Cork Pop Part 3

Wheeeee!  I can't stop!  At least not so far.  AND, I've been lucky enough that the kid's schedule has been busy enough elsewhere so that I've actually had some free time.  I kinda forgot what it feels like to not only have that, but have it coincide with me not needing to pass out from sheer exhaustion.

 

 

 

 

Just in time for the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday - cuter ceramic hearts imprinted with a scrollwork design and glazed in a dusty lavender hue.  I paired them with some faceted Czech glass rondelles in a swirled teal/purple Picasso color and wire-wrapped everything with dark brass wire, jump rings and earring hooks.

 

 

 

 

From there, I moved into thoughts of summer time and tropical drinks courtesy of these cute polymer clay charms from Barb Bechtel.  She used to have an Etsy store called Floridity, but it appears to be closed.  I think she still has her own website under Second Surf, but I popped onto it and don't see much activity.  It's a shame because her hand carved/painted polymer clay pieces were a staple for my bead stash.  Guess I need to enjoy what I have left.  The top beads on these are dyed tagua nuts and Japanese seed beads.

 

 

 

 

I bought these charms in the same grouping with the ones above and both sets secretly reminded me of the old Fruit Stripe Gum (remember their Zebra mascot?).  I added bleached wood disks, turquoise tagua nut barrels and lime green Japanese seed beads.

 

 

 

These oval disks are also from Barb.  I bought a set of six in varying shades of yellow, green, blue and turquoise.  The front beads are carved and dyed howlite - and they are either shaped like starfish or flowers depending on your point of view.

 

 

 

 

And just to show how your designs can be influenced by everything you see...I swear I wasn't consciously trying to re-create this flowering tree from Lana'i.  In fact, I didn't even think of it until I was cropping/re-sizing the earring photographs and realized the similarity.  The brain is a curious thing.

 

 

 

 

This is another pair of ovals from the same set but with lighter, less intense colors.  I added blue stone disks, sterling silver seahorse charms and lime green seed beads.

 

 

While I was on a roll with all things bright, I picked out this cute pair of lampwork glass disks with white and yellow daisies on an aqua scroll background.  They didn't need much so I just added some bright yellow Chinese crystals and some Bali silver accents.

 

 

 

I scored some darling enamel work from Barbara Lewis a while back.  The set included these black disks with white dots on them.  I added sterling silver scroll heart charms, dyed red wood beads and Bali silver bead caps.  After I finished them, they reminded me an awful lot of Minnie Mouse...and I'm not sure whether that is a good thing or a bad thing LOL!

 

 

 

That same set included these links.  I added yellow Chinese crystals at the top and tiny red Czech glass rondelles at the bottom.

 

 

 

 

The last part of the set were these darling flowers.  Barbara enameled bead caps in a pale pink and placed them in the center of these glossy black enameled flowers.  I added mint alabaster lampwork ruffled disks, pale pink Swarovski crystal pearls and some touches of Bali silver.

 

 

I will get these listed in the Etsy shop as soon as possible.  Most of the other new items have already gone up.  Now, I'm hoping to get home in time tonight to play some more with my color experiments!  Wish me luck!

 

KJ