Etsy Treasury – Ode to January

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Merritt Gade

‘Ode To January’ by ForeverFlair

Firefly Baby – Red Chri… FireflyFantas… $16.99	ROSEHIP Geranium – Whit… BeautifulSoap… $5.75
Gem Pillow in Garnet (J… flyawayfacets $40.00	Garnet Gemstone Bracele… TashiShok $44.00
Cranberry snowflake – c… ToniCartisano $30.00	Burgundy Bamboo Silk Br… kimeradesign $65.00
Garnet Hair Clips, Velv… ChatterBlosso… $14.00	Small Purse Garnet Leop… ChickaTweeBag… $27.00
Houndstooth-like lightw… APPLIQUEtoZIP… $90.00	Garnet on Oxidized Silv… merrittgade $34.00
Valentine’s Day bab… LovelyKensie $19.00	Multi strand garnet and… tinahagianis $150.00
Mans Garnet Ring, Sterl… stonefeverjew… $249.00	Maroon Red Shimmer Glit… MegnificentCo $45.00
Almandine Garnet “… WhiteMagickAl… $9.95	Soft and flattering, fa… knittinginfai… $65.00

Treasury tool by StylishHome.

Pantone’s 2013 Color of the Year

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Merritt Gade

Emerald is color of the year! I love it and am already thinking of new ways to incorporate it into my work. And an emerald tiara is definitely on the horizon.

And the colors for Spring 2013…

Gorgeous!

Turquoise – December’s Birthstone

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Merritt Gade

Turquoise! This interesting mineral is found throughout the world and has been mined for at least 3,000 years. In Iranian architecture, blue turquoise was used to cover the domes of the Iranian palaces because its intense blue color was also a symbol of heaven on earth. Makes me want a turquoise roof.

Turquoise & Cinnabar Fireworks Earrings

Topaz – November’s Birthstone

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Merritt Gade

Orange Topaz is the birthstone for November and the symbol of friendship.

Topaz!

“Perhaps no other gem has had more varied or preposterous powers ascribed to it. When worn as an amulet, it was said to drive away sadness, strengthen the intellect, and bestow courage. A topaz mounted in gold and hung around the neck was believed to dispel enchantment. When the powdered stone was put in wine, it was used as a cure for asthma, insomnia, burns and hemorrhage. It was considered the stone of fruitfulness and faithfulness, conferring cheerfulness on the wearer, calming passions, and preventing bad dreams. Topaz was supposed to become obscure in contact with poison and quench the heat of boiling water. All of these powers were believed to increase and decrease with changes of the moon.” (http://www.gemstones-guide.com/Topaz.html)

I’ll just stick with good ol’ friendship symbolism.

Natural Topaz

Byzantium Earrings No. 1, Sterling silver, 18k gold, blue topaz, London blue topaz, Swiss blue topaz, ruby, garnet, iolite, and rainbow moonstone, Sara Westermark

“Light Beach” Earrings, 18k yellow gold and Imperial Topaz, Sandra Manin Frias

Opal – October’s Birthstone

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Merritt Gade

Opal is October’s birthstone and a truly unique gemstone. Opal ranges from clear through white, gray, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, magenta, rose, pink, slate, olive, brown, and black. Of these hues, the reds against black are the most rare, whereas white and greens are the most common. It varies in optical density from opaque to semi-transparent.

In the Middle Ages, opal was considered a stone that could provide great luck because it was believed to possess all the virtues of each gemstone whose color was represented in the color spectrum of the opal. It was also said to confer the power of invisibility if wrapped in a fresh bay leaf and held in the hand. Ooh, cool.

Olympic Australis, world’s largest uncut opal

The Galaxy Opal, world’s largest polished opal

Fire opal in matrix with diamonds by Vicente Agor

Black Swan Tiara – New Options

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Merritt Gade

Introducing a new color and size for the Black Swan Tiara!

I had wanted a gray tone for the original tiara, but the wire color wasn’t available until just recently. Since January, I have also been crafting custom Small Organic Tiaras from the buyer’s selection of wire and crystal colors. It is just under 2 inches high at the center and feature 22 crystals. A scaled-down option for Black Swan seemed like another natural fit. Choices!

The new hematite gray wire, heliotrope Swarovski crystals, and jet hematite Swarovski crystals convey an excellent version of the crown worn in the film, Black Swan.

Here is the original, larger Black Swan Tiara in the bronzey-brown gunmetal color. This design stands about 2.5 inches high at the center and includes 32 crystals.

My original design is made of gunmetal art wire, smoked topaz Swarovski crystals, and medium vitrail Swarovski crystals.

So many options now! Which do you prefer?

Materials I Love

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Merritt Gade

Some of these pearls and crystals will be used in a custom comb and some will be used in a custom hair vine. The rest will be tucked under my pillow so I can dream about jewels.

Neon Tiara!

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Merritt Gade

I have loved neon since we met way back in 1982. In second grade, I had several neon outfits, including the brightest hot pink dress ever made. I loved it. I had a fluorescent yellow lunchbox, day-glo orange pencil case, and as much eyeball-scorching green stuff as I could find.

As you can imagine, neon being hot right now inspired me in countless ways. Here’s my favorite neon creation of the moment…

Swarovski came out with a line of neon pearls and I immediately saw this tiara in my head.

Etsy Treasury – Peridot…and Friends!

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Merritt Gade

‘Peridot…and Friends!’ by everydayapromise

Inspired by the lovely earrings from SendingLoveGallery!

Peridot and Pearl Earri… SendingLoveGa… $28.00	Silk Scarf, Hand Dyed, … heavenonearth… $24.00
70s Vintage Mint Green … TheVintageTro… $58.00	Swarovski Phone Charm (… CellChic $8.75
Stained Glass Business … GaleazGlass $34.00	Peridot Crystal Hair Pi… embellishingy… $8.00
Green Forest Fern Swirl… USAITLLC $72.00	African wax print hand … Olele $43.00
6 Leaf Hair Swirls in… hairswirls1 $10.99	Gold Hair Comb Set with… KyKysTreasure… $14.00
Skinny Silk Scarf Hand … OceanAvenueSi… $18.50	Peridot & Pearl Loopy … merrittgade $74.00
ON SALE 10% Peridot Swa… silverhijabpi… $7.20	Green Peridot Dragonfly… ritaandroger $95.00
Steampunk Cufflinks cuf… WatchMeWorld $52.00	Brown and Lime Feather … catalysst $6.00