Island Princess Saves the Day

Finally something new on the website it's been like a month since anything was added.  An Island Princess bracelet.  One of the many things I love about the new (you know not from the 50's) Princesses is that they are independent and capable and don't need a prince to come save them.  Moana saved China, well okay her small kingdom in what is now part of China, but still a real person and totally bad ass.  This Princess/future ruler of her people saved the entire world with a Chicken and self absorbed fallen demigod that she had to basically force to do the right thing.  Now this is a woman we should all aspire to be. 

Now this is the first batch of this bracelet and it's a little special.  The coral colored beads are Real coral.  These beads have been sitting around my studio unused for over 10 year, but I have a vague recollection of having them before I even started my company so they could be more like 20 year old.  Since they are so old I will not be getting more of this bead therefore once it is all used up they will be no more. The second cool bead is the coin shaped bead.  They are made from real shell chips suspended in resin.  These are also beads I've had for awhile not 2 decades, but awhile and I'm unsure if I'll be able to replace them.  The last cool beads are the large hearts.  They are actually Vintage German Acrylic beads witch means they are at least 25 years old and probably not being manufactured anymore.  I said all this to let you know that once the first batch of these bracelets are sold I will have to rework the beads and it will look quite different and frankly just not be as special.  So if you would like to get one of these super special first run bracelets you'll need to get them soon (okay I hope they sell soon that would be super cool).

         

        

It's Time to unvale the first new product of the year!  So with out further adieu I present the super cool earrings inspired by the anime "Howl's Moving Castle" by Studio Ghibli.

Most of the time I really over think the beads that I pare up with a charm and this time is no exception.  The accent bead a the top is sapphire blue to match Howl's eyes and Sophie's Dress.  Because really I think red would be just a little to much.  I admit you will find a lot of earrings that have been inspired by Studio Ghibli on my website, but Miyazaki (that's the artist) is just so amazing that some day's I just can't help myself.  

Here are a few other earrings that have been inspired by Miyazaki/Studio Ghibli.  Though since my first anime's where by Studio Ghibli it would be fair to say that most of my art had been inspired by Miyazaki to one degree or another.

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Oh Their so small and Cute!

This week we have 4 new earrings.  You know some weeks can be pithy and other weeks not so much.  This week I'll let these little gems speak for themselves.

We have a whole line of small earrings so if your tastes run more towards the dainty then you should head on over to our Small Earring section.

New Doctor Who Inspired Earrings!

Okay I actually added these earlier this month, one of my awesome customers really wanted.  What can I say I like making people happy.

David Tennant, The 10th Doctor is one of my favorite Doctors, it's a toss up between the 4th Doctor (Tom Baker) ,The 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) , and the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) they all make me smile. 

For these earrings I have incorporated 3 elements that the 10th Dr. is known for.  3D Glasses, a Sonic Screwdriver (I know they are all known for that, but I really like them), and a pair of Conveners Sneakers so he is covered from head to toe (face, hand, feet)... tea-he I really over think these things.  Anyway if you are a big 10th Fan then these are just the earrings for you.  Hope you enjoy.

Pentacle Earrings

I know some of you are looking at these earrings and thinking to yourself  "She's a Witch.  Burn Her!" and if you changed out the W for a B it might be a true statement.  However the former would not be true.  It's just that for the longest time I have felt sad for this truly wonderful and spiritual symbol that much like the "Evil Eye" gets a bad rap. 

Etymology:    The word is first recorded in English usage in 1561, from earlier French use, in turn from post-classical Latin pentaculum (from penta- "fivefold" + -culum diminutive suffix). The French word had a meaning of "talisman".   

The symbol itself goes back to the time of Solomon and was considered something like a protective talisman much like the "Evil Eye" today.  I know that like anything it can be perverted to the bad, but I prefer to dwell on the good aspects of life.  So for all my customers that like to look back to the past and live in the spiritual, I have made these Pentacle Earrings.  May blessings be upon you.

Realistic Heart Earrings

Last year you gave me a heart.  This year I'm returning the favor.

 I don't know about you, but every now and then I'll look at all the hearts and flowers and think to myself... "Well that's cute and all, but that is not what a heart looks like." and when I was a kid if I had actually said that out loud (and I did, because I don't have a filter) my Mom would give me that look that says "Lord, why did you give me such a strange daughter?" mixed with "I'm going to smack you if you keep this up".  Luckily for me my Mom was not really into smacking, but the look was believable enough to make me shut my mouth. 

Now that I'm older.... I will not say grown up, God just might smite me for that big of a whopper... I can say all sorts of things and better yet make them.  So with my heart full of joy I looked online for some anatomy drawings found one I like and simplified it (the charms are about the size of a nickle so to complex and I can't draw it that small).  So now for your pleasure I present Real Heart Earrings....  Wahaha  

I Know that you want them.  You are looking at the earrings feeling your heart-rate picking up and your eyes turning into dinner plates.  So I say don't deny yourself, give into your urges and buy these earrings.

Purple Moon Bracelet

One of my friends is a BIG "My Little Pony" fan and because of that and a few other things I ended up spending over 6 months trying to make a Nightmare Moon/Princess Luna pendant (and succeeding with resounding success too...finally).  All that being said I had Nightmare Moon on my head when I was making some bracelets and this one just kind of happened.   Weather you are a big MLP fan or not hopefully you'll enjoy the purple and black/gray combination.  My favorite thing about this bracelet besides having a ton of purple hues so I will go with most purple things with a dash of black and dark gray to dress it up, is that none of the beads match.  Fun and artsy that me. 

Simple Tortoise Earrings

Sometimes I just like simple and these earrings qualify.  They are lightweight because I don't like heavy earrings and are just a simple rectangular amber glass drop with accent beads above and below.  The name  comes about because they remind me of tortoise colored sunglasses.  I know, I know not as romantic or turtle filled as it could be, but I think I use up a good chunk of my loquaciousness last week. 

You might be asking "Why are you putting brown earrings up at the beginning of August instead of the end?" and that would show that you are far more thoughtful and conscious of the seasons than I am.  Go You!   Really my thought process this week went along the lines of..... ooh pretty little earrings... cool.  Hope you all love them.

Green Sea Bracelet

This originally started out as a new product post, but I went on and on about the differences in Sea Glass so, first.  Look!  A cool new thing.  Then some interesting information you never knew you needed to know about sea glass.

I Love walking on the beach and finding a treasure laying there in the sand with the waves crashing beside me, the wind wiping my hair and the gulls calling above, it's the ideal picture of summer that stays with me all year long.

This bracelet is comprised of small (8mm x3mm) square sea glass beads separated by small (3mm) silver plate round beads.  The sea glass makes for a soft feeling bracelet that flows over your skin like gently caressing waves. The light bluish-green color in a moving variety of shades (AKA: Hurricane) mimic the shades you would see in the water (yes we like to pretend that water is blue, but for a lot of places the water is mostly shades of bluish green).

Let me tell you a little bit about Sea Glass when it is referenced in jewelry.  Genuine sea glass is created when some glass falls into a large body of salt water and over a period of 20-50 years is crashed around in the sea and is naturally frosted and all the corners and sharp points are rounded, this gives it it's well known soft texture.  Most sea glass you find on the beach will be from broken bottles or other glassware, it is extremely rare to find beads this way and even more rare to find 2 pieces that match in size, color, and shape since it's all a natural process. 

In jewelry when someone calls something Sea Glass they don't mean that it was actually found on the beach there is not enough genuine sea glass in the world to satisfy the demand.  These days (in Jewelry terms) Sea Glass means that it is a mat-glass where all the corners and edges are smooth, this is achieved by either immersion in an acid bath or tumbled in a tumbler with water and some kind of abrasion.  20 years ago this process would have been referred to as Frosted (today frosted and sea glass have slightly different meanings), much like 10 years or more ago Ombre would have been referred to as gradiation of color (I have to admit it's nice to have one word that is easy to understand).   The good thing about man-made sea glass also know as Cultured Seaglass is that you can make a batch of matching beads and you can create them in large quantity.  Your also not limited by anything as far as color, size, or shape  which can not be said for genuine sea glass.  Most genuine sea glass has to be wrapped, either with wire or some type of fiber.  Unless you happen to find an extremely rare bead, if you want your genuine sea glass to be a bead you'll need to drill the hole.  As you might imagine you need a fairly sturdy piece to do this so all delicate beads are right out the door.  This brings us back to the greatness of man-made since the beads can be made in the normal way then they are dipped or tumbled depending on who's doing it and the item being turned into sea glass.

I truly love sea glass both the man-made and natural.  The feel of the glass is just all soft and wonderful, and to make glass soft is a neat trick.  They both have there place and I love them both for there strengths and weaknesses. 

All this being said it's important to know the difference when your shopping.  Genuine sea glass in much more rare these days because of dumping regulations (don't use the ocean as a trash heap please), so each piece should be valued for the wonderful treasure it is.  because of this and the fact that finding even one bead is hard, much less finding enough for a bracelet,  most jewelry will be made with man-made sea glass.  Most Jewelers will use the term Sea Glass because this the term used to describe the treatment the bead has undergone to give it that particular look expecting their customers to know that it is not the genuine thing.  However some jewelers just don't understand that the frosted bead or unwrapped pendant they have is man-made and not genuine sea glass so they will claim it to be genuine, because they think it is.

If you find a piece of jewelry that is labeled genuine sea glass go down this mental check list to determine if it's the real thing.  If it is the real thing it is most likely going to be expensive so you want to be careful, if you are paying a lot of money you want it make sure it is what the vendor is telling you it is.

1)  Is it a free form shape or a regular shape?  Most genuine sea glass has a free form shape.  This comes from the glass being bounced around at the bottom of the ocean for 20-50 years or longer.  It takes 20-50 years to get the frosted soft look, but it could take much longer to wash ashore, the piece of sea glass you found on the beach could be 400 years old, probably not, but it could be.

2)  What color is it?  Since the largest portion of genuine sea glass is made from bottles the most common colors will be Green, Brown, and Frosted Clear.  What I'm saying is that the bottle tossed overboard by a drunken fisher is the most likely thing to come back ashore.  Sea glass can come in different colors it's just less common.  The next most common color is blue, dragging behind that is red with yellow and orange even further down the list is purple and pink in dead last.

3)  Are all the pieces different shapes or is there a twin sitting right next to it?  Since genuine sea glass has been tumbling around at the bottom of the sea for a very long time the shapes will be very irregular, it would be like finding 2 identical rocks.  It's possible but not very likely.

4)  How much are they asking for the item?  This is only a weak indication so you'll need to take into account lots of factors.  Are you at the beach in an area know for sea glass washing ashore?  If so the person could be picking the glass up each day on their morning walk so the value is low for them.  Is it clear, green, or brown?  Well that's fairly common so it could be cheep.  Is the person new to selling jewelry?  If so they might just not know what they have or how rare it is.  If you find the genuine article and it's cheep bless your good luck and enjoy the trill of finding a good deal.  However for the most part the item having a higher price tag is what you would expect if they are using genuine sea glass.

5)  Can the artist/crafter tell you how or were they found the piece or did they buy it?  You can buy sea glass.  There are people that live at the beach in areas that get a lot washed up on shore and they will sell it on etsy or Ebay or even at their local bead shop or gallery.  However glass bought from a company online is almost certainty man-made.

After asking yourself all these questions there is one more you need to ask.  Weather it is genuine sea glass or not, is it worth to you what they are asking.  If yes then buy it and love the item.  If not then if you are at a craft show or in a gallery tell the sales person or crafter to have a wonderful day and go on.  If you are online keep looking till you find that thing that makes you happy.  Jewelry should make you smile not stress you out.

One thing I have noticed recently is a trend to call man-made sea glass Cultured  Seaglass.   Don't know if they are trying to trick people or just trying to make it sound cooler, either way it's still man-made.

Princess Death Earrings

They say "it's good to be the Queen", but I would say that being a princess is better.  You get most of the benefits and only a quarter of the work.   Since I am really into the happy skull theme and love being treated like a princess (by my honey-bunny); OK I really like being treated like a Goddess, but I'm trying to not be to picky, I figured that a skull with a crown was a very happy thing.