A Few New Jewels

Now that our remodeling is complete in our home, I am finally getting back to work and the enjoyment of my antiques and jewelry.  However, last week I wrenched my knee (bummer), and was really off my feet for a good part of the week.  This was difficult for me; I am used to jumping and running at the spur of the moment.  The good side:  I had time to sit down and work on some jewelry again.  I've posted a few pieces for your viewing, but you can see more at My Esty shop.

Long necklaces are in, and this one fills the bill.  With a large mother of pearl pendant, some sea-worn shells I found in Maui while visiting my son, and small double-stranded MOP squares, semi-precious stones, and sterling findings, this piece will hang midriff.

One of my favorite stones is turquoise, and I can hardly resist making a piece when I get to sit down to it.  This piece has turquoise button beads with a jasper pendant that matches.  The pendant is joined with sterling silver wire, and the accent beads are garnets, pink rhodochrosite, black pearls, and more Maui shells.  Clasp is beaded and buttons on a shell.  Perfect piece for summer t-tops/tanks.

I really enjoyed making this pendant cluster necklace.  This stones are all semi-precious faceted drop-beads all wrapped in sterling, and a piece of Maui sea glass.  While in Maui, my son took me on some sea glass hunts, and we hit it hard for a couple of days.  I found some nice pieces, but soon found that drilling it for jewelry is another bird.  It takes patience, water on the drill bit, and the right bit, and that is still no guarantee the piece won't break.  I broke several of my best pieces.  FYI...sea glass is antique bottles and ship wreck treasures broken by the sea, and rolled by the sand and waves.  Some pieces are well over 100 years old, and can be identified today with the colors of antique bottles and glassware.  I found pieces of vaseline glass, cobalt, aqua (a favorite), amber, clear, and shades of greens.  Fun to find antiques in the sea!

Another sea glass treasure.  Here I used two pieces of clear glass sandwiched with blue brazillian agate.  Wrapped in sterling wire and dangled from sterling hoops and wires, these little gems are a light and airy summer dainty. 

This stone pendant is petrified snail jasper druzy.  I wrapped it in sterling wire and mounted it on a strand using semiprescious stones and amber glass drop beads.  Pink and black freshwater pearls with natural agates are fastened with a sterling silver clasp.  strand is 18" and 2" added length with pendant.

These earring match the prior necklace, but are nuetral enough to go with many others.  Amber glass drop beads are sterling wrapped and dangle from pink freshwater pearls and sterling wires.

Another long necklace, this natural tones agate is banded in silver plate and hangs from a 32" strand of brazillian agate, kyanite (silvery blue rectangular stones), two pieces of amber sea glass, kiwi jasper (white with natural specks and hints of blue rectangular stones), and mahogany obsidian round stones.  Hangs below midriff.

I have these pieces and more listed at my etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/countrycharisma