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

Metal Therapy

When designing jewelry, my ongoing challenge is finding balance between disciplined technique and crazy unbridled creativity. I really can't have one without the other. Too disciplined is uninteresting, and too crazy is just chaotic. The earrings above lean more toward the disciplined end of the spectrum. I hammered the copper shapes and applied a darkening patina first, then the red patina later, and finished them with wire wrapped connectors. While the earrings below are a little crazier, with two colors of patina (blue and green), that have been wire brushed to reveal some of the brass metal beneath. Then a layer of slate gilder's paste over the patina to give a little added dimension. I have connected the brass charms to donut beads (from Outwest) with antique bronze wire and darkened copper wire.

Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire
Chrysalis Too on Etsy

Handmade on Etsy?

Carved Bone Statement Necklace

Supposedly in the spirit of protecting the consumer, several publications have featured articles on Etsy, the question being whether or not items are or are not handmade by the artist? While Etsy has stated that sellers MAY use additional people to help them in certain parts of their operation, shipping for example, the change in their policy did not affect the great majority of Etsy artists who make their products from beginning to end, without any outside help. All of the publicity about the change on Etsy has caused buyers to wonder about the legitimacy of the artists on Etsy, and thus has had an adverse affect on traffic and sales. The timing was impeccable, coming just before the holiday gifting season.

Let me assure you that there are STILL many talented artists on Etsy, who design and make their own pieces. We not only design and assemble, we also do sourcing of materials, photography, marketing, shipping and more. If you look for the phrase "One of a Kind" or OOAK, you will find creative and original work on Etsy that your family and friends would love to receive as a gift.

Teal Bracelet with Hammered Copper Toggle

Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire

Black Friday Sale - One Day Only!

Aqua Terra Agate Necklace


Hmmm . . . Black Friday, do I get up at well before dawn, shower and wrestle my clothes on to go shove through 500 overly caffeinated bargain hunters for the 20 available pieces of the latest and hottest electronic gadget that everybody has to own? I don't think so! When the alternative is to sit here in my pajamas, with a cup of my favorite coffee, and browse the internet for more "off the beaten path" gift ideas, guess which one I choose?

To commemorate Black Friday, I am doing something I rarely do. I am having a sale!!! Use coupon code BLACKFRIDAY13 in my Etsy shop today only for 15% off with a minimum $30 purchase. My jewelry is all handmade, meaning it is designed and assembled by me. It is definitely one of a kind and distinctive in its style.

Visit my shop, Chrysalis Too on Etsy!

The Kristi Kollaboration

Mayan Style Copper Clay Earrings

The "kollaboration" to which I am referring is between me and Kristi Bowman-Gruel. We found one another on Facebook, and I have been using her metal clay components since she first began to sell them. It was a pleasant surprise when I found Kristi because we share an appreciation of rustic style jewelry. So, of course, the components that Kristi designs are rustic and sometimes tribal, both of which fit well into my approach to jewelry design.

As you can see, we both have a wild side. I love to come up with new ways to use these amazing components, so you will see them often in my work. The earrings in the above left photo are called "Rag and Bone", and are listed in my Etsy shop.

Kristi is branching out into polymer clay (in the picture on the left) and is applying her uniquely original style (she calls it "wonky") to this new medium. I look forward to working more with her polymer clay creations and whatever brilliant idea she may dream up in the future. The bracelet on the left is also available in my Etsy shop.

Gloria Ewing
Chrysalis Too on Etsy
Chrysalis Jewelry on Artfire

Rag and Bone

A recent acquisition of a dozen or so strands of bone beads from one of my favorite vendors at a gem show has prompted the theme for this AJE Earring Challenge Reveal 21, "Rag and Bone". In the above pair, the "rag" is actually recycled sari silk. The brilliant red color is great with the black and white batik bone beads and Kristi Bowman's Lotus Seed Pods. In the design below, I stacked the rectangular brown fish motif bone beads with green turquoise and natural colored carved bone discs, and added copper accents and ear wires.

Rag and Bone Earrings on Etsy

Fish Bone Earrings on Artfire

"Ancient" Artifacts

For this weeks AJE Earring Challenge Reveal 20, I designed earrings to look as though they were just uncovered at some remote archeological dig. Darkened copper with a layer of copper relief to which I have added a verdigris patina. Brass rivets add to the primitive look of the design.

Another primitive earring design using copper metal clay discs from Kristi Bowman and terracotta colored ceramic daggers from Petra Carpreau, that have ancient looking characters painted on them in black, very similar to what you might expect to find on the wall of a prehistoric cave.

Copper Relief Earrings
Ceramic Dagger Earrings