Dear Santa, Bring Me Something Beaded!

With Thanksgiving on the late side this year, the shopping season seems to be shorter. It's all in our heads, of course, because we have the same amount of time in any given year. But Thanksgiving is the trigger and if it falls late, then shoppers are suddenly frantic to get all their shopping done in time. If online shopping is your thing, do not despair! There is still plenty of time to find the perfect gifts for all the special people on your gift giving list.

There is still a small window for custom orders as well. If you have something in mind that blends with my style, please contact me and I would be happy to give you an estimate and timeline. If you have a budget, just tell me what you would like to do and I will work with you if possible.

Let someone close to you know that you took the time to find them a handmade gift. Giving handmade gifts is personal. It says you are paying attention to the tastes and preferences of your loved ones. It really does say that you care.

Gloria Ewing

Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry
Chrysalis Too on Etsy

Grand Opening of Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry

Some of the jewelry artisans I most admire have opened sites on Indiemade, and I have decided to join them! My choice was based on impressive feedback regarding Indiemade ease of use and responsiveness as well as the ability to be linked with my existing Etsy shop. Indiemade was "built by artists for artists", with features that are suited to the individual artist marketing their own creativity, including a website, store and blog.

I invite you to visit Indiemade and check out my new website, Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry, for rustic, tribal and primitive creations that are all designed and handmade by me. To celebrate my grand opening, I am having a 15% OFF SALE just in time for holiday shopping! Just use coupon code OPENING15 on checkout.

These luscious pewter and copper wire wrapped earrings are new in my Indiemade shop, as is the boho tribal southwestern necklace pictured above. The selection of rustic Bohemian style jewelry is at its height this time of year, but don't wait too long. Every piece is one-of-a-kind so when it's gone, there will not be another one to replace it.

Chrysalis Tribal Jewelry

Autumn Mookaite

Mookaite Bracelet

Autumn and mookaite are made for each other. Richly saturated dark red and yellow mookaite is not for the meek. Confident women wear mookaite; women who want to attract attention. And in my opinion, mookaite is an underappreciated stone that deserves more attention, so again "made for each other". A sedimentary stone formed in ancient sea beds, mookaite is a jasper that gets its name from the Mooka Creek area of Australia where it is mined. Its beautiful and wildly bold coloration is from the organisms and minerals that were contained in the sea sediment.

My bracelet design features a dramatic combination of faceted mookaite nuggets, vintage green heart trade beads in coordinating brick red, a strand of African solid brass beads, more vintage Czech seed beads in dark plum tones. Ceramic end caps repeat the colors of the stones, and a large rustic copper toggle clasp finishes the design.

Mookaite Earrings

Natural edge slabs of mookaite, cut so that the image on the stones mirror one another, wrapped in oxidized copper wire. These slices of stone really show off the range of color in mookaite, with the mustard yellow being the dominant color and even including some tiny droplets of rusty orange on the lower portions of the stones. I added a burnt orange bead to the wire wrapped connectors to pick up the naturally contrasting bits of color in the slabs.

Mookaite Statement Necklace

Mookaite doesn't need much help to make a statement! To the mookaite stone nuggets, I added some of the same elements that I used in the bracelet design. The brick red (green heart) trade beads, African brass and vintage Czech glass seed beads. For an unusual touch, I wrapped brass cones in recycled sari silk echoing the burgundy tones, and bronze wire. A large Saki bronze toggle clasp adds to the exotic character of this choker length statement piece.





Gloria Ewing

Maricopa Point Collection

Just in time for fall, my Maricopa Point Collection features the colors of the Grand Canyon vista for which it was named. Wonderfully rich reds, browns and gold, with a striking bit of turquoise here and there, these pieces of boho southwestern jewelry will be versatile additions to your fall and winter wardrobe.

Anyone who has been there would tell you that it is truly an awesome sight. From any given angle the dramatic formation of the canyon is a wonder, depending on the time of day the colors are constantly changing and the textures are ruggedly striking. I tried to capture that character as I designed my Maricopa Point Collection.

Our trip to the southwest earlier this year inspired me to create three new collections. The first collection, Joshua Tree, has done well. The second collection, Maricopa Point, is also selling quickly. The third collection, Tioga Pass, is still in the works and I hope it will be ready for release sometime in late October.

Maricopa Point Collection on Etsy

Rustic Roman Glass Jewelry

Much of the Roman glass available today in the form of beads, pendants and connectors, was excavated in the early 2000's in Afghanistan along the "silk road" trading route. The estimated age of this glass is 900 to 1200 years old. It has a characteristic scaling of white and has an etched appearance, perhaps from exposure to wind and sand over many years. I find the blue, green and yellow colors and the primitive look of Roman glass very appealing and I love to use it in designing jewelry.

In this pair of earrings, I have combined the aqua colored Roman glass tubes with nuggets of matte green fluorite stones and discs of Czech glass. Love the combination of these colors together!

I am finding Roman glass to be very versatile. There is really no limit to the creative combinations that will show off this beautifully rustic glass, and it blends extremely well with my primitive Bohemian style.

Atop a body of hammered copper, I have added two layers of leather, and then the pale aqua discs of Roman glass. Wrapping light weight oxidized copper wire with seed beads around the layers holds them in place and protects the fragile glass.

Roman glass jewelry has proven to be in high demand. These pieces do not stay long in my Etsy Shop! This particular necklace is already sold, but if you have an interest in Roman glass jewelry, I would love to design a piece especially for you. Just convo me on Etsy.

Chrysalis Too on Etsy

Wire Wrapped Matched Pairs

I am not a trendy person. But I have to make an exception when something comes along that fits perfectly into my genre of rustic, tribal and primitive jewelry. Sets of matching stones are nothing new, but in the past year or so more natural edge slab cut stones are hitting the scene. Cut with the intention of being used in earrings, they often have mirrored patterns like the traditional matching pairs and are fairly thin so that their weight would not be prohibitive in an earring design. The fact that they are left with their organic looking natural cut edges is what sets them apart and makes them irresistible to me.

Because I am not the first or the only artist who loves these stones and uses them in earrings, I try to come up with a variation from the straight wire wrap presentation. Each pair will have a distinctive twist to identify it as mine. I'm having fun with these stones, and I hope you like the end results as much as I do.

You can find the earrings in the collage in my Etsy shop, Chrysalis Too!

Almost Summer Sale

<<< ALMOST SUMMER SALE >>>

It's time to get things moving! My Artfire studio is full of my own handmade rustic, Bohemian, ethnic, primitive, southwestern and tribal jewelry that must be cleared out. So here's your chance to score some great jewelry finds at a reduced price. I am offering a special coupon for my blog readers so that you can get an additional 10% off my already reduced prices. Just enter coupon code CURIOUS10 at checkout! Now through Saturday, June 14th.

If you follow my work, you know that I rarely have sales so don't miss this one! Here's a link to my Artfire studio:
Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire

Joshua Tree Collection

My new desert inspired collection expresses the character of the southwest, simultaneously ruthless and fragile. At first glance, the desert can seem bland and devoid of color until you take a closer look. Then the textures and the surprising colors are revealed and you can appreciate the determination of nature to not only survive, but flourish in this arid climate. I have been to the southwestern desert areas several times, and each time I find it more intriguing.

All of the jewelry pictured in the collage is listed in my Etsy shop. I will continue to add new pieces to the Joshua Tree Collection, so stay tuned for more in the near future.

Joshua Tree Desert Inspired Necklace
Rough Ruby and Garnet Earrings



Check out all of my Joshua Tree Collection on Etsy!

Over the Top Tribal

Green Jasper Carved Bone Necklace

In an ongoing quest to add new and interesting techniques and materials to my jewelry designs, I have been doing more designs substituting cord for beading wire. I like the look of jute, but I use mostly braided nylon cord because it comes in such beautiful saturated colors and because it doesn't fray easily. If I want the natural look of the jute in the piece, sometimes I will use both nylon and jute. Of course, jute is usually going to require larger holes in the beads as well, so if I use the nylon along with jute, I can use either to go through the bead and get the best of both in the finished piece. My plan is to include more and different types of fibers in future pieces.

This technique lends itself well to my tribal style.
Stone and Bone Tribal Pendant Necklace

The colors of the cord contribute to this fringe earring design.
Copper Metal Clay Flower Earrings with Fringe

Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire
Chrysalis Too on Etsy

Untamed Clay

It was inevitable. Polymer clay was calling to me, saying "Come . . . knead me with your fingers. Mold me into something wild.". So I listened. Whether it turns out to be a passing fancy or a direction for which I was destined, I am having so much fun making distressed and ancient looking beads and components.

When I can't find the right component for my design, it is so liberating to be able to sit down at my metal working bench or my clay table and make what I need.

Letting my imagination run wild, I can hardly keep up with all my new ideas. Just drawing and writing little notes, so I won't forget before I have the time to try them.

I try to use the clay color as just a base, and then after it's baked, coat it with layers of gilder's paste until I get the look I want. The colors are sealed with a matte fixative.

No plans at present for selling clay components, I just like having the freedom to make something outrageous for my own use.

Mystical Greens Provocative Purples

Green is beyond a doubt, my favorite color, so it's no surprise that I use it frequently in my jewelry designs. To me green has a mystical quality, as though there is more there than I can see on the surface. The earthy and dusky shades of green are the ones I find most appealing.

And whether you love purple or not, it is gorgeous with green! You can add just a touch of purple or blend lots of it in with the greens for depth and drama. There is a wide range of purples to consider, lilac, mauve, lavender, amethyst, violet, heather, orchid,magenta, grape, aubergine and more. Bright or subdued, purple is provocative.

Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire