Showing posts with label MiShel Designs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MiShel Designs. Show all posts

Let’s Talk Earring Wires,…Shall We?



The unsung heroes of earrings, ear-wires are what most people think of as ‘just hardware’ for their beautiful earrings.  Alas,…they are not.  At least not in my opinion. And, once you read this article and start noticing earring wires, you might change your mind and quite possibly your ‘ear-wire’ opinion (or form your own).

For starters, although I prefer to start with a positive instead of a negative comment, I’m going to share with you my dislike of ‘store-bought’ (i.e. traditional/manufactured) earring wires. 

(Manufactured Earring Wires - Compliments of Pinterest)

They are, to me, the bane of practically all earrings; distracting from the most beautiful designs and, for lack of a better term, ‘trashing’ them.    

(Oohhh,….I’m feeling the flack from this sentence already!)

Have you ever seen a pair of the most beautiful earrings with your favorite gemstone or the most unique and intriguing design that stopped you in your tracks only to see them hanging from a pair of sterile, manufactured, cheap-looking earring wires, thus mucking up their astonishing beauty?

Admit it.  You've noticed.   

They distract from the designer’s beautiful work of art which takes hours of intricate work, skill and education. Not to mention patience – some of these beauties take days or weeks to create, start to finish!   And, if you’re the kind who notices, they completely take away from the overall beauty of the finished piece of jewelry.

It’s as if you’re viewing this gorgeous painting in the Louvre and then you happen to notice the frame and it’s some slick, manufactured looking, no character square piece of #*@!$ engulfing this fine work of art.  

Yes, I probably should have used my inside voice there, but seriously folks,….I’m calling ‘foul’!!



Here’s a solution:  

If you’re a jewelry designer, create your own.  




I’d wager to bet that if you are capable of creating beautiful works of jewelry art, a simple earring wire design is going to be a breeze for you.  

Or, if you feel you don’t have the time for this, as time is money and the most efficient way of doing things saves money, purchase some well-crafted, quality, hand-made ear wires from another designer or someone who does this on a regular basis (No, I no longer do this).  




Another thought is to make a few different ear-wire designs on your own, consistent with your style of jewelry / earrings and have them cast in bulk, thus ensuring the same outcome time after time.  
They're bound to become a ‘signature’ piece in your designs, just as your clasps or your logo tags may have become and will help set your designs apart from others’ and make your jewelry distinguishable.

Having clients who mentioned how they prefer my simple ear wire designs over ‘store-bought’ ones; sayingthey add a touch of class to the design and feel stronger and of better quality, makes me feel I am delivering the best over all product and design to my customers.


 I’m quite curious to know how many people really do notice the ear-wires of earrings.

Whether you’re someone who loves wearing earrings, a seasoned jewelry designer, or a retail or boutique establishment, please jump in and leave a comment below telling me what you think.  

Who knows,…maybe it’s just me.

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love, Pearls and “Great Earring-Wires”, Baby!!


Cheers,

~Shel~


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 (trust me, we talk about more than just pearls!)

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Michelle Ludlam-Buettner (Shel) holds a Graduate Pearls Diploma from the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and is a Certified Pearl Specialist through the Cultured Pearl Association of American (CPAA).  In addition to creating her own jewelry line, she is also a freelance e-commerce copywriter specializing in the jewelry and travel industries who can often be found fawning over pearls in her spare time.  Follow Shel’s blog at MiShelDesigns.net or see what she’s snapping over on Instagram @pearlgeek

Questions and inquiries welcome at Shel@MiShelDesigns.net

Wholesale Inquiries please list "wholesale" in the subject line.



A Tutorial For You On A Snowy Day!


Since moving from sunny Arizona back to my small hometown in central Illinois last fall (yep, I moved back to 'Mayberry'!) I've come to appreciate the beauty of winter again. 



Atlanta, Illinois - Photo Credit: Marsha Hindman



 

A while back, my brother-in-law asked me how I was adjusting to the mid-west weather and small town living again. 

 "I decided, no matter what, I'm going to find the beauty in every day", I answered. 

His reply, "Well then, don't look in the mirror, Shelly!"

LOL! 

Yep, gotta love 'Old Man River'.   He comes up with the best comebacks and can make you laugh at just about anything. Even yourself.

So today, as we started getting hit with freezing temps, gusting winds, icy rain and snow flurries, I saw the beauty in the snowy white scene outside and went to go look for some fun, white pearl earrings to wear today.

I came across these beauties in my jewelry box. 




 
These white, cascading Keshi Pearl earrings are the first piece of jewelry I ever had published in a jewelry magazine - BeadStyle Magazine - and I thought they were very appropriate for today. 
Just the way the snow is dancing and sparkling in the wind outside, these Keshi Pearl earrings will be dancing and sparkling on my shoulders, making today bright and sunny, even in the dead of winter! 

You can make your very own pair of these fun, flirty earrings and have a beautiful, winter-white day while still remaining warm and toasty!
 
Just hop on over to Kalmbach Publishing's Jewelry and Beading Store HERE and grab this tutorial and create a pair, or two!

And, created with white keshi pearls, this Keshi Necklace by Naomi Fujimoto would be the perfect one to pair with your newly created earrings!
 

Necklace by Naomi Fujimoto - BeadStyle Magazine



Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Fun with Pearls!
Cheers,
~Shel~




Week 45 - Grateful

November's Topic for the Focus on Life:2014 weekly photography challenge is,...ful

Here's what Sally prompted us with for week 45:

 Week 45: Grateful

"For the month of November there will be WORD PROMPTS to look deep into your being and reflect on being positive!" 

Grateful:filled to the brim with feeling the appreciation of kindness;
                
Right now I am loving the 'kindness' of our wonderful Arizona weather. 


 

I am grateful for the beauty that surrounds me every day.


Please click on the links below to see what everyone else is grateful for today.

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Life!
Cheers,
~Shel~


Celebrate the Season - FOL28

Our July theme for the Focus on Life:2014 Weekly Photography Challenge is "Celebrate" and for week 28 Sally, over at The Studio Sublime, prompted us to



"Celebrate the Season"



Each summer we spend time at my sis's cabin in the mountains and I love to 'Celebrate the Season' by capturing photos of all the lovely wild flowers growing all around!!  

Please stop by and see how every one else is Celebrating this Summer Season,....

Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and Celebrating Summer!
Cheers,
~Shel~


FOL14 - Week 27

The theme for the month of July for the Focus on Life 2014 Weekly Photography Challenge is 
"Let's Celebrate"

Week 27: Celebration!  "There are so many little celebrations that occur everyday and you may not realize that they happen.  A quiet toast between friends, a smile for a job well done, a candle on a cake, a sparkler all aglow.   Let's Celebrate the season, family, love hope and life!"



Monday was our son's 17th Birthday. 

He absolutely hates having his photo taken - even on his birthday!


Logan, Day 1 - in the hospital.  Then this summer at the cabin actually smiled and let me take a photo before he went on a motorbike ride!! (yippee!)


I snagged a pic of him blowing out the candle on his cheesecake (he's not a fan of regular cake) and then he turned around to see I was trying to snap another photo.





You can tell by the photo that he's not standing still and the look he's giving me is one that says, "I can't believe you're even trying to take a photo of me, mom!" 




Oh well, I still love it. And him!  

We also celebrated our country's birthday yesterday.

The good ol' USA turned 238 years old. 



So, Cheers to Birthdays and wonderful celebrations!!

Click on the links below to see what everyone else is celebrating this week!

Until Next Time, 

Peace, Love and Celebrating Life's Special Moments!

Cheers,
~Shel~



Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! 2014 Blog Hop Reveal!





Welcome to the 2014 
Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! 
Blog Hop Reveal!



Are you ready to see some gorgeous pearls today?  I know I am!

The guidelines for the Pearls! Pearls!! Pearls!!! Blog Hop were quite simple.

"Show Us Your Pearls!" 

Yes, that's about it. It didn't have to be jewelry or bead related. Anything you wanted to design and create with pearls was fine - and welcomed!

Feel free to show off your pearls along with us. Just use the InLinkz Link Up tool at the bottom.

If you'd like to have the InLinkz code so you can have the link up tool on your blog today too, just clink here and you'll go to the page that has the link to the code.

With everything going on this month, it was challenging, but I did managed to create a couple of designs. 


First up, I got to play with some solid gold!

Oh YES! It was heaven!




And it isn't just any piece of gold either.

It's an 18k yellow gold original cross that my hubby, Mike, and our friend, Steve, created and cast earlier this month.

It measures a whopping 1.75 (almost) inches long and has some heft to it - but not too much!

I had no idea what or how I wanted to use this cross - especially since I don't wear gold - so this was a challenge.

I knew it deserved the 'good pearls' in my inventory.
And something that would make it 'pop'. 

The really nice freshwater cultured drop pearl that dangles on it is approximately 13mm in size - rather large.

The pearls in this necklace are freshwater cultured pearls from Majestic Pearl.

I wanted to make the cross charm something that could be taken on/off easily so the pearls could be worn on their own and so the cross could be worn on other necklaces, too.

I'd seen several versions of this sort of 'bail' over on Pinterest lately, so I thought I'd try creating my own version and it worked out quite well.

Did you know there is a difference between a 'bail' and a 'pearl enhancer'?  

You can read a nice article from my online friend Calla Gold about the difference here.
 





This necklace reminds me of Old World Kings and Queens and a time when, despite the rugged materials the craftsmen had to work with, pieces were elegant, opulent and exquisite.

It was extremely fun playing with 'the good china', as I call it!

From the pearls, the handcrafted clasp, to the cross - this one's a keeper! 

Except Mike keeps telling me he's taking the cross and melting it down and making something else with his gold.

Umm,...no. I think it's perfect the way it is. 

And then there's this fun little guy. 

Better known as 'Donald Trunk'.




My hubby found some old molds at a jewelry supply store in town here and he poured me this pewter elephant using one of them. 

Mike calls him "Donald Trunk" because he's got this 'blob' of pewter on the top of his head,...see that??  

It's like a wild pewter 'comb-over' or toupee.  Yep. LOL!!



 The pearls in this necklace are also freshwater cultured pearls.
The dark ones have been dyed to get this awesome deep color and they come from Majestic Pearl as well.

They represent the deep colors of the elephant, both his skin and his eyes.

The really fun 'waffle' pearls (that's what I call them - it's neither a correct nor industry used term!) are keshi pearls that I picked up several years ago from Ayala's Originals at the gem show down in Tucson. 

They represent the rough skin of the elephant and his wonderful 'wavy' ears and the color of his tusks.

Both necklaces were hand knotted on C-Lon cord that I purchased from the BeadShop.com

I like using C-Lon (and Superlon, too) on many of my designs because it doesn't stretch as much or absorb body oils, lotions and perfumes as quickly as 100% silk does. Which makes caring for it a bit easier than designs created with silk. And to me, it drapes/hangs much like silk, which I like.

 When we did the Pearls Blog Hop last fall, many of you said you liked all the links I provided to various educational sites about pearls and many of the video tutorials and things of this nature, so here's the link to
with all the links for anyone who wants to see them and revisit any of the goodies that were included in last fall's reveal post.

Also, here's the link to my Pearls page here on the blog where you'll find lots of pearl information, video tutorials on pearl knotting (not mine, but a lot of other people's tutorials) and other links such as jewelry, tool and pearl suppliers as well, so be sure to check it out.

I do want to share with you a really good video of how to knot pearls with out the use of tools, such as awls, tweezers or knotting tools or boards.  

This is a great method when you're stringing a simple strand of pearls - they come out beautifully!

This video is compliments of the wonderful folks over at Pearl Paradise.  Pearl Paradise owner Jeremy Shepherd and his wife, Hisano are a wealth of wonderful information and the designs that Hisano and the crew over at Pearl Paradise put together are just AMAZING!!  

Make sure to check out the latest post over on their blog, here.  And, of course, have fun drooling over all the beautiful pearls they offer for sale - wow!

And yes, the pearls in the below video are real, Saltwater Cultured South Sea Pearls,...Honkin' Huge!!




Now it's time to check out what all the other participants below have created with their pearls! 

Thanks to everyone who is jumping in today and sharing your pearls - I can't wait to see what everyone has created! 



Until Next Time,
Peace, Love and All Things Made With PEARLS!!
Cheers,
~Shel~


FOL14 - Week 18 - In Your (Their) Hands

It's May!  Wow, the year is just rushing by, isn't it?! 

May's topic for the Focus on Life:2014 weekly photography challenge is:



In, At and About

Sally, over at The Studio Sublime, gave us this prompt for week 18:

In Your (Their) Hands

Here's what was in my hubby's hands this week. 



 
He found some cool old, mold-making pieces over at a local jewelry shop in town and decided to play around with pouring some pewter in them just to see how they'd come out. 

He says he curses me for infecting him with the 'jewelry making bug' and tells me that he can't wait to get into the garage after work each day to see what's coming out of the molds. He says it's like Christmas every time he opens one of them to see how they turned out. 


Sadly, the elephant didn't quite come out as expected,..but there's always tomorrow! :-)


Yep, gotta love that!

Click on the links below to see what everyone else captured In Their Hands this week.

Until Next Time,

Peace, Love and Pleasant Surprises!

Cheers,
~Shel~