Flirting with Wire

Flirting Around- $28.00
Hand-wrapped links of Sterling Silver and Amazonite, approx 8.5 inches, with a handmade clasp

Alicia Weeks of WyredOnWire does some very interesting wire-wrapping, for instance take a look at the construction of the piece above, Flirting Around which has several circles joined to a figure-8 link on either side of an Amazonite bead. There is a lot of activity in this bracelet.

The necklace below, Trijeweled makes a cage around several elongated oval beads, Citrine, Garnet, and Blue Topaz. It almost reminds me of pupae wrapped in an egg case or cocoon of some type.

Trijeweled-$32.00
Sterling silver, Citrine, Garnet and Blue Topaz. The pendant is aprox. 1.5" and the beaded chain is approx 18" in length

Sun Goddess-$14.00
Sterling silver chain and small Sunstone rhondelles, measures approx 7"

Entrapment uses an unusual link that almost looks like chickenwire bent in an upside-down V.

Entrapment- $15.00
Copper and silver links, approx 2.5" from the top of the ear wire to the longest point.

To see what else Alicia has available go to:
http://wyredonwire.etsy.com

and to read more about the artist, go to her blog:
http://wyredonwire.blogspot.com

Fiercely Independent-A Rose of a Different Color

Yellow Splatter- Ceramic Bowl

Staci Rose of Staci Rose Designs has had an affinity for the arts since she was five years old. She has lived in San Francisco for the last 10 years while developing herself as a self-taught artist and musician.

The artist creates items in a number of mediums including jewelry, home décor, Judaica, oil painting, and ceramics, all of which are decidedly different. Among the styles of jewelry she makes are beaded designs, chain, and wire-wrapped, and also has some polymer clay pendants.

She uses some very idiosyncratic combinations of stones in her jewelry that many people wouldn’t know to try together, and the result is a depth and richness that almost make one feel as if they’d just had a satisfying meal.

Pagea Russian and Brazillian Amazonite Gemstone Earrings feature Russian Amazonite puff cylinders and Brazilian Amazonite faceted rounds. 1-1/3", and surgical steel ear hooks. These retail for $10.99, a very good price by the way. I believe only the hooks are base metal and the wire and head pins are sterling. (She uses surgical steel earwires because they're hypoallergenic, as she finds many of her customers have allergies to Nickel, Gold, and Sterling Silver especially when wearing earrings). The combination of the shapes and the two different shades of darker and lighter green really make these unique and exhilarating!

Chocolate Blush is a gorgeous double-strand combination of Zebra Jasper, Pink Opal, and Chrysanthemum stone. This necklace truly reminds me of a Neapolitan hot fudge sundae. Its creamy strawberry pinks, and shades of chocolate brown seem to mix and run into one another. This piece would be hard to pass up. I’m picky when it comes to jewelry, but in this one all the conditions are right! You won’t want to take it off at the end of the day. It’s just that luscious!

I saw this lovely, sunny, orange and yellow painting called Julie Amazon on page 5 of her Etsy store and I really like how she uses light and shadow. It measures 12 X 16” and is in oils on canvas paper, primed and mounted on “perfect mount” board.


Shown at top is Yellow Splatter, a large ceramic bowl that resembles a wonderful up-side-down hat with ruffled gathers, created with slab and slump methods, then edges were ruffled by hand. The whole piece has been glazed with Speckled Yellow and splattered with Blue Gloss Glazes. It is texture rich and can be used as a decorative or functional piece. The bowl measures approximately 5" high, 12" top diameter & 3-1/2" base diameter. It is oven, food and dishwasher safe but do not use this bowl in the microwave! Comes signed on the bottom.

Staci believes that each piece she creates is predestined for a particular individual.

She’s a Certified Member of EBSQ Self-Representing Artists, and a proud member of Worldwide Women Artists, an international collective of women artists showing and selling our work online.

Staci welcomes custom orders. Contact her with all special requests at stacirosedesigns@yahoo.com and be sure to tell her you heard about her through The 90 Day Challenge!

Her work is sold in galleries and boutiques in Canada and in the US in the San Francisco Bay area. To check out more of her online collection or to purchase these go to:
http://stacirose.etsy.com

To learn more about the artist go to her blog:
http://stacirose.blogspot.com

That’s One-Of-A-Kind- That’s Headley!

A look around Ginny Headley-Maserang’s Etsy store will tell you that each piece she makes is a new beginning. Although the San Antonio, Texas native does have a discernable Southwestern flavor to her designs it is not the clichéd Southwestern style jewelry you see so much of around the web and in stores. Rather than the predominant traditional Turquoise and Coral often used in this style of jewelry, Ginny uses a lot of green, pale blue, and earth toned natural stones, particularly Serpentine, Amazonite, and Aventurine. Some of her pieces also use metal buttons as toggles, and a variety of glass beads, and in addition to the gemstone beads she also likes big, funky beads from Africa.

Most notable are her wire-woven pieces using sterling silver wire to create a bail as in this piece, Nereid Sacred Heart Necklace, which uses Abalone, Mother of Pearl, Aventurine, Seaweed Quartz, and Glass in its multiple strands and sterling silver cones and toggle.

Another very lovely necklace is a cross with interwoven garnet chips and Hill Tribes silver (which is at least 97% pure).

Ginny’s jewelry business is stress relief from her “day job” as a public health consultant in infectious disease and emergency preparedness. If you love to shop online for refreshing new and original jewelry, skip the stress of the mall this holiday season and go to http://thatsheadley.etsy.com/ and don’t forget to see her blog at http://thatsheadley.blogspot.com/