Knotted Silk Earrings

Naturally, I had to make matching earrings for yesterday's red and black knotted silk lampwork necklace.

I used my magic coffee stirrer again to make sure the silk cord between the 2 jet bicones at the top of each earring was the same length. I like this alternative to headpins, because the earrings have so much more mobility. I may just have to make more earrings like this!

Knotted Silk Necklace

Knotting - how do you feel about it? I know it has a place, protecting pearls and other fragile beads from damage, for instance, and I know how to do it, but I just don't care for it. But I've done it quite a few times; here is one necklace I knotted:

The cutest ever red barrel-shaped lampwork beads - I picked these up at a show, and I sure wish I had more of them, in more colors! I love them!

I paired them with jet Swarovski bicones, Bali-style sterling silver daisy spacers, and black silk.

This is a very quick and easy necklace style to make! Know the secret to ensuring all the segments between the beads are the same length? Coffee stirrers! The ones that look like skinny drinking straws: just cut one to the segment length you desire, and slide it on the silk, tie your knot right above the straw opening, then remove the straw, put your beads on, tie the next knot, and put your straw on again before tying the next knot. Repeat until you have your desired length. Voila!

Bamboo Coral Earrings

These are the earrings I designed to go with yesterday's necklace:

Red, Black, and Gold

I bought a new shirt, with a vibrant, busy pattern in black, red, and gold against a white background. Despite the busy pattern, it needed a bit of jewelry - know what I mean?

I kept it fairly simple because of the busy pattern in the shirt (those who know me well would say I kept it extremely simple!), using a few large bamboo coral rondelles, bookended by some onyx, and suspended from gold chain. And since I can't be too simple, I added a second, shorter length of a different gold chain, creating a double-stranded necklace.
Perfect!