"I sink like a stone that's been thrown in the ocean
My logic has drowned in a sea of emotion
Stop before you start
Be still my beating heart"
~Sting
My logic has drowned in a sea of emotion
Stop before you start
Be still my beating heart"
~Sting
Hearts are the theme this week!
Rings & Things sent me a package of goodies last month that included hearts. They looked just like little candies. So I used them in some simple designs on chain and they will be included inside boxes of Moonstruck truffle chocolates from my friend Rick at Sugar Cubed: Temptations to the Third Power {isn't that the greatest name for a chocolate shop? You math geeks out there will get the name}. Wouldn't you love to think you are getting a box of chocolates and then be surprised by an extra little goody to wear to remind you of you much you are loved?
{Aberdeen Ferns}
This design, called "Aberdeen Ferns", is patterned after the colors found in a vintage William Morris wallpaper of the same name. I chose as my focal a beautiful ceramic connector in a lush green with a nice scroll detail from Melanie Brooks at Earthenwood Studios. Wood saucers and a patterned wood tube (both purchased from Fire Mountain Gems) are knotted on brown leather cord from Rings & Things. I used a really wonderful large green faceted labradorite rondelle and a vintage 1945 pice coin from India. Both are from Rings & Things that I purchased some time ago when they gifted me with a mini-shopping spree as part of the blog partner program. The coin has these wonderful floral vine detail on the back and a nice large hole in the middle. I buffed up the coin to let the details stand out and turnd that into the toggle clasp. I think it lends a bit of history to the piece. The clasp is finished with chain dangling some striped poppy jasper rounds and a love knot toggle bar, both from Vintaj (who did not provide me these pieces, I just like them!).
Surprisingly, I have a hard time with bracelets. I really don't know why. But I think that this one works and really evokes the colors and pattern found in the vintage Morris wallpaper.
And you might be interested in entering the Rings & Things Your Designs Rock contest. I think that I will be entering something in this contest. But hurry! The deadline to enter is February 28, 2010. You can find all the details here.
Tonight I will be working on my entry for the Bead Soup Bloggers Party. The big reveal is on February 10th and there are more than 80 participants. Special thanks to Lori Anderson for hosting this fun event.
Would you like to win this bracelet?
Leave a comment answering the following question: If you were to live in any period of time, what would it be and why?
Leave your name and email address so that I can contact you if you win. I will pick a random winner on Sunday, February 14th just to show my love.
And there is still time to enter the Inspired by... The Solar System challenge that will run through this month! So far we only have one person who entered. Read more about that here.
Check It Out::Your Designs Rock!
Enjoy the day!
The heart beads, green labradorite and the vintage India coin used in thispost, specifically referenced as from Rings & Things were provided as promotional gifts by
beautiful bracelet erin - i would love to enter! have to think about the time period - obviously, being a woman, it changes the ease of selection... cannot just choose something interesting (or i could and make it easy) without knowing that i could have enjoyed it all - either by my gender or class... not trying to be difficult, it's the history lover in me!! :0)
ReplyDeleteI love your bracelet..and W Morris
ReplyDeleteplease enter me.
Choosing a time in history... as Marie mentioned being a woman certainly colors that choice..however there is something about the first decades of the
1900's that is rather interesting.
Especially if you were willing to shake things up a little.
Good Morning Erin!!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how the challenge slipped by me but I'm headed over now!!
Funny but I have been giving this question a bit of thought lately. I suppose because I have been reading a number of books and blogs where the comment is made about living in the wrong time. You know for me I'm living in exactly the right time. I have dreamed and work hard to realize this dream. There is no time in the past or future that I could experince this life I have. I just can't imagine any time or any where being more wonderful to live. For me this truly is the right time for me to live in :)
Pattie ;)
Mazatlan Mx.
Jane Austen-era England is defintely my time.
ReplyDeleteThat bracelet is gorgeous - I especially love the vine-covered coin.
Lastly - thank you so much for the chocolate! You are an amazing friend!
I love the style and art of the late 19th/early 20th century, and your beautiful bracelet brings these to my mind - I would love to win this! I also have a hard time with bracelets, so I know what you're talking about, but you certainly did a great job on this one, it's adorable! I especially love that coin, and the knot toggle, and the earthy, muted colours, and... well, everything about it!
ReplyDeleteWould I want to live in that time, though? I doubt it. First, if I reached a decent age, I might get to experience one or even both world wars - not exactly a cheerful perspective on the future. Secondly, I would not have had the chance to study back then, I would not even have had a chance for a higher school education. I would have been the wife of a rather poor farmer, like my ancestors were. I may not be rich now, but at least I have a good education, a wall of books and an internet connection (which I'm rather addicted to). No, I really don't think I'd want to change. I can still admire the art and style today, after all.
I would love to win a bracelet.
ReplyDeleteI am fascinated by the medieval times. Knights, maidens, jousting, games, chivalry, costumes. Love that period. And I love when my boyfriend calls me milady and we banter back and forth.
Wow, "Aberdeen Ferns" is quite stunning - you would never know that you don't normally design for the wrist.
ReplyDeleteI am a huge history buff and love all time periods, but my favorite period by far is during the Victorian age. I love it for the gothic fiction that came about (think: Dickens, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker, Poe, Penny Dreadfuls...) and for the beautiful artistry that the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the Arts and Crafts Movement gave birth to. What an inspiring, albeit at times depressing, era to live in!
Thanks for entering me in your contest and considering me! :)
Danielle
The bracelet is gorgeous, Erin! I absolutely love it! I love all the textures and materials in the piece!
ReplyDeleteI would choose to live right here in the present. That is something I'm working on. To live in the now, it's a wonderful time in the world to live in. I don't tend to think of time or different time periods often, but I do have quite the fascination with ancient cultures or any foreign culture in general!
Hello Erin,
ReplyDeleteLove the bracelet and I'm a huge fan of the Arts and Crafts movement, but I really like the way it is inspired by the middle ages.
I would have loved to live in France in the early 13th century. Of course it would give me more flexibility if I were a man in that time, but maybe as a nun working in a scriptorium, now that would be amazing!
Emanda
I would love to win that bracelet. It's beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm interested in history, I can't imagine living any time but the present. My life is wonderful.We're not wealthy at all but I have a wonderful husband, great kids and amazing grandkids. And a roof over my head.
Erin, I also love the bracelet relating to the William Morris design. My favorite period is "Now". The excitement I felt when the Saints won the Super Bowl... It is a period that will be noted in history and recognized in the future.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being you!
This is a very beautiful bracelet and I would love to win it! Ya know as scarry as the present is at times, I guess it's where I'm glad to be. The 60's & 70's appeal to me, but it's not like I wasn't there so.... I love something about every era, but it's like Marie pointed out, things weren't always ideal for women. Great question!
ReplyDeleteErin, I love the arts & crafts era paper, what a wonderful inspiration! Yes, Yes, I would just love this bracelet, you did a super job!
ReplyDeleteSince I sell Antiques and just love them...I would like to spend a little time in the late 1800's. A day or two would be fine...not too long, I would miss too many of the things we take for granted.
I've always loved ferns, there's just something so primal and calming about them. I love your bracelet design, also a William Morris fan. I sure wish I could participate in your new inspiration challenge but as you know I am in a bead swap premier this week, and also traveling all over the world till this weekend trying to visit over 1000 blogs! Maybe next one! But enter me in this drawing.
ReplyDeleteQuestion If you were to live in any period of time, what would it be and why?
Answer: That could take me a long time but I'll make it simple, before the fall, why? One reason? The ferns were huge and beautiful and lush back then. :)
I love your bracelet Erin - you should make more - just stunning and that coin as toggle is so unusual. Love to have the chance of winning it too!
ReplyDeleteMight be the architect in me but I would love to have experienced the Bauhaus era 1930's - there were some strong women designers who did wonderful ceramics and object and furniture design, and everyone had such (naive / optimistic?) focused vision. Thanks for the opportunity.. Vicki
The bracelet is so pretty.
ReplyDeleteI would like to have lived in "Gone with the Wind" BEFORE the war! The beautiful homes and gorgeous gowns...They seemed so carefree before the war. Of course, it was a movie, not real life!
Love the bracelet. I know what you mean about creating them. To help put the elements into perspective, just think of it as a mini-necklace.
ReplyDeleteAs to a place in time - I love where I am now, having experienced and lived thru so much history. But if I wanted to just spend a few days in the past it would be Paris in the late 1800's/early 1900's.
Merci!!
Erin - I love William Morris, I have a beautiful book of his designs and just swoon over them.
ReplyDeleteAmazing bracelet.
Time period, okay I would just like to relive my college years about 4 more times. Can I do that?
I'd also like to visit a flapper during the 1920's. I would like to go to a dinner party with Gustav Klimt - I think that's all I could handle. Spend an afternoon with a lady in waiting during the Renaissance. Have a picnic with Da Vinci in an Italian Countryside. Paint next to Van Gogh in the south France.
I could go on, I wouldn't want to live during any of those time periods but dropping in for a few choice visits would be on my wish list!
That bracelet is fantastic! I especially love the way you used the coin as a toggle. I think I would choose the Victorian times - I like the clothing and jewelry styles but like someone said - only for a few days!! Thanks for the chance.
ReplyDeleteEs precioso el bracelete y los corazones también!!
ReplyDeleteErin, you are always up to something wonderful. What a BEAUTIFUL bracelet design - a go with everything kind, which is the best!! Oh I hate to be a party poooper, but I've thought on many occasions that I'm so lucky to be living in the present. I am so fascinated by different periods of time in history, but there are so many drawbacks (my favorite movie happens to be "Somewhere in Time"...). Today, here and now is where I'd like to be (okay, Heather had a great idea...those college years would be GREAT to revisit!).
ReplyDeleteThe bracelet is full of texture and has all the colors I love to wear.
ReplyDeleteIf I was to live in another time period it would be in ancient Egypt. Women at that time seemed to have had the same economic and legal rights as men. Plus they had great jewelry.
I know it seems odd to select war time, but my choice would in the 1940's....because of women starting to come into their own. With so many men gone, women got to shine for a brief time in history at jobs they normally were not accepted in.
ReplyDeleteAnd the second reason is for the fashion. My body in clothes from that time would have been a perfect match.
I love the hearts!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful bracelet.
ReplyDeleteI think I would choose to be transported to the future, to 2100. I would love to see what is going on in the world then and the problems that have been solved.
I would love to live far enough forward in the future that they can cure my health problems :P Then I could focus more easily on the things I love! Like family and friends and jewelry :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely bracelet! I love the darker colors. Hummm...There is no time like the present! I love all the conveniences we have today.
ReplyDeleteI would have loved to have lived during the era of Beatrix Potter. IF I could have lived next door to her and be her exact age so that we would be the best of friends! Her books were my favorite as a little girl and like Beatrix, I also had pets of all sorts, a rabbit, hamsters, mice, pigeons and even an owl. I also loved to paint, draw, and explore nature as often as my Mother could tolerate.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the generous giveaway of your lovely work. You may think you have difficulty with bracelets, but the end result is gorgeous.
Blessings- Julie
if i could live in any time period....i would choose NOW! i like now. the conveniences, the advances in medicine, the technology....the communication, the opportunities and the attitudes. but it would have to be in a free country like america.....
ReplyDeleteOf course I would love to win that bracelet! It is so my style.
ReplyDeleteIf I was to live anytime or place, it would be back in Ireland about 500AD. This was at the height of Irish culture and arts.
i would like to live in the early 1800's when America was just being settled by people with a real pioneering spirit. Seeking adventure is one of the elements of my personal success statement.
ReplyDeleteBesides today? I would have loved to live in the 60's. Doris Day! That would be my pick. I know very girlie.
ReplyDeleteYour bracelet is great. Count me in.
The bracelet is stunning and if I had to choose a time period where I would like to live I would choose my life as of now "2010"....because I now have the resources and ability right at my fingertips to be creative....or may I say have the choice to be creative .....not like years or centuries ago....where labor was hard...
ReplyDelete