a sneak peak

i hung this over the back of the kitchen chair just so you could see it ... this is the one my dear birdie wanted so much to eat. I will be fattening the purple turquoise bead (yes, I did say purple turquoise) with more wire wrapped trifles, but ran out of head-pins so was forced to stop in my tracks. but ... just for you ... a peak. The color is washed out under the kitchen lights. Should have a good photo tomorrow!

on the website

silver and quartz on slate

photography lessons

the trouble with tassles ... they're addictive!

Here I mixed slate with copper organza as a backdrop. My camera is 6.0 pixel with a zoom. I usually turn off the flash because it causes such a glare. I have a nice east facing window in my studio, and that's where I do most of my photography ... it gives a more natural effect ... I think.

I abslutely adore the amazing color contrasts in this peridot, coral and amethyst piece ... I had to make the earrings simple since the tassle is so sassy!

I went a little over the top with this little turquoise choker... just couldn't stop fattening the tassle!

A study in pink and greens is this little 16 inch necklace with flourite, pearl and a green striped lampwork bead that reminds me of ribbon candy. I really like how well this piece photographed against the slate.

the agony of photographing jewelry and other mishaps

I use a box of sand to photograph my jewelry usually, but it gets boring after awhile... all those same images over and over again, and I'm trying to find some other way to display pieces with an ounce of penache. Here I laid a silky, copper chifon over a lavender silk ... not bad, but still not exactly what I'm looking for. I certainly want the piece to be the show-stopper, not the fabric.

I finally ordered some upper-torso, jewelry display mannequins and can hardly wait for them to arrive! I'm hoping I will be able to use them for photographs for the website, so customers can actually see how the piece will hang, which is the question I get most. And since Miss Lilly (my thriftstore found dress form) isn't all together attractive enough to be a professional model, she shall remain in the background, in my studio, helping me fit necklaces behind the scenes.

Always looking for new ways to present my jewelry, I went back to Clear Creek Nursery in Silverdale yesterday, and purchased a square block of grey slate. I'll show you more on that tomorrow!

Happy creating!

a morning's work

Cream-colored quartz, white freshwater pearls, Sterling silver and fused glass.

the tags

tagmania

Last night, I had the most enjoyable task of making jewelry tags (no, I am not being sarcastic, either). I didn't mean to end up making my own tags, and in fact I searched the web diligently and found companies that make tags just for this purpose. But being as lorakellydesigns is currently of limited means in that these times are but our feeble beginnings, I decided that I should do this myself, being perfectly capable and certainly someone who enjoys a challenge as well as anything creative. Much cutting and clipping and tying, two glasses of Pinot Grigio, many mishaps and a good deal of general silliness later... I came up with some really neat earring cards and small tags for necklaces and bracelets.