes are laying flat. I'm gonna have to start keeping a journal or something, so I can get consistent results.