Silver Night Necklace

Normally I have some sort of inspiration or even a feeling of where a piece of jewelry I design has come from. Sometimes, it comes out of nowhere, just poof and and it all comes together. That's how it usually works for me when I make anything black, silver and grey. For me these colors are really easy to work with, I truly never get sick of using them. Maybe it's because they are a classic combination for nighttime jewelry, they just seem to sparkle more at night. I always seem to pull them out when the weather turns cooler.

I really like using this combinations of colors (yes I know black is not technically a color) with a faceted moonstone that catches the light and sparkles. This piece does not have any moonstone in it. I'm in the process of reorganizing my bead storage and could not find them. I am definitely going to design a couple of these necklaces, just need to order more chain. Some of the chain will be gold filled, gold plated, sterling and gunmetal. There will be a price point for every budget. I'm a big believer that everyone deserves to have nice jewelry that makes them smile and feel good when they wear it. I'll post the photos here when I make them!

* I got caught up on season 8 of Supernatural while working on this necklace.

Stitching and Zombies

No, this post isn't actually about zombies, so if that's what you're looking for, turn back now. I am just going to go a head and put this out here, I'm a little obsessed with the color blue right now. Especially teal. For me, I'm more attracted to certain colors with the weather and my moods. Not the, it's rainy and cold, and I'm feeling blue, moods. More like in the spring I'm all about coral colors, but that could change at any moment. 

Right now, we are moving into fall and I keep seeing the beautiful burn oranges and red. Don't get me wrong, I love those colors too, but I'm just not ready to let go of summer yet. So, I'm going to hold onto summer for a few weeks longer. 

This photo was taken during our Disney trip this year. I was hanging out with the girls and was leaning against this teal pillar, when I realized the teal, lavender and white made a somewhat stunning color combination. 

I went ahead and snapped a photo because I knew with my memory issues I would not remember later. Of course I forgot all about it, and it wasn't until my partner was showing his family the photos at the lake that we ran across it again. He was like, What is that, why did you take that picture? 

Well, he didn't understand, but I did. So, as soon as I could, I went to work. I just love the way the white pops with the teal, and how the lavender makes the white faceted beads almost seem translucent. The teals are not exactly the same, the teal in the bracelet has a little touch of grey. I also pictured the bracelet a little different in my head, but I still really like the way it turned out.

A little side note, I almost always watch a TV series when I'm making stitched pieces. This was no exception, I came late to the series The Walking Dead but caught up quickly with marathon sessions of stitching and zombies.

It Started with a Plant

I love making jewelry and have been doing it for 11 years. My style has evolved with time and changes with my moods. I really truly enjoy exploring unique color combinations. I take my inspiration from everything I see, from nature, scrapbook paper, lining up nail polish bottles (which I'm obsessed with and might have a problem with) to checking out Pinterest. 

So, from time to time I'm going to show you where I get my inspiration for specific pieces of jewelry. Eventually, I'll leave the link for my soon-to-open Etsy shop, and if you're interested you can purchase the jewelry there.

For this bracelet I pretty much had two inspirations for it. Mainly one inspired the other which paved the way for the third, the bracelet. 

The first one was at the beginning of the summer I became obsessed with a lime and purple color combination for my annual pots. In this pot there are three plants, two Coleus and a Petunia. I did not save the Petunia tag, so I'm not sure what it's called, but Fishnet Stockings and Gays Delight are the Coleus. In the photo you can barely see the Fishnet Stockings, it's in the top right corner. If you're close to Fort Wayne, you can pick up all three plants from Stuckey's Greenhouse on Tyler.

This is the second one that helped play a part in the creation of the bracelet. I had just discovered the joy of scrapbook paper (I know, I'm super late to the party) and wanted to do something with the Pretty as a Peacock paper I had picked up at Michael's for 50% off. I decided to dust off my dormant craft skills and bust out the Mod Podge for a super fast and simple canvas wall art project for my daughter's bedroom, and purple is her favorite color right now. 

Both of these, the plants and the peacock with their gorgeous color combinations stuck in my head and I couldn't stop thinking about them. That's when my peacock bracelet was born. From the teal and lavender seed beads, and lime green drops to the iridescent tile like beads, and crystals which flash different colors in the light, I feel it's a good representation of a peacock's feathers.

Here is the bracelet again, can you see the idea behind it? 

The TV show I was watching while making this bracelet was Lost Girl.

How about you, is there any place you like to take your inspiration from? Is there a certain color combination you just can't get out of your head? Let me know in the comments section.