New life of old earrings

Recently a friend of my friend has brought me a pair of old vintage earrings (Sterling silver, labradorite and pearls) and asked me to create an unusual piece of jewelry using those earrings.


Create a new pair of earrings using the old ones? Oh, no! I decided to keep the old design, and put the earrings together on a blank beadwoven bracelet. I picked up seed beads matching labradorite and pearls for the bracelet, and added a few seed bead branches with amethyst rounds, pearls and some gemstone chips. So, here we are!

Summer Is Almost Here!

It's a crisp, cool night here in Arlington, Virginia, but really lovely, clear and cloudless with stars which you can see despite the lights of Washington and the surrounding city. I do love it here on the top floor looking out across the cities; it's a great place for a studio! Now, if I can get some work done, I'll be doing really well! If you live in the free world, you probably know that I am a first time grandmother - and a very lucky one at that. It's not just that my new grand-daughter is healthy, beautiful, clever (yes, I can already tell!), but I actually get to spend time with her and with my daughter-in-law, a rare treat since we have never lived in the same city before. They are usually very, very far away. I find it inspirational, and although I'm still behind in my work, I'm working much harder and will be caught up soon. The excitement of being in a place I love and with people I love makes me work more efficiently; I want to make the most of every moment.
So far, I haven't made a lot of jewelry since I've been catching up on orders, but I did make a couple of labradorite bracelets that you see above and below. I've gotten in some new coral, tourmalines, and a lot of sapphires that I will be working with soon. The two labradorite bracelets will have prices on them soon, I promise!



Meanwhile, enjoy the beautiful days!

Flash in Winter

Blue topaz is one of the birthstones for December (lapis and turquoise are two others). The necklace above features some of my best London blue topaz mixed with rainbow moonstone. The blue flash of the rainbow moonstone looks great with the deep blue of the topaz. The London blue is gem quality - very beautiful and the moonstone has flash though it may not show up in this photo.
Labradorite has always seemed a "winter" gemstone to me, perhaps because it calls to mind the mystery of the cold north, the northern lights, reindeer in Lapland. I also like to mix it with aquamarine because the aquamarine picks up the flash in the labradorite - it's a combination make in heaven! Below are labradorite-aquamarine earrings with the aquamarine and labradorite hanging from chandeliers and earwires with a heart-shaped theme. Below the earrings, a labradorite bracelet with the addition of aquamarine. The labradorite that you see here is full of green, blue, and aqua flash; unfortunately, I can't seem to get all the beads to flash at the same time. However, one of the beautiful effects of labradorite in jewelry is that movement reveals the flash excellently, so a bracelet with labradorite is the quintessential labradorite jewelry since every twist of your wrist sparks blue flashes!

Labradorite necklaces may not move as much as a bracelet, but they exhibit flash with every turn. The flash is even more pronounced when a bit of aquamarine, such as you see here, is added to the necklace, seeming to prolong the hint of blue/aqua/green evanescence that runs along the necklace. In the necklace below, the bezel-set, cabochon lapis pendant glows!

If you aren't finished with your Christmas shopping, you'd better rush! (Yes, I'm talking to myself again!) Remember that each piece of Cluny Grey Jewelry comes in a velvet or leather pouch and a gift box, and we'll ship to whomever you wish! First class shipping is free in the USA!

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I am here

Me and my broken tooth!! I'm hoping to get an emergency appointment tomorrow - if I'm lucky but if not I think I'm going to try another dentist - its driving me potty! Anyway enough boring you with my mouth issues. I have been busy making and creating so will have a few bits to show you this week. Off course I am a little addicted to my silverwork so really must create something with my beautiful lampwork beauties I collected over the past two months ready for the new year! The above necklace is with a fabulous Labradorite focal, rondelles and little Karen Hill Tribe charms. She's on a long 30" chain but it can be changed to a shorter one if necessary.

Of course I had to make matching earrings - these will go with the bracelet (Posted on Friday) or with the focal!! On more of my hammered rings. "E" and I also had fun playing with my disc cutter and we made our first bead - having "E" there beside me is great as he shows no fear when it comes to experimenting - the disc cutter and doming set is all so new I prefer really to just play with different ideas but of course being a man he likes to go the hole hog!!

It will be so nice to eventually use my own silver beads and I have so many ideas but not sure how soon that will be though. It great fun to experiment though :D

© Gemheaven 2008

The Gemstone of the Great White North: Labradorite

If there were such a thing as a "winter" gemstone, it would be labradorite. I cannot see the blue flash without thinking of the Northern lights, fjords, and thinking of lands I read about in fairy tales with Hans and Gerda and the Snow Queen. Labradorite is one of the most evocative gemstones I work with.
The bracelet is new, and it has some wonderful flash to it - even where it doesn't show up in the picture. Every single labradorite stone on the bracelet, no matter how small, I chose for its blue flash, and the large smooth oval is simply amazing! Both pairs of earrings also have major flash - some of the best labradorite I've ever had.
Although I love jewelry, I work with gemstones everyday, and tend to get a bit blase about some - which is good because I am able to part with the jewelry I make (otherwise I'd have to build a new room onto my house just to hold the jewelry). But labradorite still gives me pause, so that I find myself sliding stones across my desk and later making something for myself from them (something I rarely do otherwise). There is magic in labradorite, and I love wearing magic.Labradorite Jewelry can be found on these pages on our website: Labradorite Jewelry Labradorite Earrings and Labradorite Necklaces.


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