One Month of Earrings - Green Howlite Skulls

Today is the one month anniversary of starting the Earring Project, and these earrings officially celebrate my 31st pair of earrings posted to this blog. Let's see if I can keep it going for another eleven months!

Gordon, that's the six year old boy, picked these beads out for me yesterday at Athenian Fashions. This is a big bead and jewelry findings store on the 800 block of Maple St in downtown Los Angeles. This is the trim and jewelry block. At Athenian, prices are good, but not great; however the selection is fantastic. If you are looking for a clasp, headpin, wire, chain, or other finding they probably have it. I was looking for gun metal finished copper wire, which they had, in 20, 22, and 24 gauge. After I had paid for my purchases (wire and headpins), Gordon spotted these skull beads in a rainbow of colors. Green was his choice, but it was the best color, so I agreed and we bought a string - 34 little skulls for $3.50.

New Earrings from Old - Gun Metal chain tassels with crystal beads

These earrings are an upgrade from a pair that came with a necklace I bought yesterday at Bijoux Bijoux (1003 Santee St, Los Angeles.) They were okay earrings, but not great. The tassels were a little too long (and I have a long neck, so when earrings are too long on me, they are too long.) And the earrings were all the same material -- gun metal finished chain and coins -- so the earrings didn't really stand out. I reduced the length of each chain in the tassel by 3 links and I added 3 crystal beads, one to each coin. I picked three beads with similar tonal value to the rest of the necklace -- they are blue, mauve, and lavender with AB finish (from 3 of the 18 bracelets I bought yesterday, see my last post). This is a fairly subtle upgrade, but when the earring is worn the crystal beads really make a difference. (Original earring on left, upgraded earring on right.)

There was a bit of fussing to get the earrings to hang with the beads facing forward, but otherwise this was a simple project. I will add that after one full month of this earring project, my wire wrapping is much, much neater, too.

The original earrings were a good example of what is wrong with much inexpensive "fashion" jewelry, and why I (or you) as a hobby jewelry designer can improve on what we can buy. Almost all inexpensive jewelry sold today is imported, mostly from China. Most of it is, I think, designed by someone who works for the factory making the components. Therefore, although China makes all different kinds of chains and beads and other jewelry components, any particular piece of jewelry tends to be made of one element. A factory that makes metal chain and pendants makes an all-metal necklace. A factory making cut glass beads makes a necklace of all crystal -- sparkly and shiny and something that no one over the age of 12 can actually wear. But I can combine beads and charms and chain from all over the globe. I can make things and buy things and re-purpose things. I can mix vintage and modern, natural and man-made. All I need is a couple pairs of pliers and some wire and I can make something that is perfect for me, for my life and my outfit on any particular day.

Ay Caliente! Hot Pepper Earrings

I found a string of these glass hot peppers at a jewelry store on Maple St. in the heart of the market district in downtown L.A. (J.P. Fashion Accessories, 1140 Maple Ave, Los Angeles.) I put the peppers onto a 3-link chain I made from 20g gun metal finished copper wire, and fashioned the ear wires from the same wire.

The string of eighteen glass peppers cost $4.00. I also bought eighteen crystal bracelets for a dollar each (that was a sale price), and a jeweled watch/bracelet for $10.00. I bought the watch for our upcoming four days at Disneyland. I normally don't wear a watch, just use my phone, but when I am constantly checking the time so we don't miss a show, fireworks, a parade, or a Fastpass time window a watch is necessary.

Earrings from 22 g wire and a pair of glass pearls

These two glass pearls were liberated from a $1.00 "pearl" necklace bought in downtown L.A. They combine with a couple of inches of 22 g. silver plated copper wire for a pair of surprisingly elegant earrings. I made the wire spiral around a round pencil that was slightly thinner than the usual pencil width.Similar earrings could be made with a thicker or textured wire for a little more heft, but when worn even this relatively fine wire catches the light with every movement of your head.

More L.A. Earrings - round glass beads

I tried a couple of different treatments for these beads, pairing them with some cool green chalcedony tubes,  but they were best on their own. I made the ear wires so I could keep them as simple as possible.

Los Angeles Downtown Earrings-Pink Acrylic Beads

These earrings are all about the beads -- a pair of plastic diamonds, very 60s looking, and 40 cents apiece in Downtown L.A. These are totally vacation earrings -- they are all about the beads, not the work. Hope you like them, and you keep your eyes open for cool beads wherever you go this summer.

I love downtown L.A. -- not so much the "hip" new downtown (although that can be fun), but the old downtown of small factories, fashion design, discount fabric stores, discount jewelry stores, discount...., well, discount just about everything. When I lived in L.A., I loved the bustle of the old streets, but I went mostly for the food. I didn't need to buy small plastic toys at wholesale prices. It wasn't until my sister moved out here and started doing costumes for theater that we discovered that downtown was also the BEST place on the earth to buy fabric. It beat even the old New York City fabric district, where we had practically grown up. When I started selling (and making) jewelry, we also discovered it was a great place to buy fashion jewelry, and beads and chains and findings, at wholesale prices. Now, I go downtown whenever I visit L.A.

So on this trip, yesterday was my day downtown (there may be another). I had my six year old son along, so suddenly we did need to buy small plastic toys at wholesale prices. And I looked for beads -- both at bead stores and, as I love to do, at fashion jewelry stores. I combed through the clearance racks, where bracelets and necklaces can be had for a couple of bucks.Yesterday I found a store selling last year's crystal bead bracelets at a buck apiece. I got them in eighteen different colors. I also got yards and yards of gun metal chain in a $7 necklace and bought a few pairs of cool beads at Beadshines - one of my favorite stores b/c of the bins and bins of beads that they sell individually. The pink acrylic beads above came from Beadshines (305 E. 9th St, Ste 105B, www.beadshines.com.)

And the six year old got a new stuffed Domo doll, Pokemon cards, and a giant ruby-colored glass "diamond" for his pirate hoard.

Yay summer, Yay L.A.

Wedding Perfect Blue freshwater pearl Earrings

I love these earrings. So elegant and feminine -- perfect for a wedding ('cept I've done that already, love you, Darling.)

The rings are just ordinary silver plate jump rings, and the pearls are dyed freshwater pearls - both from Fire Mountain Gems. Unlike the last pair, the copper free form, this pair came out exactly as I expected on the first try.