Vacation Blogging

Hello from vacation-land! Everyone else is still asleep, but I woke up early and the house is silent (which is not likely to last for long with three boys around) so I thought I'd fit in a quick blog post while I can. Vacation has been great so far! The weather has not cooperated as much as one might wish (lots of overcast days), but it hasn't really interfered much.

Local attractions and wildlife viewing have all been spectacular, though. Sand crabs galore so the boys have been practically hysterical with delight and have been competing to see who can find the biggest one. Pismo clams, brown pelicans, harbor seals and dolphins have all been sighted, but more details to come on that in a later post when I can upload the pictures to go with the story.

In the meantime, here's the rest of the jewelry I made over the July 4th weekend:

I actually made the necklace first, but it always seems weird to me to show it first and then dwindle down to earrings. Seems like I should save the big bang for the end. Anyway, these probably seem a bit weird by themselves, but they will make more sense when you see the necklace. The top disk beads are Czech glass and the large red rondelles are polymer clay. The small dangles at the bottom are also Czech glass.

Then I tried to get all artsy-fartsy with the photo backgrounds:



This background idea probably needs more thought...



This pair of earrings uses the same polymer clay beads, but this time, the accent beads are turquoise rondelles and honey jade



And another attempt at a more interesting background...I think I like it better in this view.




Of all the earrings I made for this set, this is my favorite pair. I put the Czech glass rondelles at the top, then wired on some deep red patinated metal rounds from Miss Fickle Media. The finishing touches are patinated yellow metal dangles also from Miss FM. The photo doesn't capture it, but in the sunlight, they have a subtle sparkle.

And now, on to the necklace



More of the same polymer clay beads mixed with bunches of turquoise "buffalo tooth" dangles. I also used some orangey-gold enameled beads from Barbara Lewis of Painting with Fire.

The chestnut patinated chain and the two large ring links are from Miss Fickle Media.

Here's a final view of the entire necklace.

I can't decide on a name for this set. The two possibilities are either Sonoran Sunset or Red River Canyon. What do you think?

That's all from Carpinteria for now. More next week after I get the pictures downloaded.

KJ