I'm taking a little vacation this week to relocate my studio to a new space. I can't wait to get everything moved so I can get to work again! I'll be back next Monday and will also have new pieces for the shops as well. Till then, I'm having a Valentine's Day Sale on my website, www.KristinaHenning.com, and in my Kande shop on Etsy.
Pasha Earrings - No. 2
Opal quartz, pink topaz, moonstone, gold
Enjoy the week! Warm wishes, Kristina
Can you believe it?!? Lots of the happy dance happening in the studio this weekend.
Here's the story: I was contacted by Naomi Fujimoto, Senior Editor of Bead Style Magazine, back in November 2011 about featuring a pair of my earrings in their March 2012 issue. These earrings -
So I packaged them up and shipped them off to be photographed, but I was afraid to let myself believe this was really going to happen. I kept telling myself not to get excited, don't tell anyone yet, they might have to cut your earrings due to space issues or something like that. Basically, I've made my life a living hell worrying over the details. But Friday morning, guess what I found in my mailbox?
And even better - Look at page 16!
Yep, those are my earrings! This is heady stuff for a small town girl like myself! Needless to say I have been flashing my magazine at family and friends all weekend. I have since renamed the earrings Naomi as a small thank you to the lady who made this possible. If you get a chance, check the magazine out. It will be arriving in bookstores across the U.S. on January 31.
I want you to be included in the excitment, so I am having a GIVEAWAY! Up for grabs is a pair of the Naomi Earrings, as featured in Bead Style Magazine.
To enter this giveaway is simple:
Visit my website www.KristinaHenning.com and tell me (in a comment to this post) what your favorite piece is or what you'd like to see more of.
For multiple entries:
1. {Like} my Facebook page
2. Sign up for my Newsletter
This contest will run until Friday, February 10, 2012.
{The winner will be selected using a random number generator so anyone can win.}
Maybe some of you guys will remember how popular it used to be to have a lucky rabbit's foot. Kind of creepy now to think back on how badly most of us wanted one. I found a sweet little bunny rabbit charm not too long ago and it made me remember those darn things. So I put together a bunny friendly version of a lucky rabbit's foot talisman. You can still be lucky and no sweet little bunny has to lose his foot!
Lucky Rabbit Necklace with aqua chalcedony, silver rabbit charm and pearl
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!
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!
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.
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?
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.
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.
While looking for something online for the day job last week, I stumbled across a photograph of a Blue Morpho Butterfly.
Pretty, no? I have a close friend who loves butterflies and the picture of this one stuck in my head. Then over the weekend, I found a pair of london blue topaz ovals in my gemstone stash that I have been saving for a special project and the blue reminded me of..yes, you guessed it...the Blue Morpho Butterfly. So, I dug through the rest of my gemstones and put together these earrings:
London blue topaz, labradorite, iolite, fluorite, Swarovski crystal, gold
P.S. I found the photo of the Morpho Butterfly, used above, on Wikipedia.
I'm having my first Christmas in July sale on my website! Don't forget to use coupon code FROSTY15 to save 15%.
I loved my Crayola crayons when I was a kid. My favorite color has always been Blue Green.
Because I am such a geek, I went over to the Crayola website and found out that on their list of America's 50 favorites, my beautiful Blue Green is number 13. I also went on Wikipedia and found the RGB code for Blue Green...geek much?!? Why do I bring this up? Well, last night I was looking through my gemstones while planning out new projects and I realized that I have an overwhelming amount of moss aquamarine and other blue green stones. I thought to myself, what is the deal? Then it popped into my head - Blue Green crayons! Anyway, my obsession with this color continues with these lovely newbies that made their way into my Kande shop this week.
AAA gemstones - smoky quartz, moss aquamarine, fluorite, prehnite, moonstone, tourmalinated quartz - and oxidized silver
AAA moss aquamarine, oxidized silver and copper
Enjoy your day!
Kristina
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