A few new(er) pieces

I finally got around to listing some new(er) pieces yesterday, and adding some old ones that had either dropped off or that I just forgot to list. :)

This necklace has been up for a few weeks.  It's a large blue Chalcedony faceted flat briolette with a cluster of small Peridot brios.  The stones are all wrapped with gold vermeil wire, and hung on a fine gold vermeil chain.

These are more of a 'series' I started last year with some lampwork (glass) beads that I had custom made for me by an artist in the U.K. These beads are a beautiful matte blue color. They have streaks of fine silver embedded in them. They are suspended inside handmade hammered sterling silver rings.

Love the aqua beads on these.  They're acrylic with a 'quilted' effect in gold lines.  I paired them with plated matte silver sand dollar charms.  These have a nice summery feel! 

This is a really pretty and unique design.  These earrings feature gorgeous blue-green Songea sapphire briolettes that I wrapped with fine-gauge sterling silver wire and hung from handmade hammered sterling silver circle links.  The earwires are also handmade hammered sterling in an almond shape.  These are a little pricier than most of my other earring designs, but SOOOO worth it!

New bench, lots of goodies!

First things first - I got a jewelry bench!  Technically a tool bench, but I'll be using for jewelry.  The Mailman's grandfather passed away earlier this year and I am honored to have inherited this from him. :)  I  have a torch and some basic brazing equipment that I will finally be setting up to get some proper wire work done!  Next up: tumbler!

 This is a pile of Czech/other glass and some nice lucite beads that I have been sitting on for QUITE some time.  I'm not sure what it is about Czech glass, but I for sure have a thing for it.  Not like a casual 'seeing each other' kind of thing, but more like a stalker obsession.  I LOOOVE the Czech glass.   

Look at all this awesome stuff I found at the hardware store!  I'm not exactly sure what I'll do with it, but it'll definitely be fun to play around with.  I'm thinking about combining some sparkly/faceted czech glass or stones with it.  I'm all about contrast.

Other stuff I'm sitting on:  some beautiful  Carnelian briolettes.  Carnelian is a type of chalcedony with a red/orange color range.  It's translucent and has bands running through it, similar to agate.  These babies are about 10mm long (not quite 1/2")

 Lepidocrocite (say that three times fast!), or rather lepidocrocite in quartz.  I looked this up online and the description contains a lot of scientific mumbo jumbo that is much less interesting than just looking at this stuff.  GORGEOUS!  I'm not sure what I will do with this, either.  I'm thinking maybe something with oxidized sterling?  There are some nice sized nuggets in this strand, so I'm guessing it will probably find its way in to more than one piece of jewelry.

 (L-R) Kyanite faceted briolettes, Botswana Agate faceted checkerboards, and something that my camera completely washed out. Have I mentioned I could really use a digital SLR?  Pretty please?.  I really don't know anything about Kyanite, but is sure is purdy!  Botswana agate is.....uh....agate from Botswana?  No, really.  That's what it is.  Love the faceted cut on these.  Jacks up the fancy factor a titch. :)

Last but certainly not least, some truly beautiful ocean jasper faceted rounds.  These puppies are HUGE!  Each bead is close to 1" in diameter.  I have two full strands of these, and have been sitting on them for at least a year.  I really need to get these into some jewlery, like ASAP.  They deserve it.  Aren't they pretty?  Ocean Jasper has always been one of my favorite stones because it has a fantastic range of colors and patterns.  I was ecstastic to find these deeply discounted from a fellow Etsian who was closing her shop. 

(Almost) Famous

This must be a record for me...two posts in one day? To be fair, I only have a handful of posts to date, but I think I'm setting a good precedent for myself! :)

A few weeks ago I received an email from a freelance writer for the Des Moines Register, asking if I'd be interested in having my Etsy shop in an article for the "Iowa Life" section of the Sunday paper. Being the budding entrepreneur I am, my answer was a resounding "yes!!!!!! please?!??!". Much to my pleasure, VintageLucite7 made its first official print debut in yesterday's paper! I'm the second artist (of three), on the second page of that section.

Link to the digital version is here

They featured my Sea Change bracelet, and Autumn Leaves earrings.

It's been a while!

I've been a wee bit busy/lazy for the past couple of months. Wedding planning, finishing a house remodel, studying for ARE licensing tests. Excuses, excuses, I know! I do have quite a few new designs up in the shop (http://www.vintagelucite7.etsy.com/), so I hope you have a few minutes to check those out. Here are a few -














These are hollow blown glass beads in an amazing blue color. Basic black glass and antiqued copper provide a simple compliment.


















This necklace is called "Autumn", and is made of beautiful Picasso jasper nuggets, accented with small sterling silver beads. The clasp is shaped like an ornate leaf and is also made of sterling silver.















Last but not least - I recently had some lampwork beads custom made by an artist from the UK that I'm using in some new earring designs. This one is called Circumference, and is featured in my shop in several different colors. Handmade hammered sterling silver links provide a beautiful frame for these elegant beads. The beads have streaks and dots of sterling silver trailed around the middle.

VintageLucite7 also has a Valentine's sale going on now through February 14th. All regularly priced designs are 15% off, plus I'm offering free shipping. Great deals to be had!

'Nother Treasury!

This is another treasury I made on Etsy yesterday. This is pretty fun, I think I need to work on getting some more! It's a great way to showcase all the great designers on Etsy (including me :) ).

The theme is "Creatures of the Sea". I tried to go for a darker, moodier color scheme. The piece from my own shop that I featured is the "Sea Change" bracelet, which is one of my high-end pieces. It features chalcedony onion briolettes in three different shades, which blend from light to dark along the length of the piece. Freshwater pearls accent the chelcedony. All of the stones/pearls are individually wire-wrapped on sterling silver head pins, and hand-linked together so the wire wraps form a chain. This is a very time consuming way of working, but the results are really amazing. I really enjoy this technique and plan to incorporate it more in future designs.

A good week for Etsy Treasuries!

So far this week, I've been featured in TWO treasuries, and managed to snag one of my own! One of the treasuries I was in is already expired, but you can see the other here. Thanks to MeiGuiDesigns for including my Liselle Earrings.
The treasury I put together is called "Verdigris", and can be seen here. I love the combination of rusty, coppery tones with a blue-green patina. So much depth and rich color!

New designs - just listed at www.vintagelucite7.etsy.com

I just put up about 10 new designs at the Etsy shop - http://www.vintagelucite7.etsy.com/ - here's a preview!

Swallow earrings - large, smooth green brios under freshwater pearls and dark wooden spears. All findings are sterling.

Winterberry earrings - large antiqued copper leaf silhouettes with intensely colored maroon-purple luster Czech beads.

Ophelia earrings - gorgeous Peruvian opals with small, bright sterling silver on delicate sterling silver earwires.  I am totally in love with the color on these stones and can't wait to design more new pieces with them!

Fall pretties

Just a quickie this morning - I wanted to share a couple of new fall designs that I've made recently. First, I have been dying to do something with the gorgeous shades of dyed freshwater pearls that I've been seeing lately! Something about their soft, luminous surface makes me think about fluffy, cuddly things - totally appropriate for the season and (gulp) upcoming frigid Iowa winter! Anyway, this is my first design using pearls in a "fall" color palette. The design is called Autumn Glow.  The c-shaped earwires are sterling silver.

Second up, Autumn Blossom (seeing a theme here?)  These little guys are made up of a variety of gorgeous Czech glass beads, all suspended from antiqued brass kidney earwires.  I picked up a few different varieties of the little Czech flower beads, so expect to see more of them coming up.  I love the Picasso/luster finish on these!

Lastly, another Czech glass piece.  These are my Jacinda earrings.  I discovered the beauty of fire-polished and picasso finish Czech glass this summer, and am totally hooked!  You can always find new finishes coming out of the factories, and there are also plenty of standbys that are widely available.  I particularly love how the luxurious finishes play nicely with antiqued metals like copper and brass.  Here, I've paired large champagne luster rondelles with smaller, vibrant peach-orange firepolished luster beads.  SO pretty for fall!