She's a Little Bit Hoopy

My idea of fun is to take a structure, in this case, a circle with a loop on top, and riff on it.  I've been calling these "hoop dangles" to differentiate from "hoops" which go straight through the old ear lobe.  Embellishing them has been an ongoing design exercise.  It's scary when one idea leads to 3 which lead to a dozen--what if I don't live long enough to do them all?  I try to write things down because odds are good I'll forget at least some of them before I get back to work.

May 1 was opening day at the campground.  Happy to say it was a dud (one camper) and I say happy because I still have to finish getting things organized.  I think all will be well by Friday, so we're doing well enough, even if I have been shorthanded.  Weather permitting, I'm expected a busy weekend out there!

And on my new house front, I'm wandering around with a calculator and a tape measure, trying to figure out shelving, lots of it, for studio spaces.  While I have a lot here at my current place that can be recycled into new spaces, I also have some more unusual places to try to set up and organize.  It just seems if I can get shelving moved in and installed BEFORE I start moving over boxes of my materials and stuff, I might minimize my odds of sort of losing things--which I fully expect to happen but am anxious to avoid.  Because orders just keep coming in and since I make things to order, losing certain things would really spoil my day!

Speaking of days, have a good one and Happy May Day--I used to love to leave guerrilla gifts for all the neighbors when I was a kid and earnestly celebrated May Day with home made paper baskets filled with violets and dandelions gifted to everyone I knew, and a few I didn't.    This was my idea of fun before I started making adult style art.....and my idea of a gift before I knew how to make real jewelry.  I've always wanted to see a real, old fashioned May Pole dance, where long ribbons get woven around a pole.  I've only read about them and hope to actually watch one some day--it just sounds like great performance art.

Lucky Random Mix

Mixed Metal Hoop Earrings with Peridot Green Glass Leaves

A lucky chance mixture of photos in my "Collage" folder on my computer desktop inspired me today. Earrings current in my Etsy shop and Autumn photo collages from recent walks seem to have color echoes that are surprising and interesting, to my eyes.



Autumn is one of the most colorful seasons here as so many of the different grasses, trees, bushes and other plants take on shades of orange, yellow, red, purple and many subtleties of browns and earth tones, and a full palette of greens. And there are still flowers blooming (especially sedums and there is a huge bed of asters I've been meaning to capture.)

Beaded Hoop Earrings with Pastel Opalized Glass Beads and Sterling Silver

These original earrings are coiled hoop constructions from my studio and each feature a different "bead soup" which is a cute way of describing a mixture of beads that are somehow color coordinated, and then used randomly. The three color schemes in earring designs each echo the autumn collage above.

Beaded Hoop Earrings Bright Colored Trade Beads Original Coiled and Bound Sterling

The mix of antique trade beads above are from Ghana. Their history is they were made in Europe, probably Bohemia or Italy, at least 100 years ago and then made their way to Africa where they were used for trading--a kind of currency. What inspires me is the effect of the joyous color mixtures as there are so many little individually different beads.

Hoop Earrings Tourmaline Colored Vintage Beads Original Coiled and Bound

The vintage bead soup used for this coiled design is labeled "Watermelon Tourmaline" as the color selection is inspired by a semi-precious gemstone by this name. Small faceted transparent glass beads in shades of purples, pinks, teal, light and dark green, clear and light pastels mimic this stone and hold their own as they add a vintage flavor to this mixed color palette.

So it's gray, rainy and much cooler but the weekend, our last open for camping this year at WillOaks, could be lovely typical fall weather. Sending best wishes for a lovely weekend to all!! Thanks for dropping by!