Spring Colors: African Violet

I admit -- I have never been a lover of flowers.  I only know the differences between the biggies: Roses, Lily's and my personal favorite, Tulips.  I sure do love me some tulips. 

So when one of the colors was announced as "African Violet" I was all kinds of "ught-oh," because I barely know what violet is, let alone "African Violet."

See, I think I grew up on the 8-pack crayola -- not the 128 or 150,000 Pantone is clearly working with. So for me -- even well into my almost ten years of jewelry design, colors have been like a rainbow--red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, black.  And, I suppose pink.  

The pink is more like an add-on to me, like the "and sometimes Y" when working with vowels.  

So African Violet is somewhere between true "purple" and lilac -- but I would hazard closer to lilac.  So the most obvious gemstone would be amethyst -- but not just any Amethyst -- Rose de France Amethyst, sometimes called "Pink Amethyst."  You can imagine what "Pink Amethyst" does to my stoic brain -- I mean is it pink or Amethyst?  

Because to be honest, Amethyst is actually a specific color of quartz -- so how can you make that "color" pink instead of it's true form, Amethyst?  

Rose de France Amethyst Earrings

It boggles the mind.  Especially a mind like mine that like to look at what words mean (semiotics) to people -- like, what makes green mean green linguistically.  Or to go back to the subject at hand, what makes "African Violet" the color it means in the Pantone universe?

Rose de France Amethyst Large Heart Hoop Earrings

Massive hoops and a Dangle -- yeah for Rose de France Hoop Chandeliers :)

These Pearl Earrings are some stunners -- they can be found in my Bridal Line, But the softeness of the Lilac Pearls can be worn anytime, not just at weddings :)

These lovelies have both "African Violet" and "Lemon Zest" it's like a 2 for 1 deal on these 1.25 inch Ametrine Hoops in Sterling Silver

OMGosh it's jewelry that isn't earrings!  This Rose de France Cluster Cocktail Ring is made to order in the shop.

~Maggie~

Spring Colors: Lemon Zest

It was a rough weekend around here -- what with the kids seeming to ignore every request for chore completion I could throw at them. It was also one of those necessary weekends to do some serious spring cleaning.   Don't worry, I am still fully booked for more weekends of spring cleaning. Sigh. 

But, since we're working on colors for spring, I decided after this long weekend of cleaning, steaming and cooking to look at something a little sunshiny. 

Lemon Zest. 

I don't know about you but lemon zest as a color name just makes me think of that one ingredient I forget most of the time when cooking -- because you know the idea of zesting a lemon and not using the juice bugs me and my OCD in the kitchen nature.

But Lemon Zest the color -- it's really quite pretty, and one of my favorite gemstones bringing this color to bear is "Lemon Quartz."  So, when I knew I had to get more lemon zest in my shop -- I went to CraftyMothers on Etsy and Searched "Lemon Quartz"

The thing about Kate at CraftyMothers is that her taste in gemstones rivals my own -- she has exquisite taste in colors, clarity and quality, and she ships uber fast.  I ordered a few pieces that I still have to make in Lemon Quartz, but I still have a few items to show you from my shop.  

But first, I want you to see these lovely citrine quartz earrings Kate made for her other shop, SapphireSmith, that also hold true to "Lemon Zest" for Spring.

Earrings By SapphireSmith:

And now for a few Lemon Zest from my shop -- by the way sorry, Lemon Quartz is a pretty tough stone to photograph.

These "Lemon Quartz Earrings" are finished in 14k Gold Filled.  And, they Sparkle. Boy, do they Sparkle.

These beauties are Heliodor and Swarovski Crystal -- wire wrapped on 30mm Sterling Silver Hoops.  What I love about heliodor is that it's the yellow form of beryl -- or a sister stone to both Aquamarine and Emerald.  Nice, eh?

Anyway -- I hope that got a little sunshine in your day, Maggie is off to clean the kitchen her children have destroyed leaning how to bake stuff in the cold, rainy winter that is Seattle. 

~Maggie~

Spring Sale

I just created an "early spring sale" in the shop -- must be my happiness at seeing a bit of sunshine.  It;s pretty simple-- everything is already marked down through etsyonsale, so you don;t even need to use a coupon code. 

I don't know about you -- but coupon codes can sometimes be a drag for me.  In my excitement to purchase the discounted item I often forget to put that pesky code in there and end up paying full retail.  Sign.

Everything is marked down -- and as an added bonus, it's still free domestic 2-5 day shipping.

Here are a few examples for spring ideas:

Tsavorite Garnet Hoops 1.25 inches, Sterling Silver (Spring Color Emerald)

Amethyst Heart Hoops, Sterling Filled Hand Hammered (Spring Color Rhapsody)

Garnet Heart Hoops Sterling Filled (Spring Color Poppy Red)

Brilliant Rose Quartz Dangles, Sterling Silver

Pink Garnet Hoops, 1.25 inches 14k Gold Filled

Emerald Jade Hoops in Copper -- 1.75 inches diameter,  St Patrick's Day, Spring Color Emerald

Spring Colors: Grayed Jade

Mmmm, yummy grayed jade.  I like it for it's subtle yet steely green undertones.  Because, you know, I like green a lot -- since it plays off my hair so well and brings out the green in my eyes.  But, a girl can't always wear Kelly Green or Emerald.

 These pearl hoops were the first attempt to really get a grayed jade in the shop -- they are really lovely.  Luckily, I made them in 14k gold filled, or again, they would have wound up in my jewelry box, or more likely, my daughters. See, pearl is her birthstone, so she is certain every single pearl that enters my studio must in fact land in her jewelry box.

 Since we're talking "grayed jade" how about some actual jade?  This Necklace is made with natural jade in multicolored beads -- so it's got everything, Linen, Grayed Jade, French Roast, Some Wines, Caramels, etc. It's pretty divine -- and again, actual jade -- or grayed jade.

These are just plain fun.  A lovely green African Opal that is in fact a lovely grayed jade, or even, light emerald color.  Don't worry, we're getting to Emerald.But these were made after a smaller set was already made for the shop -- and luckily, a customer pointed out the error of my ways in being just this side of lazy and copying and pasting the description.  These host 30 gemstones on each 45mm sterling silver hoop and are really quite fun.  There is only one available in the shop as I only bought one strand at the last show I went to.  In November.  There isn't another show for me until March :(  But until then, this one pair is in the shop here ... assuming I can get another strand (or 3) they may make another appearance later this spring.

Tender Shoots -- ahhh spring

Following the previous post, my next color is tender shoots.

A lovely Spring green -- it really is divine for spring, isn't it?  Here are a few items in Tender Shoots...

 Peridot inherantly lends itself to the title "Tender Shoots".  These are a smaller hoop -- 30mm or about 1.25 inches -- wire wrapped with a rustic cut roundelle.  These are smaller hoops -- but still a statement with the rich tender shoots peridot.  Check them out here.

 These beauties -- though you can see the most stark contrast with the preidot (tender shoots) also have a slightly pink "Linen" which is also included in the 2013 colors. These modern cluster earrings are just fabulous, feminine and fun.  Check them out here.

 This is a chunky lime green candy jade necklace that also holds the wonderful title of tender shoots in the sunlight.  The roundelels are 14mm by 6mm making this a statement piece, gemstone and not too heavy.  This is hand knotted on matching silk thread and currently finished in Sterling Silver.  If you want it finished in 14k gold filled instead, you can convo me about any changes.  See more pictures here.

 Ahh, peridot, I have loved you since the moment I started making jewelry.  In fact, the first jewelry set I ever made was peridot chips and rose quartz -- all about the feminine nature of gemstones when I started. These are high end peridot faceted roundelles, perfectly sized and wire wrapped around 45mm sterling silver hoops.  If I could pull off large hoops -- a pair of these would be in my jewelry box already.  Just Lovely.

These Quartz Earrings are one of my favorite so far in the shop.  Elegant, huge, and they have that hint of medieval jewelry appearance with the large facets still bringing out the super shiny.  I love these so much and would rock them all the time if I had a reason too.  But, dont fret, I bought myself some light pinks to make a similar pair to wear.  Must be the love of "Pretty in Pink" and Molly Ringwald's Red hair that rivals my own. These lovelies are here.


You can also search the colors in my shop to find what I have tagged with these colors -- there is a lot more variety than these for extra pop.  Think of these pieces as a way to be trendy -- but not having to sell out a ton of money for a new wardrobe.

OMGosh It's almost Spring: Dusk Blue

While I do understand that a lot of you are still kind of digging out from Nemo -- which I am pretty sure was named after Cpatain Nemo from 20,000 leagues under the sea, not "Finding Nemo" -- It's been a semi-mild winter here in the Pacific Northwest.  Which is good since last year was BRUTAL with all that crazy snow and ice and 10 or 50 year storms or something.  Literally, I was glued to the Cliff Mass Weather blog -- when I had power that is.

But spring is just so lovely -- everything pops up from the ground and you can really understand why the ancient Greeks had that whole Persephone story about winter and such.  Personally I liked the relationship as portrayed in "The Lightening Thief".  Funny Stuff.

But, with spring comes a new set of colors we are all supposed to know and love -- personally I can't pull off "nectarine" but Emerald -- now Emerald is so my color.  So without Further Ado -- here are some items in my shop matching the colorscapes for Spring 2013.  This will be a many Part Post -- look for the other colors in the coming days :)

Dusk Blue:

Labradorite naturally has multi-blue flashes, including dusk blue...

 These Lovely Hoops were designed inadvertantly by my mother who asked for a pair of hoops, made in 14k gold filled, with the labradorite wire wrapped on the inside to make for smaller more elegant earrings. They can be found here : Labradorite Hoops

 This Labradorite Statement Necklace is one of my favorites.  It has some serious dusk blue flash -- my mother hand picked this strand at a show a while back, I just didn't have the heart to put it in the shop :(  The photo here was taken away from direct sunlight, so you can imagine the flash in sunshine.  This Statement Piece is Here.

 These Labradorite and Peacock Pearl earrings are fun. flirty and full of flash. Larger hoops were wire wrapped using a mathematical formula to allow for flash and weight reduction between the labradorite gemstones and the peacock pearls.  So Fun and flashy, I am surprised my daughter has not stolen them.  Giver Her Time -- but I can always Make More

Above, you see Thai Sapphire fashioned into dainty heart hoops.  Thai Sapphire is the Perfect Dusk Blue -- and these 14k gold filled heart hoops are divine. The perfect mix of trendy and everlasting elegance, these are so perfect for a million occasions.