Butterfly bracelet

I have a newly-listed goody at the shop, the Harlow bracelet. Made of ivory bone butterfly and pale green chrysoprase nuggets - check her out!

Also, one of my favorite artists, Betsy Carr of Foundling, was featured on Etsy. I love her work and try to check out her blog often. Her shop is chock full of jewelry and accessories with a decidedly vintage flavor - I've bought a pair of her red poppy bobby pins in the past and they are absolutely adorable.

Hope you are all staying warm on this chilly winter's day!

A new item

I managed to get this photo loaded so you can get a quick preview of this necklace in spite of our internet problems.

This one is "Kate," and she's made up of a white bone butterfly pendant measuring around 1.5" x 2", and blue howlite beads on sterling silver wire. This was the first time I've worked with howlite and I love the way it turned out.

I also really love the sharp color contrast between the beads and the pendant.

As usual, the sun hid behind a cloud and stayed there for the rest of the day when I took this picture so it's not as bright as I would like. I may have to re-take some shots tomorrow.

In the meantime, I'll try working on posting the rest of the pictures.

Something funky this way comes

Okay, so I got totally inspired to try something different...what do you think? A focal bead of crysophrase (approximately 1.5" x 1"), with two nugget pearls and a bone butterfly halfway up the 36" silver chain...enclosed by a silver toggle clasp. This is a very long necklace and can be placed over the head without the need to unclasp it (unless the wearer has a head circumference larger than 36", in which case you probably have bigger problems to worry about.)

I kid, I kid.

I'm still not sure how I feel about having the crysophrase there - if I leave just the butterfly and the pearls, this necklace would look rather 1920-ish, maybe worn with a flapper dress . A look that I dig.

But I also love that splash of green there, sort of an unexpected surprise of color. I think it makes a lively, bold statement.

Hmmm...

More butterflies

I have to confess, I ended up loving this piece so much that I just might keep it for myself. I have this black v-neck minidress that would look adorable with this! But...I know, I can't get too greedy. I must stop absconding with the inventory or I won't have much of a business at the end of this endeavor!

The pendant is a carved butterfly made of bone, with a strand of coral beads on sterling silver wire. The necklace is approximately 16", and the butterly pendant is 2" in length and 1.5" high.

Aquamarines and a butterfly

I finally finished this piece and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. Made up of aquamarine nuggets and a painted bone pendant, the strand is approximately 18" long (without the pendant) and the pendant itself is 1.5" x 1" decorated with a picture of a delicate butterfly.

As I mentioned before, the aquamarine nuggets were really tricky to work with because of how they are all shaped so organically, sloping on one side and angling on the other. The stones themselves are interesting because of their wide range of colors, from blue to green to brown.

Aquamarines originally got their name from the Latin words meaning "water of the sea", which I think is a wonderful derivation. It is a variety of the stone beryl, and it usually has a delicate blue or turquoise color that is suggestive of seawater. The colors of the stones I have in this necklace could probably range from the color of seawater to the color of a river after it rains. Aquamarine is also the birthstone of the March babies, including that of my cousin.

Butterfly whimsy

This is another necklace with colors that are perfect for the approaching fall (but I'm in denial about summer being over, you say). Fear not, this necklace should get you in the mood! The pendant is a whimsical butterfly-shaped mother-of-pearl, with swirls of brown and gold. It is paired with a strand made of topaz glass beads, on sterling silver.