Lorelei Eurto's Blog, page 50
October 11, 2013
Yeah, so This happened...
You just never know what is going to transpire in the studio and some things just happen accidentally. I created this cool asymmetrical necklace with one of Jade Scott's new wreath pendants that just came in the mail today. I had all sorts of visions when I first saw these online but what ended up happening was much different than I had imagined. Even Better!I finished the necklace with the pendant and when I took a close look at the finished product, my initial thought was, it needs something else. Something in the center of the wreath. I know I know. That kind of contradicts the idea of it being a wreath. But just hear me out.
I started playing around with different types of components like charms and beads, thinking of interesting ways to attach the whatever to the center. I thought about chain. I grabbed some scrap beading wire and was thinking I could somehow attach something inconspicuously in the center.
I found this bronze bird in my Green Girl bin- it's actually the toggle half of a clasp. But it has a shank on it and that worked perfectly with my beading wire idea.Here's how I did it.
I strung 1 brass faceted bead to the center of a piece of beading wire. Thread the two ends through the shank on the bird toggle, like so.
i hope my sparkly nail polish doesn't blind you. 
Pulled the wire up so that the bead sits flush against the shank.
See what I did here? Strung a crimp tube on each wire, and then I passed each wire up through the jump rings on either side on the pendant, and back down through the crimp tubes, and crimped them carefully. To keep the wires from poking the skin at the back of the pendant, I pass the wires back down through the shank and trimmed them with wire cutters.
I think it was a huge mistake SUCCESS!
October 10, 2013
October 8, 2013
Sundance has a clue
There is something to be said for Sundance Catalog's exquisite photography technique. I'm always inspired by the jewelry in these catalogs, but today I was inspired by the simple artsy way that they display the pieces. 5 coordinating pieces of jewelry that all look beautiful when shown together in one shot- See my example above?! It works doesn't it? My eye shoots around the photo looking at all of the gorgeous stones and elements and it's nice to see that everything here could be worn as sets. The earrings match the bracelets, match the Necklace.
I wouldn't want to do this every time but I do like this particular display style, and might even try it out at my next show.
Here are the individual shots of each piece, so you can get a better idea of what's here. These are all available for sale in my etsy store.
October 7, 2013
Jade Scott Update
Today at 2:00 pm central time, Jade will be updating her Etsy shop with all kinds of new pendants and enameled goodies like these. Be there or be square!
October 2, 2013
October 1, 2013
Chillin with Erin Strother
Welcome to another guest post, this time with my friend Erin Strother.
Have a seat, grab your coffee, or wine, or night cap.... and enjoy this new take on jewelry design using Linen Cording!
" A couple of months ago I was chatting with Lorelei on Facebook, and I was probably
complaining or criticizing something I don’t know about, (because that is my
superpower) and most likely just to shut me up, Lorelei asked if I had ever worked with
waxed linen before. And I hadn’t, so she said, “go to my Jewelry Accord website and
pick out some colors you like and I’ll send you some to play with and then you can do
a guest blog thing for me. And I said “cool.” So I went to her website and there were
like, 317 colors to choose from and I wanted 315 of them. I was racked with indecision,
because typically, after I’ve spent hours of careful deliberation choosing something, four
seconds later I wish I’d chosen something else.
I found myself drawn to the dusty rose color, (which is really weird for me because I’m
really NOT a pink girl) maybe because it was the middle of summer and I thought it
would pair beautifully with shells, and I could do something beachy with it. So I decided
to get that, along with a few other colors I thought might work well together.
A few days later the waxed linen arrived in a cute little package, and I took it up to my
studio, pulled out some beads and shells to see what worked together, and then I started
to do that thing where your brain gets all clogged up with 96 different ideas and you
don’t know which one to do, so you just stand there staring at beads for half an hour,
trying to design stuff in your head but not actually doing anything. And then Swiffer
(my fuzzy mutt dog) started whining and growling and jumping on me because she hates
when I just stand there, seemingly lobotomized, when I could be doing something so
much more productive like playing with the dog or feeding the dog or walking the dog.
So, motivated mostly by laziness and a little dog bugging the crap out of me, I decided
to work up something super simple and quick. Any ideas involving knotting techniques
were immediately thrown out, as my knot tying skills are legendarily bad and I knew
my final product would end up looking like something made by a class for the spatially
challenged and partially sighted. So I simply strung some pink rose shell and white clam
shell heishi onto the linen along with some brass spacers, and added a couple of larger
different shell beads, a rough amethyst nugget, a darker amethyst stick and a crystal
quartz nugget in the center. I tied an overhand knot at each end to keep things in place,
and then finished the ends with some tiny 1mm cord crimp ends that I had on hand from
when I accidentally bought them thinking they were going to be bigger.
BTW, am I the only person who buys beads on the web, and ALWAYS expects them to
be bigger? Here is the actual conversation I have with my husband practically every time
I order beads:
Me, opening package of beads: “I just bought some beads the size of bowling balls.”
Husband, looking at newly unwrapped beads: “Umm, bowling balls for Smurfs, maybe?”
Me: “I thought they would be bigger.”
So anyway, back to finishing the necklace…
I added some extra jump rings to the end so the length would be adjustable, and made a
small “S” clasp out of 18 gauge brass wire. The whole thing came together super quickly,
so I decided to do a companion piece to layer with it.
I wanted something different but complimentary, and again very simple, so I decided
to braid three strands of magenta cord together and do a couple of charm dangles in the
center. Braiding works really nicely with the waxed linen, as it has just enough stickiness
to hold together by itself while you are braiding without having to keep constant tension.
I strung more of the same brass spacers onto the braided cord, and then used head pins to
make a white pearl dangle and a shell dangle. I chose a rose quartz briolette for the third
dangle, wire wrapped a bale, and attached all three charms to the cord with jump rings. I
finished the braided cord the same way as the first—with slightly larger 3mm cord crimp
ends and a hand-made “S” clasp.
These pieces work great separately, but also look really cute worn together.
In an unrelated experiment, I also found
that waxed linen works really well as an
accent element in mixed media. It sticks
nicely and doesn’t slide when wrapped
around a larger bead, (or whatever) and
the knots stay nice and tight much better
than plain cotton, silk or leather cord. I
am hooked! I can tell I’m going to need a
bunch more colors."
Erin Strother is a full-time graphic designer, part time jewelry designer, and writer of semi-humorous bead-related columns for Bead it Today Magazine and Bead Design Studio Magazine. Check out her work at StudioEgallery.
Have a seat, grab your coffee, or wine, or night cap.... and enjoy this new take on jewelry design using Linen Cording!
" A couple of months ago I was chatting with Lorelei on Facebook, and I was probably
complaining or criticizing something I don’t know about, (because that is my
superpower) and most likely just to shut me up, Lorelei asked if I had ever worked with
waxed linen before. And I hadn’t, so she said, “go to my Jewelry Accord website and
pick out some colors you like and I’ll send you some to play with and then you can do
a guest blog thing for me. And I said “cool.” So I went to her website and there were
like, 317 colors to choose from and I wanted 315 of them. I was racked with indecision,
because typically, after I’ve spent hours of careful deliberation choosing something, four
seconds later I wish I’d chosen something else.
I found myself drawn to the dusty rose color, (which is really weird for me because I’m
really NOT a pink girl) maybe because it was the middle of summer and I thought it
would pair beautifully with shells, and I could do something beachy with it. So I decided
to get that, along with a few other colors I thought might work well together.
A few days later the waxed linen arrived in a cute little package, and I took it up to my
studio, pulled out some beads and shells to see what worked together, and then I started
to do that thing where your brain gets all clogged up with 96 different ideas and you
don’t know which one to do, so you just stand there staring at beads for half an hour,
trying to design stuff in your head but not actually doing anything. And then Swiffer
(my fuzzy mutt dog) started whining and growling and jumping on me because she hates
when I just stand there, seemingly lobotomized, when I could be doing something so
much more productive like playing with the dog or feeding the dog or walking the dog.
So, motivated mostly by laziness and a little dog bugging the crap out of me, I decided
to work up something super simple and quick. Any ideas involving knotting techniques
were immediately thrown out, as my knot tying skills are legendarily bad and I knew
my final product would end up looking like something made by a class for the spatially
challenged and partially sighted. So I simply strung some pink rose shell and white clam
shell heishi onto the linen along with some brass spacers, and added a couple of larger
different shell beads, a rough amethyst nugget, a darker amethyst stick and a crystal
quartz nugget in the center. I tied an overhand knot at each end to keep things in place,
and then finished the ends with some tiny 1mm cord crimp ends that I had on hand from
when I accidentally bought them thinking they were going to be bigger.
BTW, am I the only person who buys beads on the web, and ALWAYS expects them to
be bigger? Here is the actual conversation I have with my husband practically every time
I order beads:
Me, opening package of beads: “I just bought some beads the size of bowling balls.”
Husband, looking at newly unwrapped beads: “Umm, bowling balls for Smurfs, maybe?”
Me: “I thought they would be bigger.”
So anyway, back to finishing the necklace…
I added some extra jump rings to the end so the length would be adjustable, and made a
small “S” clasp out of 18 gauge brass wire. The whole thing came together super quickly,
so I decided to do a companion piece to layer with it.
I wanted something different but complimentary, and again very simple, so I decided
to braid three strands of magenta cord together and do a couple of charm dangles in the
center. Braiding works really nicely with the waxed linen, as it has just enough stickiness
to hold together by itself while you are braiding without having to keep constant tension.
I strung more of the same brass spacers onto the braided cord, and then used head pins to
make a white pearl dangle and a shell dangle. I chose a rose quartz briolette for the third
dangle, wire wrapped a bale, and attached all three charms to the cord with jump rings. I
finished the braided cord the same way as the first—with slightly larger 3mm cord crimp
ends and a hand-made “S” clasp.
These pieces work great separately, but also look really cute worn together.
In an unrelated experiment, I also found
that waxed linen works really well as an
accent element in mixed media. It sticks
nicely and doesn’t slide when wrapped
around a larger bead, (or whatever) and
the knots stay nice and tight much better
than plain cotton, silk or leather cord. I
am hooked! I can tell I’m going to need a
bunch more colors."
Erin Strother is a full-time graphic designer, part time jewelry designer, and writer of semi-humorous bead-related columns for Bead it Today Magazine and Bead Design Studio Magazine. Check out her work at StudioEgallery.
September 27, 2013
Round Rabbit Extra Update today!
Be sure to check out Nancy's pendant/bead update today at 12:00 pm est at Round Rabbit Extra
September 25, 2013
Simply Franee Marketing
I want to introduce you to Franee. She's my sister, my friend, my confidante, and most of all she is a positive and happy role model in my life. Since she graduated from SUNY Oswego, she's been doing a few different things but has recently developed her own online marketing company called Simply Franee Marketing.
When I asked Franee what she does in this business I was shocked at the extensive list she sent me! Not only does she help maintain your online presence, but she also provides lots of advice on maintaining, and promoting, your brick and mortar, OR online business! If you are in need of someone to help you learn the ropes of social media, Franee can teach you all of the ins and outs of this sometimes intimidating venture into the online world.
Here's what she told me:
It is my job to handle your social media networks, and really boost your business. I handle social networks such as: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Youtube, etc. I am familiar with all the major social networks. From internet marketing, social media networking, and promoting your business, I can give you back some free time by doing all this for you. As a social media manager, I am not taking away you’re glory as a business owner, I am simply giving you an even better image that you can bask in, however you do not have to do anything. You hire me and I take care of it.I simply act as an assistant to you by doing your busy work in promoting, sharing photos and info, making more clientele/fans, and getting the word out for you.I additionally handle website creation/updating. If you have a website and would like it tweaked or updated more often, I am capable of doing that. Or maybe you don't have a website, I can create one for you, on your own budget. I tailor my prices to your businesses, but set a price for those to work off of if they cannot afford that price. I am simply here to help in anyway I can and I genuinely care about the businesses I market for. With a degree in Communication Studies, high interest in Interpersonal Communication, I will be able to effectively and appropriately communicate with you, and your online audience in a professional yet personable way. Franee's main focus at SUNY Oswego was communication, so this new direction does not surprise me! She's always been a "people person" and has one of the most positive and optimistic outlooks on life so I can't imagine her doing something that wouldn't allow her to let these strong qualities shine through.
You can read more about Franee's new business venture at her business blog:
http://www.simplyfraneemarketing.blogspot.com/
September 24, 2013
Lorelei Eurto's Blog
Lorelei Eurto isn't a Goodreads Author
(yet),
but they
do have a blog,
so here are some recent posts imported from
their feed.
