Inspiration - Thistle

There is a reason why I haven't posted for 2 weeks: I've been rethinking the posts I write, considering some new ideas and trying to decide which of my posts you actually like to read.

On that note I am changing the format of my inspiration post and I may play with a few ideas before I settle on one. Here is the first of the new style, let me know what you think!

Thistled Tones from Design Seeds

I love the Design Seeds so I'll definitely be keeping them! This week this gorgeous photo caught my eye and those are some of my favourite colours, beautiful for spring.

Given that this blog is about jewelry I want to shift the focus back that way so I'm leaving out the Etsy treasury and featuring jewelry pieces from all over the web.

Earrings from L.A. Glass Studio

Ring from Anne Sportun

Pendant from Aldari Jewelry Designs

Pendant from Surfside Sea Glass

Please let me know if you have any suggestions for these posts. I'm open to ideas for different ways to do the inspiration posts (or if you think I should scrap them altogether) as well as suggestions of posts you'd like to see in the future. All (related) comments welcome!

Inspiration - Sugar

I love sugar, a little too much to be honest! I will happily eat sugar cubes straight out the bowl until someone takes it away from me.

Sugared Brights from Design Seeds

I also love how pretty sugar can look - almost sparkly especially on top of bright colours.

Sugar Treasury on Etsy

Inspiration - Rocks

I usually have an idea for a theme for the inspiration post before I start looking for items and colours online but today I decided I would start by heading over to Design Seeds and seeing what jumped out at me.

Agate Tones from Design Seeds

As it turned out, this was the top post and it definitely jumped out at me! Those are some of my favourite colours and I love the beautiful, dramatic patterns in the rock. Theme chosen!

Rocks Treasury on Etsy

My biggest challenge when putting together this treasury was to make sure it wasn't all gemstone jewelry! It was also the first treasury in a while where I've had to try out different search terms to get appropriate results. I even had to add some items which just fit for the colour.

Anyway, I hope you like it and I hope it inspires you this week. :)

Inspiration - Fire

It never really gets that cold in San Francisco but at the moment we do need the heating on so I imagine most of you are also relying on it to keep you warm. At this time of year nothing warms the heart against the cold, rain, wind and snow outside quite like a lovely crackling fire.

My love of fire stretches towards pyromania and has done for as long as I can remember. My earliest memories of fire are of the one we had in our home - I was desperate to poke it with the poker but was never allowed to even get close enough!

I find fire completely mesmerising and my career choices have both led me to work with flames, first as a Chemistry teacher and now as a jewelry maker. Fire comes in so many shapes and colours, hopefully I can share some of that beauty with you today!

Volcanic Hues from Design Seeds

Volcanoes are natural fire at its most dramatic. Potentially devastating but so intensely beautiful at the same time. I really love this colour palette but most of the items I found fitted with a brighter palette so I had to adapt it slightly.

Fire Treasury on Etsy

I hope this post has inspired you to create something wonderful, please feel free to share if it has!

Inspiration - Fog

Living in San Francisco I see a lot of fog so this post had to come up eventually! Last night and this morning were particularly foggy and we could hear the foghorns, of the ships traversing the bay, over and over again. Now there is a completely clear sky and a beautiful sunset!

I don't really like fog, its cold, damp and miserable, not to mention cutting out the sunshine but it can create an amazing atmosphere and some really beautiful images. I'm hoping to reverse, or at least reduce, my hatred of it through writing this post.

Misty Tones from Design Seeds

This colour palette is surprisingly... well... colourful! I tend to think of fog as grey and turning everything else grey but sufficiently vibrant colours can still stand out through it.

I am convinced that fog can be beautiful even if I stick to the grey colours, though, so I'm limiting the palette for the treasury.

Fog Treasury on Etsy

I hope you like it! Please share any fog-inspired things you make or find :)

Inspiration - Chocolate

I've been eating a lot of chocolate recently. I always seem to crave it if I'm a little cold and now the weather has turned that's happening a lot more often. I'm also lucky because, at the moment, I have a bar of (friend imported) Dairy Milk in the cupboard *and* I've managed to find imported Cadbury's Chocolate Fingers in Walgreen's!!

Chocolate is the perfect pick-me-up and its so versatile. You can use it for baking, melting, drinking and just straight out eating. You can buy bars of chocolate to munch on or buy really expensive, fancy chocolates to make yourself feel special. I suppose its abundance and variety is due to the popularity of its flavour - hardly anyone doesn't like it but loads of people absolutely love it!

Scooped Tones from Design Seeds

I hope you find some inspiration from these gorgeous items, even it's just to go and eat some chocolate :)

Chocolate Treasury on Etsy

Let me know if you make something inspired by this post.... and if you have any delicious chocolate recipes please post them too!

Pinterest

Are you on Pinterest?

If you haven't heard of Pinterest you are missing out! I have to admit, I ignored it for a long time before a friend of mine finally explained exactly how great it was to me.

If you love collecting things, beautiful pictures or browsing the internet for pretty things this site is for you. If you have a strong sense of personal style which you want to share, or if you prefer to be inspired by others, you will love Pinterest. One warning, though, it can get addictive!

So what, exactly, is it?

It's a website that acts like a virtual pinboard. Any pictures you see on the internet can be pinned with a couple of mouse clicks. You can create different boards for different categories to keep all your inspirations separate and you can browse hundreds and hundreds of things other people have pinned. If you find pins you like from other people you can repin them onto your own boards as well and if you find people who regularly pin things you love, you can follow them.

Sample of a few of my Pinterest boards

If you're interested to see some of the things I love besides jewelry or want a peek at the images and ideas which inspire my jewelry then check out my Pinterest page: pinterest.com/embergrass/.

I'd love to see some of things which inspire you, too, so let me know your Pinterest account (or follow me) so I can follow your boards :)

Inspiration - Paper

My day has thus far been spent trying to source paper gift bags to put my jewelry in for people who buy it at craft fairs. With paper on the brain I decided it might be a good topic for today's inspiration post.

Tagged Hues from Design Seeds

It was surprisingly easy to find beautiful and varied things under the search 'paper'. I was expecting to have to include a few items just for the colour but I think every single thing in this treasury is actually made of paper. Who would have thought paper could be so versatile!

Paper Treasury on Etsy

Enjoy! Oh and don't forget to post any items you find or make which are inspired by this post :)

Inspiration - Spooky

Ok, last week I tried to look at a less obvious side of autumn but today's inspiration post is shamelessly Halloween related.

We'll start with a suitably spooky (yet also beautiful) design seed and a surprisingly varied, muted colour palette.

spooky tones from Design Seeds

To make up for such an obvious topic I've used a slightly less traditional colour scheme for the treasury - I picked out the black, red and teal from the design seed.  I'm quite pleased with the result, I hope it inspires you somehow :)

Spooky Treasury on Etsy

As always, please share in the comments anything you make or find, inspired by this post.

Inspiration - Mushrooms

No, not those kinds of mushrooms!

Anyway, here in San Francisco summer has just kicked in and I keep finding myself wearing too many clothes when I go out. But in most of the rest of the Northern Hemisphere autumn should have well and truly started by now. Colourful leaves and pumpkins seem to be the go-to images for autumn but I wanted to feature something a little less in-your-face. While mushrooms aren't restricted to autumn in any way they do thrive on damp and decay which is one of the less-attractive aspects of autumn. They also fit nicely with the usual autumn colour palette.

Colour Palette from Design Seeds

I never imagined I would find so many mushroom related items on Etsy but I did fulfill my hope of finding some very cute mushrooms! Of course no mushroom treasury is complete without a Mario item or 2 :)

Mushroom Etsy Treasury

If you know of, make or find any mushroom inspired items please feel free to share them in the comments.

Inspiration - Rain

It's raining here. Properly chucking it down. It's quite depressing looking out the window at the grey sky and muted buildings. All the more so because I had planned to go shopping today for more items for my craft fair booth (yes, I'm building a booth display so I can start doing craft fairs!). Of course I should be grateful that it rains infrequently enough here that I can just postpone my shopping for a dry day but it's amazing how quick you get used to things!

But rain doesn't have to be depressing. How about that spring rain, short, heavy showers that leave everything looking so much more vibrant and smelling like fresh growth? Or a random heavy downpour on a really hot day, the kind you love to run out and get soaked in? A dramatic thunderstorm at the end of a long, hot summer that releases the tension in the atmosphere and washes everything clean?

Colour Palette from Design Seeds

So today's inspiration post is all about rain. And I want to include a new addition to my inspiration posts as well as the customary Etsy treasury. From the www.design-seeds.com website, a colour palette. If you're ever short of colour inspiration, or just want to stare at beautiful photos, Design Seeds should be the first place you go!

Rain Etsy Treasury

If you have any rain-inspired items please feel free to share them in the comments :)

Inspiration - Sunset

As I write this I'm looking out of my window as the sun is setting, watching the sky turn pink behind the Bay Bridge. It's a scene I see nearly every day and always forget to appreciate. That's why this Inspiration post is all about sunsets.

The view from my window

Sunsets come in a huge range of gorgeous colours so I decided to focus specifically on the colours out my window today - pink and blue.

Sunset Etsy Treasury

If you make anything inspired by this post, please share it with a link in the comments below :)

Inspiration - Sunshine

We are experiencing a few rare, hot days here in San Francisco and my thoughts have turned, almost exclusively, to working out how I can maximise my time outdoors! I wanted to, briefly, bring some of that gorgeous sunshine inside and to everyone else as well so I have made another treasury - Sunshine.

Sit back and feel the sunshine warming you from head to toe and soak in that vitamin D, enjoy :)

Inspiration - Peru

Well I'm back! The secret destination turned out to be Peru and my husband had lined up an amazing series of activities and tours in an already-stunning country. My favourite parts were Cusco and the Urubamba Valley and, of course, Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu, lost city of the Incas

The Quechua culture is still very strong in the Andean Mountains and there was a wealth of handcrafted products in the local styles. The rainbow was very important to the Incas and it is still represented on the Quechua flag and in the brightly-coloured textiles of the traditional clothing.

Quechua people selling traditional wares

Many precious metals and gemstones are also found in Peru so its hardly surprising that jewelry is readily available as well.

Handmade Peruvian Earrings from Piruugax

This style is typical - intricate designs with many wirework parts, a gemstone focal centre and lots of hammered dangles.

Handmade Peruvian Earrings from Piruugax

The curved section seen below the purple stone is also a common feature of Peruvian jewelry - several pieces of flat or twisted wire or sometimes chain, clamped side by side with flat metal strips.

As always for an inspiration topic, I made an Etsy treasury. Many of these items are from Peru, the others are in the same style or just fit the theme. I tried to find brightly coloured items but even so, this treasury doesn't quite represent the vibrance of true Peruvian crafts.

Inspiration - Fresh Cut Grass

The word 'spring' is an inspiration in itself. Simply thinking it evokes many many different images, emotions and memories in people. Smell and memory are supposed to be closely linked and, for me, spring is the season with the most evocative smells - fresh cut grass, rain on rich soil to name a couple. Spring is also the season I associate with the most vibrant colours. Admittedly autumn comes close but those colours are all from a small segment of the spectrum, spring brings colours only otherwise seen in man-made items, and does it in sharp contrast to the white and grey of winter.

For today's inspiration post I have picked up on one tiny aspect of spring and just one of those vibrant colours. Here is the associated treasury, featuring quite a few artists from the SF Etsy Team:

I have no fewer than five different types of green beads on order and four more already in stock, including peridot, emerald and aventurine, so I am hoping this post will help me to create something amazing with them when they arrive.

Let me know if this post inspires you to create, I'd love to hear about it :)

Inspiration - Snow Melt

I hope you enjoyed my last inspiration post on Valentines day. I'm still working on a few more items relating to it but I decided to post up a new theme anyway.


Living in San Francisco I tend to forget that, for most places across the northern hemisphere, spring is still not yet here. My latest inspiration post is about appreciating the beauty of winter whilst looking forward to spring. That in between stage when the snow starts to melt and the weather warms up a little but it still looks and feels decidedly wintery.

Spirit Helpers

I have made an Etsy treasury with pieces inspired by snow and ice, focusing on deep blue and bright turquoise and beautiful crystals.

Filigree Photos

Frozen water can take on so many forms and colours, the inspiration is endless. Soft, powdery white snow becomes amazing intricate crystals under a microscope.

Eva Ricci

Frozen pools can be the deepest darkest shades of blue or the brightest white and everything in between. Dramatic, sharp lines and bold colours are just as easily replaced with soft, subtle shades and blurred edges.



You can take this in whatever direction you choose, the challenge lies only in deciding!

Inspiration - Valentines Day

I have often toyed with the idea of writing a fantasy fiction novel. I have even gone so far as to write the start of several or random scenes from the middle. My problem is that I lack the patience to sit down and plan out the whole story from start to finish, to create several characters, to work out how their stories interact and to fill in all the little details that bring them, and the story, to life.

It was while I was idly pondering how I could get myself to take the time to map out a framework in order to at least make a decent attempt this time around that I realised I was being silly. I don't need to create stories because I already create jewelry. The creative outlet is already there, I just need to channel more aspects of my creativity into it. Crafting items fits my "scene" approach far better than trying to craft an extended story anyway.

So, in order for my items to be little pieces of story as well as pieces of decoration, I want to take a different approach to designing them. Rather than making sketches of shapes which are pleasing to look at and working from there I want to start with a theme and inspiration of some kind. I plan to share these with you, along with the whole process of designing and crafting the item and sharing its story.

Since Valentines day is the next big event coming up it seemed like the perfect place to start. Valentines day has grown to represent so much these days I decided to focus specifically on the motive behind it - love. I started by looking into the different symbolism around love. Many cultures have a deity of love, usually a woman, though many also have a deity of lust which is more likely to be male.

Hathor

Several deities stood out as having specific features which might be useful inspiration. Egyptian Gods tended to overlap in their roles a lot but Hathor was the Goddess of love, beauty, music and motherhood. She is often represented with horns or as a cow, possibly representing fertility.

Turan, an Etruscan Goddess, and Anteros, a Greek God both share the trait of being winged, alongside the more famous Cupid. Turan was also associated with the dove, goose and swan. The dove mates for life and it was often thought that February 14th was the day on which birds chose their mate. Doves are also linked with love in Roman, Jewish and Hindu cultures. The swan is associated with love in Celtic and Christian lore, as well as being linked with Aphrodite and Zeus in his seduction of a beautiful mortal queen.

Apples are often used to represent love and fertility and are often seen in legend given as gifts from one lover to another. Rosemary has long been seen as a symbol of fidelity and Jasmine is a Hindu flower of love.

Celtic legend has it that the harp is the bridge of love between heaven and earth and many cultures, including Christianity, have love stories involving the harp.

I also made an Etsy treasury based around a search for the word "love". I tried to avoid including hearts but a few I just couldn't resist! Hearts have always been a symbol of love because love is said to be felt in a person's heart in many cultures. Keys are less widely seen but signify giving someone the key to your heart.

Birds, particularly 2 together, is a common theme here too. Pink and red are often used to represent love, red particularly is used to express strong emotions. Roses have been associated with love since Greek mythology linked them with Aphrodite. Rings are used to symbolise an eternity spent with someone, as they have neither beginning nor end, and knots are also often used to represent the bond between 2 people. The elephant was just so cute I had to include him!

Check back soon to see my initial ideas based around this inspiration and let me know in the comments if you found inspiration from this post too!