Kande

Feeling Girlie. New Designs.

I hope you had a great weekend!  Not much exciting news to report on my end.  I spent some quality time in the studio, made like a veggie in front of the TV, and did a little furniture rearranging. Basically, a relaxing little break from the daily grind.

I guess I was feeling a little girlie last week because things are looking pastel this morning! 

Naomi Earrings
Vintage lucite and sterling silver

Funny how I don't notice these things as I am working in the studio throughout the week - it's only when I start going through the photos on Monday morning that I can see where my head has been. 

Molly Earrings
Amethyst, pink amethyst, prehnite, Swarovski crystal, and silver

How amazing are those amethyst drops (Molly Earrings above)!  When I saw that unique cut - faceted loop drop - I just had to have a pair.  I've been holding on to them for the last 6 months waiting for an idea to hit.  Finally, I came up with this design on Saturday and I really love it.

Kara Earrings
Dark pink Swarovski crystals and oxidized silver

If you've been a reader of this blog, you know that I really struggle with my photography.  I'm a point and click kind of girl.  I did take photography in college but it was not something that I excelled in...which might be the biggest understatement ever!  Every once in a while though, a photograph will turn out spectacular despite my sad skills.  This is the case with the Kara Earrings (see above). *Happy Dance*

I've got more photos to crop and watermark for the shops so I better hop to it.  See you tomorrow!

Monday Report. New Avery Design.

I hope you had a great weekend!  I spent some serious time in the studio this weekend - yay!  I also spent time cleaning house, washing clothes and all those other chores that keep the household running - boo! 

Enough with the work - let's get to the fun part.  I have been holding onto an awesome pair of sunstone ovals hoping to find a design that would let the natural beauty of these gemstones shine.  I've tried the sunstone ovals in various designs, but nothing worked. Finally, I came up with a design I think does the job.  I've named this design Avery.

Avery Earrings
Sunstone & sterling silver

I'm hoping to find more front drilled gemstones to wrap in this style.  I'd love to hear what you think about this new design!

Ready for Spring + Fun with Polyvore

Happy New Year!  I hope you enjoyed the holiday season.  Now that I am all rested up, its time to head back into the studio.  I've had a lot of requests recently for my Pasha Earrings, so I am bringing them back along with a few variations.  Here's the first one with opal quartz, hot pink topaz and gold.  I am so loving the opal quartz - they absolutely glow.

Pasha Earrings

Opal quartz, pink topaz, moonstone, rock crystal quartz, gold

Sweet Susan of Hometown Girl has gotten me hooked on Polyvore.  It is too much fun putting these sets together.  I did my first one today - I was going for sweet and chic.  What do you think?

 

No. 1 by kristinahenning featuring lanvin shoes

 

Exploration. Color Combinations.

One of the things that I like to explore in my art and jewelry is color combinations.  I don't know if this is true for others, but I seem to have a set idea of what colors should go together.  Sometimes I feel like this gets in the way when I am creating a new piece and I worry that I am holding back creatively.  When I find myself falling back on "safe" color combos, I try to stop and think about moving the color in a different direction. 

One of the pieces that resulted from this exploration is this version of the Semira Earrings:

When I am working with olive green like in the drops above, I tend to go for a "woodland" color scheme - browns, dark reds, other greens, etc.  When I caught myself reaching for the same old gemstones, I stopped and tried to "think outside the box". I happened to have the labradorite rondelles out on my desk and thought I would give them a try.  Once I added those I thought it would be great to pull in the blue color from the labradorite's flash by using the violet blue iolite rondelles.  I threw in some metallic pyrite to relate back to color of the olive quartz and then framed it all with oxidized silver.

Semira Earrings

I have to say, I am thrilled with the results.  Does it always work out so well..no, but it is always satisfying to push yourself creatively.

Aquaria

I have been eager to work with london blue topaz.  I love the deep marine blue colors of this gemstone, but it tends to be expensive.  I finally couldn't stand it anymore and found some beautiful drops that I turned into this pair of earrings and bracelet.

Aquaria Earrings

london blue topaz, 14kt gold fill

Aquaria Bracelet

london blue topaz, andalusite, moss aquamarine, 14kt gold fill

These pieces have me wishing for warmer weather and some quality time on a nice secluded beach.  Oh well, a girl can dream!

New Kande

I've been battling a horrendous bout of vertigo caused by inner ear problems.  After two weeks, I am finally starting to feel better...so of course, now Elijah has caught the sniffles. 

I managed to put in some studio time this weekend and made a couple of new necklaces that I have put in my Kande shop.  Both of these necklaces feature large drops of AAA topaz - one in a bright blue called swiss blue, and the other in hot pink.  I love these colors! 

Giselle Necklace with AAA topaz, fine silver, sterling silver, and 14kt gold fill

Giselle Necklace with AAA topaz, fine silver, sterling silver, and 14kt gold fill

Now that the holiday shopping season is wrapping up, I am looking forward to putting up the Christmas lights on the house.  I've got an artificial tree that I am going to put on the front porch this year.  Elijah has decided that we should decorate it with paper snowflakes - finally a good excuse to break out my massive collection of Martha Stewart glitter!  I can't wait to get started. 

Evergreen

I love emeralds!  Especially the dark green ones - they remind me of the Wizard of Oz.  Aww, happy childhood memories.  I recently found a large, gorgeous pair of lab grown emeralds and put together a pair of earrings that have made their way into the shop this week.

Ireland Earrings

lab grown emeralds, AAA green onyx, AAA tiger's eye, AAA andalusite, AAA smoky quartz, freshwater pearls, 14kt gold fill

New Kande Goodies

I've been hard at work in the studio and have lots of new goodies to share with you.  Here's just a tiny sample of the pretties making their way into my Etsy shop and my web site.

Nova Earrings

AAA rock crystal quartz, fine and sterling silver

Giselle No. 14  Necklace

white iolite, oxidized fine and sterling silver

 

Reality Check

Did you know there are only 65 days till Christmas?  Holy smokes, where did the year go?  When I saw the Christmas countdown this morning, after I picked my jaw up from the floor, I realized I needed to revise my plans.

Last year was my first Christmas season on Etsy and it was brutal.  I had read plenty of tales from other sellers on Etsy about the holiday shopping season and thought I was thoroughly prepared....what a fool I was.  This year I'm hoping to avoid many of the pitfalls I fell into last year - like running out of jewelry boxes 3 times.  So this week, I have to make sure that I order more supplies than I think I will need for the next two months - easier said than done.

I'm also going to move back the new collection I'm working on, tentatively called Bramble, until after the holidays. I've been really happy with the decision to start creating collections.  I think it has helped focus my creative energy. 

What are the new plans?  Worry like crazy, wire wrap like my life depends on it, and order more goodies.  Since its not a real blog post without any pics, I'll share some of the new goodies I'll be working with in the next few weeks.

Purple Reign

My goodness...how time flies!  As you might have noticed, I have been missing in action a lot lately.  Business is picking up as the holidays near and I am running to catch up.  I've also been chasing around after Elijah and his high school band.  Whew!  Who knew having a kid in band could be so much work?....Me, that's who. 

I took a vacation from the 9 to 5 last week and put some serious time into working in the studio.  It was the best week I've had in a really long time.  I had always wondered what it would be like to be making jewelry all day.  The answer is - freakin' awesome!  I also think I've gotten a head start on my next collection.  I keep reaching for the gemstones in rich berry hues and purple.  Here's a tiny sampling of the goodies I made last week.

Zarina No. 2 Earrings

AAA amethyst, AAA garnet, AAA andalusite and 14kt gold fill

 
Giselle No. 7 Necklace
Tourmalinated amethyst and 14kt gold fill

 
Amalie No. 1 Earrings
Moss amethyst and 14kt gold fill