A Sparkling Secret

I’ve been making jewelry, or at least stringing beads, my whole life. My earliest memory of “making jewelry” consisted of me sitting for hours on my grandparent’s living room carpet, stringing oversized wooden beads onto a shoe lace. I would make a strand, show my grandma, wait for her pleased reaction, and then take them off and start again. I just sat there, with the warm sun bathing me through the window, making countless patterns of cubes, spheres, reds and blues. As I got older, I would follow my sister through the craft store as she searched for yarn. When she was thoroughly ensconced in picking out the right colors for her next blanket, I would sneak to the jewelry section. I would marvel at the endless variety, mentally pairing beads and imagining necklaces, bracelets and earrings. With the beautiful beads and charms in front of me, I would stand there until my sister would come find me (eventually, she figured out where I would disappear). I began to use the internet to find new ideas, such as different ways to work metal or patterns for mixed media jewelry. I then sat on the floor of my room trying to replicate and modify my new found techniques. When summertime came, I would go with my mom to various craft fairs. We would spend hours strolling down streets lined with various stands. The colors and shapes of the artists’ passions were on display, carefully protected and separated by white, covered tents. I always noticed the jewelry first. I loved the beautiful twists of wire, the shimmer of glass beads, and the sparkle of gold and silver.  The intricacies of the artists’ works inspired me to fine-tune my skills and continue to create. Through the years, jewelry became a small passion of mine. I was known as the tall nerd who played sports and was in the band, but making jewelry was a way to quietly express my artistic side. It was my little, sparkling secret.

This is one of my favorite pairs of earrings. I love the combination of blues and greens with the silver, flower bead.

I brought this pair of earrings with me when I took my senior pictures. It's hard to see, but I am wearing them in this pic. (A little hint to my sparkling secret)

As I said before, much of my inspiration comes from the internet. I found the idea for these while browsing jewelry-making sites, and I decided I had to replicate it.

These earrings remind me of summer. I love the bright colors that make a whimsical look.

These are an example of a mixed media earring. I used beads, chain and buttons to make them.